Free Underworlds #4: The Ice Dragon by Tony Abbott Page A

Jon.
    “No!” cried Miss Hilda. “Ghost falcons! Dive! Dive!”
    The Valkyries slapped the reins and drove their horses downward. Ours followed. I wasn’t sure whetherthe ghost falcons spotted us, but they kept flying due north — exactly where we were heading.
    “Loki’s falcons will join the battle for Odin’s throne,” Miss Lillian said ominously from behind her helmet. “Their appearance means that Ragnarok is near.”
    Ragnarok is a word in ancient Norse that means the end . The Twilight of the Gods. The end of the world of Norse divinity. I couldn’t imagine what that might look like, but I knew it was bad.
    “That’s two signs,” said Dana. “The Fires of Midgard are one of the signs predicted before the overthrow of Odin, too. We just saw that happen — all of Pinewood Bluffs was on fire. Loki’s making sure all the predictions happen.”
    We dipped out of the clouds over a vast body of frozen water. It looked like a lake, but it was actually the opening of a humongous volcano, miles across.
    “The legend tells us that the Crystal Rune was hidden by Odin himself,” Dana said as we circled overhead. “But there was one book that revealed that the runewas in the crater of the northernmost volcano in Iceland, ‘buried by sound and silence.’ My parents burned the book to keep it from Loki, but they read it to me over and over. I guess they knew I’d need to find the rune someday.”
    Dana drew in a long breath. I couldn’t imagine how worried she was about her parents. If my family was in the Underworld, I’d spare nothing to get them back.
    Tiny villages clustered on the south side of the volcano below were dwarfed by the enormity of the crater. Soon the horses landed at a fast gallop on the rim.
    “ Buried by sound and silence ,” Sydney repeated. “It figures there would be a riddle attached. Nothing ever comes easy when the end of the world is at stake.”
    “I hope we don’t get buried there ourselves,” said Jon. Silence. He added, “Don’t everyone laugh at once.”
    We dismounted. Together, Sydney and I helped the Valkyries hammer an iron post into the edge of the rim,attach a thick rope to it, and lower the rope down the inside wall of the crater.
    “This volcano is extinct, right?” asked Sydney.
    “Usually,” said Miss Marge.
    “Usually?” said Jon. “What should we do if it starts to get active again?”
    Miss Hilda peered into the crater. Without a hint of humor, she said, “Remember the good times.”
    Sydney blinked. “All ten years of them.”
    “Take these torches,” Miss Lillian said, unpacking two sticks from her horse’s saddlebag and lighting them. “We must go. Odin needs us. Good luck.”
    “Wait,” said Jon. “Any other words of advice before you go?”
    Miss Marge looked sternly down from her horse. “Always remember …”
    “Yes?” I said hopefully.
    “… the end is coming!”
    “Thanks,” Jon said. “Thanks a lot.”
    With a whirl of wind and a scatter of ice, the Valkyries rode up into the sky again with their horses.
    We looked over the rim to the deep crater below. Steam and fog rolled up from the abyss, so we couldn’t see what might be down there. Eerie noises echoed up the rocks. Creaking. Fluttering. The clattering of rocks down the side and onto the frozen surface of the lake.
    Jon shook his head. “Oh, man …”
    “When the volcano erupted a few years ago, a net-work of ancient mines was uncovered,” said Dana. “Scientists haven’t explored them all the way. Which is good for us.”
    It was hard to believe that any of this was good for us.
    I held on to the rope and lowered myself onto the steep path that twisted around the inside of the volcano, using my sword as a snow pick to steady myself. Soon we were making the long, winding descent into the crater.
    A slow hour later, we stood together on a narrow lip of rock, staring into a ragged black hole in the side of the volcano and wondering.
    “The mine entrance?” asked