Chapter 7

Chapter seven The girls clung to each other tightly as they spun round. Suddenly, they dropped and landed with a bump. The freezing air bit into Aisha's cheeks as she stared at the strange, frozen world around them. "Where are we?" As she spoke, her breath froze in a cloud of ice crystals. She spotted a glint of something pink near her feet. She picked it up. "A pink diamond! I read about them in detention. They can melt anything. They're only found on the Diamond Glacier in the Frozen Wastelands!" The glacier was covered by a thin smattering of snow and underneath, thick ice glistened. They were a little way down from the peak of a huge mountain. A fine mist swirled over the glacier and snow-covered cliffs rose up on either side of them. "But why are we here? And what was that twister? Where did it come from? Ouch!" cried Lily, as a ball of ice fell from the sky and hit her arm. Another fell and then another. Dark clouds were massing overhead. "It's a hailstorm!" whinnied Silver. "Quick, over there!" Zara shouted. She pointed to a dark opening beneath a rocky overhang. They scrambled across the glacier. Once everyone was safely inside the large cave, the girls dismounted. Aisha shivered. The walls were crusted over with ice and pointed white icicles hung from the ceiling like dangerous, jagged teeth. At the back of the cave, a tunnel led further into

the mountain. "That storm is lethal!" said Phoebe, as the hail pounded down outside. "It's not the only thing that's lethal," said Zara worriedly. "Sabretoothed polar bears live in the Frozen Wastelands. They attack on sight." She looked round. "I hope one doesn't live in this cave." "Why are we here?" Lily said. "Did you all hear that voice in the twister?" Phoebe nodded and mimicked it. "I've been watching you. I want you. Come!" "Someone obviously used magic to bring us here," said Zara grimly. There was a laugh from behind them and a flash of green light. "Not just magic, but magic and science combined!" They all swung round as a very tall man in a long black cloak stepped out of the tunnel at the back of the cave. He had a pointed moustache and slicked-back dark hair. Silver rings flashed on his long fingers as he rubbed his hands together. "Welcome to my domain!" "Count Thornberry!" gasped Aisha, recognising him from the picture in the book. "Indeed!" the count bowed. "I brought you here using a wind created by one of my weather machines." Zara was outraged. "You kidnapped us? Why?" "Because I need one of you," the count said. "Which one?' demanded Zara. "The unicorn who is the energy thrower. The one with the pink and blue mane who destroyed my tidal wave." The count pointed at Silver, his eyes gleaming. "I have been watching you from afar using a magic telescope. Your power is extraordinary. If I use it to amplify my inventions, I will be able to bring this island to its knees!" Aisha realised the count had made a mistake. He thought Silver was Shimmer because Silver's mane and tail was now coloured pink and blue from the hair crayons. "But that's not—" Silver cut her off. "What do you want me to do?" he asked boldly, stepping forward.

Aisha stared at him. Why was her unicorn pretending to be Shimmer? Silver's eyes met hers briefly and he winked. She hoped that he had a plan, and felt sick at the thought of him putting himself in danger. The count addressed Silver. "With your energy magic and my weather machines, we can create the biggest ice storm ever. The purple tornadoes, the tidal wave, the heat wave, they were merely practice for the main event. This winter storm will cover Unicorn Island in a solid sheet of ice. Neither science nor magic could achieve such a feat on their own. When

we succeed, I, Count Lysander Thornberry the Eighth, will be taken seriously at last!" The girls' shocked silence was broken by a ferocious roar. A huge sabre-toothed polar bear was in the entrance to the cave. Its small eyes gleamed and long tusk-like teeth curved out of its mouth. Phoebe and Lily screamed and the unicorns whinnied in alarm. The bear's tiny eyes blazed with fury and it reared up, slashing at the air with claws as long as swords. It opened its cavernous mouth and roared again. Quicker than lightning, the count pulled a small instrument from his pocket. Holding it steady, he pressed a blue button. A jet of water arced across the cave and covered the angry bear. As the droplets of water hit the bear's fur, the water froze and the bear slowed and stiffened in place, becoming an ice statue. The count smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes. "That is just a small example of what I can do. Come with me, energy unicorn," he

ordered, pointing at the tunnel behind him. "No," said Silver bravely. "You can't make me help you." The count glanced at the frozen sabre-toothed polar bear, then, holding up the portable weather machine, he aimed it at Silver. "I think I can." Silver stood his ground. "I won't be able to help you if you freeze me." Count Thornberry moved the machine so that it pointed at the others. "That's true, but I don't need your friends. I shall imprison them and, if you don't help me, you can watch them turn to ice." A twisted smile spread across his face. "One by one!"