“Sure.” He shrugged. “Just angry.”
“Me, too.”
The Blackfish walked at a steady pace with distance between them. I skimmed their faces, read the concentration. The vigilance as they studied every rock and snowy hill.
Nothing but white, dazzlingly bright, and the sheer, glistening granite mountainside. Trees were nonexistent at this altitude. The land was barren, scoured by a wind stronger than the storm I’d fought against in the Alpen.
Overhead, the sky had cleared, leaving only the remnants of clouds, trailing like tattered prayer flags caught on the distant stony peaks. The girl I’d been would have thrilled at the black against white composition. She would have walked this landscape, too busy imagining the photographs to see the danger. Not today, though.
Imagination was not allowed today.
We hiked without stopping, pushed by the urgency of passing time. The sun was low in the sky when Angel held up a hand.
“That river in the distance,” she said when we’d all gathered around. “We either cross here, or go south, find a narrow point and lose two days.”
“Looks frozen.”
“On the surface. The current beneath is treacherous.”
“I say we cross,” Levi said before she’d finished.
Angel tipped her head. “Fall through that ice, pup, and you’re downstream with no chance of a rescue.”
Each man would cross on his own, since we’d not be roped together. No lifeline that might drown the entire team if one went down. Angel would be crossing. I’d be following. Those who wished to go around would have to catch up.
The group stood silent. Each man nodded his agreement when Angel asked. The Blackfish deserved their reputation. They were fearless and frightening, and maybe I was glad to have these fighters on my side after all.
I searched for Amal’s rune and found it zipped in an inner pocket. Barend’s blood bag was in the quiver on my back, away from the arrow tips, but where I’d have easy access and not worry that I’d forgotten it. Perhaps Barend did not deserve my cooperation, but the vampire hanging on Amal’s wall certainly did—another odd gesture of compassion others might say was unwarranted. Vampires were far from innocent.
Cresting the hill, we aimed for the glistening river. A jumble of granite blocks cluttered the way, with squared edges and charcoal stains, the remnants from a watchtower. Nothing but a relic, a casualty of ruthless fighting and the passing centuries.
“More like a bad memory,” Angel said as we climbed the steps carved into the mountainside.
From the higher vantage point, I studied the vast wilderness of the Cariboo, a snowy world devoid of life, other than the jagged peaks lined up like a dragon’s spine.
Levi leaned against a stone pillar, staring into the same distance. His brown hair fell across his forehead the way it always did, and he pushed it back, his fingers restless.
I waited, honoring the minutes he needed before he shoved away from the pillar. Together, we walked on, picking a way through the rubble and down the other side… while, in the distance, the sun glinted and pressed an orange and yellow kiss against the shadowed peaks.
“An hour left of daylight,” said Angel as she plowed along. “Don’t waste it.”
The frozen river was a sheet of white, other than the glassy areas not dusted with snow. The men had gathered along the bank. From their packs, they pulled spikes and bent to strap them to their boots.
“Here.” Angel held a set of spikes. “Strap as tight as you can. You’ll need the traction.”
I sat on a rock and worked to get the fit right. My fingers did not bend, and the tips were numb. I worked at thawing them while Angel scanned the far bank. One hand shaded her right eye, and she spoke in a low voice; a tall man had his hands on his hips as he listened. They were discussing two different exits, one that was steeper than the other and farther upstream. But needle-thin pine trees lined the frozen bank. After they tied a rope to the trees, Angel said, they’d throw one end to those crossing. Add to the stability.
From the way Angel was gesturing, she wanted the tall man’s rope. She’d go first because she was lighter in weight. He argued back. His experience was equal to hers. The bank was too steep beyond the trees, he said. Men would have to shift into wolves to manage the incline. She shook her head and pointed. I blurted out a question about those who were unable to shift, and she turned to look at me. The black patch covering her left eye was stark against her pale skin, but my gaze shifted to the tall man at her side. I shook my head, agreeing with him in their argument.
Angel snatched the rope, and there was no arguing with that twist to her mouth.
“Keep hold of that spear,” I warned Levi, my voice low and teasing. “She’s got a temper.”
“Like someone else I know.” He rolled his eyes. “That fling of her braid when she turns—that’s all you, Noa.”
“Any braid flings out like that when you turn.”
“It’s the determined little flip at the end. Like you’re flipping everyone off.”
