The Dragons of Ice and Snow Read Online Free Page B

groaned and covered
his face with his hands.
    “ I did. But I'd
added so many spells to Bene-Dunn-Gal, including that one, that I
just let it fade from my mind. I never thought I'd need to keep it
locked in my head again.”
    When he lowered his hands,
Simon saw Aeris glaring at him, hands on his hips and bobbing in the
wind.
    “ I told you, didn't
I? Didn't I tell you? Don't depend on that staff, I said. Always have
a backup plan, I said. Never...”
    “ Be quiet, Aeris,”
Kronk snapped at him. “Our master doesn't need to hear 'I told
you so' right now.” He looked at the wizard. “What spells do you have memorized,
master?”
    Simon stared at him
blankly and the little earthen moved closer and tugged on his coat.
    “ Master, please. You
can regret later. We must get you under cover before you freeze to
death. Now, what spells?”
    Kronk's matter-of-fact
tone cut through the wizard's wave of despair and he gave himself a
little shake. Aeris was still glowering at him but kept quiet.
    Simon shuffled through his
memory.
    “ Okay. You're right,
Kronk. I'll kick my own butt later. Um, well, I've got the Light
spell. And the Shield spell, thankfully. I have both Magic Mirror and
Magic Mouth memorized. My fire-starting ability is always with me
now. And...” he barked a dry laugh, “Sparkles. Stupid
spell. I can't seem to forget that blasted thing. That's about it.”
    “ Lovely,”
Aeris said disparagingly. “All very useful, I'm sure.”
    Kronk ignored him.
    “ Follow me, master.
I can lead you to that cave entrance. At least you will be able to
get out of the wind.”
    Simon had begun shaking as
soon as they had stopped their run across the lake. He nodded
jerkily.
    “ Yeah, I guess
that's our only option for now. Go ahead, my friend.”
    Kronk spun around and
began to climb the steep slope leading away from the shore. The snow
was caked in layers from months of winter storms and he tip-tapped
across the top of it with ease.
    Simon followed slowly, his
feet crunching through the crust of snow. Fortunately it wasn't deep.
His legs were aching within a few steps and he began to sweat again.
    At least I won't freeze
right now, he thought glumly. He still couldn't believe that they
were in this situation.
    No spell-book. No
Bene-Dunn-Gal. He was weaker than a novice wizard now. Why hadn't he
kept more useful spells memorized?
    Well, after this, I'm
definitely going to nail more of them into my brain, he thought,
angry at himself. If I survive.
    He climbed and slipped up
the rugged slope. It leveled off somewhat, eventually, but still led
upward. Barren hills could be seen in the distance, snow-covered and
silent. That was the way that Kronk was heading.
    “ Any idea how far it
is?” Simon called.
    The earthen looked over
his shoulder as he kept moving forward.
    “ Not far, master.
Perhaps a mile. The ground is broken and uneven but you should reach
it in about a half-hour.”
    “ Good. That's good,
Kronk. Thanks.”
    The little guy waved and
kept moving.
    Aeris flew up on Simon's
right. His disapproving expression had faded and the wizard noticed
him glancing from left to right, scanning the area in front of them.
    “ Looking for
something?” he asked the elemental, feeling a little
breathless.
    “ Yes. If we want to
keep you alive, my dear wizard, then we'd better find you something
to burn. As an elementalist, you can still start fires with your
mind, so let's use what magic you do have instead of pining for what
you don't.”
    Simon looked at him in
surprise and Aeris smiled hesitantly.
    “ I was wrong to
berate you,” he said quietly, after a quick glance at Kronk.
“While I didn't approve of that staff, it destroyed itself to
save your life. And it isn't your fault for depending on it so much.
Wizards back in the old days did the same.”
    “ Did they? Well,
that doesn't make me feel any better about my own stupidity, but
thanks.”
    The wizard looked across
the bleak landscape.
    “ I don't see