Winter of the Ice Wizard

cloak around her and sat down on top of the snowdrift. Then she pushed off and slid down the steep slope.
    â€œOh, wow. Wait for me!” called Annie. She climbed out the window and followed Kathleen. Whooping, she slid to the bottom of the snowdrift. “Come on, you guys! It’s fun!” she shouted.
    Jack and Teddy looked at each other. “Shall we?” said Teddy. Jack nodded. He pulled hisscarf tighter around his neck and followed Teddy out of the window.
    Jack and Teddy sat down side by side. They pushed off and slid down the icy snowdrift. Jack couldn’t help whooping, too. It
was
fun.
    At the bottom of the drift, Jack and Teddy scrambled to their feet. Jack brushed the snow off his clothes. He could see his breath in the frigid air.
    â€œIt’s j-just a little chilly,” said Annie, hugging herself.
    Only Kathleen seemed not to mind the cold. She was smiling as she lay on the ground, gazing up at the sky.
Her seal nature probably keeps her warm,
Jack thought with envy.
    Teddy peered across the snowy plain. “I believe not one living creature is here but us,” he said.
    â€œNot true at all,” said Kathleen. She pointed upward. “I see snow geese and whistling swans.”
    â€œI can almost see them, too,” said Annie.
    Kathleen stood up. She shielded her eyes and gazed across the plain. The cold sun was low in the sky. It cast long blue shadows beneath the snowdrifts. She pointed into the distance. “And see? A white hare is leaping home before dark,” she said.
    Jack looked where Kathleen pointed, but he couldn’t see anything moving at all.
    â€œI see a snowy owl, too,” said Kathleen, “and—oh, no!”
    â€œWhat?” said Annie.
    â€œWolves,” Kathleen said with a shudder. “They just disappeared behind a snowdrift. My people greatly fear the wolves.”
    â€œYou need not be afraid. I shall protect you,” said Teddy. He took Kathleen’s hand. “Come! Let us make haste toward the sun!”
    Together, Teddy and Kathleen headed across the snow-covered plain. Their woolen cloaks waved behind them. Annie and Jack dug theirhands in their pockets and quickly followed them toward the setting sun.
    As Teddy, Kathleen, Jack, and Annie trudged across the frozen plain, the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon. Its last rays poured purple-pink light over the snow.
    The wind blew against Jack’s face. He looked down and kept walking. The cold felt like needles on his skin. Each icy breath was painful. He hoped they found Merlin’s Staff of Strength soon. He couldn’t imagine anyone surviving for long in this lonely, freezing land.
    Jack’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Annie calling. He looked up. The sun had completely slipped behind the horizon. In the cold twilight, the snow had faded from purple-pink to a dark shade of blue.
    â€œJack! Come look!” Annie called. She, Teddy, and Kathleen were standing on the slope of a huge snowdrift.
    Jack hurried to join them.
    â€œLook!” said Annie.
    â€œOh, man,” Jack said softly.
    On the other side of the snowdrift was a glimmering palace made from huge blocks of ice.

    Beneath the rising moon, its gleaming spires pierced the blue dusk.
    â€œI wonder who lives there … ,” said Jack.
    â€œLet us go and find out!” said Teddy.
    Teddy led the way down the slope to the ice palace. Long icicles hung like spears in front of the entrance.
    â€œIt seems no one has visited this place in quite a while,” said Kathleen.
    â€œIndeed,” said Teddy. He broke off several icicles, and they clattered to the ground. “Onward?” he said.
    The others nodded.
    Kicking aside the chunks of ice, Teddy led them all into the ice palace.

T he air inside the palace was even colder than the air outside. Moonlight flooded through tall arches in the walls. The floor shined like a skating rink. Thick columns of sparkling ice held up a domed ceiling.
    â€œWELCOME, JACK AND ANNIE,” boomed a voice from beyond the columns.
    Jack gasped. “Is that Merlin?” he whispered.
    â€œIt does not sound like Merlin,” whispered Teddy.
    â€œBut how does he know our names?” whispered Annie.
    â€œCOME, JACK AND ANNIE. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU,” bellowed the voice.
    â€œMaybe it
is
Merlin!” said Annie. “Maybe he’s just using a different voice! Come on!”
    â€œAnnie,