Minglings - Book 3 chapter 33: Lands of frost and flame

Mason hurled himself to the side, slamming into the wall while breathing in a deep breath. Clankrin rushed past him, slashing to the side, and Mason felt a burning sensation drag across his side and shoulder.

Ignoring it, he drew in a massive breath, pulling on the abundance of red fire mana-lits in the air. As he felt a raging fire ignite inside his body, Clankrin turned and, with pursed lips, shot a thin line of fire at him.

Not happening!

Mason let out a burp of fire, holding most inside, causing a small wave of pale white fire to erupt and block the line of red fire. For a split second, he thought it was alright, and he could focus, building up a stronger attack. Then the nearly blood-red fire of Clankrin popped through and slammed him into his chest, shoving him into the wall.

A dull pain came from his pain, but all it did was ignite Mason's anger. Feeling his self-control slip rapidly, he roared, no longer thinking about a large fire breath. Instead, a wide cone of pale yellow and orange fire erupted out and covered Clankrin.

Mason jumped forward through the fire and slammed into the smaller but heavier dragon. He grabbed Clankrin's claws as they slashed at him, holding them back. Clankrin bit at him, but Mason was faster, and he headbutted the other to the side before biting in his neck, just behind the ear. His teeth screeched across Clankrin's scales while the other dragon tried to pull back, then a scale snapped, followed by another. Suddenly, Mason had a hold, and he clamped down. At the same time, he let fire leak out of his throat.

A high-pitched scream came from Clankrin, and he began flailing around, his tail slamming against Mason.

Mason barely noticed it as he let his anger and instincts rule his actions. Continuing to increase the pressure, he felt Clankrin move sideways, trying to struggle free and attempting to pull him along toward the barrier. Mason curled his tail around the other's back leg and tripped him, and as he fell, he used his own balance to land on top. More scales cracked and broke, and suddenly, a wave of burning hot blood flooded his mouth, leaking out between his teeth.

"No," Clankrin roared, his voice cracking as he bucked and flailed like a horse.

Mason felt the other try and free his claws, but he also sensed something else.

He was stronger!

A sense of pride and distaste came from his draconic heritage, and somehow, it made him feel stronger, his teeth sinking further into the other's neck.

"I surrender, surrender," Clankrin groaned before coughing, and Mason felt his resistance weaken.

If he didn't have a mouth full of the other's neck, he might have answered. But now, all he did was continue to bite down. In his mind, he recalled the hate Clankrin had shown the Kobolds, his intent to harm them, and his desire to boss him around.

Nobody bosses me around! Mason thought as his mind filled with a fiery desire to destroy this… this… competition!

Clankrin slid down, his draconic front limbs losing their power. Blood continued to flow out of the deep wounds in his neck, and he coughed as more leaked out of his mouth.

Mason barely noticed the struggling and shouting from behind him. All he cared about was ending this thing. Killing this would be! This… this-

What is going on?

Mason blinked as a tiny voice in his mind called out at him. He angrily wanted to shove it away, but then it came again.

It's like with the Hound! This isn't me!

The memory of the Hound was like a cold breeze through his mind, and he jumped back, releasing his hold on Clankrin. His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding, and pale orange fire leaked from his teeth.

The burly red dragon before him was motionless, eyes closed, and no sign of life remaining.

Shit…

Mason swallowed, his body screaming in joy as the blood of his enemy-

No! Calm the fuck down!

Spitting the blood out of his mouth, he took a slow step forward, gazing hard at Clankrin's chest and mouth.

I stopped in time… surely? Like in the movies… just in time?

Seconds ticked by, but the other's chest didn't move, there were no tiny bubbles of blood on its lips. Instead, Clankrin's scales were turning dull, the gleam leaving them, and as Mason looked, he saw a sudden rush of bright red mana-lits erupt out, swirling around before rushing at him.

He took a step back but was far too late. The mana-lits flooded into his body, and he felt his blood heat up, his skin itch, and he could sense scales being pushed up by others. The sound of hail followed, and he stared down as hundreds of scales fell to the ground.

Taking another step back, he swallowed, suddenly worried. He'd not just killed Clankrin, he'd also returned himself back to the red scales he'd had before? Looking at his side, he saw that the speed at which the scales were replacing themselves was slowing down rapidly.

Finally, the burning blood and itch stopped, and as he examined himself, he knew he was over two-thirds red now. Almost as red as he had been when he'd left the island volcano after awakening.

He barely had time to register this fact when the sense of being drawn forward returned, stronger than he'd ever felt it. His head snapped up as he gazed at the barrier, and he could almost feel a whispering voice calling him.

"Don't! Mason!"

Mason blinked, then turned and froze. Baudron and the others were wounded and staring at him while an unmoving body lay between them. He immediately recognized the color and size. It was Roisille. Or what remained of her, as part of her arm was torn off, and he saw large gaping wounds on her torso.

Shit…

Looking around, he didn't see any sign of Drayana, the other dragon that had followed Clankrin. A sickening feeling shoved the whispered desire to move to the barrier back, and he walked forward, ignoring a tiny voice in his mind telling him to eat his spoils.

"Are you alright?" Baudron asked as he stood as deep in the superheated tunnel as his body could handle.

"I'm fine," Mason grunted as he gazed at Praxton.

It was his voice that had called out to him before, and right now, the dark dragon's purple eyes had a worry oozing from them.

"You need to leave… if you somehow open that barrier, it's going to be a disaster," Praxton said as he

As he thought about leaving the tunnel and the ruins, the desire grew, and he realized it was getting harder to move forward.

"Focus, and don't stop," Paxton said.

Mason didn't respond, but gritting his teeth, he forced his way forward.

When he finally reached the end of the tunnel, it felt like he was being dragged back by chains. Struggling out, he suddenly felt the draw weaken back to normal. It happened so fast that he almost stumbled and fell, barely managing to stay on his shuddering limbs.

"Good job," Paxton said.

Mason ignored him and the others as he looked around the city. The insane draw had lessened, but there was still some left gnawing at his self-control. Although the insane anger he'd felt before was gone, the constant nagging sensation was annoying him.

Even if that thing is a good guy, this won't do, he thought as he took a furious breath and jumped in the air.

"Mason?"

"Desert," Mason croaked out, ignoring the others as he flew up.

As he shot up and out of the ruined city in the cave, he almost hoped he'd see Drayana outside. A quick look turned up nothing, and he was too annoyed to even search more. Besides, perhaps she was hiding back in the cave. Thinking about that, he looked back at the others flying behind him.

"Baudron, stay down there and make sure nobody goes into the tunnel," he shouted.

The brown dragon looked back, then nodded with obvious resolve. He turned to Maru, and a moment later, they shot back down.

Praxton didn't come? Mason thought as he saw only Faelina and Siobahn fly after him.

A sharp jab came as he stared at the hole in the ground, and he quickly looked back away. He didn't bother thinking about it any longer, instead shooting forward and up.

An hour later, he was relieved to see the pale white desert in the distance, and without hesitation, he glided down before landing on the hot sand. Digging his toes in it, he lay down.

I wonder how long I'll need to stay here before that bloody desire leaves me, he thought as he gritted his teeth.

A twinge of fear came as he wondered if there was a dragon with golden scales somewhere that would start drawing him.

–

Jake hovered outside of Azurill, taking a look at the quiet city. Even though it was early in the morning, dragons and Kobolds should have been everywhere. Instead, the only ones he saw were guards.

"Jake?"

He turned to Emma, who was twirling around next to him. Tir was holding on to her neck, though every few minutes, she would swim back to Jake like a tiny meteor. Zendrin was a little bit further away, his dark eyes emotionlessly looking at them.

"Last chance," Jake said as he smiled at Emma to show he was just making a joke.

Emma shook her head and began swimming away,

Jake chuckled, the sound odd in the deep sea water, before turning to the Kobold on his back.

"Yes, no!" Calips said before he could even ask.

Jake blinked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm sure, no, I don't want to stay here," Calips said quickly. "There's nothing I can do here, and Lady Talia said I should keep an eye on you…. Wait, not in a bad way! But to help, and-"

He began prattling on, and Jake just nodded as he swam after Emma.

"What? You're not going to ask me?" Zendrin asked, a glint in his eyes.

Jake looked back, unsure what to think of their guide.

"I'm pretty sure you would come either way," he said.

Zendrin looked at him for a while before turning ahead and increasing his speed.

"Got that right," he said before letting out what Jake could only think of as an evil laugh. "Someone has to keep an eye on you and the eggs!"

I wonder why she even let me bring those, Jake thought as he took a quick look at the ice that wrapped around the eggs. It was far less than when he had arrived, but there was still a dense amount of icy mana-lits encased within.

Still… I wonder why Zendrin was the one sent with us, he thought.

He was pretty sure Lady Talia didn't want to harm them, and as powerful as Zendrin seemed to imply he was, he was pretty sure he could take him and most things they would encounter that were of their size.

Perhaps he has a trick to deal with those behemoths?

He continued pondering as they swam forward.

Days of constant swimming and travel passed, and it quickly became clear why Zendrin was there. At least one of the reasons. Every once in a while, he would stop to look around and guide them another way. Twice, Jake saw large numbers of Hydracii in the distance, but Zendrin didn't want to comment on how he did it.

Days turned to weeks, and after what ended up being a mostly long and boring journey, Jake, Emma, Calips, and a mostly silent Zendrin reached what Zendrin called the Icy Void.

Jake excitedly stared into the dark blue distance, surprised at the amount of icy mana-lits he saw. Although it was nothing compared to the masses of blue mana-lits that twirled around in ribbon-like nebulas, the fact that there were some was already surprising to him.

Then again, with a name like Icy Void, he thought.

"Listen up," Zendrin said, the first thing he'd said beyond telling them they had arrived, which had been his first words of the day. He turned to look at Jake, ignoring Emma and Calips.

"From here on, things won't be so easy. First off, besides the Explorers, nobody ever goes this way, so we are going to have to make do with the directions I got," he said. "Besides that, there will be fewer mana-lits as we go further, so if we get in trouble, we can only rely on regular fighting."

Jake raised a scaly eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Where do we go then?" he asked.

Zendrin turned and pointed roughly toward the distance. "We need to go all the way until we find snowflakes in the water. When we do, we need to go up and search for the Iceberg, which is said to be drifting around, carried by the current."

"What kind of trouble can we expect?" Jake asked.

"Sliver Serpents," Zendrin said with distaste. "Between our length and ten times that and as thick as my chest," he said as he held out his clawed hands. "They have the nasty habit of shooting icy shards at anything that moves."

"Don't forget about the Razer Shrimps," Calips said worriedly. "They travel in swarms, and I've read-"

"Bah, rumors, nothing more," Zendrin snapped, interrupting the Kobold. "Not a single reliable witness!'

Calips blinked, and Jake could almost see the cogs in his head spin with a reply.

"Are there any Hydracii?" he asked quickly.

"No, it's too cold. But there might be Hydra," Zendrin said. "Now, let's go."

Jake followed him, making up the rear with Emma swimming in the middle.

"Tell me about those Razor Shrimps," he whispered to Calips. Even if they weren't real, he'd prefer knowing all possibilities instead of getting caught with his pants down.

Not that I have use for those now, Jake thought.

Another reason is to find a way to become powerful enough to allow himself to shape change back into a Kobold.

Although they only swam up at a slight angle, the darkness rapidly turned to a soft light-blue as more and more silver mana-lits began illuminating the darkness. Although the water type already provided some light, the ice variant provided far more.

Two days passed, and by now, Jake could see further than rest while a constant rush of silvery mana-lits circled him like a cloud. A cool sensation was spreading through his body, and even without focusing on the ice, he felt more in control than ever. Tir, who sat beside him, had lost interest in the silvery mana-lits, but they hadn't. Any that got close to her were drawn into her scales, and as he watched her, Jake saw her absently scratch at her neck and peel a tiny blue scale away to reveal a silvery one that was very like those that had begun spreading across his own body.

"Jake, can we go to the bottom and find a nice coral cave to rest in?" Emma whispered, close to him.

There was a snort from behind them, where Zendrin was following them.

"We can't, little one," Jake said, smiling at her. "But if you want, you can rest on my back?"

Emma didn't react to him calling her little one but simply swam to his back and nestled between his folded wings. As large as he was, she fit easily, but he knew It was a testament to how tired she was that she didn't react to him calling her little one.

Calips, sitting closer to his neck, looked back at her and sighed when it was obvious that Emma was asleep within moments.

"Being young… she can even sleep in such dangerous places," he muttered.

Jake was about to answer when he sensed a massive disturbance in the water far ahead. Before he could say anything, Zendrin swam up beside him, and his dark blue, purple eyes suddenly gleamed with a silvery light.

"I don't see anything. You?" Zendrin asked.

Jake gazed into the pale depths ahead, at first seeing nothing. Then, a mass of shadowy shapes appeared in the distance, rapidly moving towards them.

"Incoming!"

"Describe them," Zendrin said, his voice a short snap.

"Dozens, if not hundreds of long shapes," Jake said, and as he did, he thought about what Zendrin had told him two days earlier.

"Sliver serpents. We need to go up!" Zendrin echoed his fear, and without waiting, the dark dragon shot straight up.

Jake followed him, but as he did, he felt a slight annoyance. He had to flee near the first Iceberg because of that giant Hydra, and now he was fleeing again.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the shadows were slowly falling back again. However, when they stopped after a while, it only took a short time for them to reappear. The second time they stopped, they had been going for at least an hour.

"Think they are gone?" Jake asked.

"I have no clue. All I know about them is that they never leave the colder parts of the sea," Zendrin replied. "Let's just continue up. From how cold the water is, we should be close to the Iceberg anyway."

Jake nodded and followed him up. Either because they were still moving or because they had given up, they didn't spot the Sliver Serpents again.

It took them over five days to reach the surface, something that surprised Jake immensely as that meant they were far deeper than he had imagined. What was even worse was that they hadn't even been near the seabed.

As he stared at the cloudy sky above, he felt a deep sense of relief to be back up, which surprised him. He'd never had that feeling before, at least not this strong.

Jake broke through the surface, his head immediately surrounded by a freezing cold wind while tiny bits of ice ticked against his scales like hail.

"It-s, Free.. zing here, "Calips said, his teeth chattering.

Zendrin looked around, then pulled his head back below the water.

"Jake… why is it so cold here?" Emma whispered. "It's never this cold when I'm in the water."

Jake frowned as he felt the cooling wind caress his scales.

It's not that cold, is it? he thought as he raised his head higher to look around.

As he did, he saw a line of bright white far in the distance.

"That's… not an iceberg," he whispered. "That's an ice continent!"

Emma pressed herself against him with a shiver.

"I hope it's not as cold there," she whispered before letting out a chatter-toothed giggle. "That makes no sense, right?"

No, Jake thought as he took one last look before diving back down.

Seeing Zendrin and Calips hovering there, he hesitated.

"I'm starting to worry you guys can't come all the way," he said.

"What? Why?" Emma cried, moving close.

Jake looked around, staring at the nearly even divide by blue and silver mana-lits.

"Because I think there are too many ice mana-lits here," he said.

"Ah!" Calips shouted as he clasped his arms and began muttering something unintelligible.

"Calips?" Jake asked.

"What?" the Kobold asked, looking up confused.

"Why did you just shout? Do you have an idea?"

Calips blinked, then nodded as he began moving his arms in an odd gesture. As he did, the water around him began moving softly, and Jake saw water mana-lits move towards him. Some moved into his body, but most remained in the small area of water around him.

"There! Like that," Calips said as he clapped his hands, which made no sound below the water.

"What did you do?" Emma asked.

"What? Oh! Just draw in mana-lits and create a film of water around you. Just make sure you leave the mana-lits in the water!"

There was a grunt from Zendrin, and Jake saw a similar, stronger film of water forming around him.

It took Emma longer to create hers, but when she finally did, all but Jake were covered in a dense area of mana-lit-filled water.

"Alright, let's go and see what this Iceberg is all about," Jake said.

With him partially out of the water, they swam forward, but as close as it seemed, it took them two more days to reach the edge of what was a massive continent of ice and snow.

Looking through the twirling snow and ignoring the hail pelting his head, Jake noticed what looked like a river that led deeper into the icy continent. It was filled with blue mana-lits, which seemed to somehow keep the ice from encroaching.

As he swam towards it, he kept a close eye out for anything dangerous, but the only thing moving was snow.

I wonder if this is even the Iceberg they meant, he thought, wondering what they would find here.