Free Dragon Kiss by E. D. Baker Page A

its direction. As he drew closer he realized that it was a man riding on a magic carpet—the same bald-headed wizard he’d seen making the mosaic talk. Intent on following a pair of vultures, the wizard didn’t seem to have seen Audun.
    The young dragon watched as the man gestured at the sky. A small, dark cloud appeared overhead, scudding just above the vultures. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from the cloud, forking to strike both vultures at once. Stunned, the birds tumbled to the ground. The wizard gestured again and sand rose into the air, shaping itself into a braided net which scooped up the birds and hauled them onto the magic carpet. Not caring to see what the wizard would do next, Audun turned and sped back the way he’d come.
    The wind was beginning to pick up when Audun finally spotted an oasis even smaller than the first. As he spiraled down toward it, he saw a fat, yellow-brown bird with a bald head tottering awkwardly through the meager foliage surrounding the tiny pond. It looked just like the bird in the image that Frostweaver had shown him.
    Not wanting to frighten the creature, Audun swerved away, but it was too late. His shadow had fallen on the desicca bird, which looked up in alarm. A moment later, the bird took off, flying away on broad, sturdy wings strong enough to support its chunky body. Audun followed the bird, hoping it would lead him to its nest, but instead it veered into the increasing wind. Soon the wind was so strong that Audun had to fight for every inch, yet the desicca bird was able to fly into it with no apparent difficulty. When the stinging sand made his eyes tear despite their inner lids, Audun turned his head away and struggled to gain altitude, hoping to climb above the storm.
    Afraid that the wind might tear his wings before he could escape, Audun strained to get above the blowing sand until he was so high that the air was thin and he had to fight to breathe. The golden cloud roiled and churned below him as he fought to stay above the storm. When the wind finally died away, Audun spread his wings to their fullest and let himself glide down to the hot sand.
    Too tired to move, Audun lay on his side, dragging air into his aching lungs. He was still there when the sun went down, letting the night bring its welcome chill.

    As the sun came up, Audun raised his head and groaned. Another day of searching. Another day of little to drink and nothing to eat. At least now he had seen one of the birds. He even had a good idea of where he should start looking.
    The storm had changed the face of the desert, erasing dunes here, creating new ones there. Once again Audun took to the sky, looking for the oasis where he had seen the desicca bird. He found it more quickly this time, for now he knew where to look. The precious patch of greenery and water had been ravaged by the storm, but not destroyed. Audun was certain that this was where the bird would appear. All he had to do was wait.
    A new dune had formed close to the oasis. Landing halfway up, Audun inched backward so he was partly buried in the concealing sand, yet could still see everything that happened near the water. As the morning wore on, the sand became hotter, until Audun felt as if he were roasting alive. To his surprise, however, the spot between his back and his wing wasn’t hot. In fact, it was the only spot that was comfortable.
    It occurred to Audun that it might be the effect of the never-melting ice that he had stuck in his pouch, so he took it out and held it against his forehead, easing the ball of pain that had been forming between his eyes. Even without the ice, however, the area between his back and wing felt fine, so he reached in the pouch once more and removed the rest of its contents, including the square of woven frost. Although he’d assumed that he was meant to use it to keep the egg warm, he wondered if it would also work to keep him cold.
    After returning the ice to his pouch, Audun spread the square over