Read Frost Arch for Free Online

through the hole, careful not to get my fingers too close. Not even a second had passed before, to my astonishment, the bread that I had inserted, was suddenly being pushed back out of the hole. It’s a picky eater, I thought.
    I sighed and retrieved what chicken I had left. I suppose I didn’t really need it anyway. I popped some into the crate instead, and a scuffling and chewing sound reached my ears. I smiled to myself. This wasn’t so bad.
    I put my knuckles to the wood again, this time doing a more complicated pattern of knocks, with different timing between each one.
    I held my breath as I waited. Without a doubt, a tapping from inside the box could be heard, and it was the exact same rhythm I had just done. Grinning wildly to myself, I popped more chicken into the box. This animal was intelligent. It was thinking, hearing, and solving a problem to get food. But hadn’t Jefferson said that this animal was discovered by two Mages in the wild? Surely, if this kind of creature had never been seen before, it obviously wasn’t a trained pet …
    My stomach flipped excitedly, a grin spreading across my face. I could save this amazing little creature, whatever it was. There was no way it was going to hurt me. Licking my dry lips I bent lower to the box and muttered to the creature inside. I could see its nose sniffing around the hole again, waiting to see if I was going to spoil him or her with more food.
    “Okay, I’m going to let you out, whatever you are, but you have to promise me that you won’t attack me. Behave, and I’ll rescue you, and set you free in the wild.” I felt awfully silly talking to an animal, but I assumed that it had understood me when it gave an innocent sniff at the air hole again.
    I sighed, “All right, when we get closer to Frost arch, I will burn the hole of the box so it’s big enough for you to climb out of. You’ll just have to wait silently, and perfectly still in my bag until we’re out of Jefferson’s sight, got it?”
    There was an eager whine from the box, so I took that as a yes.
    “Just don’t go absolutely crazy when I’m trying to make the hole bigger for you.”
    The sun was setting by the time the twenty foot high walls surrounding Frost Arch came into view. My stomach gave an uneasy lurch as we drew closer. I peered out of the window and gasped.
    It was autumn, yet hanging over Frost Arch was a dark black cloud that clearly had snowflakes falling from it. I gaped. Impossible. We were a mere hundred meters from the high stone walls, and it was perfectly sunny and warm here! I stared, trying to comprehend the scene before my eyes.
    I wasn’t imagining it. Yes, a large snow cloud hung over the exact proximity of frost arch, only snowing within its boundaries. Not a flake of snow fell outside of its walls.
    “Impossible.”
    I gave myself a shake and concentrated on what I was supposed to be doing.
    It was time for me to start burning away at the wooden crate.
    I gave my fingers a click and held it to the box when a small flame flickered there. I prayed that I wasn’t going to get bitten.
    “Don’t worry.” I reassured.
    After a few minutes some of the wood had burnt and fallen away. I still couldn’t see what was inside the box, even with the fire at my fingertips lighting up the carriage. Once the hole was the size of my hand I heard the carriage come to a rumbling halt in front of the large wooden doors flanking the entrance to Frost Arch. I hurriedly opened my duffle bag and held it to the hole I had made in the box, covering it completely so I couldn’t the creature. To my surprise I hadn’t been imagining my little animal friend all along. Sure enough, I heard a scurrying, and a weight plonk into my bag, then hold very still after it had made itself comfortable on a pile of my clothes. By the weight of it this animal it seemed it would have fit into my arms nicely. I turned the small wooden box so the hole was facing against the back seat, and would only