The smile faded as he shucked off one of his gloves. It was time\u2014time to stop waiting, time to face the thing that had come for him. One of his knuckles had split that morning while he\u2019d been chopping wood. A little blood would do the trick, would end this waiting game.<\/p>\n
If I\u2019m right about what this thing is, anyway.<\/em> He exhaled and walked out onto the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Matt called after him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll smell me,\u201d Thordin said, crouching down. The ice near the shore was thick, but that was because the water had been shallow. He scraped his split knuckle against the ice\u2019s surface, knowing that it wouldn\u2019t take long for the scent to travel, even across the ice, through the ice. He straightened slowly, pulling his glove back on. \u201cYou two stay back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe came here to help you, idiot,\u201d Thom said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know what we\u2019re dealing with,\u201d Thordin fired back. \u201cStay where you are so you don\u2019t get hurt. Marin wouldn\u2019t forgive me if you two got hurt.\u201d I wouldn\u2019t forgive myself.<\/em><\/p>\n Damn. This must be what Phelan feels like every damned day of his life.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis is insane,\u201d Thom said.<\/p>\n \u201cInsane was you following me,\u201d Thordin fired back, adjusting his grip on his battleax. This wasn\u2019t going to be clean or pretty, but these things never were. \u201cYou should have stayed in camp.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t happen,\u201d Matt said.<\/p>\n \u201cJust stay back,\u201d Thordin growled, glaring over his shoulder at them, his heart starting to beat a little faster. He could feel something, something not quite right. It was coming; the worm was coming. It had caught his scent, just as he\u2019d planned. \u201cI can handle this.\u201d<\/p>\n And if I can\u2019t, then I trust you all to finish what I started.<\/em><\/p>\n The ice beneath his feet began to quake and he smiled grimly.<\/p>\n Ice cracked, sounding like a gunshot in the still, cold air.<\/p>\n Two dozen yards ahead, the lindworm erupted from the ice with a roar.<\/p>\n Thordin rushed headlong toward it, howling a battlecry unheard since the days of old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The smile faded as he shucked off one of his gloves. It was time\u2014time to stop waiting, time to face the thing that had come for him. One of his knuckles had split that morning while he\u2019d been chopping wood. … Continue reading