Icespell by C.J. Busby Read Free Book Online Page A

Olivia. “I can change us into something, but we might have to rely on Great-Aunt Wilhelmina to turn us back.”
    She took a deep breath.
    “We’ve got to get there as quickly as we can, Max. I trust you. Do what you have to.”
    Max thought about the long trip west, and decided that it would make more sense to be a bird – much less noticeable than a dragon. Last time he and Olivia had been dragons, they’d nearly been caught in the Castle Gore dragon hunt. He thought about thebird he knew best, the hunting kestrel he and Olivia shared back at Castle Perilous. He thought about the bird’s bright black eyes, her questioning look, her curved beak and mottled reddish-brown feathers and the power in her strong wings. Then he felt for the magic inside him, gathered it up and threw it at himself and Olivia.
    BANG!
    Suddenly everything seemed brighter, and sharper. He realised that his vision was about a thousand times better, and he could hear the whisper of a small insect scurrying across the wooden floor. At the same time he could feel the power and strength in his shoulder muscles as they flexed his great wings. He looked across at Olivia, and gulped.
    She was, like him, a kestrel, and he could tell that she was equally awed at the effects of the transformation. But she was bright pink.
    He looked down at himself, and had to laugh. He was also bright pink, with mottled bits of purple.
    “Never mind, Max,” said Olivia. “It’s amazing! Much better than being a frog! I feel like I could fly for hours. Race you!”
    She swooped out of the hut and rose into the air with short, powerful wingbeats, circling to gain height. Even from a hundred feet up, she could see every tiny detail of the clearing beneath them, every movement of the leaves in the wind, every ripple in the water as a fish rose to take a fly. The sun was coming up, and the day was going to be a sunny one. Simply for the joy of it, Olivia put her beak down and dived, hurtling towards the ground at an incredible speed then pulling up just inches from the surface of the river and gliding gently to a branch overhanging the stone hut.
    “Quack!” said Vortigern, and flew up to the branch to join her. “Very impressive. I do like to see magic done, gives me a tingling feeling all through my feathers. Right then, you lot. Are we ready to go?”
    ***
    Max glided along, riding the air currents high above the river, his wings carefully dipping and twisting to keep him level. He looked down, following theprogress of a couple of riders gently ambling along the road west from Camelot. Suddenly he stiffened, and focused on them more closely. There was something about the rider in front… Just then, the rider lifted his head, and looked straight up at Max, his pale face and spiky black hair perfectly visible. It was Snotty Hogsbottom.
    Max hesitated for a second, and then dived. He was so angry he barely thought what he would do when he got down there, but it had something to do with claws, beaks and wings, and the desired result definitely involved Snotty falling off his horse.
    But the riders had seen him coming, and pulled up under a nearby tree. Snotty had his sword out and he was waving it dangerously round his head. Max hovered for a second, then settled on a branch just above the waving sword.
    “Back off, Pendragon!” shouted Snotty. “I know it’s you, because I’ve got a direction spell set on you and I’ve been following you all morning. And don’t think you can get away from me – however fastyou fly, you’ve still got to wait for that potty duck you’re with, and we’re not going to be far behind you. So don’t think you’re going to be doing any heroic rescuing this time.”
    “Er – Adrian?” Jerome said hesitantly, plucking at Snotty’s sleeve. “Are you sure that’s Max? You’re not just ranting at some strange bird, are you?”
    “Don’t be such a turnip head, Jerome,” said Snotty dismissively. “I’d recognise that loser