Frostbyte Chapter One

There are Legends that dwell
In the Hidden Places of Neopia.
Some are of the Light, but Others. . .
Others are of the Darkest Kind.

Lady Jerdana, ‘The Chronicles of Neopia’


Prologue

Jhudora threw the massive wooden table on its side, providing the best shelter to be had in the entire room for her companions. Her Draik henchman Albert scurried from the corner as quickly as he could manage with Jhudessa tucked protectively in his arms, leaping past Jhudora as he ducked behind the table. The Creature dived at him as he passed, relentless in pressing its attack. At least until the Dark Faerie chased it away yet again with another fireball.

Parrot took advantage of the Creature’s retreat to press his own attack, diving down from the shadows of the rafters. The Mutant Weewoo was clutching a burning torch in his claws, seemingly a poor weapon in a battle of such powerful magic except that the shadowy being seemed to be an ice elemental of some type and cautious of fire. The little guy was certainly fearless; Jhudora had to give him that, watching as he chased the Creature in and out through the rafters and various furnishing of the room.

“Watch yourself!” she called out.

“It isn’t after me,” Parrot called back, darting aside sharply as the Creature suddenly turned back on him.

Jhudora had no idea what the Creature might be; she had never seen its like before. It seemed to be a wraith or demon of intense cold, wrapped in a mantle of black shadows and blue frost. It had appeared suddenly in the place that she called her Throne Room, that chamber where she sat as she issued her quests and rewarded those who returned successful, blasting through a shuttered window. She had assumed at first that it was after Jhudessa, mindful as she was of the tiny Dark Faerie Lupe’s place in Prophecy. But she was no longer so certain. It seemed to attack anything that moved; two of her own henchmen and a hapless Wocky on a Quest had already felt its icy touch, reduced to frozen statues.

And if Parrot was determined to play the part of the warrior, she would have to even the odds a bit. Trusting that Jhudessa would be safe for the moment, she leaped across the room in three strides and dived behind her throne, reaching behind to draw out a wand from the stash of weapons she kept hidden for just such emergencies. She retreated back to the table just as quickly, placing herself between her child and the relentless attacks of the Ice Wraith.

“Parrot!” She called out, holding up the wand for him to see. When the Creature shot past a moment later, she tossed the wand to the Mutant Weewoo just behind. “Wand of Supernova!”

“Doesn’t the Pant Devil always steal these?” he asked as he caught the wand in one claw, still holding the torch in the other.

“When has the Pant devil ever taken anything from me?”

Only when she prepared her own attack did Jhudora notice that her arm was encased in clear ice. This was of no consequence to a Faerie, although she had to knock her arm sharply against the side of the table a few times before the ice shattered and fell away. Then she stepped aside as another icy blast hit the table behind her, and Jhudessa whimpered softly. Albert was bent over completely so that the baby Lupe was protected beneath him; he seemed unharmed even though a thin layer of ice covered the armor over the Draik’s back.

“I’m beginning to get royally miffed!” she declared.

The Creature paid her no mind whatsoever, not that she had been expecting it. In fact, she was starting to look forward with wicked delight to her chance to blast the ice demon to frosty bits. She was all the more annoyed that it seemed to be playing with them, leading Parrot on a merry chase back and forth through the chamber. He had since abandoned the torch as needless baggage as he wielded his Wand of Supernova expertly, his larger wings and long tail as a Mutant Weewoo serving him well in keeping pace with the Creature.

In fact, he was usually so close behind that Jhudora was forced to be cautious with her own magic, although neither of them had accomplished anything so far other than scorching the grey stone walls of her lair.

“Albert, I’m setting a trap,” she said quietly. “I want you to ignore the next thing I tell you.”

“I understand, my Dark Mistress,” the Draik agreed.

“Run, Albert!,” She declared loudly. “I’ll cover you!”

“At once, my Dark Mistress!” Albert responded. Being the clever Draik that he was, he had even removed his helmet and now pushed the top around the end of the overturned table.

The Creature responded at once, diving in to attack just as she expected. A blast of deadly ice met one of Jhudora’s fireballs in midair, and the explosion that followed allowed Parrot to blast the Wraith from behind. It hesitated, stunned by the attack, giving the Dark Faerie a chance to hit it squarely with her best magic. Parrot followed up with three more rapid blasts from his Wand of Supernova.

The Wraith should had literally been blown apart under such a powerful barrage, and Jhudora was a bit surprised when it hovered for a moment before the red glow of its eyes faded and it collapsed to the floor. She approached it cautiously, tempted to continue to blast it with her magic until she was ceratin that it had been utterly destroyed. A sheet of ice began to spread outward in all directions from where it lay, intensely cold beneath her bare feet despite her Faerie immunity. Parrot circled twice and then landed a short distance away.

The Wraith recovered quickly, launching itself into the air faster than Jhudora could react. A blast of icy mist caught Parrot, encasing the Mutant Weewoo in a shell of clear ice. The Creature circled around, darting as fast as lightning as it snatched up the frozen statue. It circled Jhudora closely, taunting her, before it shot out the open window.

“Parrot! No!” she cried out in fury and desperation.

The Dark Faerie spread her wings, launching herself in swift pursuit. She had to land on the window ledge briefly, folding her wings to get past the wreckage of the shutters. The Ice Wraith was already nowhere to be seen. For a long moment she was lost in conflict, her need to rescue Parrot and her desire for revenge weighed against the reality that she did not dare leave Jhudessa unprotected, at least until Fyora arrived. This could be a trick to draw her away. Spreading her wings, she dropped back down inside.

* * *

Judge Hog was seated at his desk reading through a stack of reports when the door of his office flew open and Jhudora marched in. He thought for a moment that she must have a broken arm, until he realized that she was wearing a baby sling around her neck when the head of a Baby Lupe emerged from one end. From her look he knew that something was seriously wrong.

“Where are they?” she demanded quietly and coldly.

The Masked Moehog actually understood at once what she meant. “My agents on Krawk Island reported that they boarded the Maelstrom and departed for some unknown destination the evening of the day before yesterday. I don’t expect their business to take too much longer, but I can’t predict that. Why?”

“My fortress came under attack,” she explained. “It was a wraith or elemental of ice, but unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I assumed that it was after Jhudessa, but in the end it froze Parrot and took him away. I intend to get him back.”

Judge Hog was somewhat surprised. “Why would you care? Owners get frozen all the time.”

“He was defending Jhudessa,” Jhudora told him, glaring at him so sternly that he drew back. “He’s Bilbo’s friend and Ariana’s friend, and that makes him my friend. Beyond that, no one comes into my Fortress and takes what they want with answering to me sooner or later.”

“Parrot.” He searched his memory. “The Mutant Weewoo who accompanied you on your quest to find the Xweetari? Resourceful little chap, as I recall. Crackin’ good writer, too.”

“Do you plan to help?” she demanded.

“Yes, of course,” he assured her. “With a creature like that on the loose, this becomes Defender business. Who do you need on this mission?”

“I don’t go anywhere without my apprentice,” Jhudora said. “Bilbo has to stay behind at Fyora’s Palace and help take care of Jhudessa. Other than that, just a couple of members of the Guild I’ve worked with before.”

“Lady Nim?”

She shook her head. “I’ll ask her, but I think she has something called ‘Finals’. Final what is beyond me. Sounds fatal.”

“As you see fit.” He signed an order and handed it to her. “This allows you to requisition any weapons and potions you need.”

* * *

Jhudora entered the main doors of the NTAG like she was storming a castle, immediately launching a minor fireball into the chandelier in the entrance hall. The crystals rattled alarmingly and a Lutra tumbled out with a startled squeal. She caught it deftly and flipped it over on its back in her arm, poking the open end of a potion bottle into its mouth. The Lutra’s form shifted and grew, becoming that of Neopia’s only Faerie Lutari.

“I assume that I’ve volunteered for another mission,” Reve remarked as the Dark Faerie set her down.

“Ninjina!” Jhudora called out loudly before turning back to the Lutari. “We won’t be leaving until Ariana returns, but I expect you to spend the time practicing your flying. You never quite got the better of it last time.”

Jina poked her head around the side of a doorway, not quite daring to enter. “What is it?”

Jhudora tossed her a potion. “Parrot has been frozen. We’re going to get him back.”

Jina was staring at the bottle. “Another Island Uni? Aw, man!”