Flash Fiction # 431 -- The Fae Underground/7

The humans we found along the way were often panicked.  The storm alone frightened them, but they had sensed some of the magic in it as well, even if they couldn't put a name to such powers.

Or at least didn't want to say such things aloud.

Sylph had to remain hidden when I dealt directly with humans.  Her presence would have sent them screaming off into the storm, and if not lost, very likely insane.  Sylph was a creature who could not be explained away.

I could not save them all -- not in this way.  So I only dealt with those in most dire need: a woman who could not find her car, a family with two young children and a dog, a police car stuck in a drift.  I hoped by freeing the last, they could help others, but the truth was that we needed to find the source of the trouble.

The wind came from the direction of the city.  I thought we could focus on it if we got close enough, and Sylph agreed.

"And then we do what?" she asked.  "This is a power beyond my ken."

"And mine," I agreed.  "But we still have to at least find it."

Once we were in town, there were far fewer people to save since most of them had quick access to buildings in the city itself.  Sylph and I could use our magic more easily now, and though my leg hurt, I could still sprint through the snow with her as long as she didn't move too quickly.

I let her take the lead, and I just followed.  That allowed me to try and consider the situation.  I really, truly, had no idea what we were heading into, but I could feel the bite of that icy magic grow the closer we got to the harbor.

I suppose that shouldn't have surprised me.  The locals would think it an unusual nor'easter, and they wouldn't have any clue about the magic involved.  I don't know how the weather people would explain this one, especially if -- as I suspected -- the storm was centered on the harbor itself.

We slowed and stopped with warehouses to block the worst of the weather.  The wind howled past with a fury that made me think more of hurricanes rather than blizzards.  A large piece of metal siding went flying past -- dangerous stuff, especially for anyone from the fae lands.  

We knelt lower.  The wind seemed to be picking stuff up and tossing it high and wide.  I could hear the ships groaning at the wind and sea, at least one large craft repeatedly battering at the dock.

This was not good.  There would be crew on those ships.  A quick look around the edge of the warehouse showed at least one of the craft almost entirely encased in ice already.  I saw someone trying to fight his way toward a door, slip and almost go over --

I helped him, of course.  I even cracked the inch thick ice on the door (and this door was out of the wind -- I couldn't imagine the other side) and got him inside.

Sylph gave me a quick nod when I finally dropped back, panting.  It had been challenging to shove magic through that wind, not just because of how strong it was, but because it was so filled with the power of its own that I thought the snow would glow if it got any darker.

"There has got to be something out in the water," I said, gasping still.

"I fear so.  That is not a place where I can help."

I had suspected so.  "I think you should go back to the city.  I'll join you as soon as I can.  I might find that I can do nothing here, and I'll join you soon."

She carefully laid fingers on my cheek.  I froze surprised.  

"You will find me."

A touch of magic surged through that contact.  I would find her.  She had given me a link that would make it all the easier to trace her when I finished with ... whatever problem this might be.

I turned to say goodbye, but she had stood and dashed away, long legs leaping through the snow much faster now that she no longer had to drag me along.

I wished Sylph had maybe suggested a plan of action before she left, though.  Granted, she didn't know anything about what I was facing -- but neither did I.

Could I trust that whatever had taken residence out in the harbor would run out of power to keep this up much longer?  It had been going for more than an hour and produced a record snowfall already.  The wind did not seem any less for it, and the snow and ice still fell in a white wall that obscured most of the world.

I had to put all my focus into a spell that would get me out into the harbor and find the problem.  That meant I had to ignore the pain in my leg and the freezing cold.  

I hadn't used much magic in the last few years.  It took me a bit longer to draw this spell into place and focus on what I wanted.  When I finally did, I stepped away from the building and back out into the wind, ice, and snow.  I planted both feet in the snow and lifted my hands, focusing on whatever might be out beyond the ships --

Good thing I had my magic ready and began to move immediately.  A flash of lightning hit where I had been moments before, warming the air around me.  It helped.

I moved faster, sailing over the ship, over the thunderous surf, and out toward a shape that looked more and more like an iceberg.

Yes.  Iceberg.

And on it stood the most massive polar bear I had ever seen.