Melting the Ice Witch Read Online Free PDF

unessential things were left behind and everything that could be grabbed as people rushed to the sleds was grabbed.
    Kam ended up in Lor's sled with Ness, Hern, and Lor as well as whatever trunks they could stash last minute. Lor waited as the other sleds moved out. He was giving his exhausted sled dogs a rest and he wanted to be last to make sure everyone got out safely. Kam couldn't help wondering where they were going. Mae had mentioned caves and the sleds were heading in the direction of the mountains, but Kam didn't know about any place the clan had prepared for such an event.
    The wind started to pick up after the first half hour as the ice-covered mountains slowly became larger the closer they got. Kam watched from his place at the back of the sled as the heavy green clouds grew closer as well and what looked like a curtain of white began inching nearer.
    Lor was sweating after the first hour of travel. His face looked pale and worn. Hern was guiding the sled, so Lor must be trying some sort of spell. He looked exhausted and frustrated that whatever he was trying to do wasn't having as strong an effect as he had hoped.
    The first sleds were just vanishing around a curve in the mountain that did not look entirely natural when the curtain of white caught up with them. Kam got a glimpse of a huge opening in the mountain many times the size of their sleds before all he could suddenly see and hear was white and wind. He wouldn't have been able to tell which way the mountain was, but Lor seemed to know. Kam thought he could faintly hear Lor shouting instructions to Hern over the wind. Their sled was going to move forward until they caught up with the one in front. They'd use rope to guide all the sleds into the mountain.
    Kam thought they started moving forward again, but all he felt was a huge jerk as the sled was suddenly and violently pulled off the right. Kam saw one of the sled dogs come tumbling past out of his peripheral vision and he heard Ness yell as she also disappeared from the limited scope Kam could see in the total whiteout. But Kam had problems of his own. He had lost his grip on the safety straps he'd been holding and couldn't find them again.
    The sled overcorrected to the left and Kam felt his knees slide along the frozen furs and wood. His hands scrabbled for purchase, but it wasn't long before he too was tumbling off the side of the sled into the drifts of snow.
    All Kam could see was white. The snow was coming down so heavily that he could barely see his gloved hand in front of his face. The wind whistled in his ears so loudly that Kam couldn't even hear himself breathing. He was probably only a few feet from the sled, but he couldn't tell which direction the sled was.
    The runt squirmed against Kam's chest, picking up on Kam's anxiety.
    "We'll be all right," Kam murmured to the pup as he ran his hand down the front of his fur coat. The runt couldn't hear him, but she seemed to understand his intent because she calmed.
    Kam bit his lip as he waited, hoping to see Lor come out of the blizzard to help Kam back into the sled. After an indeterminable amount of time, Kam decided that Lor wasn't coming for him. Kam understood—Lor had the rest of the clan still trapped outside the mountain on their sleds to get to safety. Just saving Kam could lose many lives.
    There was also a sense of worry just behind him, which reminded Kam that one of the sled dogs as well as Ness had also been thrown off when the traces snapped. He could feel that dog just behind him, putting out those strong emotions of anxiety. Kam took an involuntary step in that direction and shrugged. Lor couldn't come save Kam, so it wouldn't matter if Kam moved to comfort the dog. Maybe he could find Ness, too.
    Kam almost stepped on the dog where he was crouched over Ness's huddled form. Both had white snow almost totally obscuring their fur coats.
    "Ness!" Kam yelled, but his voice was lost in the wind. He hurried forward against the wind until