Dragon's Breath Book 2 (Completed)

Chapter 19

When we finally left the tunnel and flew into the open air, Ralf circled above the ground once before starting an upward spiral. "Hold on tight!" he shouted.

The air had been pleasant at ground level, but the higher we flew, the colder it became. Although Ralf generated a lot of heat, keeping us warm, the heat didn't reach his wings and snow began to accumulate, weighing him down and slowing our flight. What had started out as a few drifting flakes became a blizzard, obscuring everything around us.

"We're almost there!" Ralf shouted just as I was beginning to think we might be flying into a white void forever. "Shirley's cave is at the top of the mountain." I was grateful that dragons were famous for their sense of direction.

"Why would anyone want to live on the top of a mountain?" I shouted.

"My grandpa says that Shirley moved here to get away from the flies when he retired. It's too cold up here for them. Here we go!" I nearly fell off when Ralf landed with a thump. "Hold on just a little longer. I'll get us inside where it's warm."

The little dragon caught hold of a string blowing wildly in the wind and pulled with all his might. Peering through the falling snow, I saw that the string led into a tiny hole in the rock face of the mountain. Ralf let go of the string, and a door opened, revealing a hole twice as tall as I was when I was human.

Something moved out of Ralf's way when he shuffled through the opening, but I couldn't see what it was until my eyes adjusted. After the glare of the snow, the cave interior seemed dark, making it difficult to see. Dim light came through holes in the cave walls, and the room finally became visible. We were in a cave about the same size as my bedchamber at home. Its rock floor was level, its ceiling too high to see clearly.

I was startled when an old, sway-backed horse wearing a thick wool blanket whinnied and trotted toward us. White with gray stockings, the horse's splayed hooves clacked against the stone when it stepped into the wind to push the door closed. Once the door was shut, the old horse turned and looked at Ralf. "I know you!" said the horse, nudging Ralf with his nose. "You're old Gargle Snort's grandson. What brought you all the way up here?

Your grandpa's all right, isn't he?"

I bit my lip and tried not to laugh. Gargle Snort?

"Grandpa is doing fine," said Ralf, flapping his wings to shake off the snow. "These are my friends Emma and Eadric. They want to ask you a question."

"Your grandpa is dying fast? I'm sorry to hear that. I always liked the old lizard, even if he did have a temper like a ... never mind. You're a young one and shouldn't hear such language. So what brought you all the way up here?"

Ralf glanced at me and rolled his eyes. Then, rising up on his hind legs, he shouted into the horse's ear. "My friends Emma and Eadric want to ask you a question."

"There's no need to shout! So, you brought your friend Amandedric. Another one of those newfangled names? Who's your other friend?"

"You don't understand. One of my friends is Emma, the other is Eadric."

"They each took half the name, huh? Well, that's fine, too."

The little dragon cleared his throat, which was sounding scratchy from yelling. "We're looking for the feather of a horse. Do you have one you could give us?"

"Brother of a Norse? Why would you look here? I was an only child."

"Not Norse, horse! Do you have an old feather that you could give us?"

"Leather? Why would you want my old leather? All I've got are my old saddle and tack, but they wouldn't fit any of you pipsqueaks."

"I didn't mean—" began Ralf.