Dragon Slayer by Michael-Scott Earle

Author:Michael-Scott Earle [Earle, Michael-Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael-Scott Earle
Published: 2018-02-10T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

A nervous silence hung over our party as we rode into the ice-covered land. The massive cliffs beside the trail rose like solid walls of white, and they let off a chill that I felt seeping through my furs into my bones. I gripped the handle of my axe tighter and tried to focus on my surroundings. If any monsters were hiding around us, I wanted to know before we were ambushed.

The trail wound through the ice cliffs for another mile before the mountains ended, and a great, empty expanse of ice stretched out in front of us. My eyes ran across the flat land toward the single sharp mountain peak in the distance. The mountain looked like it was ten or fifteen miles away, and nothing but a barren sea of ice stood between us.

“Frosdan’s lair,” Sir Galfred said in a hushed voice. “We’ll find the ice dragon there.”

I felt a little nervousness tightening in my gut, yet excitement ran through me as well. We were getting closer to our destination where I’d face my first dragon, and the danger of my quest was starting to sink in.

“Keep an eye out for crevasses,” Sir Galfred told us all. “We’ve already lost two of our number, and we can ill-afford any more losses. We will need as many men as possible to defeat the dragon.” He nudged his horse into motion and rode out onto the flat plains of ice.

The rest of us followed in silence. The magnitude of our quest had just gotten a lot more real as we saw our destination, and I had no doubt everyone else was picturing our enemy and the coming fight.

The two Gray Hunters at the head of our column chose the path through the thicker snow drifts rather than over the ice where the horses’ hooves would slip. The soft white powder muffled the sound of our passage, and it seemed we rode through a dead world where the only noise was the whispering of the wind.

And what a fucking icy wind it was. The moment we left the shelter of the cliffs, the wind cut through my furs like a frosty knife. When I pulled the cloak tight around my shoulders, the cold found a way through my pants and into my boots. Finally, I’d had enough. This shit was worse than Chicago’s worst winter, and I wasn’t going to be able to kill a dragon if I was frozen.

“I’m sorry, Nyvea, but I have to do this,” I told her as I tapped into the magic I’d siphoned from the fire goblin. Immediately, warmth spread through my body, and I sighed in relief. “That’s so much better.”

“Use as little as you can,” she told me. “The last thing you want is to run out of this magic when facing an ice dragon.”

A shiver ran down my spine as I imagined the dragon’s icy breath turning me into an Ethan-sized popsicle. “Good thinking.” It took a conscious effort to release all but the barest trickle of magic.

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