Breaking the Ice (Book 1)

Chapter Twelve

SLEET

Luna munched on a meat stick of some animal Sleet did not know. He was sure Luna had no idea what she was eating either. The Icee was slightly disappointed that she had given up the red berries, they were actually pretty good.

That was probably the first time he had actually eaten a plant.

It was sad that Sleet wasn't around when his kind used to have Vine Elves as their main course. Now they were stuck with Zalpsudas and Stoccaks to eat.

The air reeked of smoke, making Sleet's eyes water. Luna sat on a log, busy munching on her snack. Sleet guessed that she didn't smell it. Perhaps he was just imagining things, or the scent of the volcano still lingered in his nose.

"Luna?" Sleet called, curiosity filled his tone. "Where did you come from?" Surely she grew up somewhere before she started traveling?

Luna stopped chewing. Her expression darkened slightly as she finished swallowing. She lifted her head, the sun reflected off her eyes, making them look like beautiful opals. Sleet bit the inside of his cheek, holding her intense gaze. She set the meat stick aside on top of her sack. "Lived in a small town in my early years." she shrugged.

Sleet seamed his lips, "What...was it like..?" he asked.

Luna drummed her fingers over her lips, as if trying to recall. "I grew up in a town near here actually, it's called Arthrimn. There's a mix of species there, it's not very known because most of the people there escaped from the war many years ago." Sleet nodded, he didn't know that there were villages like that.

"Never really belonged there. Being a weird looking Nightling can often lead you to unlucky situations."

"When you left, was it hard?" Sleet's cursed curiosity made him intrigued. "Did you leave anything...or anyone behind?"

Luna shrugged, "I had a friend, I think he was a Heatling and Scorpian hybrid." Sleet's expression turned sour. He could imagine the hot headed Heatlings and the cruel and savage Scorpians getting along. "It was pretty weird, he had a scorpion tail that he could shoot fireballs out of."

Sleet shuddered at this, that was something out of an Icee's nightmares: two of their enemies uniting into a greater threat.

Bushes shook, leaves rustling and crunching surrounded them. Luna jumped to her feet, preparing for an attack as Sleet growled, his ears flat against his head, his tail raised in aggression.

"Nightling..." a deep raspy voice growled. Sleet couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Luna tensed up beside him, her hand fidgeting for the sword handle.

A figure emerged from the prickly wilderness, his hair was an umber brown and his eyes were a blazing yellow. He glared at Luna with disgust and resentment.

Now that Sleet thought about it, why did the Heatlings hate Nightlings so much? His history books never held that information.

The Heatling looked around, as if expecting a third member. He drew two sickles from behind his back, ready to attack. "Where. Is. He." he enunciated, his grip tightening around the weapons' handles.

"Who?" Sleet grimaced. The Heatling's gaze darted to him for the first time, like he just realized the Icee was present.

"Ice it, wolf." he snapped, making Sleet flinch. "I'm talking to the Nightling."

Luna's fingers wrapped around the sword's handle at last. Her eyes narrowed at the man as she asked, "What do you want from us?"

The Heatling's mouth curved upwards, almost into a smile.

Almost.

"The prince," he replied.

Sleet and Luna looked at each other, then back to him. "We didn't do anything with him." they said in unison.

The Heatling gave them a disbelieving look. Sleet knew this man couldn't be reasoned with, given that his kind were stubborn. Luna slowly grabbed her sack.

With a look that told everything, both Icee and Nightling made a run for it. The Heatling growled behind them, at their heels.

Sleet ran as fast as his legs could go, nearly surpassing Luna. He looked over his shoulder for a brief moment to see how close the Heatling was, but he was nowhere in sight. His eyes caught on movement in the trees, the Heatling gracefully leaped from branch to branch. Sleet's hand curled into a fist. The Heatling was just beside them now, ready to pounce. As he flew in mid air, hurling towards Sleet, the Icee created a wall of ice to protect himself.

The brunette Heatling collided into the ice. Hopefully out cold.

Sleet snorted at his pun as he caught up with Luna.

"Whoo! That was terrifying, huh?" Luna exclaimed, collapsing on a bed of moss. Sleet smiled, shaking his head at her.

"I wonder why they think we took their prince." Sleet mused, stroking his chin. Life on the go was lively alright. Luna shrugged.

"Ugh," she pouted. "I left my meat stick." Sleet chuckled, rolling his eyes at her.

A branch snapped.

Both Luna and Sleet's heads shot up, only to see...