The Dragons of Ice and Snow by J.J. Thompson

Author:J.J. Thompson [Thompson, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.J. Thompson
Published: 2015-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

“Wait a second. Let me get this straight,” Simon said as he surged to his feet and began pacing around the room.

“You're telling me that Malcolm and Aiden are...werewolves?

Clara nodded, her expression filled with sadness.

“Oh, this is too weird. So they've been infected with this disease?”

“Correct.”

“And now, your precious townsfolk want to kill them? The same two people who have been guarding your town for months? The same men who have taught your people how to defend themselves? The same friends who volunteered to face dragons with me without even a moment's hesitation? Is that who they're now willing to slaughter like rabid animals?”

The wizard was becoming incensed and Kronk and Ana stared at him, wide-eyed. The water elemental actually moved backward across the table to be further away from him.

“Simon, calm yourself,” Clara said softly. “You're glowing.”

“I'm what?”

He stopped and stared at her, then looked down at his hands. She was right. In the dim room, his skin was suddenly luminescent and little sparks were snapping off of his fingertips.

He took a deep breath.

“Sorry. That's never happened before.”

He sat down again and clenched his fists in an effort to get his emotions under control.

“I understand your anger, Simon, believe me,” the cleric told him. “I share it. That's why I didn't contact you about this. I knew you would be upset. We all are. Why do you think we built that enclosure? The majority of the townspeople have no wish to harm either Malcolm or Aiden. And neither do I. We're looking for some solution.” She waved at the books. “Some cure or at least a way to control their transformations.”

“Okay. Sorry.” He breathed deeply for a moment. “I'm rather fond of those two big lunks.”

She managed a small chuckle.

“As am I. There has got to be a way out of this, short of driving a silver stake through their hearts.”

“Tell me what happened when they changed. Was anyone hurt or...or killed?”

“Thankfully no. They were both off-duty and asleep in the barracks at the time. Alone, fortunately. One of the watch heard howls and shrieks from inside the building, opened the door to see what was happening, and then had the good sense to slam it and seal it after her. She woke me up and explained what she'd seen and together we roused the town. Our blacksmith covered the door and windows with enough metal to keep them inside and, when the sun rose, they became themselves again.”

“And that's when you realized what had happened,” Simon said flatly.

She nodded.

“Exactly. At first, neither Malcolm or Aiden would believe us. Apparently they had no recollection of what had happened after they transformed. But the evidence spoke for itself. The barracks was torn apart, every stick of furniture ripped to splinters. They'd even dug great gashes in the walls and ceiling with their claws. It was rather convincing.”

“So how did they react when they accepted the story as fact?”

“They wanted us to kill them,” Clara said, her face twisted with something like grief.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.