Being the faster of all the snowdogs, it didn't take Runner very long to reach Jona and Viggo at Kearn's mound. They found him sitting out front with the rest of the dogs all around him with his head down. Together Sarah and Runner walked over to him. Runner nudged his favorite human feeling his pain and loss. Sarah sat down next to him and reached for his hand." I'm sorry Jona." She squeezed his hand, He looked over at her tears flowing freely down his face.
" It's my fault." He said. " I never should have left her alone."
" It's not your fault." She told him. " You had no idea there were snowmen there or that Kearn would take her."
" But I wasn't there when she needed me." He put his head down in his arms and cried. " She was my wife. Protecting her was my first and most important job. And I failed."
" Nothing I say will change how you feel about what happened." Sarah lifted his face to look into his eyes. " But this isn't your fault. Your not the one responsible for any of this. Kearn and Muerte are the ones that did all of this. I know you hurting now. But help us end it. Help us put an end to all there deranged schemes."
Jona wasn't sure what he should do, but he knew Clea would want him to do all he could to help stop Kearn from doing this to another village or town.
" I'll do what I can. " Jona told her. " Clea would want me to."
" Good." She smiled at him and got to her feet. " Where is she? We can't leave her here. We should get her home."
" In there." He said. " Rush can show you where she is."
" Rush, show us where she is."
{ Come.} He took his head from Jona's lap and headed into the mound. Sarah and Viggo followed him in gazing all around at the drabness of what Kearn calls his home. Soon they found themselves in Kearn's throne room. Sarah could feel strong magical energy coming from somewhere in the back of the room.
" Feel that Viggo?" she looked around.
{ Feel magic.} He answered.
" Its coming from that ice wall there." Together they made there way towards the back. There they found Clea frozen in a wall of ice. But something was wrong here. The ice wall was glowing and throbbing with magic. All dragons could feel magic, but it took training to understand the spells. And Sarah wasn't trained in that way. But she did know something strange was happening here. As they watched the magic began to throb stronger and stronger. Soon it was so strong they had to back away not knowing what would happen. Suddenly cracks began to appear in the wall. They grew bigger and longer until the whole wall shattered. Viggo pushed Sarah out of the way to safety shielding her with his body as ice shards wouldn't penetrate his hide.
Shocked at what had just happened Sarah climbed back to her feet and brushed snow and ice from her leathers and looked over to the wall.
Sarah couldn't believe what she saw standing there. She called out in her mind to Jona.
[ Jona get in here now!!]
It didn't take but a few seconds for Jona to come running in to see his wife standing there free of the ice but change. No longer was she the beautiful vibrant woman he remembered. What stood there was a blue skinned woman devoid of any heat her body once had.
" Clea?" he called. He stepped closer to get a better look at her. Clea's skin was an ice blue in color. She no longer had pupils in her eyes, they were a snowy white now. Her hair was now black as coal and framed her face. Jona could feel the cold radiating out from her. She smiled at him. But he knew she was different now. This was not the woman he married. She stepped forward out of what was left of her ice cocoon.
" I can feel your warmth." She said. " Come warm me my love. Give me all your warmth, I need it."
" Jona!" Sarah reached out and grabbed him to pull him back. " Don't touch her.!!"
Excited to see her free of the wall of ice. Rush trotted forward to greet her.
" NO RUSH!!" Sarah yelled to him. " COME BACK!!"
" To late." Clea reached out and grabbed the snowdog and pulled him into her embrace. He yelped as she drew all the warmth from his body and left him a statue of ice. She laughed as he crumbled in front of them and blew away like dust.
Viggo howled and readied himself to leap at her when Jona grabbed him to stop him. He growled at her in Jona's arms.
" Come on." Sarah said. " We have to get out of here. There's no room to move."
Pulling Viggo with him Jona followed Sarah out of the mound as Clea's laughed echoed through the palace.
" What the hell did he do to her?" Jona asked as they backed away from the mound.
" He infused her with his cold energy and changed her into that thing in there." Sarah told him. " His bride is what she has become. Just as cold as he is. is."
" We can't leave her like that." Jona pleaded.
" There's nothing the two of us can do." She told him. " Maybe with the others we can figure something out. How to cure her. But right now, we should go and get help. Maybe Alee can help or Jandar, or Aramis."
Jona knew she was right. His magic was no where near powerful enough to help her. All he could do was hope he could convince the others to help him.
" Lets go." He climbed on Runners back and waited for Sarah to mount Viggo. As he watched Clea came out of the mound. Jona looked back at her. She stood there with an evil look on her face.
" I'll be back." He told her. " And I'll find a way to cure you, don't worry."
( If you come back. Sweet Jona.) She sent to him. ( I'll enjoy your heat and kill you. So why don't you both stay with me."
Clea thrust out her hand and sent an intense blast of cold at them. Sarah and Jona leaped from the backs of the dogs as they bolted out of the way of her blast. From the ground, Jona raised his hands and sent his own blast of magic at her. Forming a circle in the air before her, Clea formed a shield to block him. His blast hit her shield and was deflected away.
" You can do better then that love." She called out.
Sarah got to her feet and shifted to Nautica. She roared out her anger then used her water abilities to extract the moisture from the snow around her and send it as a frozen ball toward her.
[ Your not the only one with power over ice.] Nautica sent.
Thinking fast, Clea made a slicing movement with her frost covered hands and split the ball in half pushing it away from her. Viggo, Runner, and Geo began to circle her snarling there anger at the death of there brother. Geo charged forward howling his shock vibrations at her. The ground around her shook as she stepped back covering her ear from the sonic shock blast. Viggo and Runner added there howl to Geo's causing Clea to scream. Behind her the mound began to shake and fall in on itself as the snowdogs continued there assault on the ice queen. Soon Kearns palace lay in rubble behind her and the snowdogs stood growling.
" I'm not ready for this battle." Clea said gathering a cloud of snow to her to take her away. " Back I'll be back for you my dear husband. And you will die! Farewell my love!"
Nautica, Jona and the dogs watched as her cloud rose and flew off into the mountains. Nautica shifted back to human as they all stood and looked at what was once Kearn's palace.
" She's gone." Jona said.
" But she'll be back." Sarah told him. " You can bet on it. Let's get out of here."
High over the snowy plain, Alee shined like a star. He had powered up earlier and now was ready for anything Kearn could do.
" Ahhh so I see the dragons have someone they think can beat me huh?" Kearn spread his arms and formed a cloud to take him high in the air to confront the sun god.
" Think?" Alee smiled. " I don't think I can beat you, I know it."
" That's pretty bold talk." Kearn said as winds picked up and snow and ice began to fly all around him from his cloud. " So soon as I take care of you and your dragon friends. Your sister Muerte will be next. It's to bad you won't get a chance to warn her."
" You really think she would have set you free if she thought you were a threat to her." Alee blazed with the power of the sun. " Your just as stupid as you are evil cold one."
" I guess we'll see."
Kearn lifted his hands and sent snow from the ground streaking at Alee. He didn't move an inch as the blast of snow came at him and evaporated a few feet before it touched him
" You can do better then that." Alee smiled.
" You bet I can."
Out of the air giant icicles formed, with a wave he sent then at him. Alee raised one hand and waved them aside and blew them into ice crystals that rained down on the field of combatants below. Kearn stared into Alee's eyes not sure what to do next.
" That it?" Alee asked. " Where's all that cold power you said you possessed?"
" Here!" Kearn reached out with his freezing magic and in cased Alee in an instant block for ice. The smile dropped from Alee's face as he fell to the ground. But feet from the ground the block exploded and Alee soared back up at Kearn to attack him. Swinging a fiery left and right, Alee connected knocking him back. Kearn flew back at Alee with his hands glowing blue with freezing power to fight back, The battle in the sky raged on with blow upon blow at each other. Kearn seized Alee and tried to send his ice directly into the sun god. But his heat prevented his ice from doing any damage. As they held on to each other Alee turned up the heat. Kearn's hands began to sizzle where he touched him.
" You think your cold can overcome me!" Alee yelled as fear began to show on Kearn's face. " I ride high in the sky bringing light and heat to this world. I have kept your freezing forces from destroying this world since my father Rimnar created this world. Now you will feel the true force of the sun. The winter is over for you!!"
Sweat ran from Kearns face as he tried to wrench himself from Alee's grip as he grew hotter and hotter. Alee poured more power into his hold shining brighter and brighter. Kearn screamed as steam rose from him and he grew weaker.
" Stop please!" Kearn cried as his cold field fell. " Your burning me. please stop!"
" Look at what you and Muerte have don't to Bravosa." Alee's eyes glowed with power. " You want mercy? Did you show any? Any at all!!"
Kearn couldn't take much more of the heat Alee was radiating. He slumped in Alee's arm powerless. Alee realized he couldn't take much more. He had an idea of how to keep Kearn from attacking anyone else.
He turned down his power.
[ Blaze.] He sent. [Kearn is finished. I know what to do with him. Can you deal with the snowmen?"
[ Yeah.] Blaze told him. [ The snowmen are almost finished. What do you plan to do?]
[ Your a red dragon.] Alee said. [ Follow me and find out.]
Deep in the thermal caves ran the heart of an active volcano. In a flash of heat and light, Alee arrived with Kearn in his arms and Blaze at his side. In the distance he saw an island in the center of a lake of lava and landed there. He sat Kearn down and smacked his face to wake him.
" What?" He looked around dazed until the heat hit him. " Oh no! Where are we?"
" This is your prison." Alee smiled. " Your new home."
" I can't stay here. the heat will kill me. " Kearn cried. " Take me out of here!w"
"No, I'll enchant this island so you can generate some cold to live." Alee said. " But if you move beyond the boundaries I set. The heat will kill you."
" No. I can't stay here!!"
[ If I was you.] Blaze said. [ I'd start generating that cold now. Make yourself a nice little ice palace so you can be comfortable. You'll be here a long time.]
Alee and Blaze took off from the island as Kearn froze the island over and formed a throne in the center of his ice dome. With a last look Alee took them out of the lava chamber and back to the surface.
[ You think he'll ever get out?] Blaze asked.
" Good luck with that." Alee laughed. " Come on. We still have to get rid of all that snow and clean up in Bravosa."
