Of Sorcery and Snow Read Online Free PDF Page A

come two weeks ago and replaced Daisy as her second-in-command. They obviouslycame to cheer Chase on, because I’m definitely not Adelaide’s favorite person.
    â€œWe should just skip all this and do the ball,” Adelaide sniffed. I kept forgetting about the dance. That was the other part of the anniversary celebration that took place every three years. “I mean, tournaments are so medieval.”
    She looked my way, so I definitely knew this comment was for me.
    â€œNot really,” said Kyle. “The king of the Living Stone dwarves announced a real tournament up at his new colony this morning. Winner gets his eldest daughter’s hand in marriage.”
    â€œDude, have you ever seen his eldest daughter?” Chase asked. “Not exactly a prize.”
    With a deep breath, I stepped up to the edge of the dueling arena to wait. Kenneth, a ninth grader, already stood on the stones, his sword unsheathed, his arm muscles bulging out from his sleeveless shirt. He glared at the sword master. “You’re going down, old man.”
    The proctor rang the gong. Kenneth charged forward, yelling, and then he collided with Hansel, their blades clanging so loud some fifth graders winced. But Hansel just stuck to his old habits—he stepped back and did his low strike. The ninth grader stumbled and barely parried it in time. Then Hansel’s fake out to the left came, and when Kenneth tried to block it, Hansel changed positions, stepped inside Kenneth’s guard, and knocked the boy’s sword from his hand.
    Cursing, Kenneth snatched up his weapon and tore off.
    The high school proctor rang the gong.
    Yeah, Kenneth acted stupid, but he was actually one of the best fighters in his grade. If Hansel beat him so easily, I probably didn’t have a chance.
    I was wasting my time. I should have backed out of the tournament and focused on whatever the grown-ups were up to. I should have—
    Then Hansel said, with the smug smile I hated, “I told Gretel this morning that I was getting too old for this, but you kids get weaker every year. This is easy. Who’s next?”
    I wanted to make it harder for him. I could at least do that. I stepped forward.
    â€œRory Landon.” Hansel’s smile grew wider. “Take that ring off before you smash up the arena, and let’s see what Turnleaf taught you.”
    I passed my ring to Lena, and she gave me an encouraging smile. “You’ll do great ,” she said again.
    â€œHey, Rory.” Chase held up three fingers. “Iron Hans.”
    That was all he had to say. Last year, in Atlantis, Chase and I had run into Iron Hans, a thousand-year-old metal guy once known as the Snow Queen’s deadliest warrior. I’d beaten him in three moves.
    â€œI had the ring,” I reminded him in a whisper, “and the sword’s magic.”
    â€œYou also had two injuries,” Chase said. “And now, you have another year of training that you didn’t have then. You’re better than you think you are. He’ll be flat on his back in a few seconds,” he added, grinning, and I believed him.
    I turned. The proctor rang the gong. Hansel stared at me, and I stared back, not at his face, at his arms. After a few beats, he grabbed the hilt of his broadsword with both hands. If I was reading him right, he was planning to go straight for the disarm—he wanted to finish this quickly.
    â€œScared, Rory?” Hansel said when I didn’t attack, and I just smiled.
    Chase said that the strongest position with Hansel was the defensive one.
    Hansel reached forward with his sword, as he’d done with plenty of other students. Our blades clicked against each other, and I moved. With my right hand, I flipped my sword around and wielded it underhand, like a dagger—catching his hilt guard and wrenching my arm back. His broadsword clattered to the stones. His eyes widened. He raised a foot to go after it; he was