A Christmas Spy

The magic surrounding me faded. I found myself on the floor of a large room. The air was stinging cold, large icicles grew from ceiling to floor. Before me, Iris sat on a throne of ice, her eyes locked onto mine.

“Did you really think a little speech and a song could win over me?”

I forced myself to stand. I put my hands behind me so Iris couldn’t see them shaking. I was terrified but knew this was my time. If the things I said were to mean more than just words, the time was now.

I took a step forward. For a moment Iris’s eyes flashed uncertainty.

She doesn’t know what to do with me, and she’s afraid of something.

Another step.

Iris rose and let out a loud whistle. She glanced around the room and whistled again. “Where did that wolf get himself to?” She raised her hands as if to send another capture spell toward me.

I stood my ground, I understood now. Iris’s power over others came from fear. If I gave in, I would be at her mercy. If I faced my fear, no matter how scared I was, she had no power over me.

“I’m not afraid of you, Iris. You cannot stop Christmas. Not now, not ever.” I took another step.

She hesitated, then let out another whistle. The wolf was nowhere to be seen.

“When I get my hands on him… No matter, I can deal with a little boy myself.” Her hands came up once more, the flash of light grew in her hands then flew at me.

I stood my ground, shaking and terrified, but I held firm. I believed, and nothing would change that.

The light surrounded me, but I could still move. I took another step toward Iris. She stepped back, and the light disappeared. The look in her eyes said it all. I took away some of her power by standing up to her, by facing my fear.

She waved her hand once again. The room filled with her tree army. They grabbed my arms, pinning me down. I couldn’t move.

A smile crossed Iris’s face. “Let’s see how brave you are now. I think I need a bigger army. I’ll turn the Elves into my Ice Soldiers and use the reindeer to pull my Ice sled when I steal all the toys from Santa Claus.”

Her laugh sent chills through me. She spun and waved her hands, the wall behind her glowed then turned to clear ice. I could see into the cave. Max and the others gathered around the fading red rock. Their sad eyes told me they were losing the will to believe.

Iris raised her hands. Words of a language I didn’t understand screamed from her mouth. Inside the cave, I could see Elves starting to turn icy grey. Max tried to heat the rock again to warm them, but it wasn’t enough.

I pleaded for her to stop. She just laughed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the wolf creeping into the room. Silent and sneering. He looked at me, eyes burning with anger, then did the most remarkable thing. He winked at me.

The wolf winked at me.

He took a few more steps, then pounced on the Ice Queen. Catching her by surprise and knocking her to the ground, Her spell was broken. The tree army released me and went to help her. The wolf ripped branches and tore at the trunks of the trees as he held Iris on the ground.

I stood frozen in place.

The wolf tossed a tree against the wall, then looked at me and shouted, “Joe, now would be a great time to get back to our friends. Get them to listen to you.”

“Frank?” I said, shocked by the words.

“Yeah, it’s me. No time to explain. I told you my job was to get you here. Now, it’s your turn to save our friends.”

The Ice Queen let out a yell and tossed Frank to the side. She turned toward me. Frank pounced again and yelled, “Now, Joe, now. I won’t be able to hold her here forever.”

I dashed toward the door, dodging branches trying to stop me, then ran down the hall. Just before I made it out, I turned back to see Frank, surrounded by trees, dragging Iris across the room. Backed into a wall, there was nowhere for him to go.

I hoped he’d be okay, but I had no time to think about it. I knew what I had to do.

 

TO BE CONTINUED