I groaned. “Thanks for that, by the way. You couldn’t have mentioned that Wyrm was a nice mommy dragon before we made a move on her and her children?”
Yano shrugged. “Didn’t really think it was relevant.”
“Wait, what?” Lilly asked. “Wyrm was one of the four bosses?”
“Yeah. So thanks to Mister Not-Relevant here, we already murdered our chance to get the third stone. So we’re going to have to work with—”
“Wait a second,” Lilli interjected. I watched as she reached into her robe’s pocket and rummaged around.
“What?” I asked.
“That… thing! That thing I found in the tunnel after we killed the earth dragon. Remember you said it looked like fossilized poop?”
“I don’t think I said ‘fossilized.’…”
She pulled it from her bag. Honestly, it still looked like a turd to me.
“What if this is the Earth Stone?” she asked.
My eyes widened. Could she be right? Could we already have one of the stones we needed to defeat Atreus?
I turned to Yano. “Could this be the Earth Stone?”
“I don’t know. We could ask D’ou…”
“Well then.” I reached out, closing my sister’s fingers around the stone again. “Let’s go find D’ou.”
“Holy frozen french fries of doom,” I exclaimed a few hours later, putting a hand over my eyes as we emerged from the jungle out onto a vast frozen tundra. The twin suns shone down on the icy landscape, reflecting back up at us with almost blinding brilliance, and the few scraggly trees were blanketed in ice crystals. In the distance I could see the shadow of a snow-covered mountain. But besides that? Nothing but icy wasteland. No homes, no animals, no people.
Just Icelandia, home of Lord D’ou, keeper of the Ice Stone.
It was hard to believe moments before we had been hacking and slashing our way through thick jungle vines, all sweaty and gross, and now we were basically shivering. I glanced behind me, hoping to get a last look at the jungle, but it had completely disappeared. All I could see was ice, ice, and more ice.
“This is so cool!” Lilli remarked.
“Actually, I think the word you’re looking for is ‘cold,’” Yano grumped, landing on Lilli’s head. He blinked twice, conjuring up an ugly Christmas sweater with rainbow poop emojis in Santa hats. “Ah, much better,” he declared.
“And so stylish, too!” I added, raising an eyebrow.
Yano beamed, lifting off Lilli’s head and flying in circles, parading his outfit for all to see. “Let’s just say it’s no accident I’ve won best-dressed guide three months running.”
“I can’t imagine the competition,” Lilli replied with a laugh. Her gaze went back to the landscape. “So is this it? Are we finally here?”
Yano flew out in front of us. “Indeed,” he declared. “Beautiful Icelandia.” He pointed to the snow-capped mountain in the distance. “And there lies the Monstrous Peak, where Lord D’ou makes his home.”
“Great,” I exclaimed. We were finally getting somewhere! “Let’s go get that Ice Stone.”
We picked up the pace, making our way toward the mountain. The going wasn’t easy; the ground was covered in ice and very slippery. We fought our way forward through a strong, bitter wind that whipped across the land, knocking us around. I began to get nervous about what it would be like up on the actual mountain if conditions were this bad down below.
It was then that I spotted an odd sight. While it had originally appeared there was nothing and no one for miles, as we drew closer to the mountain we found an old man, sitting on a small stool and fishing through a hole in the ice. I looked down at my feet in surprise. Had we been walking on a lake this whole time?
The man looked up as we approached. He had a long white beard, wrinkly olive-colored skin, and wizened eyes. His ears, peeking out from under a knit hat, were strangely pointed. Was he an actual elf?
He rose to his feet, setting aside his fishing pole and holding out his arms in welcome. “Brave adventurers!” he cried. “What brings you so far out into the wilds of Icelandia?! Surely you must be lost. Come inside, my friends, and you can warm yourselves by the fire and grab a bite to eat.” He gestured to a small hut that I could have sworn hadn’t been there a moment before.
“Thanks,” I said. “But we don’t have time. We’re on a mission to see Lord D’ou.”
The man’s eyes widened. “But Lord D’ou lives on top of the mountain!” he exclaimed.
“And…?”
He shivered. “The Monstrous Peak is treacherous, even on a good day. There are avalanches, falling rocks, and deadly creatures that would make you their dinner! And that’s if you even get across the ice field to begin with. Which”—he gave us a patronizing smile—“you will not.” He shrugged. “Why don’t you stay here instead and help me with my duties? If you can catch ten fish and bring them to me, I will give you a great reward.”
Ah, yes. Another side quest. Let’s just say I’d learned my lesson after the disaster at Ghost Hollow.
“Sorry, we don’t have time for fishing,” I told him. “We have to get to D’ou.”
“Surely there must be a safe path across the ice field,” Lilli pressed.
The man nodded his head. “Aye,” he agreed. “If you must go, there is a way. Though I warn you, it will not be easy. You must follow the steps exactly as they are laid out. One stray step and you will surely meet your doom.” His voice thundered on the last part—way too overdramatic, in my opinion, sending goose bumps up my arms.
“Stay on the path. Right,” I said quickly, shoving my hands behind my back. “Sounds easy enough. We’ll catch you on the way back down.”
“If you make it up the mountain,” he replied, still in that scary doomsayer voice. “And if D’ou lets you live.”
“Yes, yes. All those things,” I agreed. He really needed to stop freaking us out here. I was already nervous enough about climbing the mountain in the first place, with my fear of heights and all. He didn’t need to make it worse. “So long, dude.”
“And thanks for all the fish!” Yano chirped, his mouth completely full. While we’d been talking, he’d helped himself to an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet from the man’s buckets. I worried for a moment that this would cause a problem—like with the troll blacksmith back in Dragonshire—but the elf didn’t seem programmed to mind and instead settled back onto his stool.
“Well, he was certainly cheerful,” my sister remarked as we left the little hut and continued our journey toward the mountain pass.
“I know, right? Guess he’s supposed to add tension to the game,” I said.
“Yeah, well, mission accomplished.”
“Meh.” I waved her off, not sure if I was trying to relieve her anxiety or my own. “He’s probably programmed to exaggerate. I mean, how hard could it be? It’s just a little ice—”
“Ahh!”
Lilli screamed, flailing, as the ground cracked under her feet. I dove forward, grabbed her arm, and yanked her backward. We tumbled onto the ice in a heap, butts first.
“Holy slip-and-slides of doom!” Lilli cried. She scrambled off me and crawled over to what was now a big hole in the ice, her whole body trembling. I joined her, keeping a safe distance as I stared down into the angry churning river below the surface. Yikes.
Yano flew above us, dropping a half-eaten fish into the hole. The current sucked it up instantly, and it disappeared under the ice as if it had never been there at all. Imagine if Lilli had fallen in! She would have been pulled under and frozen to death in seconds.
I looked up, staring out over the frozen tundra, my mouth dipping into a frown. “Okay then,” I said. “Maybe the fisherman wasn’t exaggerating after all.”
I rose to my feet, keeping my distance from the cracked ice. “We need to find another way to the mountain,” I said in a shaky voice. “This is not safe.”
“But there is no other way,” Lilli argued. “I mean, look.�
�
I scanned the frozen expanse and saw she was right. We had to get across the ice field somehow. But how? We had no idea how many other weak spots there were in the ice and where they were located. Which meant one wrong move would lead to a freezing end.
“It’s really too bad you guys don’t have wings. Or, you know, ugly Christmas sweaters for that matter,” Yano commented as he caught my sister shivering. “Seems as if I am the only one properly prepared for this quest.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “As usual.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you should fly up to D’ou and get us our Ice Stone then,” Lilli shot back. “If you’re so prepared and all.”
Yano huffed. “Sorry. I’m not programmed to complete quests for you. After all, it wouldn’t be much of a game if I did all the work.”
“Wait a second,” I said, an idea sparking. “This is still a game, right? Which means there has to be a way across the ice field. Otherwise the game would be unplayable.” I tapped my forehead with my finger, concentrating. “It’s probably some kind of puzzle. What did the fisherman say again?”
“‘One stray step and you will surely meet your doom!’” Lilli replied, mimicking the scary voice he’d used.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “But what else?”
“He told us to follow the steps exactly.” She stared over the icy expanse. “But there are no steps.…”
“Maybe they’re covered in snow?” I suggested, brushing at the light dusting with my foot. All I found was more ice. “Or not. Unless they’re invisible…”
“Ooh!” Lilli cried, clapping her hands. “I have an idea.” She blinked to access her menu, and a moment later, a big grin spread across her face.
“What?” I asked, puzzled. “Did you find a map or something?”
“Better,” she proclaimed. “Infrared. Our goggles have infrared, remember?”
Oh yeah! Back when we’d found the night-vision option on our menus, there had also been an infrared setting. I reached for it now and made the selection. My vision blurred for a moment, then cleared, revealing a strangely colored world of reds and greens and blues. And winding through the ice field? A trail of red footprints, marking the way.
I let out an amazed whistle. “Follow the steps exactly,” I repeated. “This must be what he meant!”
“Sweet!” Lilli cried. “Maybe we can do this after all.”
We gave it a try, stepping carefully on each footprint, concentrating on keeping our balance as we went. It wasn’t easy. The ground was still super slippery, meaning I had to take a step, steady myself, then take another step.
We were about halfway there when we heard a screech.
“Don’t look now,” Yano remarked casually. “But I think we’ve got company.”
I turned around slowly, my heart filled with dread. My eyes locked upon a dragon, hovering a few yards above the earth. It was huge—about the size of a bus—and glowed ice blue under the infrared light. And when it opened its mouth, I could see a flash of blue sparks dancing on its tongue.
“Is that… D’ou?” I managed to stammer, crossing my fingers. Maybe we wouldn’t have to climb the mountain after all.
“No,” Yano replied. “D’ou is much bigger.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” my sister muttered.
I drew in a breath, my gaze not leaving the ice dragon. It was watching us, too, its deep-blue eyes glowing eerily as it slowly flapped its wings to keep airborne. Could we make a run for it across the field and up the mountain? But no, I could barely walk on the ice as it was. And I was guessing even full-on track-meet speed wouldn’t be enough to outrun it.
“Maybe it’s a good dragon?” Lilli suggested hopefully. “Like Wyrm?” She turned to the creature, pasting a big smile on her face. “Why hello, Mr. Ice Dragon!” she greeted cheerfully, though I caught a slight tremor in her voice. “So good to meet you! We’re just hoping to cross this little ice field and swing up to D’ou’s place for a bit. You don’t mind, do you?”
The dragon roared, a burst of blue fire cannonballing from its mouth. We screamed and ducked as flames shot over our heads, scorching the ground behind us. Huge chunks of ice broke loose and dropped like stones into the raging river below.
“I think it’s safe to say he does mind,” Yano noted.
“Yeah, got that.” I clenched my teeth as the dragon let out another burst—this one landing a few feet in front of us. More chunks of ice fell into the river, creating yet another gaping hole. If this kept up, we’d be sunk in no time.
“Oh no,” Lilli cried. “It’s destroying the trail!”
She was right. It wasn’t aiming for us at all. At least not yet. It was trying to destroy our only path to D’ou.
Lilli backed up a few feet, then ran toward the hole, leaping over it and hitting the other side. She turned to me. “Come on!” she called. “Jump!”
I stared down into the rushing ice river, my heart pounding like a jackhammer in my chest “What if I slip?”
“I’ll catch you. I promise.”
Could she, though? I watched as her own feet slid on the ice. She was barely standing up herself. Could she really hold me up, too?
But there was no other way. Gathering my courage, I backed up, then ran as fast as my feet could take me. Trying not to look down, I leapt over the crevice and landed on the other side. As I hit the ground, my feet slipped out from under me and I screamed as I lost my balance. But Lilli, as promised, grabbed me and held on until I was able to steady myself.
“You’re so good at this game,” I said, shaking my head.
Before she could reply, the dragon turned. His eyes locked on Lilli and it let out another blast. This time aiming directly at her. She started to scream, but the scream died in her throat as daggers of ice hit her square in the chest.
“Lilli!” I watched in horror as the ice rippled across her body until she was completely covered. A human Popsicle. “No!”
I clawed at the ice, but it was too strong. I could barely make a scratch. “No! Lilli! Can you hear me?” I tried to hug her—maybe an act of true love would thaw a frozen heart? It worked in that movie.…
But the hug did no good. Lilli remained frozen. And the dragon was still headed our way.
“Uh, Ian?” Yano said worriedly. “You gonna do something about this guy?”
Drawing in a shaky breath, I slowly turned around, stepping away from my sister. I wasn’t sure what would happen if she got blasted a second time, and I definitely didn’t want to find out. I reached to my waist and, with trembling hands, pulled out my sword, squared my shoulders, and lifted my chin. It was up to me now. Probably the worst Dragon Ops player ever.
But I was a gamer. And gamers never gave up.
“Hey, Ice Cream Breath,” I growled at the dragon, even as my heart stuttered in my chest. “You ready for a licking?”
The dragon’s eyes snapped in my direction and locked on to me. His stare was icy blue and cold as death. I had never been so scared in my entire life, but I gritted my teeth and forced a smile, giving him a cheerful wave. When he opened his mouth to blast me with more icy fire, I dropped to the ground, just in time to miss the stream of frigid death shooting over my head.
The dragon roared in frustration, stomping in my direction, but thankfully it didn’t try to blast me again. Maybe it was out of power, at least for the moment, but that wouldn’t last long. If I was going to attack, it had to be now.
But what should I do? How was I going to get close enough to him to strike? And even if I could, would my sword make a dent in his scales? I was not a damage dealer—Lilli was. And there was no time to change into my new wrath armor midfight to give myself a cutting edge.
“What do I do?” I called to Yano. If only he had another one of those supersonic power-ups…
“I would suggest running,” the draconite replied. “No offense, but you don’t stand a chance here.”
Argh. I knew he was right. But I couldn’t jus
t run away. My sister was still frozen. I had to find some way to defeat this guy and save her. No matter what.
The dragon lumbered toward me, its steps thundering in my ears as it clomped down hard on the ice. I’d always imagined ice dragons to be super majestic looking, but to be honest, up close this guy was a little lumpy and bumpy—and maybe even a little yellowish in spots, as if it had been made out of dog-pee snow. Thank goodness we couldn’t smell anything in this game!
But all thoughts of dragon snow pee left my head as it suddenly swiped at me with four sharp claws. I jumped to the right to avoid it, careful to stay on the trail of footsteps. It swiped again, this time forcing me back. A bead of sweat trickled down my nose as my feet found more prints. It was almost like playing Dance Dance Revolution, a game Lilli and I had always loved in arcades. Back, back, left, right. Stay on the trail. Don’t miss a step!
But how long could I keep it up? I was already out of breath. And the dragon wouldn’t be out of ice for long. In fact, I could already see its belly growing white and large as it built up another deadly blast. I jumped back again, my mind racing. I was going to have to attack—to go on the offensive—but how? To make matters worse, I was running out of safe spots to jump to.…
That was it!
The idea leapt into my brain. I could see where to jump, thanks to my infrared goggles.
But the dragon didn’t have infrared goggles.
Which might give me a chance.
“Hey, Ice Queen,” I called out to him, my entire body shaking like a leaf. Would this work? It had to work! “It’s time to let it go! Or, er, you know, let me go?”
“You might want to work on your one-liners,” Yano pointed out helpfully. “Just saying.”
I ignored him, my eyes glued on the dragon. As it charged at me, I leapt to the right, then took two steps back, praying it’d take the bait.
We both paused. Then, just as I’d hoped, it clomped straight toward me with heavy steps, enraged and ready to kill. With a final lunge, it almost took off my arm, but I side-stepped just in time, and while the dragon was regaining its footing, I turned and leapt over a big weak spot to the footprint on the other side.
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