Her heart stuttered and thumped as the shapeformed a tentacle reaching towards her. She could barely keep hereyes open as it came closer and closer. What had those storiessaid? She couldn’t remember.
“Shane!”
A bright light came between her and thefrostling. It hissed, its voice a sibilant whisper in the dark.
Until next time.
A hand shook her sharply. She blinked dumblyup at the flickering yellow light. Fire. She was so cold.
“Shane, don’t you dare go to sleep.”
A sharp pain landed on both cheeks. Her eyesblinked open. Eamon’s face came into focus.
He slapped her again.
“Eamon, will you please stop hitting me.”
“Shane! Thank the gods, man.” His face wasfull of concerned relief as she pushed up onto one elbow. “I sawyou drop like a rock and thought something had happened.”
“Something did happen.” She rubbed her face,feeling the odd sensation of frost breaking apart under her hand.“Did you see the shadow?”
“What shadow?”
“You didn’t see it then.” She dropped herhand and looked at the torch held in one of his. “Good thing youhad that. It’s probably the only thing that saved us.”
“I guess.”
“How are the others?”
He turned to shake the man Shea had intendedto wake. “Groggy and confused.” He slapped the man when he didn’tstir and said in a sharp voice. “Get up.” The man didn’t move.Eamon held his fingers against the man’s still neck and thendropped them with a sigh.
“Is he?”
“Yes. He’s dead.”
Shea sat up with a grimace.
“That’s not the only piece of bad news,”Phillip said from the shadows.
Eamon and Shea jumped, their bodies bracingas if for a blow.
Phillip waited until their hearts had settledbefore saying, “The men on watch are all dead and one ismissing.”
“What is going on?” Cale asked as he stormedup to them. A group of men followed, their faces drawn and stifffrom the cold.
“We were under attack,” Eamon informedhim.
“Attack?”
“Every man on watch is either dead ormissing,” Eamon filled him in, helping Shea stand.
The account seemed to shock Cale, and hemoved as if he had been struck. His eyes came to rest on Shea, whowrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to lock in some ofher warmth.
“This is your fault,” he accused. “You’ve ledus into a trap.”
The men behind him traded looks, their facesdarkening with suspicion before all eyes came back to Shea.
“Don’t be absurd,” she snapped. “I voted fornot stopping here. You’re the one who said it was too dangerous tocontinue after dark.”
