A Shade of Dragon 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

stiff and slow. By contrast, ice dragons thrived in frozen temperatures. It gave them vigor and stamina. They were doubtlessly certain that they would never again lose control of The Hearthlands—if they could maintain this witchcraft over the island.
    If we could transform into fire dragons, the castle could have been retaken. But not only would we be dangerously conspicuous in our dragon forms in this environment, we could not bear to be nude. It would be crippling. For the first time in our lives, transforming into fire dragons would not help.
    Each entry point along the gate was sealed with the criss-crossing bars which lowered from slats in the stone. I grimaced at the sight.
    “If they’ve retaken the guard and locked even the exterior gates,” I murmured, “we have no hope of entry. They hold the keys.”
    “Oh, please,” Michelle scoffed. “How complicated are your locks?”
    She pulled a silver pin from the depths of her curls and marched to the nearest gate. I frowned after her. Was she about to—help someone? I decided not to get excited about it, just in case she used it as leverage for a favor later.
    “I used to always pick the lock on my dad’s liquor cabinet, and it… Oh, this is primitive,” she muttered, glaring through its wide hole. “I’ve never seen a lock this big before.” She thrust her silver pin inside and fished around, face screwed to one side, then sighed. “Tumblers are frozen into place,” she informed us, rearing onto one leg and using the other to kick the lock with the spike of her heel. Its guts busted and sprayed, but the gate didn’t budge. “Well, dammit,” she muttered, settling with a pout.
    “Not so fast,” I warned her, stepping forward and heaving at the gate. It reluctantly wheezed and crunched into the stone slats overhead, ice chips showering into my hair as it went. I turned back to Michelle and offered her a reassuring smile. “You did it. Thank you.”
    Michelle shrugged. “I’m sure one of you was about to think of that.” She flounced past me and through the exterior gate as if we were back at the Emporium at Shoreside, returning unwanted Christmas robots, or whatever it was that the people of Earth purchased in droves during their holiday season.
    I gazed after her in wonder, then lunged forward and gripped her arm. “By the mercy of the gods, woman,” I hissed, “keep to the wall!”

Theon
    T he town seemed completely deserted . I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through frosty windows. Inside were dark quarters, kitchens, libraries, offices, all void of life.
    And the sun had set.
    Shuddering, I relinquished my dream of reconnaissance today. Our time had been spent in travel, and as the temperatures plummeted further still, it was a matter of urgency to find shelter.
    Einhen paused midstride. “Did anyone else hear that?”
    In unison, we each went still.
    Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
    Someone was approaching in the snowy street.
    I tried three doors and let myself in through the first to give way. Michelle, Einhen, and Khem followed in after me, and the door closed behind them.
    Warped wooden floors. A long bar along one wall. Instruments dangling.
    “Gordon’s Instruments,” Einhen informed us, nudging a storefront sign which had been dragged inside and left askew near the empty fireplace. “That sign would make excellent kindling.”
    “Yes, yes,” I said. “Tonight—when it is too dark to see smoke against the sky—we will light a fire to get us through the coldest hours. But leave the sign to bar the door. There is other kindling we can use.”
    “Woohoo!” Michelle sprang up from behind the bar along the far wall. Clasped in her hands was a bottle of dark drink, labeled with a skull.
    “Shhh,” I hissed at her. Khem and I set to quickly hoisting the sign along the slats next to the door, where the lock would conventionally go.
    “Does anyone want a drink?” Michelle set to work on the cork.
    “Um… gods,