The Dragons of Ice and Snow Read Free

asked him.
    “ I
just thought that we should try to find out what happened to the
paladin and her people. They aren't here, obviously. They might be
injured and need help, if they survived at all.”
    The
wizard sucked on his lower lip and stroked his staff unconsciously.
There was still nothing but silence from outside.
    “ Or
they set us up,” he said quietly.
    “ What
do you mean?”
    He
shrugged.
    “ We
arrived and were immediately attacked. What are the odds that a
random dragon was just flying overhead as we Gated in? Slim, I would
say.”
    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