Melting the Ice Witch Read Free Page A

sleds; it wouldn't be difficult for Kam to go have a look while everyone else was occupied.
    The dog stood and trotted over to Kam's side when Kam began walking. Lenny had come from the area to the left of the sleds, and Kam felt the bird would be just around one of those hills.
    "You can't smell him, can you?" Kam asked the dog at his side once they were far enough away that the noise wouldn't be noticed. The dog panted, which Kam took as a no. "The wind is against it," Kam mused. The wind was pushing against his back, which meant the dog wouldn't be able to clearly smell anything ahead.
    They walked across the slope of the hill. Too low on the hill and they would get lost in a snowdrift and too high would tax their endurance. Still, Kam was panting by the time they had rounded the second foothill.
    "To the right?" Kam asked. The dog obediently headed in that direction. They trudged on around the hill, Kam's boots doing their best to keep his feet above the line of snow.
    There was a soft kreel in the air that Kam could just barely hear. "The bird?" he asked the dog, who had also frozen at the soft sound. In answer, the animal bounded ahead and vanished into a short rise of snow. Kam hurried to follow, slipping on the ice and accidently dumping some snow into one boot as he tried to catch up.
    There were two dark spots on the ground ten feet ahead. One was the dog and it was gently nosing a much smaller creature that was struggling weakly to get away. Kam hurried over and dropped to his knees at the bird's side.
    "You broke your wing when you fell?" Kam asked sadly as he gently reached out and helped the flailing falcon find his feet. "If we get you back to your owner, I bet he can fix that."
    The bird kreeled again and hopped forward, his broken wing trailing behind piteously. Kam was very careful as he drew the bird into his arms. The talons and beak were still sharp, even with the bird injured, and he didn't want to jostle the wing unnecessarily.
    "He can get it fixed," Lor said harshly behind Kam. Kam jumped in surprise, and then stilled quickly when the falcon thrashed from the sudden movement. "But only if you can find your way back to the sleds," he added in a voice that was quite angry.
    "That's what he's for," Kam said, pointing his chin at the patiently waiting dog.
    Lor just shook his head and grabbed Kam's elbow to help him to his feet. "You never go out into the ice on your own. You never go out without telling anyone. No one wants your death, child," he added.
    Kam looked up at Lor's frown and nodded, feeling chastised but still vindicated. If he had told someone he could find the falcon, they would have laughed and refused to let him go. Yes, it had been dangerous, but it had also been successful. Still, the dark look in Lor's eyes made Kam feel bad. Lor was old. Sometimes Kam forgot just how old. He had seen terrible things happen to children he had seen born, whose parents and grandparents he had seen born. Kam knew that one of the reasons Lor worked so tirelessly for the clan was to stop those things from ever happening again. The look in Lor's eyes as he helped Kam navigate through the drifts told Kam that Lor had seen someone vanish into the snowdrifts. Maybe the person had never been found, or maybe the dead, frozen body had been recovered. The images were clearly haunting Lor, and Kam felt guilty for bringing it up.
    "I've got him!" Lor called as the sleds slowly came into view. The men rushed over.
    "That was really dumb," Carl said as he reached Kam. He cuffed Kam on the back of the head.
    "I'm sorry," Kam said contritely. In hindsight, and with Lor scowling behind him, Kam knew it hadn't been the smartest move. "But I found him," he added, gently holding up the falcon.
    Lenny gave a cry of delight and carefully reached forward to take the falcon from Kam. A hood was quickly put on the bird and leather caps were hooked to his talons. Only then did Lenny and Carl take a look at the broken wing.
    "Don't