The Dragons of Ice and Snow Read online

  Kronk was watching the two of them silently, but became thoughtful at Simon's statement.

  “It is possible, master, but I would hate to think that. A paladin would never ally with the dragons. They are evil, pure and simple, while a paladin is sworn to light and goodness.”

  “Unless she was perverted by the dark gods,” Aeris said ominously. “Who knows what's been going on in this desolate place over the last four years?”

  Simon began to speak but was cut off by a high-pitched, screeching cry. It echoed and shivered in the frigid air around them and reminded the wizard of claws grating across metal.

  “What the hell was that?” he whispered frantically.

  “It...sounded like a summons, master,” Kronk said.

  “A summons? Oh, wonderful,” Aeris replied with his usual sarcasm. “Maybe Simon's right. Gate out and rethink this whole thing.”

  “Hang on,” the wizard hissed, holding up a hand. He frowned as the air in the room suddenly became even colder. He could actually hear the frost on the walls snapping and cracking and watched with a stab of fear as it thickened and spread, creeping like a living thing up to the ceiling and down to flow across the floor.

  “What the hell is going on?” he whispered, his tongue tripping on his words as his shivers became more violent.

  “Master?” Kronk reached up and touched the stiff sleeve of the wizard's coat. “You are shaking badly.”

  Aeris watched Simon with sudden alarm.

  “We have to get out of here,” he told them. “The dragon is doing something, lowering the temperature. Our dear wizard will not survive for long in this place.”

  Simon was having trouble thinking, his body wracked with increasingly violent shudders. But through the cold, a sudden idea popped into his mind and stopped him from casting his Gate spell.

  “I...know what it's doing,” he gasped, his lips numb with cold. “It wants me to try to cast something. Dragons can sense magic. If...”

  He dropped Bene-Dunn-Gal and rubbed his face with his gloves for a moment, trying to warm it.

  “If I cast anything, it will smash through the walls and crush all of us.”

  There was a moment of silence as the elementals absorbed this idea.

  Simon picked up his staff again as he waited for any suggestions from his friends.

  “By the Four Winds,” Aeris said with a touch of despair. “You're right. That's exactly what it's doing.”

  He rose up toward the ceiling, quickly scanned the room and then dropped down again.

  “Over there,” he pointed toward a far corner. “There's another door. Perhaps we can put enough distance between ourselves and that cursed beast to give you time to cast a Gate spell.”

  Simon nodded convulsively.

  “Okay, let's go. Anything's better than hiding here until I freeze to death. Aeris, you lead.”

  “Right. Follow me. Quietly,” he added with emphasis.

  The air elemental floated slowly forward, weaving carefully around the machinery and scattered crates in the room. Simon and Kronk followed, with the wizard trying not to slip on the ice-covered floor.

  Kronk's rocky feet seemed to get a decent grip on the slippery surface and he moved next to Simon, watching him anxiously.

  The painfully slow progress of the three meant it took them a few minutes to cross the large warehouse floor, but they finally reached the far door.

  Simon shoved the thick metal door and winced as the frozen hinges squealed in the still air.

  “Damn it,” he whispered.

  The door opened far enough for him to squeeze through and the elementals followed him.

  The next room was even larger than the last. Simon looked around and noticed long assembly lines with dozens of boxes scattered all over the place. Whatever had been built in this plant had been put together in this room.

  The frost covering the floor and the walls was even thicker in here and his footsteps crunched loudly as he slowly moved toward some heavy machine and crouched down in its shadow.

  “Is there another way out of here?” he asked Aeris as he slipped Bene-Dunn-Gal over his shoulder and began rubbing his arms to try to warm them.

  “I'll check,” the air elemental replied and floated off silently.

  In the silence of the room, Simon could hear his own heart beating, throbbing in his ears. A reddish pulse flashed across his vision at each beat and he realized that he was probably as frightened as he had ever been in his life.

  “Master,” Kronk began. “You have to get out of here. This cold will be your death if you don't...”

  The little guy's voice trailed off as a distant sound, coming from the opposite side of the warehouse from where Simon thought the dragon was lurking, intruded on the brooding silence of the building.

  It was the sound of massive wings flapping, their measured beat approaching rapidly.

  Simon groaned.

  “Another dragon,” he whispered as he looked at Kronk. “You were right. That first one was calling for help.”

  Aeris flew back to them and gestured behind him.

  “There are double-doors leading to a courtyard,” he told them in a hushed voice. “The building seems to have an open area in the center, perhaps it was a garden or something once. It is covered with a thin layer of snow but is not too large. Beyond are other doors leading into the far side of the warehouse, or plant or whatever this place was.”

  He glanced upward as the beating wings seemed to pass directly above them and then faded again.

  “It is the only way out of this part of the building, Simon. Unless you want to try magic, you'll have to leave in that direction.”

  The wizard shook his head stiffly.

  “Casting now, with two dragons this close, would be suicide. Lead us to the doors, Aeris, and I'll try to figure out our next move.”

  “Okay. This way.”

  Simon and Kronk moved carefully after the air elemental, dodging boxes and conveyor belts and trying not to make too much noise on the frozen floor. They had to stop twice as the sound of dragon wings got closer and then faded again.

  “One of them is patrolling,” the wizard told the elementals. They nodded silently.

  They finally reached the doors leading to the outside. Both had small windows inset into them and Simon used his sleeve to wipe off some of the frost that obscured his view.

  Just as Aeris had said, there was a small, square yard beyond the doors. Several little trees, weighed down with snow and icicles, stood forlornly in what might once have been a garden, their skinny limbs hanging almost to the ground.

  The snow had been cleared by the wind and was banked along the walls and the ground looked cracked and barren. Simon thought that it was level enough for him to run across without slipping. Hopefully.

  On the other side of the open area, an identical pair of doors led into the building again. One was hanging off of its hinges and the darkness beyond made it impossible to see inside. The courtyard itself looked to be no more than forty feet across.

  Simon hunkered down again as the flapping sound approached. This time he looked up through the window in time to see the blazingly white shape of a dragon as it quickly flew into and out of sight again.

  “The beast seems to be circling in a regular patrol,” he said to the others. “We're going to have to time it and run as soon as it passes by overhead. Hopefully I'll have enough time to get across the yard before it comes around again.”

  “As good a plan as any, my dear wizard,” Aeris said.

  The three of them waited, Simon shaking constantly in the cold now, for the white dragon to approach. When it did, the wizard waited for it to pass and then began counting under his breath.

  “One one thousand, two one thousand,” he muttered, listening intently.

  He reached a count of twenty-five seconds before the sounds of the dragon reached them again.

  “Okay, I think I have enough time to cross that yard before the dragon co
mes around again,” he said.

  “Are you sure, master?” Kronk asked him. “You are cold and stiff. You might not be able to run very well right now.”

  “He has a point,” Aeris said soberly. “If you get caught in the open, things will get very bad, very quickly.”

  Simon chuckled humorlessly.

  “Worse than being trapped in this place with dragons listening and waiting for me to make a mistake? Yeah, thanks, but I'll take doing something to save myself over acting like a mouse waiting for a snake to strike.”

  The dragon passed overhead.

  “I'm going as soon as it flies by again. Don't you two wait for me. Get across the yard and under cover as quickly as you can.”

  Aeris grinned bleakly.

  “We're not going to slow you down, so don't worry about us,” he said. “Just make sure you move your ass.”

  Simon let out a surprised laugh and then clapped a hand over his mouth.

  The air elemental winked.

  “There, that's better. Less doom and gloom, more optimism, my dear wizard. That will get us all through this.”

  The wizard nodded at Aeris' uncharacteristically cheerful attitude.

  He's right, Simon thought. The cold is depressing me, but we're far from dead.

  He slipped Bene-Dunn-Gal off of his back and gripped it firmly.

  Far from dead, or powerless, he added to himself, feeling a bit more resolute than he had been.

  The dragon was approaching.

  “Okay, get ready.”

  The flapping sound got closer and Simon took a deep breath.

  A flash of glittering white overhead and then the beast had passed.

  “Now!” he exclaimed in a terse whisper.

  He grabbed the handle of the door and pushed it hard with his shoulder. For a heart-stopping moment, the door refused to budge and then, with a grating, squealing protest of frozen hinges, it opened just wide enough for the wizard to leap through.

  Crap. They may have heard that.

  He let go of the thought and began to run, concentrating on his footing.

  Simon was alarmed when he realized that he was barely moving faster than walking speed. His joints had stiffened up and his muscles felt like rusty springs, snapping and throbbing at each footfall.

  His run across the courtyard was more of a stagger but he plowed on anyway. Stopping or retreating now was simply not an option.

  Neither Kronk or Aeris had raced ahead to the open door as he had told them to do. Simon was irritated but not surprised. The elementals' loyalty was unquestionable now and he found himself touched yet again by their concern for his safety over their own.

  Finally, after what felt like hours but was only seconds, he reached the open door and tumbled inside.

  Not a moment too soon. The sound of dragon wings seemed to fill the air as the patrolling monster swept overhead again.

  The three waited, Simon holding his breath, to see if they had been spotted.

  But the dragon flew smoothly by on its patrol and the sound of flapping faded again.

  “We made it, master!” Kronk said gleefully in a hushed voice.

  “So far,” Aeris added darkly. “But we're hardly out of danger yet.”

  He looked around the room and Simon stood up slowly and did the same.

  This part of the plant/warehouse had been mostly emptied of whatever it had housed once.

  Weapons, the wizard thought. It wouldn't surprise me if it had been weapons of some sort.

  Unlike the other section of the building, there was a faint tang in the air here. It smelled like a mixture of heavy engine oil and...

  Simon sniffed loudly.

  Gunpowder.

  On the floor there were smears of grease mixed with the frost and several frozen puddles. Only a few scattered boxes, crushed and tossed aside, remained of whatever this room had once held.

  “There,” Aeris said quietly and pointed.

  Across the gloomy, cavernous room, fifty yards or more, there was a faint outline lit by the external sunlight. A door.

  “Okay, guys,” Simon said as he began to walk toward the exit. He steered clear of the oily patches on the ground.

  “That has to be our way out.”

  Kronk and Aeris flanked him on either side and nodded as he looked at them.

  “We'll wait for the patrolling beast to pass by and make a break for it. There's bound to be some sort of cover out there to duck behind.”

  They reached the door and the wizard glanced at Aeris, who was shaking his head.

  “What?” Simon asked.

  “Make a break for it and hope for cover? That's a ridiculous plan,” the air elemental said caustically. “Let me go out there and scout out a path before you charge through the door. Much more sensible, don't you think?”

  Before the wizard could reply, from the direction they had come a bellowing roar shook the air, followed by the sound of smashing glass and snapping metal.

  “Damn it!” Simon said as he spun around. “Sounds like that dragon's gotten tired of waiting! It's forcing its way into the building, danger or no danger.”

  He looked at Aeris.

  “I think we'll go with my plan. There's no time to scout.”

  Aeris looked over his shoulder angrily.

  “Is the beast insane? It will be slashed in a thousand places before it reaches us.”

  “I do not think it cares,” Kronk said. He looked up at Simon.

  “If we are going to make a run for it, master, I think now would be the best time.”

  Simon nodded and then listened intently. The dragon was now making such a racket that he could barely hear his own thoughts.

  “Can either of you hear the patrolling dragon?” he asked the elementals.

  Both of them cocked their heads, but it was a waste of time. The dragon did indeed sound like it was tearing itself to pieces as it ripped apart the building in its desperate attempt to get to the wizard.

  “How can we be expected to hear anything above that noise?” Aeris asked, almost shouting.

  “Fine,” Simon yelled. “Then we're going on the count of three. Remember, just find the nearest cover and hide until we can get a idea of where that second dragon is.”

  He looked from Aeris to Kronk. Both were watching him tensely.

  “Okay. Here we go. One...two...three!”

  On three, Simon smashed through the metal door, almost falling as it opened easily, as if its hinges had been freshly oiled. He ran two steps, maybe three and pulled up short as he found his way blocked.

  The sun had blinded him as he left the darkened building and he took a second to focus on the obstacle ahead.

  His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

  It was the head of a dragon.

  Chapter 2

  Simon gaped at the dragon. It was hunched down, wings tight against its sides, with its chin resting on the ground. The head, at least eight feet in length, was scarred and singed, layered with ivory scales. And its two burning yellow eyes glared at him with a staggering hatred.

  The wizard had no spells prepared. He'd been afraid to tip off the dragon behind them, so he didn't even have his Shield spell up. In the time it would take to cast a spell, even using his staff, the dragon would either incinerate him or blast him with its icy breath. So he did the only thing that he could: as the dragon's head began to rise and it started to inhale massive amounts of air prior to its attack, Simon lifted Bene-Dunn-Gal over his shoulder and flung it like a javelin, straight down the dragon's throat.

  The beast froze, its eyes widened and a small sound, like a little squeak, ludicrously escaped from its mouth. And then, from deep inside its gullet, a dull thump, like a far-off detonation, went off. The neck expanded in a round bubble and Simon leaped to one side as the dragon's neck literally exploded, tearing its monstrous head from it body and sending it bouncing across the frozen ground.

  Gallons of greenish blood, smoking in the frigid air, sp
ewed from its torn neck and Simon stood in morbid fascination, and watched the huge beast's remains writhe and twist in its death agonies.

  A sudden shove between his shoulder blades made the wizard stumble forward.

  “No time for sight-seeing. Let's get out of here before its fellow shows up behind us!”

  Aeris shot by the wizard and led the way. Simon and Kronk followed as quickly as they could, the wizard still in shock.

  A scream of rage and the continued sounds of destruction indicated that the first dragon had heard the short battle and was frantically trying to make its way through the warehouse.

  The trio ran. Beyond a line of low buildings, Simon spotted a vast, frozen lake. A freezing wind blew clouds of snow and icy mist across it, obscuring his view. Aeris looked back at him and pointed toward the glassy surface.

  “If we go that way,” he called, “at least the beast won't be able to see us.”

  Simon nodded.

  “Go, go,” he yelled and ran down a mild, snow-covered slope and on to the surface of the lake.

  The ice looked slippery but was rough from the constant grind of frozen particles being blown across it by the relentless wind and Simon found the footing to be more stable than he'd imagined it could be.

  It was just as well. As they disappeared on to the lake, behind them came such a shriek of rage and loss that the wizard clapped his hands to his ears. The first dragon had found the body of its companion.

  “We're almost to the shore, master,” Kronk called back to him and Simon shook himself out of the memory of their escape from the white dragons and focused on the view ahead.

  The lake ended at a rocky, uneven shoreline. Beyond, the ground rose up sharply, drifts of snow and humps of rock giving it an alien, forbidding look.

  As the trio approached it, the wind lost its power and became more of a stiff breeze. It was a relief to Simon, who was managing to stay warm only because of the constant running he'd had to do.

  When they stepped off of the frozen lake, the wizard stopped and bent over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. Aeris and Kronk waited for him, the air elemental bobbing in the breeze and watching their rear for any pursuit.