“Perfect. Good thinking, Lawson.” Monty rushed over to the wall. “Let me help.”
Lawson stepped up onto the first tent spike and took another spike from Monty’s outstretched hand before continuing. He repeated the process, moving up another spike, like climbing a ladder.
“Well, aren’t you a regular MacGyver, using tent spikes as rungs.” Liam laughed, easing some of the tension that still hung in the air. Lawson was already out of earshot, but the rest of us appreciated it.
“Are we all going to have to climb up that way?” I asked hesitantly.
“It is pointless. Even if you reach the top, it will be impossible to reach the prison,” Talen said from behind me.
I jumped, startled by his closeness. James stood on my other side. Evidently, he no longer viewed Talen as a risk to my safety. I couldn’t get a read from Talen on whether he could be trusted.
“You forget we have an Essence with us,” James said.
“James, you should go next with Charlotte behind you. I will follow.” Monty spoke without turning his attention from the wall.
I waited my turn, watching James easily move up the spikes. “I can do this.” I tried to psyche myself up, glad that even if I wasn’t as athletic as my brother, at least I had a good sense of balance.
The first step was the hardest. I easily placed one foot on the spike, but the next spike froze my hand through the glove, making me let go and nearly fall backward. Liam and Monty caught me, and I tried again. After that, I moved up carefully, watching James’s boots above me and listening to Monty’s reassurances from below. Finally, I reached the top, relieved that the wall was wider than I originally thought. Monty, Liam, and Talen arrived, and we all turned our attention toward the prison box. The box stood directly across from us, but still hundreds of feet away with the snow-covered ground far below.
“Now what?” Lawson asked.
“No more brilliant ideas?” Liam asked.
“No. I got us up here. Now it is someone else’s turn.”
“Should I try to shoot an arrow, see if we can send a line over?” Liam reached behind him to pull his crossbow and an arrow from his pack.
Monty let out a deep breath. “It is worth a try, but I doubt it will do any good.”
I heard the ping of the arrow as it bounced off the prison box. “All right, so that box is solid.” Liam carefully replaced his crossbow in his bag.
Monty said, “It is all up to Charlotte now.”
“Great, no pressure at all.” I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to clear my head.
“You ready, Charlotte?” James asked impatiently.
“What do you expect me to do, build a bridge?”
“Yeah, that would work.”
“What is there to even use? There are no trees or anything. Oh, wait. Ice. Ice is frozen water. I should be able to use it.” I heard a laugh as I tried to pump myself up. I glared at Talen.
“Sorry.” Talen shook his head. “It is humorous to listen to you think out loud. You are not what I expected of an Essence.”
“Leave her alone and let her do her job. Go on, Charlotte,” Monty instructed.
I closed my eyes, picturing the ice. I tried to pull the ice free from the walls. I felt the ice hanging off another area of the wall loosen and separate, but it took so much energy, I had to let go. I opened my eyes as I heard it smash to the ground. “Darn it.”
“Calm down. Try again,” James urged.
I closed my eyes again, bracing myself for the heat I knew would come. The ice moved easily, and I willed it to reach the box. Reaching out, I repeated the process several times until I could picture a weaving of ice forming a bridge.
“Incredible. Absolutely incredible.” I recognized Talen’s voice immediately. Once I opened my eyes, I gave him a smug smile before examining my handiwork. So it wasn’t the Brooklyn Bridge, but it was something.
“It is sufficient, Charlotte, but you really need to learn to work faster. We will not always have time for you to try more than once, and you cannot hesitate so much.” I could have punched James; his antagonism was not what I needed.
Before anyone could come to my defense, I said, “Shut up, James.”
“I’ll go first.” Monty volunteered, and I could almost feel his excitement. We were so close to Mom.
After tying a rope around his waist and handing the other end to Lawson, Monty carefully stepped onto the bridge. It seemed like an eternity before Monty reached the edge of the bridge. He untied the rope, and Lawson pulled it back toward us.
“Who’s next?” Lawson asked.
“Why don’t Charlotte and I go together?” Liam’s suggestion eased some of my nerves, but I still had to cross the ice. If only my abilities included flight.
“Be careful, Liam.” Lawson’s response seemed like a cue. I nodded, and before I knew it, Liam was tying the rope around us.
“We’ll take it slow. It will be okay.” Liam didn’t wait for my response before he moved us onto my bridge.
It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be, probably because I refused to look down. Still, it took me a few minutes to regain my composure once we joined Monty to wait for the others.
“I still cannot fathom a way in.” Monty sounded worried, but not defeated.
When the others arrived, Monty told James, “Let’s try your sword.”
James repeatedly tried to cut into the box with his sword. “It did not even make a dent.” Monty sighed after James gave up.
“Ouch!” I felt an intense heat against the skin of my chest. I pulled open my cloak and reached down into my dress to pull out my necklace. I yelled again when I put my hand on it. The rose pendant glowed brightly and felt as though it were on fire. I dropped it against my cloak and reached down to touch the ice, trying to cool the mild burn on my fingers.
“Are you okay, Charlotte?” Monty asked as he came up beside me. He shielded his eyes from the bright light. “What is happening to your pendant? Did it burn you? How is it emanating heat?”
A light bulb went off in my head—heat.
Walking up to the box, I placed my hand on the surface. I winced as my burned hand touched the cold metal. I closed my eyes, picturing heat. The heat continued to build, but it wasn’t enough. Focusing harder, I used every ounce of energy available. I felt a surge, as if the earth were shifting. Pushing my hand more firmly against the side, I no longer noticed the cold. I fought to keep going, but it was too much. Strong arms caught me as I slid down to the cold platform, exhausted.