The Dragons of Ice and Snow Read Online Free

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