Cloudburst Ice Magic Read Online Free Page A

paused and listened to the wind as he
sorted his thoughts. “I gave her a reason to live. I reminded her
of the magic in life and that she’d be hurting those she loved if
she left them in this way, especially on Christmas.”
    The air currents had changed and the mist
thickened around them as they hiked through the trees. Snow
cascaded down in little flakes, each singing its individual song
along its path. Zach wished Lily stood beside him to hear them.
    “I think we’re getting close.” Cade pointed
through the mist. “The lake smell is getting stronger through
there.” He grimaced. “What was she doing so miserable on Christmas?
Isn’t that a happy time of year for humans?”
    Zach nodded as he followed his friend.
“Yeah, normally. But her twin brother was killed a few years ago on
Christmas Eve. It took the wind out of her sails for a long
time.”
    “Damn. Kinda makes me glad I don’t have a
twin.”
    “We’re all glad you don’t have a twin,
Cade.” Zach chuckled.
    Cade flashed a grin full of canines. “Shut
up.”
    The mists ahead of them shifted and cleared
into an archway manned by two hulking Ice Demon guards who would
have been poster children for the Abominable Snowman. Their
shoulders would have been twice of Zach’s and their canines
stretched almost to their chins. Zach stood at six-two, tall for
his clan, but these two made him feel like a dwarf.
    “State your name and business in coming to
Mistweaver Tarn.” They spoke in the Ice Demon native tongue, but
their accents were old and Zach had the odd sensation of stepping
back in time.
    Cade drew himself up to his full height,
which still only came to the guards’ chests. “I’m Cade Cliffrose of
the Western Peaks clan and friend of the Oro Creek clan. I’ve
brought Zachary Snow of the Sandfoot clan for an introduction to
the Matriarch.”
    “Be welcome, Cade Cliffrose. Please observe
all protocols until properly introduced.” The guards stepped back
and gestured them through.
    Cade inclined his head and Zach followed him
under the archway, his mind churning.
    “You didn’t tell me you were from the San
Francisco Peaks area.”
    Cade winked. “You never asked outright. I
did say my home range melts every summer.”
    “I never would’ve guessed you were from
there.” Zach grimaced. “Everyone I’ve met from the area seemed
really full of themselves.”
    “Yeah. That’s why I leave most of the time.
Gotta go back every now and again to talk to family, though.” Cade
shrugged. “Granddad likes to pretend he’s a god or some shit like
that. Drives me up the crags.”
    The terrain shifted from wooded turf to
grooved, glaciated stone and they stopped at the edge of a
mist-shrouded lake. Zach couldn’t determine how large it was, but
the scents emanating from the water and surrounding rocks suggested
deep age. Some of his tension bled away from his mind and his
shoulders relaxed. Damn, Lily would love it here.
    The thought of his mate brought all his
concern back and Zach scanned the misty world around him for anyone
beyond Cade.
    “What are we supposed to do now?”
    “You don’t get out much, do you?” Cade
snorted. “You wait patiently. Hopefully, the Oro Creek Matriarch is
in the mood to be timely. If you’re too impatient, she could make
you wait hours.”
    “But Lily and the others don’t have hours.”
Zach tightened his hands into fists to keep his temper from
exploding. “The Spring Fling is going on now and she could be
buried at any moment.”
    “I know, Snow.” Cade’s mouth flattened.
“Just keep cool. The more calm you are, the faster she’ll see
us.”
    Frustration mixed with fear made waiting
difficult and Zach tried to occupy himself studying the ice
formations along the lakeshore to keep the emotions at bay. He
remembered his mother once telling him to picture an ice flow. It
moves, but so slowly its movement is difficult to track. Be an
ice flow. Move forward so slowly no one knows you’re