The Dragons of Ice and Snow Read Free Page B

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 comes 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