Ice Phoenix
Chapter 26 - Rescue team

"Baneyon!" Terrana screamed as she tried to pull Baneyon from the writhing flames. "Baneyon!" She reached out to grab his hand but the blast thrust her violently backwards into the cold darkness. Baneyon and the little person who held on to him had not seen or heard her. She watched in horror as they disappeared into the mighty inferno that scorched the darkness.

She sat up in bed, crying and unable to understand where she was or what she was doing. Her hair tumbled around her tear-streaked face as she sobbed uncontrollably. Next to her, Kazu gave a worried meow.

“It was a dream, just a dream,” she mumbled to herself when some sense returned to her. “A nightmare.” She hugged herself, burying her head into her knees, and took deep breaths. But no matter how hard she tried, she failed to convince herself. She had felt the flames; she had touched Baneyon’s hand, and she had seen the confused look in his eyes. Her own hand burned from being there and ... Terrana gasped and leaned back, looking at her right hand. It was red — and it stung.

“It wasn’t a dream,” she whispered. She leapt out of bed and hurriedly changed into something decent. The last thing she threw on was the A-line cardigan that Baneyon had bought for her. Kazu meowed and she picked him up. “We’re going to see the headmistress!”

She ran out of the room to the elevator chutes. They sped up through the lake, and as soon as they reached the top Terrana sprung out of the puddle and dashed across the lobby.

“Terrana! Where’re you going?”

She looked around in surprise and saw Bagruth running towards her.

“Bagruth! Why are you here?”

“I’m off to the stables. Niku hasn’t been feeling well so I need to watch over him. Lorn and Mikin will be there. Why don’t you join us?”

Tempting as it sounded, she knew she couldn’t. Baneyon was in danger. “I have to see the headmistress.”

“At this hour? It’s two a.m.!” Bagruth’s eyes widened. “She’s probably sleeping. Or wait, maybe she has night classes with the Muskan students. They are nocturnal, you know.”

“I’ll check her room first. It’s important. Could you do me a favour? Can you look after Kazu till I get back? Thanks!”

She thrust an indignant Kazu onto him and raced off, leaving a baffled Bagruth behind. Headmistress ’s room was right at the top, above the dragon’s eyes. Terrana leapt onto the elevator disc that carried her up to the top floor. When she arrived, she sprinted to the only door on that level and hammered it repeatedly. In her panic, she forgot she had to use the intercom.

“Headmistress , Baneyon’s in danger! Please let me in!” She didn’t stop banging until it opened.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Headmistress looked furious. She glared at Terrana, but when she saw her agitated state, her anger quickly turned to alarm. “Terrana! Why are you here?”

“Headmistress , Baneyon’s in danger!” cried Terrana. “You have to save him! He was in a big fire in the sky. There was this explosion and, and —”

Headmistress pulled Terrana inside the room, shutting the door. Far from having been asleep, she was dressed in her day clothes. She dragged Terrana to a sofa pod and sat her down.

Because of her tears, Terrana didn’t see two other people sitting in the room. A glass of water magically appeared in front of her, along with a box of tissues.

“Drink,” said the headmistress, offering her the glass. Terrana took it and gulped down the water. She quickly wiped her tears away and blew her nose.

“Okay, now speak,” said Headmistress Marl. “You were crying something about Baneyon?”

Terrana sniffed and opened her mouth to spill everything, but snapped it shut when she noticed the two people for the first time. Prince Gil Ra Im sat a little to her right, facing her. Next to him was a very beautiful woman. The prince looked just as startled to see her as she was to see him. Terrana turned beetroot red. The woman noticed her embarrassment and stood up.

“Perhaps a little privacy would be better. We shall be in the next room, Degra.” Her voice was rich and smooth. She and the prince left the room.

“Speak, Terrana,” said Headmistress Marl. “What happened that you would come screaming to me at this hour?”

Terrana forced the words out quickly. “I saw Baneyon, Headmistress Marl. I saw him on another planet surrounded by dog-like creatures. Baneyon and this little man were flying towards a ship when it, it blew up. ”

Tears welled up in her eyes and her lower lip trembled as she struggled not to cry. “It wasn’t just a dream I swear! I was there. I tried to save him, but I woke up. I even burnt my hand. You have to believe me!”

She showed her hand to the headmistress.

“Dear Dartkala! That needs to be seen to!” Headmistress gasped. She strode over to a cabinet and pulled out a green pli-gel bandage — Terrana thought she had seen enough of those to last a lifetime. The headmistress returned to her side and very quickly applied it to Terrana’s hand. Relief flooded Terrana as the bandage went to work.

In her upset state, she didn’t notice the headmistress’s hands shaking. Terrana mistook the headmistress’s silence for disbelief. “Please, Headmistress Marl, you have to believe me!” she pleaded. “I know it was real. I just know it was! Baneyon said to come to you if I ever had a problem, and I came. You have to help him.”

Headmistress reached out and touched her face.

“Terrana,” she said softly. “I believe you. But you need to tell me more. Do you know why Baneyon was on another planet?”

Terrana nodded. “He and the other people … they were looking for a pendant. Baneyon found it. More people arrived and tried to take it. Baneyon and the little man tried to escape to a ship but — it blew up!”

“You ... dreamt all this?” If it had been any other person, Headmistress Marl would have disregarded them and sent them running, but she knew Terrana could traverse the In-Between in her sleep. For the hundredth time, wondered who and what Terrana was. Headmistress required details. “Terrana,” she said slowly. “I need you to tell me who was with Baneyon. Did you see them?”

Terrana nodded. “Two women. Baneyon called them Lady Fless and L-Master Ana. And there were four men. I don’t know their names, but one was little and one was really fat with a moustache. I think the other was an L-Master. There was another man, but he was hurt.”

“And what about the others who tried to take the pendant? Did they succeed?” asked someone else.

Terrana jumped. The woman and Prince Gil Ra Im had come back into the room. Headmistress turned to look at the woman.

“Your Highness! Did you —”

“Every word,” the queen cut in.

Cold, glittering eyes swept over Terrana and she shrunk back in her pod, feeling intimidated. She had been so upset earlier that she had failed to notice the resemblance, but this had to be Prince Gil Ra Im’s mother! They had the same startling eyes, blue-black hair, and regal bearing. The queen also looked fearsome, dressed in a black combat outfit.

“Part of her story’s been verified, Degra. I just received a message from Kuldor. He received a distress signal from Baneyon minutes ago. The only problem is it’s three days old.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“A roaming satellite picked up the signal in Sector Five. It was en route to Sector Three, where it was finally picked up and relayed directly to Kuldor. The message was brief and requested another ship.”

The queen’s eyes bored into Terrana’s. “So,” she said in a hard tone, still speaking to Headmistress Marl, “if she really can traverse the In-Between, whatever she saw in Si Ren Da will be vital for the rescue mission we send out.”

She took a step closer to Terrana. “Terrana, I will ask you again — did the others who tried to take the pendant, succeed?”

Terrana wiped her tears and shook her head. “I don’t know. The little man was the last to have it, but he and Baneyon were caught in the explosion. I woke up after that. I don’t know if Baneyon is still alive.”

“Baneyon doesn’t die so easily,” said Headmistress Marl quickly. “He has Quempa with him.”

“Quempa?” Terrana gave the headmistress a searching look, desperate for any hope of Baneyon being alive.

“The little man who was with him,” answered Headmistress Marl.

“Do you know how many enemies they faced?” asked the queen.

“I saw five,” replied Terrana. “They were really strong. Two of them tried to kill the little man because he had the pendant, and one of them used lightning. It came out from his fingers. The other one — he was blond — burned the L-Master’s legs and arms off. She screamed like the man who died in my other dream. ”

“What other dream?” Headmistress asked sharply. Terrana blanched. Suddenly, both the headmistress and the queen looked terrifying as they loomed over her, demanding answers.

Headmistress ’s face softened. “I’m sorry, Terrana. I know this must be really hard for you, but we need to know what you saw. It may be the only thing that can save Baneyon’s life.”

Baneyon. Once more Terrana saw the ship explode and the flames consume him. Her heart constricted. Baneyon couldn’t die. He couldn’t leave her here by herself. He was the solid rock in her universe, keeping her together when her old world had fallen apart. He had taken care of her, fussed over her, and became the family that she had so desperately needed. There was no way she could lose him. A distant look glazed over her eyes as she recalled her dream.

“Felix,” she said. “His name was Felix and I saw the shadows burn him.”

“Dear Dartkala,” whispered Headmistress Marl. The blood had drained from her face. “You saw Master Jingo die, and you didn’t tell anyone?”

“I wanted to tell Baneyon,” cried Terrana, “but I couldn’t reach him! And then there was no time afterwards because he had to leave. I thought it was just a nightmare.” She hugged herself and began to rock back and forth, struggling to rid herself of the memories.

Headmistress fell to her knees, taking hold of Terrana’s hands. “Terrana, you could always have come to me. What you saw ...” the headmistress paused as she tried to replace words that would comfort the traumatised child. Finding none, she drew in a breath and continued, “You don’t have to hide it from me.”

“I know that now,” whimpered Terrana.

“We must inform the others,” the queen said. She turned to Prince Gil Ra Im. “Ra Im, please wait with Terrana in the other room.”

The prince gave his mother a searching look but did not question her. He walked to Terrana and offered his hand. She didn’t take it but scrambled out of the pod, doing her best to avoid his gaze. The prince turned and walked out of the room, and she followed.

The queen removed a tiny device from her jacket collar and tossed it into the air, where it levitated. Eight clear projections of the other Imeldors appeared in the room. Grandmaster Deitrux, Kuldor, Lady Skiss, Master Morix, Lady Anrath, Tirath Wayne, Kiaten Titik, and Drummik stood around, their faces serious.

The queen wasted no time. “I trust Kuldor has informed you about the most recent developments? That the girl has seen Baneyon and the others on Si Ren Da?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” answered the grandmaster. “What else has she told you?”

“Quempa and his team are in trouble,” the queen answered. “They managed to retrieve the pendant but were ambushed by the demons. The last she saw was the ship exploding, engulfing both Baneyon and Quempa. At this point it is difficult to tell if they are still alive.”

“They won’t die so easily,” Master Drummik interjected.

“My thoughts exactly,” replied the queen. “We need to send a rescue team immediately.”

“It takes at least two days for our fastest ship to reach Sector Five from Pa Gumpina,” said Master Drummik. “Let’s hope we are not too late. Kuldor told us the message from Baneyon was three days old. We’ve already lost a lot of time.”

“Then I have no choice but to go myself,” the queen said. “We cannot allow the pendant to fall into the demons’ hands.”

“I am not far from you,” said Lady Anrath. “I too will go.”

None of the others were surprised. She barely left the queen’s side. Like the queen, Lady Anrath was Swivan, but her colouring — dark skin and fair hair — was the exact opposite of the woman she served.

“How long will it take you to reach Si Ren Da, Your Highness?” asked the grandmaster.

“A day’s ride. The faars are swift and will protect Lady Anrath and me. But we will not be able to hold the demons off for long.”

“Your Highness, you would have to wait at least another day before help arrives,” said Kiaten Titik. “The faars are swifter than any ship, and it would be better if more of us went with you. Please consider making an exception and allow us to ride the faars this one time.”

“The exception is not mine to make, Master Titik,” the queen said in a cold voice. “The faars are not pets. They do not obey me. They do not tolerate outsiders, and once they enter the In-Between I cannot ensure your protection.”

“Her Highness is right, Master Titik,” said the grandmaster. “If you value your life, you will not insist on riding the faars. They have been known to abandon certain riders in the In-Between. The closest people to Sector Five are Kuldor and I. I believe we can make it to Si Ren Da in a day and a half. Until then, Her Highness and Lady Anrath will have to hold out with the others until we arrive.”

“What about the rest of us?” Kiaten Titik asked.

“Continue gathering information on the war, the demons, and the Dream Walker. It is absolutely vital that we learn as much as we can about the enemy. Lady Skiss, please inform the L-Council that the first team has run into trouble in Si Ren Da and a few of us have left to rescue them. Do not mention anything about the girl and ... speak only of the distress signal that Baneyon sent.”

The liquid blob that was Lady Skiss gave some appearance of a nod. The grandmaster glanced at the queen.

“Ride well and stay safe, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Grandmaster Deitrux.”

The images of all eight Imeldors vanished from the room. Queen Julere plucked the tiny device from the air and tucked it beneath her collar.

Waiting in the next room, Terrana sniffed for the umpteenth time until the prince leaned forwards and offered her some tissues. They were sitting in the headmistress’s pristine kitchen, facing each other across the table, not saying a word.

“Thanks,” she said in small voice. The silence descended again, and she avoided looking at him directly. Keeping her eyes downcast, she brought the tissues to her nose discretely. Then she blew for all she was worth, shattering the silence. The prince flinched and leaned back.

“Are you going to stare at the floor forever?” he asked, after she had emptied her nostrils.

Terrana turned red. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the day he had fished her out of the lake, completely naked. And, of course, she couldn’t forget that she had tried to kill him. Or that she had thrown up on him twice — well, twice more.

She ignored his comment and continued staring at the floor, allowing herself to descend into a world of darkness, hurt, and confusion. Her daily life seemed like a dream, a land of the blessed, and she struggled to swim to it every day. Otherwise, she would drown in the memories of her family’s death while the evil eyes of her dark alter ego watched her. The only thing that kept her afloat was the memory of seeing Puddy. Knowing that the dolphin had tried to reach out to her in the lake, that he hadn’t abandoned her, flooded her with dangerous hope that they would be together again. She should have felt better about this glimmer of hope, but instead, she felt worse.

She couldn’t understand why Baneyon had asked her to forget about Puddy. After everything she had been through, she would have thought that he’d be happy to know her old friend had returned. She loved Baneyon — she knew that now — but promising him she would not see Puddy created an internal conflict which ate her from the inside. She feared she was going to break her promise to Baneyon. Puddy could not have killed her family. He was part of her, part of her soul, and she would have known if he had meant her any harm.

She forgot the prince was sitting there as she sank deeper into her reverie. Puddy had come to her at a time when she had been a danger to herself and the prince. The thought that she had an evil twin nesting inside of her, just waiting to break out, terrified her. Her alter ego had called herself Terrana, told her that they were the same being, but Terrana refused to believe that. They may look the same, but this twin was not her. Puddy had referred to her alter ego as her ‘powers,’ but Terrana decided to call her T2; the second or other Terrana.

Every day Terrana asked herself the same question — what if T2 had appeared at the school and not over the lake? Puddy wouldn’t have been able to come to her, and she would have ended up hurting a lot of students. Terrana had never been so scared in her life. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt innocent people. Whatever T2 was, Terrana didn’t believe that she was just a manifestation of her own powers. Powers couldn’t materialise, talk to you, and then lock you away, could they? Puddy had told her to control T2 before T2 controlled her, and Baneyon ... she had seen the look in his eyes. He feared something in her.

Terrana needed to know who she was, why she was born the way she was. She owed it to Archie and her parents. One day, she hoped, she could return home to , and when she did she would sit by her family’s graves and explain what happened. Her mum would be there, smiling as she scraped the coconuts while listening, and at the end of it, she would flick her ear and tell her, “Terrana, scrape this coconut. We are going to make something good from it.”

And that’s how her mother was. No matter how bad the situation, she would always say, “We are going to make something good from it.”

Terrana clung to those words. She didn’t know what she could make yet, but once she knew, she would make something good out of her situation. She would make something good for her family. But the heaviness still clung to her heart, and self-doubt gnawed at her. Her determination to remain strong was being swallowed by depression and fear. Fear of what she was.

The prince’s voice spilled into her thoughts like cold water. Terrana looked up at him, turned red — again — and then looked away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” she mumbled. It was a miracle that the prince even heard her. He leaned forwards.

“I said, are you going to stare at the floor forever?”

“It’s a very unusual floor,” she said quickly. “I’ve never seen one like it before.”

“Suit yourself. Personally I’d rather look at people — with clothes on.”

Terrana could have fried an egg on her face. It was that hot. She glanced at him angrily. “You didn’t have to bring that up! I wasn’t myself at the time!”

The corner of his mouth lifted. Terrana scowled. He was laughing at her! She didn’t realise it then, but his subtle teasing removed some of the darkness in her, pulling her from the hurt and confusion of everything that had happened in the last week.

“Then perhaps you should explain that to the irritating Daiphus boy who saw us outside your room.” It took a moment for Terrana to realise he was referring to Lorn. She could still recall Lorn’s stunned look when he had seen them outside her room, after returning from the lake. Not knowing what to say, she had avoided him too.

“Is that your mum outside?” she asked abruptly.

A glint appeared in the prince’s eyes as he recognised her futile attempt to change the subject, but he went along with it.

“Yes,” he answered.

“You look a lot like her. Why are you both here?”

“We were discussing you before you arrived.”

Terrana’s eyes widened. “About what?”

“About how an uncouth girl from Sector Thirteen could not realise that it’s inappropriate to attack the prince of Swiva, especially when she does not have any clothes on.”

Terrana’s eyes narrowed. He had deliberately let her steer the conversation because he knew it would lead right back to that.

“That was mean,” she said.

“Nevertheless, true,” he replied. Terrana opened her mouth to retort but he held out his hand, silencing her. He walked quietly to the door and stood really still. Curious, Terrana shuffled up to him, attempting to peer past him. Almost immediately, his hand came down on her head and pulled her back.

Her eyes could have burned holes through his back, but she bit down on her lip and said nothing. She, too, wanted to hear what the queen and the headmistress were saying, and arguing would not help. Her attempts to eavesdrop on the two women proved futile, but the prince seemed to be having better luck. Suddenly, he pushed her back and she found herself sitting at the table once more.

The women walked into the kitchen. Terrana ran over to the headmistress.

“Are you going to send someone to save Baneyon?” she asked.

Headmistress nodded. “Her Highness is going to Si Ren Da with some others. They’ll do their best to rescue Baneyon and his comrades.”

The prince looked at his mother sharply, his eyes betraying his emotions. “Your Highness, do you intend to confront the demons?”

“If I have to,” she answered softly. Something flashed in the prince’s eyes and Terrana was startled to recognise it as pain. Something unsaid was happening between the queen and her son, and Terrana sensed that the prince was angry, although she didn’t understand why.

The queen spoke, her face betraying no emotion. “You are the prince of Sector Six, Ra Im. You cannot afford to allow your emotions to show.”

“Her Highness should have protectors accompanying her. I do not understand why she insists on partaking in this suicidal mission when it is only logical and convenient to assign somebody else!”

The queen’s eyes softened for just a moment. “Young Majesty, you overheard some things that you should not have, and you try to position yourself in my stead when there is no need. There is time for all that, but it is not now.”

In an unexpected display of emotion, she reached out and stroked her son’s face. “Trust your mother. I will have Nisa and Lady Anrath by my side.”

Prince Gil Ra Im nodded, although his expression remained stony. The queen turned to Terrana. “I have more questions for you, Terrana. Apart from the five demons, did you see any others?”

Terrana shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Can you control where you go in your dreams?”

Terrana shook her head miserably. She felt useless, not to mention, responsible for sending the queen away. She wracked her brains to remember anything that would help the queen. Something came back to her.

“Mire’s Point!” she cried. “I heard Baneyon say they would meet there.”

The queen’s eyes flashed. “Thank you, Terrana.”

“And, be careful of the demon with the hood. He felt very bad to me.”

The queen nodded. “I shall make my leave now.”

“Journey well, Your Highness,” said Headmistress Marl. She accompanied the queen to the main room in which Terrana had sat earlier, and up some stairs that disappeared into the ceiling. Terrana guessed it led out to the top of the dragon’s head, where the queen’s faar would be waiting.

A yawn escaped her, releasing fresh tears, and Terrana realised she was really tired. Since the episode at the lake, sleep hadn’t come easy to her. A painful rap on the head roused her immediately.

“Ow! Whaccha do that for?” she cried, rubbing her head.

“Meet me at the stables in half an hour,” the prince whispered fiercely.

“Huh?”

But he did not elaborate. Headmistress descended the stairs alone, coming to stand in front of them. She threw them a stern look. “I don’t have to tell the both of you that whatever was discussed in this room stays in this room. Understood?”

They both nodded.