Page 78 of The Valiant Knight
It was time to save the baby deer.
“Oh, little one,” she said, racing to the edge of the water. “Let me help you.”
As Gabby looked around, she tried to find something to help her. All around the lake, the air was ice cold, and had nothing to do with the temperature outside.
Her breath puffed from her lips in little clouds of condensation.
Picking up a stick, she tried to pull the fawn toward her. Only, it kept scrambling further onto the ice.
Well, shit.
This was going to take more than just a stick. Someone was going to have get the baby deer.
“Oh, damn it,” she muttered, testing the ice with her boot.
It felt solid.
There wasn’t any cracking under her weight. That was a good thing.
She recalled Elizabeth telling Ivan that she would have paid good money to see Ian and Gryphen in ice skates. This was likely the water they were on when they were here.
That gave her hope that she might be able to get on and off without going under.
As the baby fawn kept crying, Gabby didn’t hear the laughter. It was masculine, and hidden under the sounds of the bleating fawn.
It was now our never.
Gabby knew that she needed to help it.
Going onto her knees, she slowly began moving onto the ice, disbursing her weight at multiple points so it didn’t crack under her body.
When she reached the baby deer, she grabbed the gangly creature and shoved it toward the shore. Gabby pushed so hard that it rolled onto the bank like the awkward limbed fawn it was.
Well, at least it was safe.
Now, she began moving toward the shore, and that’s when she heard it.
The male laughter.
It echoed all around her.
What was this?
Looking around, she felt chills on her body as the ice below her cracked.
And then, Gabby went in.
Jesus Christ, but it was cold, dark, and she lost her way as it felt like there were fingers around both of her ankles, pulling her deep into frigid water.
She fought, but her body was paralyzed with fear and the sound of that laughter.
It chilled her to the bone.
She didn’t need to worry about going home.
This was going to be how she died, and no one would know until the ice melted.
Gabriella Lopez was going missing.
