Fire and Ice by Shannon Hale

Author:Shannon Hale
Language: eng, jpn
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-04-24T11:42:07+00:00

ABEKE DIDN’T SLEEP.

She could picture the Ardu village, and the location of the other two settlements Essix had spotted. The three settlements formed a triangle. Briggan had smelled a lot of people. And Abeke smelled something fishy.

The positions of the settlements reminded Abeke of how her villagers had hunted a hippopotamus once. The drought was high, and food was rare. Three groups of hunters surrounded a water hole where hippos came to drink. They moved in slowly till the hippo had nowhere to run.

The Ardu were hunters too, and they’d surrounded something they didn’t want anyone else to know about. When Tarik had asked about Suka, the singing and drumming and smiles had stopped. Clearly, Suka was something they didn’t want anyone to know about.

Abeke glanced at the sleeping forms in the hut. She didn’t want to wake anyone. Besides, it would feel really great to be a hero for once, to run back to camp and let everyone know she’d found Suka!

She was still wearing her coat and gloves. She picked up her bow and quiver and crept out the door.

Once outside, she released Uraza.

“I know it’s cold,” Abeke whispered. “But I need your added stealth. Help me find Suka?”

Uraza shivered, whisking her tail back and forth several times. Abeke led her to a small pile of seal meat she’d saved in the snow. Uraza grabbed it with her sharp teeth, and in three quick movements swallowed it all. She licked Abeke, sniffed the air, and padded out of the village.

A light snow was falling over Arctica; flakes as tiny as pinpricks twirled out of the way of Abeke’s breath. With Uraza active, her whole body felt tight, agile, light as snow. When her boot stepped on the thin, fresh layer on the ice, the snow made no sound.

Even if it had, the Ardu had seemed especially drowsy after all that feasting. She suspected they’d sleep well tonight.

As soon as the ice huts were behind them, Uraza and Abeke ran. Through the clouds, the moon offered a dim blue glow. Abeke kept her gaze sharp, but Uraza noticed something before she did. The leopard slowed to a loping gait. Abeke followed.

An ice hole — but not like the breath holes they’d found earlier. There was no water beneath the ice here. This hole seemed deep and empty. As she crouched beside it, Abeke could see what looked like stairs cut into the ice, going down.

Abeke held her breath to listen and realized someone had followed her. She could hear the occasional crack of ice behind her, the hush as the soft layer of snow atop the ice was pressed by a small boot. Uraza sniffed the air, but didn’t seem bothered. Someone Abeke knew, then. But if it was one of the group, why follow her in secret? Why not simply catch up and ask what she was doing?

Abeke’s stomach hardened as she realized the answer — it was someone who didn’t trust her, who wanted to spy on her.

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