He looked up the slope of the mountain, staring into the growing clouds. It was afternoon, which meant the storm was coming. Wind whistled, and in the dragonskin, he was far warmer than he ever had been before. It fit him well, molding to him, and he started forward.
As he walked, he plunged through the snow. If the ice dragon was right and he was able to use power without the dragon, then he should be able to employ it to walk above the snow.
How had Henry and Therin done it?
They had imagined it. At least, that was what they claimed. In doing so, they’d allowed power to flow through them, and they were able to summon enough to walk above the snow.
Jason focused on power, letting it fill him. As he did, he found himself floating.
He laughed to himself. Maybe he could do that.
As he walked, the wind no longer bothered him quite as it had. He lost track of time as he headed up the face of the mountain, and he tried to count off how many days he had been gone.
Several days. In that time, what had changed here? His sister should have had enough meat, and yet, he wondered if she did.
When he reached the edge of the village, he saw a figure behind his home.
They were digging through the snow.
The thief.
Jason darted forward and grabbed them, throwing them down. He used more force than he had intended, drawing upon power he didn’t know he had.
The person rolled over and Reltash looked up at him.
“Dreshen?”
“You’ve been stealing from us?” Jason said. He stood over Reltash. “You would deprive my family?”
Reltash stared at him. “Who did you steal the dragonskin from?”
“No one from our village.” He leaned close. As he grabbed Reltash, he lifted, drawing power through the ice dragon. He threw Reltash back. “You will leave my family alone. You will not steal from us.”
“And why not? You have to be stealing from someone. There’s no way you would have caught that much on your own.”
“What makes you think I was on my own?” Jason loomed toward him. “If I find you stealing again, I will make sure it’s the last thing you do.”
He glared at Reltash until the thief scrambled away, disappearing into the growing darkness.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Jason turned back to the home and headed inside. There was no one within, and he paused, looking around, checking the back room. His mother was there, resting quietly, breathing comfortably.
Where was his sister?
It was late enough that she should be here.
Unless…
Jason stepped back outside, looking down the slope of the mountain.
He ran, sliding every so often, but mostly running, and he reached the cave.
When he darted inside, he held his breath. He could feel the ice dragon somewhere in here, drawing upon his energy, but there was something else, and he wasn’t sure what it was.
As he approached, he did so slowly, carefully, holding on to the power of the ice dragon. It was a time like this that he wished he had the dragon pearls, but maybe he truly didn’t need them. He still had the strange connection to the iron dragon, the glove that had formed over his hand, and with that, he had a link to a different sort of power.
He reached the inside of the cave. A figure stared down into the water. A pair of crystal blue eyes looked back up, but the dragon didn’t move.
Was that a Dragon Soul? They were clad in a heavy black cloak, a thick fur that reminded him of Henry, but he didn’t think so. None of the Dragon Souls would wear that kind of clothing—other than Therin.
The build wasn’t right for Therin. He thought Therin was still gone, and he doubted the man would’ve returned to the cave, not without reinforcements. He would’ve known better, and would’ve realized that he wouldn’t have much of a chance at trying to capture and control the dragon without having other Dragon Souls with him.
There was only one other person he could think of.
“Kayla?”
She spun toward him, her eyes wide. Her gaze swept over him, pausing at his dragonskin cloak, then moving to his hand, and finally to his waist. Jason looked down before realizing he had a sword strapped there, a weapon he had never used and had no idea how to wield.
“Jason. There’s a… There is a…”
He stepped forward, grabbing her, wrapping his arms around her. He took a deep breath, nodding. “I know.”
“There’s a dragon in the stream.”
“I know.” He led her away, motioning for her to sit, and she did so slowly.
“How long have you known?” she asked him.
“Since the last time I was gone.”
“You didn’t tell anyone?”
“I couldn’t. They would’ve tried to hunt him.”
“This is a dragon.”
“I know. And there’s something you should know.” Jason glanced to the dragon, who poked his head slightly out of the water before retreating. His eyes blinked before they disappeared altogether. Jason frowned. The dragon had wanted her to see him. “It’s about our father and how he died.”
“A dragon killed him.”
“That’s what we believed, but that’s not how he died.” He took a deep breath. It was long past time that his sister knew. It would make it easier if she did. Perhaps he could convince her to head down the base of the mountain, to safety, where he didn’t have to worry about her finding enough to eat. “Let me tell you what I’ve been doing.”
“I want to know about the dragon.”
“What I’ve been doing has been all about the dragon.”
Kayla turned toward him. Jason took a deep breath and then began to tell her everything.
The Dragon Misfits continue with book 3: Forest Dragon!
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Ice Dragon. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.
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D.K. Holmberg
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