Feral Ice: Paranormal Fantasy (Ice Dragons Book 1)

by Ann Gimpel

  My dragon puffed something with a yellowish tint toward the two blobs. I wanted to ask what we were doing. I felt like an actor in a play, but one who hadn’t been offered a script. Hating my observer role, yet helpless to alter it, I watched while the two translucent balls fell out of the sky and made a beeline for two of the serpents. The layer of poison didn’t even slow them down.

  My mouth opened, and my dragon bugled, but it wasn’t like anything I’d heard before. The sound was hypnotic, consisting of three repeating notes. While it got going, Konstantin’s dragon added its own bugled message to the mix. The six tones blended with one another in an elaborate pattern that ebbed and flowed.

  If my dragon hadn’t been on top of keeping us airborne, I’d have followed those notes right into the shattered ice below. What the hell was this? A dragonesque version of the Pied Piper of Hamblin?

  The targeted serpents slithered onto the ice, and thence to the beach. I felt magic grow around them, break into shards, and reform. Even if I didn’t totally understand what was happening, they did. They were fighting for their lives.

  My dragon kept up a flow of the ochre-colored smoke, mixed in with fire. We flew lower. I wasn’t comfortable and tried my damnedest to use our wings. No dice. The dragon wasn’t about to do anything except what she wanted. I worried my weakness would set a crappy precedent, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  One of the serpents broke apart, leaving a human body. Fury surrounded it, turning the air even redder, and he shook his fist at the skies. Konstantin blasted the newly-formed man with fire, stoking it until it formed a volcanic cone. Screams blanketed the still air but didn’t last long. Flames burned merrily, and the stench of charred meat filled my nostrils.

  The second serpent shifted too.

  “Your turn,” Konstantin flew next to me.

  “I don’t know how.” It was weaker than fuck, but I needed information. “Is it special fire that burns extra hot?”

  “Your dragon knows. Trust her.”

  I did. Fire simmered in my scaled chest, growing hotter and hotter until it spewed from my mouth, bathing the man beneath with liquid flames. Unlike his companion, this one was cowering. Compassion raked me as a pyre engulfed him. My dragon laughed uproariously, turning whatever I was feeling to anger.

  “Save your pity,” my beast said. “He deserved a far worse death than what we gave him.”

  I’d been focused on the two serpents lured by Konstantin’s spell and the musical notes that had fallen silent as soon as the first one reached land. When I scoured the waters beneath us, the rest of the sea-serpents had vanished. Acres of broken ice spread below, but nothing swam beneath it. Nowhere close, anyway.

  “Bloody cowards,” Konstantin shouted.

  They might be our enemy, but I didn’t blame them. Only the truly stupid hung around to be slaughtered. A sharp jab in the vicinity of my ribs told me my dragon sidekick didn’t agree. For dragons, it was a black-and-white world, no shades of gray allowed. If even a single serpent returned, she’d kill it without a backward thought.

  Questions brimmed over.

  What kind of spell had forced the serpents onto land and then into shifting?

  Could we replicate it until all of them were dead, or would we run out of magic?

  Where did the blood drops come in?

  Were they even the same blood, or some newly minted ones?

  How about the music? What role had it played?

  I wanted my mouth. I wanted my clothes. The ones lying on the ground in an unsalvageable heap.

  Konstantin circled back to where we’d begun, skidding to a halt near a rocky bluff. Before I made a decision to follow him, my dragon had already set us down a foot or so away. A now-familiar surge of brilliance told me Konstantin would soon be human.

  I wasn’t at all sure I’d even be able to shift. Not if my dragon didn’t want me to. The sensation of being a bit player at the mercy of someone much stronger than myself gave me the creeps. It took me back to a childhood spent scared to my bones and skulking under beds and inside cupboards to avoid my father’s wrath.

  I would not go back to being that terrified little girl.

  Not now. Not ever.

  Taking a moment to make sure I recalled every aspect of the last time I’d left my dragon’s body behind, I recreated the steps and pushed hard. Nothing happened. I could see my human form. There I stood right in front of me, but when I tried to fall into it, the dragon scales didn’t so much as flutter.

  “You. Will. Not. Rule. Me.” I shouted as loud as I could muster in telepathy and pushed everything I had into shifting.

  At first, I ran up against the same blank wall, but I kept right on pushing. I knew at a bone-deep, instinctual level if I lost this fight, I’d be lost forever. And I’d be damned if I’d turn into one of those dragon shifters Konstantin told me about. Ones who had to be banished because their dragon developed delusions of grandeur, and their human side was too weak to make a difference.

  I was not weak. Goddammit.

  Not weak at all.

  I’d survived my father. And foster care. And social isolation because I was so petrified of caring about anyone. No way was a bullying dragon going to be my downfall.

  All of a sudden, the barrier holding me back crumpled, and I crashed into my body, ending up belly down on frozen ground. Perhaps my dragon had taken exception to me labeling it a bully. I’d have to remember that tidbit. Panting and gasping, I felt Konstantin’s hands on my waist as he lifted me and held me against him.

  “Good work,” he said, as if I’d just trotted in from a normal day at the clinic.

  It felt perverse, but I started to laugh. Once mirth got hold of me, it wouldn’t let go and I chuckled, chortled, and snorted while he held me.

  “It’s a wonder you can laugh about it,” he said, once I’d settled down. “Your dragon made a bid for dominance. A determined one. I was afraid she’d succeed, but you subjugated her attempt. Congratulations.”

  “Is that what happened?” I’d begun to shiver, despite having his arms around me.

  He nodded. “You and I talked about it, but nothing quite prepares you for the first time a dragon decides to test your endurance.”

  I closed my teeth over my lower lip, but it was numb from cold. “Will she try again?”

  “Of course. Would you expect any less of her? Eventually, the attempts will be more for show and to remind you of the extent of her power, though.”

  “We still have to find Katya and Johan. And those serpents aren’t gone for good, either.”

  “True on both fronts. We did teach them a lesson today, though. We are stronger than they are. And merciless.” He focused his dark gaze on me. “Why did you hesitate?”

  “Killing the second one?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  I shrugged, but it got lost in shivers. “He was begging for mercy.”

  Konstantin gripped the sides of my face. “Would you have offered clemency had I not flown next to you, urging you to action?”

  “No. Uh, yes. Probably? In truth, I don’t know.” I shook myself from head to toe. “I put in close to forty years as a human. I’m a healer. I save lives. Killing isn’t second nature for me. If someone begs for their life, the proper course is to condemn them to a long stint in prison or something.”

  “Dragons have no prisons. Nor do we offer mercy.” He narrowed his eyes. “I understand why your dragon kicked up such a fuss about you shifting. She’s trying to make you strong, force you to decide what’s important to you.”

  “She knows everything in my mind, huh?” At his nod, I went on. “It’s not fair since I have no fucking idea what she thinks or how she operates.”

  “This is a different way of life for you,” he agreed. “No time to go inside for clothes. Visualize heat flowing up from the Earth’s molten core. For this spell, use all fire. Nothing mixed with it. Once it’s there, imagine it drawing heat upward until it surrounds you, warms you
.”

  “What happens after it’s there?”

  “Modulate the flow so it doesn’t drain all your power.” He stepped away. “Better get cracking before you freeze.”

  I tried, but nothing happened. The frozen blocks my feet had turned into moved well beyond hurting until I couldn’t feel them at all. If I didn’t know the tissues were dying, it would have been a relief. Images of blackened toes so devoid of blood they could be clipped off with a scissor flashed through my mind.

  I tried again. And again. Finally, Konstantin ginned up a flaming spear of his fire. Seeing how it pierced the dirt and feeling the force behind it, helped.

  I was lightheaded from sucking frozen air into my lungs when a blast of heat caught me in the calves. Before I could harness it, it retreated.

  “Nooooo,” I shrieked and repeated what I’d done. This time, though, I was ready. When the warmth shot upward, I captured it and coaxed it around me. It was sloppy, but functional.

  “Cut the flow of your magic to the bare minimum needed to maintain warmth,” Konstantin instructed.

  “Not until I’m warmer.” Pain was starting in my semi-frozen feet and fingers. Agony that built before it subsided. To divert myself, I asked, “What did you do to force the serpents back to human?”

  “Not I, but we. I redirected some of the blood trackers from earlier. You’ll recall we share blood with the serpents. Using water and fire, I marked the tracking devices with runes specific to sea-serpents.”

  “Was that what you were doing with your tongue.”

  “Yes. Once created, they acted as homing pigeons. Your dragon added a very ancient element to my spell. So old, I’d forgotten about it until she started puffing ochre mist. Its other name is dream-smoke, and it lulls victims so they’re less likely to fight back. Coupled with the music, those serpents didn’t have a chance.”

  I’d stopped shivering, and I experimented with withdrawing some of the magic I’d used to warm myself. There’d be a point at which no more heat danced beneath my feet. It was up to me to find it.

  “I’m guessing the serpents have to be close for what we did to work.”

  “Not that close,” Konstantin said, “but the farther away they are, the more magic it takes to trap them. Magic isn’t a bottomless commodity. You will find you require sleep and food to replenish your ability. Your dragon has far more magical stamina.”

  I made a face. “Not sure I trust her anymore.”

  “You do. And she respects you for standing up to her.”

  I didn’t want to go there. The specter of living the rest of my life cohabiting with a creature who delighted in testing my mettle wasn’t particularly appealing. I’d earned my chops by surviving medical school and a surgical residency, rife with hostile men who didn’t believe women belonged in the operating room.

  And now I had to start all over again from ground zero.

  Steam puffed through my mouth. I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Now you want to make nice?” More steam sputtered from between my teeth, the dragon version of an olive branch.

  I shook myself. I was acting like an entitled brat. No one owed me anything, least of all my bondmate. “Have you heard anything else from Katya?”

  “No, and it worries me. I’ve tried to reach her, but she’s not answering.”

  “I’m ready. Let’s go find her.”

  He kissed me once, more of a “thank you, glad you’re okay” kiss than anything deeper. “I wanted to make certain you’d recovered enough.”

  His concern touched me. In my other life, I’d maintained a detachment that precluded anyone getting close enough to care. “Thanks. Rustle up those blood balls, and we’ll charge after them.”

  “Blood-infused seeking vectors.” He corrected my verbiage. Like obedient minions, they materialized out of nowhere. One moment, the air in front of us was empty; the next, about two dozen balls bobbed, looking anxious to be of service.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked.

  “Probably a borderworld. If she were anywhere nearer, she’d have responded to my telepathy.”

  “Which means she must have moved.”

  He considered it. “You’re right. Since she was able to reach me before, and I can’t tap her now, it does suggest she and Johan are in a different spot.”

  I gnawed on my lip, feeling the bite of my teeth this time. “Are you worried about her?”

  “Not especially, but Johan is vulnerable. If she could have left him to go for help, she would have.”

  “Could they have stumbled into another sea-serpent nest?” I was grasping at straws, revealing my ignorance of the magical world, but I didn’t care.

  “Possible, but unlikely. Other monstrosities exist, though. Lots of them. She and Johan could have run up against something far worse. Something dragon magic isn’t a match for.”

  “But we can’t be killed.” I made a small face at my use of the inclusive pronoun. I was scarcely part of the we of dragonkind. Not yet.

  “No, but we can be captured, tortured, imprisoned, cast into fire that burns us again and again. Sometimes immortality becomes a curse, and we wish for death.”

  His words cast a pall over me, and my nicely warm body shivered anyway, not from cold but from imagining a host of horrors. Konstantin’s magic built around me as he moved his hands in an intricate pattern.

  I intended to ask him to talk me through the steps of his working, but let it go so I wouldn’t disturb his concentration. There should be time during our teleport. I’d ask him then. I inhaled the familiar scent of his power, sunbaked clay, hearth fire, and herbs. It soothed and inflamed me by turns. His arms were around me, yet I couldn’t remember him putting them there.

  Grateful for his strength and ability, I leaned against him, threading my arms beneath his. We floated in the place between worlds, the same arena where we’d waited for my fate to unfold. For the first time maybe ever, I placed my trust in someone besides myself. It felt good and right and scary as hell, but I’d made my choice when I accepted the transition to dragon shifter.

  Somehow, I’d thought it would make me invulnerable, even more of a force unto myself, needing no one.

  “We all need someone, darling.” Konstantin’s deep voice rumbled near my ear.

  “Leave a woman some privacy.” I kicked back my head and met his beautiful golden eyes.

  He tossed his head back and laughed. After a while, I joined him. When our mirth had run its course, I said, “Between you—who’ve taken up residence in my head—and the dragon, privacy is a thing of the past, huh?”

  He answered my question with one of his own. “Is that such a bad thing?”

  “No.” I tilted my chin at a defiant angle. “Privacy is definitely overrated.”

  “There’s my girl.”

  In another life, in another time, I’d have corrected him harshly for calling me a girl, but being his girl was the best gift of all. I’d wait until Katya and Johan were safe, and then I’d tell him. I waited, expecting a comment that he already knew, but he was wise enough to remain silent. Maybe he’d even act surprised when the moment came, and I told him I wanted to be his mate.

  “Talk me through the teleport spell.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” His eyes gleamed with deep intelligence. “You know how I marked the vectors with sea-serpent runes?” When I nodded, he went on. “Because Katya is my sister, my twin, all I needed to do was instruct the vectors to look for an exact match…”

  You’ve reached the end of the first book in the Ice Dragon Trilogy. While it’s fresh in your mind, please leave a review for Feral Ice. It doesn’t have to be fancy, a couple of sentences about why you enjoyed it would be so appreciated.

  The next book, Cursed Ice, is Katya and Johan’s story. It begins where this story left off. Once we extricate them from the mess they’re in, everyone will return to Earth and take on the sea-serpents in Primal Ice, closing volume of this trilogy. Smarter than they look, and not nearly
as lazy as Konstantin pegged them, the serpents haven’t been idle.

  Read on for a sample of Cursed Ice.

  About the Author

  Ann Gimpel is a USA Today bestselling author. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has appeared in many webzines and anthologies. Her longer books run the gamut from urban fantasy to paranormal romance. Once upon a time, she nurtured clients. Now she nurtures dark, gritty fantasy stories that push hard against reality. When she’s not writing, she’s in the backcountry getting down and dirty with her camera. She’s published over 70 books to date, with several more planned for 2019 and beyond. A husband, grown children, grandchildren, and wolf hybrids round out her family.

  Keep up with her at www.anngimpel.com or http://anngimpel.blogspot.com

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  Cursed Ice, Chapter One

  My name is Johan Petris. I’m not entirely certain how it happened, but I’ve fallen off a cliff. Not a physical one, but one separating what I always believed was real from where I am now. I’m a metallurgical engineer, for chrissakes, and a Dutchman to boot. We’re a bit of a dour lot. Hell, we barely encourage our children to engage in flights of fancy.

  I admit to a closet fascination with science fiction and fantasy, but it wasn’t anything I’d ever have admitted to anyone. Not out loud. My work fellows would have had a tough time taking me seriously if they thought I entertained myself with tales of alien visitation.

  Or werewolves. Or vampires.

  I’ll spare you the details of how I ended up kilometers underground in a dragon shifter lair. That’s a tale for another day. Let it suffice to say I’m here, along with Erin Ryan, a doctor and biochemist. We’re deep in discussions with our dragon shifter hosts to determine what comes next. Not surprisingly, radical differences in our belief systems have turned our chat into a contest of wills.