Page 56 of Blades of Ice

“I don’t know. Seven or eight?”

“Then she’s now an adult or close to it. You have to find her.”

Jon’s grin was bright in the dark. “I know exactly where she is. I’ve kept tabs on Celia in case she and Ken got divorced.”

“You owe it to yourself to see if Marisole is your mate and not her mother.”

Jon flopped onto his back and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Shit. My life might not be a lost cause after all.” Angling his face toward hers, he sighed. “This is why you’re the brains, and I’m the brawn.”

Lydia brushed his bangs off his forehead. “I hope it works out for you.”

“Me too.”

When Lydia woke, she was alone. Jon and Dooley spoke in low tones outside the tent, so she got up to join them.

“Good morning. I got up early and ran ahead on a scouting mission. I was telling Jon that we’re still going the right way, but the tracks loop around the fjord, then head west. If we cross the water, we’ll cut off half a day’s walk.”

“Have a boat in your pocket, do ya?” Lydia sassed.

Dooley grinned. “No, but we do have a Gargoyle who can fly, assuming he can carry you across. Ken and I will shift, and she can ride on my back.”

Jon flexed his left arm and slapped his bicep with his right hand. “No problem, my man. I’ll take the bags first, then come back for Lydia. Let’s get the tents packed up.”

Lydia emptied their tent, and Jon took it down, adding it to his bag. Once everyone’s things were ready, Jon removed his shirt and released his wings. “Fuck, it’s cold.”

“You’re a Goyle. You don’t get cold.”

“I do when I’m in the fuckin’ tundra.”

Lydia had only ever flown with her dad, but she trusted her cousin not to drop her. Jon might not be as large as Frey, but he was still tall with a Gargoyle’s strength. Dooley asked Jon to turn his back while Kennedy stripped. Soon the little fox was darting back and forth, waiting as her mate stored her clothes in her pack. While Jon was on his first trip over with their packs, Dooley took to his Bear, Kennedy climbed on, and they took off into the frigid water. Crossing the fjord took Lydia and Jon less than five minutes, where it took Dooley about fifteen, faster than Lydia had thought it would. Kennedy hopped off Dooley’s back. He shifted first and retrieved his mate’s clothes. She got dressed while Jon turned his back without having to be asked again. Dooley refilled their canteens in the fjord before setting out again.

They had been walking several hours the next day when Dooley’s Bear returned from scouting, and the male had something to say other than they were still headed the right direction. “We’re close, only a couple hundred yards out past those hills. The tracks are jumbled where the driver circled the area and drove off in a different direction.”

“Are you sure he didn’t stop to pee?” Kennedy asked.

“Yep. There are two sets of footprints as well. I bet we’re looking for another cave.”

Jon looked off into the distance. “I don’t hear an engine, so we need to hurry before they come back.”

Lydia huffed, the cold air fogging in front of her. “I want them to show up. Fuckers took my mate.”

Jon gently clapped her shoulder. “You can get your revenge after we rescue Beck.Ifthis is where he is.”

Can you feel them?

Yes. We’re close. Beck’s alive.

“He’s here. My Goyle feels him.” Lydia wanted to run, or fly, anything to get to Beck faster.

“We’ll be quicker if we leave our packs here.” Dooley’s was already on the ground, and he removed Kennedy’s and dropped it next to his. Lydia added hers to the pile, but she removed the small cooler containing the antidotes.

Two hundred yards felt like two hundred miles, but the closer they got, the more Lydia worried. Her beast assured her he was alive, but what if the poison wasn’t wolfsbane? What if they’d used something else and she didn’t have the right antidote?

Jon must have felt her inner turmoil. He told her softly, “No matter what, we’ll get him the help he needs.”

It wasn’t hard to find the ice cave. The footprints led them to the entrance. They all kicked off their snowshoes as they wouldn’t be needed inside. Lydia placed the cooler with the shoes, wanting her hands free for her weapons. Several yards in, a crude door had been bolted into the ice walls. Jon held his fist up in the universal sign to hold. After a few seconds, he said, “I don’t hear anyone, but they could be deeper inside. I’ll go first.”

Lydia called forth her daggers while Jon snapped the padlock and dropped it to the frozen ground. He pushed the door open, pausing before stepping past. Lydia wanted to run ahead of him, but he kept his arm out so she couldn’t. Jon eased his way farther into the cave. He made a choking sound and stopped walking.

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