“Five of my men have been killed. Someonemust answer for this.”
“Well, don’t blame the kid,” Buck said,yawning as he joined them. “He’s the one who woke all our asses up.I don’t think we would have survived if he hadn’t.”
“Perhaps he just wanted to play hero.”
“Careful, there,” Eamon warned. “You’rethreatening the reputation of the scouts.”
“Not all scouts, just his.”
“Threaten one, you threaten all,” Eamonrumbled.
There was a quiet moment of strained silenceas the two faced off. Then Cale said, “The men will be up and readyto move in half an hour. You’d better be ready, or we’ll leave youand your men behind.”
“You can’t,” Shea warned.
Cale turned and glared at her. “I’m thecommander, I can do anything I damn well pleased.”
“I mean you can’t break camp now. We have towait until morning.”
“If you think I’m going to wait around forthose things to come back-“
“Fire,” Shea said interrupting him. “As longas we keep the fires lit they won’t come back.”
Cale hesitated, the promise of safetyoverriding his need to leave this place behind.
“How sure are you?” Eamon asked softly. “Haveyou encountered these before?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve heardstories. A fire’s warmth is the best way to ward against afrostling.”
“A story?” Cale scoffed. “You’re basing thisoff a story?”
“Shane hasn’t led us wrong yet,” Eamon saidfirmly.
“He’s pretty much the expert in beasts,” Buckadded.
Shea stood up straight trying to put all theconfidence she didn’t feel into her gaze. There was always a chanceshe was wrong.
“The frostling left me alone when Eamon wavedhis torch at it.” She nodded to the torch in his hand.
“If I lose any more men to this frostling,I’ll have you both strung up,” Cale warned.
“Understood,” Eamon said.
“What did it look like?” Buck asked Shea asthe others moved through the camp spreading the word that a fireneeded to be kept lit.
“A shadow.” Shea’s eyes were haunted as theystared out into the silver night.
The rest of the night passed in a tensefashion as they waited for the comfort of day. Shea didn’t sleep.Every time she nodded off she startled back awake at every brush ofchill breeze. The others did the same and moods were dark andtempers frayed by the time they set out the next morning.
They traveled much faster not beset by thesame setbacks as the previous day. No doubt thoughts of frostlingsand the close call the men experienced had something to do withthat.
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully andtwo days later they were winding their way through the last hillsbefore the encampment. It had been moved since the first time Sheahad seen it, and this time it crouched in a clearing, treesdwarfing it on one side and a high cliff on another.
“I will be so happy when we can dump thesewhiners,” Buck muttered beside her.
She grunted in agreement. Cale had been asnarling terror to work with the past few days.
They split from the caravan as soon as theypassed the first string of guards and rode to the Dawn’s Riders’corrals and dismounted. Once finished caring for her mount, Sheapicked up her pack and followed the other three into the tentcity.
