Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire

Chapter 1
The Promise
Sunday, January 8th. 4:00 P.M.
Volcan Crag on Bloodstone Island.

Who killed my mum?

Rosie Frost dangled her ruby pendant in front of her. The blood-­red crystal hung from a gold chain. It was the last link to her mum. Swinging back and forth in the wind, the size of a tangerine segment, it glimmered under the dying rays of the winter sun.

Rosie was standing on a slab of flat gray rock at the base of the Volcan Crag, the vast terrain of Bloodstone Island spread out before her. A hushing sound broke against the shore below, like secret whispers from the Atlantic Ocean. Olivine Bay’s sand was a strange green color.

From here Rosie could see Wildcat Woods, the wetlands where the Konik ponies grazed, and Bloodstone Swamp edged with mossy trees. In the center of it all sat Heverbridge School, with its red brick towers and turrets, and the frozen Black Lake stretching out in front of it. Everything was covered in a thick blanket of fresh snow. This was her new home, and so much had happened since she arrived—­so much.

She held the necklace tightly out in front of her. “Tell me what I need to know,” Rosie whispered.

Nothing.

All she knew was that her mother had been killed nearly six weeks ago. Rosie had been pulled out of her old life in London and sent to this strange school with nothing but a mysterious red briefcase and some clothes. She looked out across the island, gripped the pendant, and frowned. The wind was picking up, whipping her wavy red hair against her face.

“I’m going to find out the truth, Mum,” she said. The air glistened with frost. “Someone took you from me, and I promise they’re going to pay.”

She fastened the necklace back around her neck, then checked her phone. Since she’d found out her mum’s death was deemed “suspicious,” Rosie had sent a ton of messages to the lawyer, Colin Fletcher, the one who’d bundled her off here. After fobbing her emails off with excuses and half-­truths, he had finally promised her he would get back to her with some proper answers imminently.

NO NEW MESSAGES

Unless that had just been another tactic to get rid of her for a bit. She looked out at the moving tide, drawing back and forth like the breath of the Earth. She then pulled out her old diary, which Charlie and Bina had retrieved from the bins last year after it had been stolen. There was one blank page left to fill. Rosie bit on her pen, then began to write.

Dear Mum,

I miss you. Just in case you can still hear me. There is still so much I don’t know about this place; every day I learn something new. Bloodstone is so much bigger than I thought. There’s a palace! Yes, a real palace! I haven’t been there yet. It’s called the Emperium Palace—­it’s this special place, centuries old, and is only for scientists and genius people and is on the north side of the island; that’s all I know for now . . . Did you go to it? There’s going to be a competition, too, a science one—­Bina and Charlie might like it.

Mum . . . are you even listening?

Whoever did this to you—­I’m going to find them. And make them pay.

I promise.

An icy sleet started to fall, stinging her face, and the diary pages flapped in the wind. The island was gently reminding her that she shouldn’t be up here. Rosie ripped out the last page of the book and tore it into small pieces. The wind licked them up into the breeze and they flew out over the ocean.

She closed her diary and put it back in her bag, then looked at her old Flik Flak watch. Yes, she should be getting back. Rosie took one final glance at the milky sky—­darkness was coming.

Her old boots slipped on the snow and the wind blew hard into her face. Walking down a mountain was always harder than going up. She half jumped, half slid down a mossy bank where the track turned steeply down. She landed heavily on the firm ground, crouching down into a deep hollow protected from the wind.

Grrrrr . . .

Rosie stopped. There were wolves on the island, she knew that, but not ones that attacked humans. She stiffened, ears pricked.

Grrrrr . . .

The growl came again, louder this time and sinister, and was then eclipsed by a short, vicious bark.

Rosie bolted, plunging into the dense woodland.

Snarls and panting sounded behind her as the animal snuffled in her scent. Rosie ran faster, weaving through the trees. Her heart was thumping hard as she raced through the dense forest. Vines and spiny leaves swiped at her face.

Whatever it was, it was huge, racing through the frosted branches, and it was almost upon her.

She ran faster. Suddenly her boot caught on a root and she fell full-­length onto the compacted snow. She twisted round, trying to pull herself upright, her feet scrambling, pushing herself away from the creature lumbering toward her.

It stopped dead in front of her. In the semidarkness, Rosie could make out huge yellow eyes and long white teeth. It towered above her, the size of a cow, and curled its lip. Rosie shuffled backward, and it took a slow step closer, still growling.

“Rosie, stay very still,” a familiar voice behind her whispered.

“Ms. Parr!” Rosie said, keeping her eyes on the creature, leaning back. “What is it?”

A torch beam pierced the shadows and Rosie gasped. It had a head like a wolf, but was as large and muscly as a bear, with a pointed nose and small ears, its dark fur flecked with gray and white.

“Be still—­if you move it will attack,” Ms. Parr whispered.

Rosie swallowed, though every muscle in her body tightened, screaming at her to run.

The beast’s eyes glimmered in the light of the torch. It bared its teeth and growled as it lowered its head, lip curled, its hind legs ready to pounce.

“Baa! Baaa!” shouted Ms. Parr, thrusting her stick at it. “Get away! There’s nothing for you here!”

A strange-­looking dog darted out from behind Ms. Parr and started barking frantically, standing between Rosie and the beast. Its front legs and one ear were made of a dull silvery metal.

The beast glanced at the dog, drool dripping from its mouth. Then it blinked, like it couldn’t be bothered, and turned away, loping off into the darkness. Rosie trembled, her heart still thudding so hard she couldn’t hear herself think.

Five seconds passed, then ten, and Ms. Parr seemed to relax.

“It’s gone,” she muttered.

“Was that a wolf?!” Rosie whispered.

“Yes, but a mutant one,” said Ms. Parr, with her hand on her chin. “Wolves don’t naturally grow to that size. Remember what I said about coming up here late in the day, Rosie? You shouldn’t. It’s dangerous.”

“I thought you just meant because of the vapors from Volcan Crag. I didn’t know I’d run into a mutant wolf!” Rosie said, shuddering.

Ms. Parr put out her hand and helped Rosie to her feet. The island’s guardian was dressed in an old, heavy waxed jacket, and had proper stout walking boots on.

“I’ve told you many times the island contains all sorts of animals, some of which can be dangerous to humans. Though the pack of Ethiopian wolves on Bloodstone are lovely creatures.”

“That thing was not lovely,” Rosie said.

“Yes, I’m not sure quite what it was. It looked very like a dire wolf, but they’re extinct. Definitely an experimental breed. I suspect one of the geneticists on the island is getting inventive.”

“You mean it was someone’s science project?” Rosie exclaimed. “And they just let it wander about?”

“Probably escaped its enclosure.” Ms. Parr frowned. “I’ll round it up tomorrow morning with some of the other ground staff, before the students arrive back. It would be a shame if anyone was eaten on the first day of term. And until I do, you shouldn’t come up here again. Even if we do have friendly company watching over us.” Ms. Parr looked up.

“Caw! Caw!” screeched Queen Nike, the resident white falcon of Heverbridge School, circling above them, dutifully on guard. “I heard her calling, so I followed her, then Oddjob picked up someone’s scent; he knew there was trouble. Oddjob, come!”

The strange dog was sniffing the ground where the mutant wolf had been standing. His legs and ear moved just like real ones. His ears pricked up, and with tongue out and eyes wide, he trotted over to join them. He was a big dog, with the barrel belly of a Labrador, mixed with the muscle and coloring of a Doberman—­and large ears like he had some bloodhound heritage too. He sniffed the air. Yes, definitely bloodhound.

“Meet Oddjob,” said Ms. Parr. “You’ve been away for a titanium upgrade, haven’t you, boy?”

“Oh, hi!” Rosie said. “What happened to him?”

“He was knocked over by a car on the mainland when he was still a puppy and lost his front legs, as well as one of his ears. So I brought him to Bloodstone, and the scientists on the other side of the island got to work on him.”

The dog snuffled Rosie’s hand and wagged its tail.

“You’re a mix, aren’t you, Oddjob?” She smiled.

“But mostly Doberman,” Ms. Parr said. “Just watch him run.”

Oddjob was sniffing the ground around the bushes where the giant wolf had disappeared. “He has the scent now, so he’ll lead us to that beast, and we’ll see it’s not left to wander round the island.”Rosie nodded, then glanced down at her phone.

“Still waiting for a reply from your lawyer friend?” Ms. Parr asked, watching Rosie carefully.

Rosie flinched.

“Yes. I think he’s my best chance right now of getting some answers about my mum,” she replied. “And Miss Churchill isn’t telling me anything . . .”

“I thought she explained to you that the circumstances of your mother’s death were suspicious, and investigations are ongoing?” Ms. Parr asked.

“Yes, but, I mean, what else?” Rosie said sharply. “Why would anyone want to kill Mum? She left the red case and a letter for me, but no answers.”

“And your ruby,” Ms. Parr added.

“Yes.” Rosie’s fingers grasped the red crystal.

“Should you be wearing it every day? You must be extremely careful with that, Rosie. It’s irreplaceable—­very old and very valuable.”

“Of course I will. It’s so special to me, Ms. Parr. But the lawyer, Colin, must know more.” Rosie frowned. “If Mum left the case and her letter of wishes with him, she might have told him more. When I last saw her that morning before school, she was happy—­and she mentioned someone was going to help her,” said Rosie. “I thought it was a new job.” She clutched her pendant. “When she died, I thought for a while she might have been ill.

”Ms. Parr put her hand on Rosie’s shoulder. “No, Avaline wasn’t ill.”

“So what happened?” asked Rosie. “And why will no one ever tell me anything? Mum dropped hints about this place, and always said there’d be plenty of time to talk about it later, but there wasn’t!” Rosie’s throat tightened, and she could feel her eyes growing hot with angry tears. “Everyone here is always going on about their families, but I have no mother left and don’t even know who my father is!”

“I’m sorry, Rosie. Perhaps Avaline was just trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

“I can’t say, dear, but gather the facts first and don’t let your temper run away with you. You’re a special girl, and other pupils will look to you for guidance as the winner of the Falcon Queen games. That means you need to be the bigger person—­a role model, so no more food fights, please.”

Since Rosie had won, against all odds, the school’s legendary Falcon Queen games at the end of last term, a lot of things had changed for her. She was no longer the invisible new girl. Now that her name was engraved on the Falcon Queen cup, all the students knew it, and they’d smiled at her in the corridors, wishing her “Happy Christmas” as they’d left to celebrate with their families.

Ms. Parr and Rosie left the woodland and followed the path toward the main school. The sun was just dipping into the velvet skyline, like a farewell for now. Then suddenly, in the distance on the other side of the island, behind the Volcan Crag, a surge of purple and green light, with a thin blue shimmer, rippled across the sky.

“What was that?” said Rosie.

Ms. Parr shook her head. “Strangest thing—­it’s like a trace of aurora borealis. Northern lights, but different. But they never occur this far south.” Ms. Parr cleared her throat. “I wonder if it has something to do with the platform.”

“What do you mean? What platform?” asked Rosie, looking back again at the green flashes in the distance.

“Another science project from the Emperium. The platform is off the north coast,” Ms. Parr said, still watching the sky.

“What’s the Emperium Palace like, anyway?” Rosie nodded to the other side of the Volcan Crag.

“I thought Hitomi would have shown you.”

Hitomi was one of the few students left at Bloodstone over Christmas break.

“Not yet.”

“Well, you have the technology labs, the ceremonial halls and rooms, dormitories for the scientists, et cetera,” Ms. Parr said. “It’s a place of great scientific innovation. Newton, Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie—­they all spent time there.” They’d reached the huge oak door leading into the girls’ dormitory. “You’ll see it tomorrow at the ceremony to launch the Futurology Exhibition, once everyone’s returned. It’s getting late,” said Ms. Parr. “Oddjob, come!” Then she smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rosie. You must have missed Charlie and Bina.”

Rosie nodded and pushed open the door. Oddjob looked up at them and barked, then growled into the gloom again.

“I’m sure she’s safe here, Oddjob! He does like to look after people. But, Rosie, no more wandering off.” Ms. Parr rubbed Oddjob’s ears, then disappeared into the shadows with her dog trotting along beside her.

Rosie looked back at the green lights and frowned.

What exactly was going on in the Emperium Palace?