Winter of the Ice Wizard (6 page)

H
UFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFFF.… 
With each breath from the Frost Giant, a blast of cold wind swept through the hollow.

Jack trembled. He felt chilled to the bone.
HUFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFFF.… 

The giant's breathing grew louder and stronger. Jack squeezed his eyes shut as icy, wet wind rushed against his body.

HUFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFFF.… 

Jack crouched lower and held on tightly to Annie.

HUFFFF, HUFFFF, HUFFFFF.… 

The giant's breath howled like a hundred ghosts through the hollow. Jack thought of the blue Norn's words:
He is a blind force of nature that spares nothing in his path.… 

But then the giant's breathing seemed to grow a bit softer.
What's happening?
Jack wondered.

The breathing grew softer and softer. “Maybe he's going to sleep,” Annie whispered.

The breathing became calm and steady. The wind died to a light breeze.

“I think the Frost Giant is sleeping,” Annie whispered. “We should try to sneak out of here.”

“Okay, but keep your eyes down. Just look at the ground!” whispered Jack.

“Right,” whispered Annie.

Their heads bowed, Jack and Annie crept cautiously across the floor of the hollow and began climbing up toward the crack. Jack's teeth chattered, but he couldn't tell if it was from cold or fear.

Suddenly a deafening roar shook the night! The Frost Giant screamed with windy rage! He was awake!

Jack was blown to the ground. He tried to crawl across the snow, but he didn't know which way to go, and he was afraid to look up.

“Jack! This way!” Annie's voice called above the roar of the giant's breath. She helped him up and they struggled together against the wind. Finally they came to the crack in the wall.

Jack and Annie scrambled through the crack. Outside, the wild wind knocked them over, and they tumbled down the side of the hill.

The wind swirled the snow across the plain. “Annie! Annie!” Jack called. Where was she? Where was the sleigh? He couldn't see anything. He couldn't stay on his feet.

The wind roared even louder. An avalanche of snow came crashing down the hillside. When it hit the ground, the snow exploded into great clouds of white powder.

“Jack! Jack!”

Jack heard Annie's voice in the screaming wind. He tried to stand up. But snow kept falling on top of him, until he was completely covered.

As Jack lay buried under the snow, all his strength left his body. He knew he should dig his way out, but he was too cold and too tired. He was too tired to look for Annie. He was too tired to fight the Frost Giant. Instead, he closed his eyes and drifted into an icy sleep.

Jack dreamed that cold fur was brushing against his face. He dreamed that a wolf was digging around him, nudging him, pushing him, sniffing him … .

Jack opened his eyes. He felt dazed. At first he couldn't see. But he could feel that he wasn't buried in snow anymore. He wiped off his glasses. He saw a low moon and some stars in a clear sky.

The Frost Giant must have left,
Jack thought. But then he heard a panting noise. He sat up and looked around. One of the white wolves was crouching right behind him!

Jack scrambled to his feet. “Go away!” he shouted.

The wolf stepped back and growled.

“Go! Go! Go!” shouted Jack. He picked up handfuls of snow and threw them at the wolf.

The wolf backed away a few more feet. Jack looked around wildly. Annie was lying very still on top of the snow. The other white wolf was sniffing and pawing at her.

Jack's anger made him fearless. “Leave her alone!” he shouted. “Go away!” He scooped up more snow and threw it.

The wolf stepped back.

“GO! GO!” shouted Jack. “Get away! Leave us alone!” He glared angrily at the two white wolves.

The wolves stared back at Jack. Their yellow eyes gleamed.

“I'm not kidding—GO!” shouted Jack.

Jack stared fiercely at the wolves. Finally the wolves looked away. They glanced at each other and then slowly backed off. They looked at Jack and Annie one last time. Then they turned and trotted away over the snow.

Jack rushed to Annie. He knelt beside her and lifted her head. “Wake up! Wake up!” he said.

Annie opened her eyes.

“You okay?” Jack asked.

“Yes … I dreamed about white wolves,” Annie murmured.

“Me too!” said Jack. “And then when I woke up, they were here! They were about to eat us!”

“Really?” Annie sat up and looked around.

“Yeah, but I scared them off,” said Jack.

“What about the Frost Giant?” Annie said.

“He's gone, too,” said Jack. “Come on. Let's get out of here!” Jack helped Annie up from the snow. “Do you still have the wizard's eye?”

Annie felt in her pocket. “Got it,” she said.

“Good.” Jack looked around. Beyond the
heaps of fallen snow, the silver sleigh was waiting for them. Overhead, the sky had turned to a light shade of gray.

“It's almost dawn,” said Jack. “Remember what the wizard said? We have to bring back his eye by the break of day—or we'll never see Merlin or Morgan again!”

Jack held Annie's hand and they trudged together through the snow. When they got to the sleigh, they climbed inside. Annie took her place at the rudder. Jack pulled out the wind-string and untied a knot.

The breeze rocked the sleigh. Jack untied a second knot, and the sail began to fill. He untied a third, and the silver sleigh moved forward, gliding over the white ground.

Swish—swish—swish.
The sleigh moved through the thick snow and away from the Hollow Hill. As they sailed over the white plain, the sky was turning from gray to pale pink.

“We have to go faster!” said Annie.

Jack untied a fourth knot. The wind whistled in his ears. The sleigh picked up speed. Annie steered it past the rocks and over the sea ice. She steered it over the plain, south to the palace of the Ice Wizard.

When the sleigh drew close to the palace, Jack tied a knot, and they began to slow down. He tied three more, and the sleigh came to a stop.

Jack and Annie looked around in the faint, cold light. “I wonder where Teddy and Kathleen are,” said Annie. “They said they'd meet us here at dawn.”

Jack studied the vast white plain, but he saw no sign of their friends. He wished he had Kathleen's vision. “I hope they're okay,” he said. “I hope they didn't run into the white wolves.”

“I have a feeling the wolves wouldn't hurt them,” said Annie. “The wolf in my dream seemed nice.”

“Dream wolves are different from real wolves,” said Jack.

“I don't think we can wait for them,” said
Annie. “The eye has to be back by the time the sun comes up.”

“The eye!” said Jack. “We never looked to see if it was inside the hailstone.”

Annie reached in her pocket and pulled out the hailstone. She held it up.

Jack gasped. Staring out at him from inside the ice was an eyeball. It was about the size of a large marble. The eyeball was white with a sparkling blue center.

“Oh, man,” whispered Jack.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” said Annie.

“I don't know about that.” Jack felt a little queasy. Seeing an eye outside of a human head was too weird for him. “Put it away for now,” he said.

Annie put the hailstone back in her pocket. Jack looked around again. The sky had brightened from pale pink to red. A thin sliver of the sun was peeking over the horizon.

“The sun!” cried Jack. “Hurry!” He and Annie jumped out of the sleigh and charged toward the palace.

When they got to the entrance, Annie stopped. “Look!” she said, pointing to big paw prints in the snow. “Wolf tracks!”

“Oh, no,” said Jack. “Do you think the white wolves are inside? That's weird.”

“It doesn't matter! We have to go in! Hurry!” said Annie. They rushed into the palace—just as the fiery ball of the sun rose over the horizon.

J
ack and Annie walked through the front hall of the palace, past the ice columns, and into the wizard's throne room. The walls and floor glittered with the brilliant, cold light of dawn.

“Uh-oh,” said Jack.

The wizard was waiting for them—and the two white wolves were sleeping on either side of his throne. Jack was confused.
Why are they here?
he wondered.
Do they belong to the wizard?

The wolves lifted their heads and sniffed the air. Their ears pricked up. When they caught
sight of Jack and Annie, they sprang to their feet. They stared at them with piercing yellow eyes.

The Ice Wizard was staring intently at Jack and Annie, too. “Well?” he said. “Did you bring back my eye?”

“Yes,” said Jack.

Annie took the hailstone out of her pocket and held it up to the wizard. Jack watched the wolves nervously as the hailstone passed from Annie's small hand into the wizard's large, rough hand.