Page 51 of Winter's Edge
“What is your problem?” I demanded.
Without a word, Grady turned and limped up the hill.
“Ignore him. I do.” Shaking his head, Archer turned to me. “See you soon. Take care of Sasha for us.”
He followed up the hill, leaving me alone in the middle of a forest with their wolf pup as the last autumn night began to fall. What could go wrong?
I watched them through Sasha until they crested the hill, and then I waited in the quiet. There wasn't any wind, which made it easier to hear any sounds in the forest, but it might not help too much with building a boiling fire. It was as if the air was saving its fury for tomorrow's winter. I pressed a constant stream of kisses to Sasha's head to keep her from wriggling, and she just sat there and took my loving, though I could tell she was getting restless.
"They'll be back soon," I whispered into her fur.
Just sitting here made me shiver farther into my coat until my teeth clicked together, so I got up and paced a tight line in front of the sleigh. Sasha seemed fascinated with the tops of the trees, so I closed my eyes to her constant head tilting. Not that I blamed her. There was nothing else to do while we waited.
Soon—or not; I really had no idea—I smelled smoke. Anxiety squeezed my chest around my thrumming heartbeat. The size of the fire they'd talked about making was dangerous, but that size was needed for all of this to work. Still, what if something happened to them?
The smell grew thicker. Somewhere deeper in town, a bell rang like an alarm.
I waited, turning Sasha about every two of my steps to see toward the top of the hill. Still nothing.
Sasha whimpered, and I bundled her into my coat with her face peering out the top so we could share body heat. But she just whimpered again as though she could sense something was wrong.
"It's okay, sweet girl. They'll be back soon."
I started counting the seconds, keeping time with my steps, and looked toward the hill. The smoke smell grew thicker, stronger. When my number counting became ridiculously large, I couldn’t stand it anymore. Grady should’ve been back long before now.
Something had happened.
I’d have to go in there myself. With Sasha, because there was no way I’d leave her out here by herself.
“Shit,” I hissed through chattering teeth. “Shit, shit,shit.”
Working as fast as I could, I found the crushed star anise on the top of our supplies and rubbed it all over the both of us, then bundled her wiggly butt to me using the leather harness on the sleigh. Even though I could really use her eyes to help me find Jade and Lee, I couldn’t risk anyone seeing her. So, I buttoned my coat up to my neck so not even the tips of her ears showed through. The buttons pulled around the both of us, allowing plenty of frigid air for her to breathe and me to freeze unless I got moving.
“Sasha,” I said, grabbing up my bow, arrows, and a perfectly good walking stick from the forest floor, “we need to find your pack, but to do that, I need yousoquiet, okay? Not even a peep.”
She nestled closer to my breasts where my heart pounded out of control and remained silent.
“Good girl.”
I started up the hill towards a very literal wolf’s den.
Chapter 15
Iwent as fast as I could, digging my heels into the snow as I climbed. The cold air burned my lungs, and once I reached the hill's peak, so did the smoke coming off of Old Man’s Den.
Once I reached the bottom of the hill, several shouts reached my ears that sounded like frantic calls for help.
I sped my pace as I crossed the road into town, hoping the fire hadn't gone out of hand yet. If the brothel evacuated everyone, it would be impossible to find Jade in the chaos. As I neared it, tapping the snow with my walking stick, I could hear the fire up ahead devouring the old jail, feel the heat like a physical wall.
My walking stick hit some steps, and I climbed my way into what I was sure was the brothel. It was as if I'd stepped into a different world, one where there wasn't a fire just up the street. Someone played piano from the far corner, an aggressively upbeat song with too many notes for me to handle right now. I stepped away from it and toward the sound of a heavy bottle tinkling something into a glass that smelled like it had only slightly fewer fumes than moonshine. Three women were gathered around the bottle and talking quietly, their voices whispery but distinct. It smelled like peonies in here. Peonies and sweat and liquor.
I found the bar and then sank onto a barstool near the women so it appeared it looked like I knew what I was doing with myself here. Then I cleared my throat loudly to interrupt their conversation.
"Who do I need to talk to if I have a question about one of the girls who works here?" I asked.
"Hey, I recognize you," one of the women said.
And I recognized that voice. It was the same smoky-voiced woman who'd told me I was walking on the wrong side of the road.
