Page 7 of Surge of Ice

Actually, they’ve been getting along well all day. It’s like when we’re in dragon form we’re all on the same side. It’s a nice change from all the bickering, even if I don’t quite know how to handle it yet.

I turn in a circle, riding another current. We’ve been flying all day, so I’m feeling spent. Maybe even a little lazy.

In the distance, I see the setting sun and a gray, stormy sky rolling closer.Damn it.It’s going to be night soon, and it looks like a blizzard is headed our way.

Fuck, we lost track of time,Aydan mutters.

Time is different in dragon form. It’s easy to get caught up in just feeling and being. We need to learn to balance our human and dragon sides better.

We probably shouldn’t be flying in the dark or in a storm, I say. It’s already hard enough flying in the cold. We don’t need to add more challenges.

So, we head back? And return tomorrow?Aydan asks.

I don’t like the idea of traveling back in the dark with only the stars for guidance,Evander says gruffly.We could get off track and run into other dragons. Even if there’s three of us, we’ve never fought in the dark.

Aydan sounds worried.And that storm is moving in quick. Like, I think we have a few minutes before it hits.

It doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice but to head back home. Let’s just try our best to beat the storm,I say.

No way,Evander argues, his tone authoritative.I doubt we’ll outrun the storm, and that’s not considering the other dangers. We should use one of these abandoned cabins as a place to rest.

He’s right.I hadn’t even considered that a possibility.I just saw one a few miles back that seemed to be in good shape, but also like no one was home. Should we head for it?

I saw it too. Evander does a little spin in the air.I think that could be perfect.

So, we head for the cabin, and I try not to hope too hard for a warm fire and some food to eat. It’s been a long day and… thunder rumbles in the distance.That doesn’t sound good.

My gaze catches some color in the distance, just barely visible in the icy wasteland beneath us.There it is!I say, flying lower as I head toward it.

We pass more and more barren land as we head toward the cabin. Ice, ice, and more ice spreading out in all directions. I can’t imagine any being, human or otherwise, that would want to live somewhere like this. Not only would it be a lonely place to live, but the lack of life is kind of depressing.

Landing as lightly as a giant dragon can land on the snow, I stay in my dragon form, knowing my dragon is better suited to the cold than my human self. Releasing a slow breath, I start walking closer to the cabin.

Behind me, I hear the guys land with all the grace of an orange cat dropping from a couch. I guess I should just be happythey landed on their feet. My neighbor’s old orange cat landed on his back more than his feet. He wasn’t a graceful fellow.

When I get to just outside the cabin, I stop. The place looks sturdy, well-built, and like it's been used, but not too recently. Hopefully, it’ll have everything we need to get through a night.

Shifting back into my human form, the cold hits me like a ton of bricks. I rush for the porch of the cabin, ignoring the snow that’s falling faster as I try to get somewhere warmer. When I reach the porch, Aydan and Evander are right behind me, looking just as happy about suddenly being cold as I am.

Evander instantly goes to the door and tries the handle. It doesn’t open.

“Maybe they hid a key somewhere?” Aydan suggests.

They both start looking around for a key. There are a few rocks on the porch, a wooden chest, and a couple of chairs. They move everything but nothing seems to turn up a key.

I take another glance around. “Maybe over the doorway?” I suggest.

Evander runs his hand along the top, grins, and says, “Bingo,” as he pulls a key down.

He opens the door, and we go scrambling into the near-darkness. We have to leave the door open, even though it lets in the rapidly falling snow, just to find our way to the fireplace and the matches. It takes no time at all for Evander to get a fire started, while Aydan goes to the side of the house and brings in more wood. I make myself busy with the propane stove, heating up a couple cans of chili I found in the cabinet. I also go through and categorize what else we have. Plenty of water. Plenty of cans of food. Whoever lives here is well-stocked.Maybe we’ll have to have Evander leave them a wad of money for the trouble.

Time passes. With the door shut and the fire going, the small cabin heats up quickly. Evander slowly feeds the fire more and more until it’s blazing. Aydan comes by and drops a blanket onmy shoulders and gives me a kiss. Dinner is done, so we sit down at the tiny four person table and eat in silence. It’s a nice kind of silence though, only broken by the thunder overhead, not the tense one I’ve gottensocomfortable with feeling between them.

Feeling my phone in my back pocket as I shift on the chair, a thought occurs to me. I pull out my phone and send Granger a quick text letting him know what’s going on, so he won’t worry. Unfortunately, we’re in the middle of nowhere, so the text doesn’t go through.

“Damn.”

“What?” Evander asks.

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