Icefire by Chris D'Lacey Read Free Book Online

that’s the name I gave him,” said David, smiling and flicking a glance at Liz. No silverware crashes this time. She merely reached for a dish towel and bunched it in her fist. “When you said he wasn’t a dragon, I thought he might as well be the bear. Grrr.”
    “Grrr,” laughed Lucy. “Are you going to do a story about him?”
    David closed up the letter from Apple Tree Publishing. He didn’t want Lucy to see it and start building up false hopes about
Snigger.
“Maybe. Lorel did look the sort of bear who might be involved in lots of stories. I was even wondering if he hadn’t bumped into a dragon or two on his Arctic travels — as they both like snow and ice?”
    Lucy turned to her mom. “Is that right?”
    Liz folded the dish towel and left it on the countertop. “Dragons lived a long time ago,” she murmured. “I don’t think the dynasties overlapped. Anyway, come on. It’s time for school.”
    Lucy hovered by David’s shoulder. “Wish for more snow. Please. For Lorel.”
    “Nah, we’ve had enough snow,” he said. “What if I wished to find Spikey instead?” “Hhh!”
    “Upstairs. Hair done. Now,” said Liz, turning Lucy before she could speak. “We’ve no time for hedgehogs — or any other creatures.” And casting David a penetrating glance, she bustled Lucy out of the kitchen.
    OK,
thought David, smiling to himself.
That round to me, I think. Now that we both know who Lorel is, let’s see where we go from here….
    “Here” turned out to be nowhere, really. The next few days went by without incident. And as the weekend loomed and Sunday came around, David found his thoughts turning once again to Zanna.
    Liz and Lucy were leaving for the craft fair at eleven, which meant there would be plenty of time between their departure and Zanna’s arrival. In other words, no embarrassing encounters. That suited David fine.
    Until eleven, everything went pretty smoothly. The Pennykettle women spent their morning wrappingdragons in thick bubble wrap and packing them neatly into cardboard boxes, ready to be taken out to the car. This had meant a few quiet hours for David, who had stayed in his room catching up on college work and making further notes for his essay. He had still not played his trick on Lucy; the ground had been far too wet underfoot. He didn’t dare send her out on a wild hedgehog chase in filthy conditions; Liz would not see the funny side of that. But by late morning a drying wind had blown over Scrubbley, raking the water out of the ground. And when Lucy cornered David on the stairs and asked, “Did you make a wish about Spikey, yet?” David couldn’t help but reply to her, “How can I? Your mom hasn’t given me G’reth. But funnily enough, I thought I saw something small and pointy shuffling about in those brambles near …” And Lucy was gone before he had finished.
    Two minutes later, she was back. David steeled himself for a sharp tirade. Strangely, it didn’t come. Instead, she flashed past him and dived into a cabinet. She pulled out a flashlight, then shot out again.
    Half an hour went by. David began to panic. Lucy had been hunting all that time. What’s more, the clock was approaching noon and that meant Zanna could arrive at any minute. It didn’t help when Liz threw the kitchen door open and asked him, “Do you know much about cars?”
    “Cars?”
    “Engines. It’s coughing. Won’t start.”
    “What?
It’s got to start. I’ll come and have a look.”
    “What’s Lucy doing?”
    “Hedgehog patrol.”
    Liz frowned and knocked the window. “Lucy, come on! We’re going to the fair — if we can start the car, that is….”
    She joined David on the front drive a few moments later. The hood of the car was raised and David was looking distinctly puzzled.
    “Well?”
    “Um, not quite sure. It’s, um, probably a jizzle on your sproggleclonk or something.”
    Liz tapped her foot. “I’ll call the mechanic.”
    Just then the gate swung open to the