by Viola Grace
When the winter has almost no sun, monsters wake and torment the locals until a dragon rises in the frost.
Kabyl’s family has run a careful supply business, keeping the essentials in stock in order to help her town and the villages around it survive the long, dark winter.
Rumors of beasts beyond the standard shifters are beginning to surface, and when regulars don’t show up for their fuel rations, Kabyl has to brave the dark and the cold to find out if natural death has taken her family’s friends or if there is something darker than death in the land of snow.
A wellness check turns into a fight for survival, and Kabyl has to dig deep to stay alive. She had no idea she was going to find a dragon. The dragon was just as surprised.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Dragon Frost
Copyright © 2020 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-987969-93-1
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Look for me online at violagrace.com and your favourite eBook sellers.
Dragon Frost
The Covert Dragons Book #9
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Kabyl climbed the ladder with one hand, the other one steadied the bag of flour on her shoulder. She heard her mother chattering on about the shortening of days and the answering comments by the woman waiting for her flour.
Kabyl pushed the bag onto the mat she had placed for just such a purpose. “Here you go, Mrs. Bessinger.”
The woman smiled with relief. “Oh, thank you. Can you put it in the wagon?”
“Of course. Is the invoice ready? I can gather anything that’s missing.”
Her mother blushed. “Sorry, pet. I forgot the invoice.”
Kabyl smiled. “No problem. Just give me a minute.”
She went to the terminal and looked over the supplies on the counter and the pot of jam that Mrs. Bessinger had in her purse. She added in the invoice and printed it out. “Here you go, Mrs. Bessinger. Look it over and make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
As the woman went through the list, her cheeks pinked suddenly, and she nodded, signing her name to the final line. Kabyl made a copy and folded it up, sliding it into the paper surrounding the joint of meat from the freezer.
“I will load it all into your wagon, Ma’am. Just a moment.”
Kabyl picked up the one-hundred-pound bag of flour over her shoulder, and she walked out of the supply depot and to the low wagon on runners that passed for winter transport. The flour dropped onto the bed, sending snowflakes scattering. Kabyl grabbed the box and brought it inside to refill.
She packed the groceries swiftly, and when she had settled it outside in the wagon, she returned to fold her sleeves down and button them. “There you go, missus. You are all ready. See you in a month?”
“Two. Barnord was able to get some deer this fall. We are pretty well supplied.”
Kabyl smiled. “Well, if you need anything, you know where we are.”
Mrs. Bessinger nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Ambermarle. Kabyl, it has been a pleasure as always.”
“I look forward to sparring with you again.” Kabyl nodded and winked at her.
Mrs. Bessinger smiled and waved, flipping up her hood before she left to get onto her wagon, and a sharp whistle woke her dogs.
Kabyl looked at the reddening light, and she sighed. “We lost a few more minutes today.”
“Don’t worry. Your father will be home within the hour, and we will have a nice family dinner. He is going to have to lock in for winter.” Her mother chuckled.
Kabyl snorted and downloaded all of the day’s invoices with a few clicks. “He goes where he’s called to.”
Her mother sighed. “I know, but I can hope.”
Kabyl laughed, and they headed for their living quarters on the other side of the shop. Dinner was a heavy stew, just the right thing for a cold day.
It took twenty minutes before the back door opened, and her father stood in the vestibule to stomp the snow off his boots. Kabyl smiled and got his spot ready at the table.
Mander Ambermarle came in and inhaled with a grin. “Good, you didn’t burn it.”
His wife smiled and came up to kiss him on the cheek. “If you had been any later, Mander, it would have started burning, and all of your work would have gone to waste.”
He turned his head, and the kiss ended up more intimate than his wife had intended.
Kabyl poured cups of hot tea and got the stew from the stove while her parents got reacquainted after their eighteen-hour separation.
Her mom was flustered when they parted, but she shyly accompanied her husband to the table.
Kabyl sat with them, and she grinned at the pair of them. As a relationship goal went, still being giddy when you were kissed by your spouse of nearly twenty-three years was a pretty good one.
Her dad smiled as she dished out the food. “How was the shop?”
Her mother perked up. “Busy. Kabyl carried a bunch of flour and meat cuts out of storage.”
Her dad gave her a slow look. “You were carrying the flour sacks?”
“Yeah. With the nicer weather, we have had a run today. Everybody who got caught by the early snowfall came in today. We went through a dozen jars of jam as well.”
He nodded. “You called it. Everyone was on account?”
“Mr. Brekki and Mrs. Eberhart paid cash. Demirio paid with furs. The other six were on their accounts, and only one is in danger of a cut-off.”
“Who?” He started to eat, and she handed the bread and butter to her mother, her mother handed it on when she had her serving. Kabyl already had hers. Dad ate last.
“Mr. Alwyck. He said that there were few, if any, hides this year. All of the furry animals in his woods were gone.”
Alwyck was a fur trapper, and he made his year’s income during the winter. If the animals were gone, he was going to have a rough time.
Her dad nodded and took his bread and butter, dunking the slice in the stew that he had chopped, mixed, and prepped before dawn that morning.
“He isn’t wrong. It is like the animals have been driven away. Old trappers are suddenly disappearing without a trace, and I have been seeing cabins torn open. There is something going on.”
Her mother tutted, “After dinner, Mander. You know that I don’t like peacekeeper talk at the table.”
Kabyl chuckled. “Yeah, at your age, you should know better.”
He snorted, and they ate with only the occasional comment on the texture of the meat and the doneness of the vegetables.
After the meal was done, Kabyl did the dishes while her parents settled next to the fire. Her mom’s tiny frame always looked so doll-like next to her father, but when it mattered, her little highborn mother had a core of steel. How her father had ended up with Morningwell Cornish as a wife was a family mystery. Kabyl suspected that it was a relationship that began over cocktails and hormones.
She put the leftovers in the chiller, and then, she put some cider and spices on the stove while she curled up in the chair she and her father had carved for her when she turned eighteen. Five years of wear and tear had barely touched the surface of the twisted wood.
Her dad was sitting forward and facing the fire. “Something is coming. There are cu
rls of darkness in the woods.”
Her mother rubbed his shoulder, and Kabyl asked him, “What did you feel?”
“I didn’t feel it. I could smell it. Terror. Abject terror. I tried to follow it, but it faded before I could get to the point of origin. There was a small amount of blood but no bodies.”
Kabyl frowned. “Anyone we know?”
He shook his head. “No. They are out in the far reaches. Were. At the survival camps.”
She winced. “They would be easy targets out there.”
He flexed his hands. “They were. The camps are empty.”
Shock rippled through her, and her mother’s eyes were wide. “All of them?”
Kabyl stared at him. “Anyone else missing?”
“The cabin at the wall of the pass. It’s empty.”
It was six hours away with a sled team to get to the pass. Her father could make it in half the time in his shifted form, but it was still quite a distance.
“Are there reports from the other towns or villages?”
Her dad sighed. “That is why I went out. Ormin has had some of his outer folk going missing as well.”
“Damn.” Ormin’s zone was to the east, the pass was to the west. Dempster Township was right in the middle.
Her mother scowled. “That isn’t good. Is there a circle of damage going around us?”
Her father nodded. “I have checked the southern path. I’ll check the northern one tomorrow.”
Kabyl looked at him. “You are going out again tomorrow?”
“I have to check. It’s my job.”
Her mother touched his arm. “Do you have to?”
“Yup. Don’t worry. I will come home once I check the path.” He chuckled and got up to start serving the steaming cider. “I swear that I am coming home.”
They sat around and talked about the weather, the forecasts, and the schedule to start checking on the elderly nearby. It was all perfectly normal and regular, aside from the missing men and women in the small camps where folk still tried to strike it rich with fur or minerals.
When everything was tidied and the coals were banked for the night, Kabyl headed to her bedroom with a shovelful of coals, and she started the fire in her corner stove. She loaded it to wake her at four in the morning. She was going to try and get as much detail from her dad as she could as to his route.
A check on her clock showed that it was ten in the evening. Her parents were hoping to have some private time, so it was better that Kabyl stay in her room while they talked before bed.
She pulled out one of the regional maps that were supposed to remain in the study, and she lit a lamp. Staring at the depiction of towns and villages between her current location and the pass, she tried to figure out where the attacks were coming from.
Bands of bandits had gathered together before, and her father and other peacekeepers had always managed to control the incursions. This was different. The expression on her father’s face was different. Something out there was killing people, and it appeared to be getting closer.
She looked at one of the marks for Donwell Hemming. She hadn’t seen him yet this season, and that wasn’t like him. While her father went north, she was going east. There was a storm in the air, and two days from now, no one would be going anywhere.
Tomorrow morning, after her father left, she was going to do a wellness check on Donwell Hemming. If something was coming for the cabin dwellers outside of town, she was going to get evidence of it. There was a feeling of trepidation that had taken hold in her soul. Something dark was moving in the snow. For the sake of their survival, they had to learn what it was.
Chapter Two
Kabyl was up and dressed and making breakfast for her dad when he came out of the bedroom, his bearded face surprised. “Kabyl?”
“I am not letting you out there without a full breakfast. You know your beast prefers it.”
He chuckled and had a seat. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She grinned and slid a plate in front of him, protein heavy with a few slices of toast and a small pot of jam. She put her own meal in her spot and ate with him.
He gave her a wary look. “What are you doing?”
“When dawn strikes, I need to do a wellness check on Donwell. Our conversation got me nervous. I want to check on him.”
Her father paused. “That might not be for the best.”
“Tough.” She sipped at her coffee and smiled. “You know, the best part of working at the general store is having all the food we want stored just a few feet away. It is hard for those outside the town to get in for supplies. I am going to grab some essentials and take the dogs out for a look.”
He sighed. “It is dangerous.”
“We live in a place where we can freeze to death if we forgot to put on the right underwear. It is always dangerous.”
He looked at her. “Love, you aren’t a shifter. You don’t have backup energy if you stay out too long.”
“I know, Dad. I will be four hours. Two there, two back, and hopefully, I will find him alive and well.” She chuckled. “I will be back by noon. Well before you return.”
Her father wasn’t happy, but he grumbled. “You are still insisting on going for peacekeeper training?”
She nodded. “This year. I have already done the paperwork and gotten my acceptance. You just have to let me go.”
He paused. “You got in?”
“I did. I even clarified that I am not a hereditary shifter. My answers and physical test scores have qualified me.” She smiled.
Her father winced. “All of the lifting.”
“Yup. So, I have also been running sprints with packs to run deliveries during the summer. When they came by to run the tests, I was ready.”
He sat back and sipped his coffee, his food long gone. “You really want to do this? It isn’t easy.”
“It isn’t easy waiting at home either, but you expect Mom to do it.” She looked at him wryly.
He gave her a long look. “I don’t have a leg to stand on.”
“Nope. But you might want to try and get me a little brother or sister. You and Mom are still young enough.”
Her father went pink. “Uh, about that. We need to talk when I get home tonight.”
She gave him a look, knowing what it was about. “If you are talking about me not being your biological daughter, I already figured that out. When I was twelve. I was very good at math, and Mom was pregnant when you two met.”
She got up and took their plates. “I still want siblings if you can manage it.”
His shock was only momentary. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Not my place. You two were busy, and I wanted to keep everything calm. I was definitely your little girl, and I was very happy with that. No sense bringing it up if you weren’t going to. If you were happy, I was happy.”
He shook his head. “Damn. I am sorry that we didn’t talk about it, but this is a community with a weird moral code. We didn’t want any of the other kids attacking you over it.”
Kabyl thought about it and nodded. “It was a good call. The folks around here are fairly narrowminded. Right. Well, I am fine and ready for my day. How are you feeling?”
He got up and gave her a bone-crushing hug. “I am feeling like a very proud father.”
She squeaked, and he set her on her feet. “And I am feeling loved. Thanks, Dad.”
He beamed and got his outerwear from the vestibule. “See you for dinner. I was thinking fried steaks and potatoes.”
“Definitely.” She grinned and showed him the packets that she had placed there earlier. “Way ahead of you.”
He poked his head around the corner, and he grinned, his fangs showing. “Be safe, Kabyl.”
“You too. Have fun at the station, and check in when you can.” She grinned as he gave her a fuzzy thumbs-up, his mittens already in place.
He was out the door a moment later, and she made sure to pull it in behind him. It was a ten-minute hike to his station,
and from there, he would strip off to shift and then head out the doggie door and into the wilderness. All of the northern peacekeepers did. Part of the job requirement was normally to shift into a beast that could withstand the cold. Kabyl was hoping that her knowledge of everything to do with the wilderness around here would be enough to slide by.
She took care of the dishes and pulled on her own outerwear. A note was left for her mom by the coffee pot, and she stomped into her boots and headed out to link up the dogs. The sled was exposed by flicking the cover away, and she got the dogs together with Tinker in the lead, Tailor, Soldier, and Spy bringing up the rear. They waited for her signal, and when she had some basic supplies gathered on the sled, she stood on the runner and pushed off with one foot, yelling, “Marche!”
She looped around the town and drove for the Hemming cabin. She had told her dad she would travel during the daylight, but that was hours away. She had her dogs, she had her weapons, she was going to find out if they had already lost one of the villagers and if the darkness was coming closer.
The world was blue. The white of the snow mixed and mingled with the sky above it and rendered her world a rich and beautiful blue.
She used the open meadows for travel, it was faster. Now and then, she felt something watching her, but the dogs were enjoying their run, and she let them move at their own pace.
She exhaled, and the fog she breathed was distant before it dispersed. She was leaving a trail as she headed toward her goal. Crystals formed on her lashes, and she blinked to clear her eyes. Her fat, fluffy mittens gripped the sled, and she whistled and called out to help control her dogs.
When they were forced to enter the woods, she slowed them and used the brake on the sled to drag the dogs to a more reasonable pace for thick brush. There was something nearby. Something watching.
The Hemming cabin was nearby, and she let out a low whistle to the dogs. Tinker slowed, and they glided up to the still and silent cabin. She stepped off the sled when it stopped and went to the door.