Dragon Stones (Book One in the Dragon Stone Saga) Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought. “It will be cold out here after the sun sets, and
I don't want to get stuck out here if it starts to
snow.”
    Blooming winter flowers
grew everywhere, especially lilies. Elias noticed an unusual number
of bees collecting pollen in the clearing. There seemed to be so
many that he suspected there was a new hive right in the clearing.
Wild honey was difficult to find, and even more so in the
winter. “Maybe I'll get lucky and find
some honeycomb. That would be a rare treat for us.” He observed the bees for some time, and he was
rewarded when he saw the opening to a beehive in a nearby
tree.
    “What a stroke of luck! If I can come back
with some honey, grandmother will be delighted,” he thought.
    Elias set to work on a smoke stick. He
stripped a sturdy branch of its leaves, and then wrapped the end of
with some dried bark and grass. Then he rolled the end in
pitch.
    He crawled up the tree slowly, glad that
there were only a few dozen bees at the mouth of the hive. Even
when calmed by smoke, the bees were still dangerous, so Elias put
on his hood and wrapped a piece of cloth tightly around his face,
leaving only a slit for his eyes. He whispered a short spell under
his breath, and the end of the stick caught on fire. It burned with
a greasy black smoke.
    Elias jammed the smoke stick into the
opening. The effect was immediate, and the bees started to stumble
around the hive. Perfect. The hive was small—about arms-reach into
the tree trunk. He could smell the delicious scent of wild honey.
There was also something strange—a piece of the honeycomb looked
green, as if something had grown into it. He grabbed his knife and
cut combs from the hive, moving fast to prevent being stung. Bees
swarmed on his cloak, and as he removed the precious honeycomb, a
bee landed on his thumb and stung him.
    “Ow! Sweet Baghra, that hurt!” He jumped
down from the tree, running a safe distance while shaking off his
cloak. He removed the stinger, sucking his thumb. His thumb
throbbed, but it was worth it. He wrapped the honey in leaves and
tucked it into his bag. His grandmother would appreciate this
treat. He considered using a healing spell to stop the swelling,
but decided against it. His grandmother said that sometimes is was
better to just let your body heal naturally.
    Elias left the clearing.
The sun was low in the sky, and the air felt colder. “I must hurry or I will be stuck here after
nightfall,” he thought. Instead of
walking, he ran the entire way back to Persil, and made it to the
forest’s edge just after sundown.
    “Grandmother!” he shouted as he flew through
the door, “I have a surprise for you!”
    Carina was hunched over the hearth, stirring
the leftovers of the previous night’s stew. She seemed better
today. “Elias? You’re home late. Was it difficult to find the
mushrooms?”
    “No, I found them and filled the jar, just
like you asked. But look! I found a bee hive. I got honey!”
    “Really?” Carina’s wrinkled face broke into
a wide grin. “Let’s see it!”
    Elias pulled the broken honey combs from his
pack and unwrapped them. It was only a small amount, about the size
of a man’s fist, but it was such a rare indulgence and Carina was
ecstatic. “Oh, my lovely boy! What a marvelous treasure. I will
make some flatbread and we will enjoy it with our leftover soup.
Tonight, we eat like kings!”
    “I only got one sting, on my thumb.” He
stretched his hand out, and Carina grasped it. The right thumb was
badly swollen.
    “Tsk. I’ll fix this for you, my dear.”
Carina went to her cupboard and pulled a jar off the shelf that was
filled with a gooey black substance. “This will reduce the swelling
and draw the poison out. Your finger will be normal by tomorrow
morning.” She spread a thick film on his affected thumb and wrapped
Elias’ hand with a clean strip of cloth. “There you go, boy.”
    “Thank you, grandmother. It feels much
better.” It was the truth. The pain was almost