Annie Hayden's Arc

Chapter 15 of 27

Kaelen turned the stag toward the hill. Then the storm broke. Snow fell so fast it swallowed the path. Wind tore at Annie's coat and shoved her sideways. She clutched the book to her chest and squinted through white. The hill to Frostwyn's house had vanished. Worse, the slope had iced over. Kaelen's stag slipped, hooves scraping stone, and would not climb. "We can't reach him tonight," Kaelen shouted over the wind. "The path's gone. We need shelter, now." Annie's boots slid on the ice. The book was her plan to save the fox, and Frostwyn was one climb away. But no one climbed this. She swallowed her frustration and nodded. Kaelen pointed to a dark mouth in the rock below the trail. They half-slid down to it. A cave opened before them, its stone walls dry and still, the wind cut off at the threshold. The fox darted inside first, tail bright against the dark. "Stay," Kaelen said. "I'll find kindling before the snow buries everything." He handed Annie the reins and went back into the storm. Annie knelt by the fox. She had no dry wood, but she had the fox's fire and her wand. She drew the crystal-topped wand from her belt. She pressed her free hand to the fox's flank, feeling for the warning Frostwyn had taught her. She pulled one thin thread of fire. A small flame bloomed on the stone. The fox's breathing stayed even. No burn crept up her arm. She had done it right. Then the fox went rigid. Its ears pinned back. Annie felt the fur bristle under her palm. Something had followed them into the dark. A man stepped from the deeper shadow of the cave. White hair spilled from a black hood. A cloth covered half his face, and pale eyes fixed on her flame. She had never seen him. But she knew the look Kaelen had warned her about, the hunter's look that measured her warmth. "A firefox," the stranger said softly. "And a warm-blooded girl feeding it. A shiny new toy." He took a step. The fox snarled. Annie stood, wand up. She would not overdraw again. She kept her hand on the fox and pulled a steady thread. Fire snapped along the wand's crystal. She swept it in a bright arc between them. "Whoever you dare, stay back." The stranger stopped. His eyes narrowed, but he did not test her. Boots crunched behind him. Kaelen ducked into the cave, arms full of wood, and dropped it. Frost crackled to life in his palm. "Vael Shadowmere," Kaelen said, cold and low. The stranger looked between them. Then he backed toward the mouth of the cave. "Watch her, Frostwyn. Others sense her warmth too, and my master is not too keen on warm things.” He slipped into the storm and was gone. Annie let the fire die. Her arm was whole. She had held her power and driven off a hunter. But now she knew a name, and she knew the storm outside hid more than snow. Once again she has been left with more questions than answers.