Title: Dragons of the Ice
Author: C. L. Kraemer
ISBN: 978-1-62420-333-6
Genre: Fantasy
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 1
TAGLINE
Dragonlings are a challenge at the best of times. When a
plot is discovered to extinguish the dragon shifters of the world, parents to
be Petra and Dagmar, Olga and Lee fear for the future.
BLURB
Unexpected dragon shiftings have increased since the
conference in China. More deaths being covered up inexplicably sends Lee
Svensson to Japan to investigate from the Swedish Embassy. Why is it World
Watch, Inc., a marketing company, is always on site when a shifter dies? Lee is
charged to find out. When the husband of his wife’s best friend discovers an
account he is managing, World Watch, Inc., is manipulating oil companies by
buying up all available stocks, the two realize their paths are the same. Now
that their wives have announced the impending births of dragonlings, it is
imperative the men solve this riddle. An American dragoness shifter and former
full blood warrior dragon will prove courage comes in all sizes.
EXCERPT
Japan
The flight to Tokyo was
tedious and Lee Svensson was not a good traveler. Airplanes exacerbated
his claustrophobia, and the air turbulence upset his stomach. He disembarked
with the passengers heading into the terminal. It never ceased to amaze him how
polite Japanese travelers were. The walkways, while crowded, found the citizens
accommodating to one another and foreigners. Lee located his luggage at the
baggage retrieval. A close by kiosk offered instructions for the second leg of
his journey. He purchased a rail ticket to Sapporo and flagged a vacant taxi
willing to take him to the station. After settling in his window seat, Lee
opted to close his eyes and allow the gentle movement of the bullet train lull
him to sleep. There were two changes to make before he reached his destination
far to the north of Tokyo in the Hokkaido prefecture.
This was his first trip away
from Olga since they'd wed before the spring conference. If there hadn't been
so much evidence against the target, he would've passed off this assignment to
another. The nature of the investigation, however, required his presence at the
offices in Sapporo.
"Sir? Excuse me, sir.
We're at your stop."
The uniformed train
attendant woke him, opting to gently rouse the stranger.
"Domo arigato."
She smiled, a shy affair
showing a small dimple in her right cheek.
"You're welcome,
sir."
Lee rose from the seat and
stretched his muscles. He was facing one more transfer then eight hours of
sleep. His meeting wasn't for two more days, but he felt the need to be rested.
He'd be glad when he could stop moving and call Olga. She'd been acting very
odd before he left yesterday. Was it just yesterday? He shook his head
realizing his sense of timing had flown out the window after several time zone
changes.
The second transfer was
quickly accomplished as Lee settled his briefcase next to him. Safely ensconced
in his seat on the final leg of his journey, his eyelids began to drift toward
his cheeks.
The ring of his cell phone
startled him awake.
"Hello? Olga! Good
heavens, what time is it there?"
He listened to the voice of
his lifemate, feeling tightness in his shoulders disappear. His lips slid into
a smile and he stretched his legs before him.
"I know, my love, but
just put up with her while I'm gone. She is, after all, the one who promoted
you to the council and encouraged them to use your work."
The countryside was giving
way to homes. Lee straightened and started checking around his seat for
anything he may have left.
"What? Olga? What did
you just say?"
The sound must've been
distorted by such a long distance.
"Olga? Let me call you
back. We're at the final station, and I need to get to my hotel room. I'll be
able to hear you better from a landline. Okay?"
He sensed she wasn't
thrilled but clicked off his phone knowing she would wait for his call. Lee
made his way to the hotel and his room.
Showering away two days of
travel, he reveled in the hot water sluicing down his body chasing away the
aches and pains of sitting for so long. Over-sized, terrycloth towels
specifically set out for him as per his reservation request, warmed and relaxed
the remaining weariness from his bones. The urgency to sleep was exerting power
over his need to speak to his wife. He shook off the need to sleep. He'd better
call Olga or she'd worry unnecessarily.
Once he'd gone through the
hotel's phone exchange, he waited on the bed as the phone rang at the other
end.
"Hello?"
Finally. "Hi, sweetheart. I couldn't
quite hear everything you were saying while I was on the train. Now, what did
you want me to know?"
He sat listening to his wife
relay the news to him. This changes everything.
"I think we best talk
seriously about this when I get home. I'll be here for at least a week
following up on a… situation. The outcome here will determine my next
assignment. I miss you, Olga."
"I miss you, too, Lee.
Be safe. If this has anything to do with the events at the spring meeting, I
want you to promise me you'll be especially vigilante."
"I promise, love. I'll
call you every day."
Stunned, he crawled beneath
the covers depositing the damp towel on the chair next to the bed. Before he
thought to turn out the light, his eyes betrayed him and closed.
Lee Svensson was sound
asleep, the worries of the coming day temporarily forgotten.
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