Rainbow's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

The ice bridge snapped beneath the rising water. Rainbow caught the far ledge with both hands. Her dragon clawed at the wet stone beside her. IceeRainbowPrince grabbed her wrist, but the current dragged her boots toward the channel. Rainbow looked at her grandmother’s wand. The crystal stayed gray. “I can’t stop it.” “Then don’t stop it,” IceeRainbowPrince said. “Give us something to climb.” He pulled three aurora shards from his pouch. Rainbow understood. The shards could find magic left by the thief. The bristle in her pocket still held that magic. She pressed the bristle against the largest shard. A thin line of color flashed through the ice. It ran up the wall, past her fingers, and toward a crack above the flood. “Hold on,” Rainbow said. Her dragon hooked its claws into the crack. Rainbow shoved the glowing shard into another seam. IceeRainbowPrince pressed the other shards around it. Cold spread across the wall. Ice formed a rough ladder where the thief’s brush had scraped past. Rainbow climbed first. Water struck her legs and tore one hand free. IceeRainbowPrince caught her boot and shoved it back onto the next step. Her dragon climbed after her, scraping deep grooves into the frozen wall. They reached a narrow shelf just before the bridge vanished under brown water. Rainbow pulled IceeRainbowPrince over the edge. He lay flat for a breath, then sat up. A hard white light filled the tunnel ahead. Rainbow had never seen the crystal castle before. Its frosted towers stood beyond the shelf, close enough to touch. Rainbow colors moved inside the icy walls. The castle had a low arch open at its base. IceeRainbowPrincess stepped through the arch. She wore a crystal crown and held a cluster of aurora shards against her chest. Her eyes went to the glowing bristle in Rainbow’s hand. “You followed the brush trail here,” she said. Rainbow rose, dripping. “Did the thief come into the castle?” IceeRainbowPrincess studied the bristle. “No. The brush passed beneath it.” She pointed at the floodwater. “There is an old ice channel below. It leads out of the storm passage.” “The water will fill it,” Rainbow said. “It is already filling,” IceeRainbowPrincess replied. “But the trail is clear now.” Rainbow looked back at the drowned bridge. There was no way back. She slipped the bristle into her pocket and faced the open arch. “Show us the channel,” she said. IceeRainbowPrincess turned into the castle. Rainbow followed with IceeRainbowPrince and her dragon. Behind them, the flood swallowed the last ledge, sealing the broken bridge route for good.