Ice Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “We just need you to help us find it.”

  “I’m not sure I can.”

  They had made it clear that was what they wanted from him. And yet, part of that was dependent upon him having seen what they thought he had. The longer he was here, the less certain Jason was that he’d actually seen what they believed. The dragon seemed to believe that, and yet, how could it know?

  Probably the same way Therin had known.

  “Why would they have been there?” he asked.

  “Dragon eggs have a very distinctive signature to them,” she said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well,” she said, taking a few steps closer to him and taking a seat on the ground. She situated her hands on her lap, looking over at him. “Once a dragon egg hatches, there’s a certain distinct sense to it. It’s the same reason Henry has been searching.”

  “You’ve known about the eggs?”

  “We’ve known the Dragon Souls—Therin, really—placed them in certain locations, and yet, we haven’t known where, or whether they were even successful.”

  “I thought you said dragon eggs had a certain signature.”

  “They do, but when the Dragon Souls were placing eggs, not all of them were going to survive. Some of them were placed into pretty extreme locations.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s something about the developmental process,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is that the egg takes on some of the characteristics of the location where it’s developing. In this place, the eggs will take on some of the traits of the forest. The eggs the Dragon Souls keep and hatch in Lorach will take on those characteristics.”

  “Which is why Therin thinks that having eggs develop in the snowy mountains will help them develop a tolerance to it.”

  She shrugged. “Most likely.”

  “But why?” Jason looked around at the trees. Somewhere the sound of a bird chirping caught his attention. Insects buzzed nearby. There was so much sound. Activity. Life.

  It was nothing like the north.

  “Again, I don’t really know why. And yet, both Henry and the dragon think that you have seen it.”

  “I don’t know that I have.” He looked away, staring into the forest. “In my village, there isn’t much to see. I try to hunt, and don’t often succeed.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because there isn’t much there to catch.”

  “What do you do?”

  “If I don’t catch something, then I go hungry.”

  “That sounds… awful.”

  “It’s not ideal,” he said. He breathed out. “Before I left the last time, I managed to catch a deer.”

  “Is that good?”

  He nodded. “Very good. An animal like that should feed my family for a month.” And longer, since he’d been gone.

  “The dragons make sure we never go hungry,” she said.

  “The dragons hunt for you?”

  “They hunt things like that. Otherwise, we grow corn and beets and carrots and—”

  Jason stared at her. “I get the point.”

  “You don’t have those?”

  “We don’t have much in the way of vegetables. We trade for them and grain, but even that’s difficult.”

  “What do you have to trade with?”

  “Tellum,” he said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s a particular type of metal that blends into the mountain. It absorbs the heat, which is why we haven’t frozen in my homeland. It’s still rare—which means not all have it.”

  And with his father being gone, Jason was destined to end up in the mines, though he had no interest in doing so. It was, however, the only time anyone was ever really warm.

  There were some who advocated moving into the mines, though with the metal they pulled out, they were able to stay relatively warm outside.

  “Do you think the dragon egg could have been placed there?”

  “I don’t think so,” he said.

  “Why not?”

  “There would’ve been people coming through. They would’ve known.”

  “There must be some place that you could have found it.”

  He shook his head. “There isn’t…”

  Only, he wasn’t sure if that was true. What if there was a place where the dragon egg could have been, and it would’ve been a place no one else would’ve known about? Not only concealed, but there would need to be a supply of fresh water.

  Jason’s breath caught.

  There was a place where animals often went, a location that he often went to hunt. And it was a spot his father had visited frequently. It was a place where he’d felt something when he’d been by there. Where he’d seen something when the Dragon Souls had chased him…

  The flash of golden eyes he’d seen came back to him.

  He got to his feet. “I might know where the dragon was.”

  “You might?”

  “I don’t know if it is or not, but…”

  He looked around. It was near that stream where he’d seen the deer running.

  It was far enough down the mountainside that it would have been difficult for others to have reached it, and it would’ve been relatively untouched.

  Could Therin have been looking there to see if anything had happened to it?

  It would make a certain sort of sense, but why would he have come all the way to the village? The cannon. That was what he had said. The cannon attracted dragons. And he had hoped to attract a dragon.

  “What would your people have done if they saw the dragon?”

  “Try to destroy it,” he said.

  “They would destroy something like that?”

  “Dragons are dangerous.”

  “They are not,” Sarah said.

  Jason took a deep breath, meeting her eyes. She stared up at him defiantly. “Your experience is different than ours. I can tell you what my people would have done had they seen a dragon.” Then again, if this dragon was different, they might not even have recognized it as one.

  “Come on,” she said. She grabbed his hand, dragging him through the forest, and he didn’t resist. She pulled him as they went, and they reached the edge of the town quickly, and she hurried him toward the building, and again inside.

  “What is it?” Cherise asked when they approached her.

  “He thinks he knows where he saw it.”

  “Then he needs to go. If the Dragon Souls find it, it’s dangerous for the dragon.”

  “What would you have me do?”

  “I would have you save it, Jason Dreshen.”

  Save it?

  The dragons haven’t attacked the village in decades, but they remain dangerous. A threat. Our people must remember what it once was like when the dragons flew free. We must remember, as others will not.

  “Why should I do that?”

  “Because the dragons need our help.”

  He turned away, and though he didn’t know whether or not dragons did need his help, he also didn’t know whether there was anything he would be able to do to help.

  Henry appeared, looking at him. “What is it?”

  Cherise held his gaze. “He believes he knows where the dragon can be found.”

  “Then we go.”

  Henry grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the small room and his jacket, which he forced into Jason’s hands. He tossed his gloves and pants, and nodded.

  “Get ready.”

  “I’m not sure this is the right thing,” he said.

  “We don’t have much time. We managed to escape the Dragon Souls, but if they’re truly after a dragon, they won’t stop their search.”

  Sarah was watching him, and there was a look in her eyes that practically begged him to help. He didn’t know any of these people. He didn’t know Henry that well. He didn’t even know William all that well.

  The only thing he knew was his village.

  If the Dragon Sou
ls headed toward his village, he knew there would be danger.

  His brief experience with the Dragon Souls told him they didn’t really care about others. If nothing else, it was possible the Dragon Souls would destroy his village. That, as much as anything, was reason enough for him to go with Henry.

  He pulled on his jacket and his pants, slipping on his gloves. “Let’s go.”

  “You’re willing to serve the dragon?” Sarah asked.

  “I’m willing to help my people.”

  And he would do it despite the fact that some of the people in the village didn’t care all that much about him. He would do it because his mother and his sister were there. He would do it because it was the right thing to do. It was what his father would have wanted.

  “Where are we going?”

  William popped his head through another door, glancing from Jason to Henry.

  “Back to my village,” he said.

  “Then I’m coming,” he said.

  “You aren’t dressed for it,” he said.

  “I’m sure they have something I can wear.”

  Jason looked over to Henry, who shrugged.

  “See? Besides, didn’t we already establish that I’m lucky?”

  Jason frowned. “I thought your luck was dangerous.”

  “Well, my luck is not always lucky, but…”

  Maybe they could use it. They hurried through, gathering supplies, and when they headed back outside, Henry marched them into a clearing. He looked up at the sky, saying nothing, and Jason followed the direction of his gaze. It took a moment, but a dark shape began to circle, descending.

  “How did you call it?”

  “I just call it,” Henry said.

  “That isn’t an answer.”

  “That’s the answer you’re going to get.”

  The dragon dropped to the ground, and Jason recognized the orange eyes. This was the same dragon they’d ridden here on. It was almost as if Henry and the dragon had some sort of connection, a bond of sorts, and when Henry climbed on its back, he looked down at them.

  “Are you coming?”

  Jason scrambled onto the dragon’s back, and William followed. He’d somehow acquired thick furs, and though they were of a dark color, they would at least be warm.

  “I’m coming too,” a voice said.

  Jason glanced over. It was Sarah. She was wearing what looked like bearskin, almost as if it matched his own.

  She flashed a smile. “If there’s a dragon, you need someone who understands them.”

  “It’s going to be dangerous,” Henry said.

  “Then you will protect me. Besides, if there’s a dragon there, I will ensure it’s safe.”

  “How do you know this dragon will be safe in the snow?” he asked Henry.

  “The dragon isn’t going to stay.”

  “How do you intend to get back?”

  “I’ll call it.”

  They all got settled on the dragon’s back, and Henry must’ve given some sort of alert because the dragon took flight. They spiraled steadily into the sky, the air growing cooler as they went. Despite that, warmth radiated off the dragon, giving enough heat that he wasn’t cold. He was almost hot in his clothing, and then they got higher still. The air shifted, now the wind gusting, biting, and familiar. Sarah huddled against the dragon and William stayed low as well.

  “You need to avoid the mountaintop,” he said.

  “We will,” Henry said.

  “If they see the dragon, they’re going to fire the ballistae.”

  “I understand.”

  “There’s a stream along the mountain. You might need to be up close to see it.”

  Henry twisted, meeting his gaze. “We will find it.”

  They streaked through the air and everything began to shift, the ground going from streaks of dark green to brown and finally to the familiar snow. A chill settled through him, and Jason couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing the right thing. If nothing else, he was serving his people. He was doing what his father would have wanted for him.

  What would he do if there was a dragon in the mountains, as they suspected?

  Probably nothing.

  He would let Sarah and Henry take care of it. That was their responsibility.

  Besides, he didn’t even know if there would be one. All he knew was that the Dragon Souls believed there could be.

  He’d seen their violence. He’d seen the way they had destroyed, and if it meant they were going to head into his village, attacking people he knew, Jason had to do something.

  The dragon began to descend. It swept down, angling for the ground, sweeping with a furious speed. Jason held on, clinging tightly to the dragon’s back, and within moments, they crashed onto the ground.

  “Go,” Henry urged.

  Jason scrambled down, following Sarah and William, with Henry taking the rear.

  When they were down, Henry tapped on the dragon’s back, looking in the creature’s eyes, and nodded.

  Within a moment, the dragon took off, circling back into the sky and disappearing.

  Jason breathed in. All around him was familiar cold and snow and nothing but white. It was unpleasant, the cold trying to crawl through his coat, dig into his skin. After having been warm, this was almost unbearable. He tried to ignore it, to think of nothing but warm thoughts, but now that he’d experienced the warmth of the dragon, and the warmth of Dragon Haven, he thought maybe he wished he was back there.

  “Where are we?” William whispered.

  Jason looked around. “The top of the mountain. We’re near my home.”

  21

  Wind swept out of the north, whipping across the snow, cold and biting. It was frigid, and it swept the loose snow free, creating a blizzard of white in front of him. Sharp snowflakes drifted down from the sky, joining with the wind. This was going to be a terrible storm. He had experienced storms like this before, often enough that he recognized the cold threatening him. This was the kind of storm he would fear staying out in.

  “Where to?” Henry asked.

  “We need to find the stream,” he said.

  “We need to find someplace to stay warm,” William said.

  “There is no place to stay warm,” Jason said. He started off, heading up the side of the mountain. It would be easier with snowshoes, and he still had the pouch full of Gary’s coins, enough money that he would be able to purchase snowshoes, though there was no place to do so.

  “How did you survive here?” William asked.

  “We just do.”

  Jason shielded his eyes from the snow that was pelting down and tried to look through the blinding white. It was getting late, and soon the storm would become overwhelming. If he didn’t find the stream—and the dragon, if it was here—before darkness, they would very possibly freeze.

  Then again, it was possible Henry had a way of calling to the dragon and summoning it, but would the dragon be able to find them in the midst of a blizzard? He looked over at Henry, and he noticed worry on the other man’s face. He had the same thought.

  Jason continued trudging up the side of the mountain, and he wound slightly toward the west. He wasn’t entirely sure where they had landed, and though the slope of the mountain was familiar, and the snow was familiar, nothing else about the landscape was.

  That was the danger of this place. Everything looked the same, everything blended together, and with the snow falling, it was easy to lose their place. He didn’t want the others to know that he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going. Instead of admitting that, he continued to climb.

  Behind him, someone was shivering, and he glanced back to see William with his arms wrapped around himself. Surprisingly, Sarah was doing better than William. She was having an easier time climbing the mountain as well, and it looked almost as if she were gliding along it, the same as Henry.

  Jason chuckled, shaking his head.

  “What is it?” William asked.

  “I just understood why Sarah d
ecided to come with us.”

  She looked at him, frowning.

  “You can control the dragon pearls, too.”

  “What makes you say that?” William said.

  “Well, notice how you and I sink into the snow. Look at her and Henry.”

  William turned his attention to the two of them, and he sucked in a sharp breath before starting to cough. “How are they able to do that?”

  “Because Henry was a Dragon Soul, and I suspect Sarah has had some training.”

  She locked eyes with him and said nothing.

  “Are you going to find this place?” Henry asked.

  “I’m looking for the stream, but in whiteout conditions like this, it’s difficult to find.”

  “You don’t recognize anything around here?”

  Jason shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that here. There aren’t landmarks. Everything gets covered in snow. We get snowfalls pretty much every day, and the wind picks up, whipping away any other traces that might give us anything to follow.”

  “Don’t you have any trees?”

  “None,” Jason said. “It’s why the stream has been so valuable. It serves as a landmark.” Considering they had precious few of them, the stream gave them an idea of where they were going and where they needed to go, and it helped guide them.

  All he needed to do was find it.

  In the fading light, and with the wind kicking around, he wasn’t sure he would be able to locate the stream. Even in the daylight, it wasn’t something he was able to find that easily. He could come down the mountainside, and he could track it that way, but trying to climb and find it from below was difficult. What if they had come in too high?

  Scrambling along the side of the mountain, he continued searching for signs of the stream. He tried to hear the burbling water, but against the wind, there was nothing. They even had to shout to be heard, making it so it was difficult to know where the others were.

  He paused. “I don’t know that I’m going to be able to find it with the storm.”

  “We need to find it,” Henry said.

  “Why? We could wait another day, come in the morning when the storm has passed, and—”

  “It has to be today.”