"We're not actually that far from—well. The ranch backs up against the Hacksaws, which isn't the same as being 'not that far' from it, since the range is about seventy miles long." She smiled and shook her head again. "For a minute I was like, why don't wejust go straight home, but we need to start by knowing exactly where we are, and also…" She paused, considering. "I was going to say, 'and also we should probably go somewhere more formal to let them know we're okay,' but now that I was going to say it, I don't knowwhy. We just need to get to a phone and or signal.Wherewe call from doesn't matter."
"If it was warmer, I'd fly you straight home," Colton promised.
"Once we figure out where 'straight home' is from here. And—how fardidwe fly yesterday, anyway? Or maybe I should be asking how fast you fly, or?—"
Colton shook his head. "Chimeras glide faster and better than they fly, and yesterday was a lot offlying. And a lot of up-and-downing. Normally I fly eight or ten miles an hour, but I don't think I was going anything like that fast yesterday."
Jo's eyebrows darted up. "It seemed faster. But…no, that makes sense. Maybe not quite as fast as cycling, but it felt so different it seemed faster. So we could have gone…five miles, or thirty, yesterday."
"I think closer to five. Like I said, a lot of up and down. We were in the air about three hours before you stopped responding and I realized something was wrong, and then it took me a little while to find somewhere safe to land."
"Not that I'm proposing flying again right now," she said with a glance toward the tent door, "but with less up and down, it'd probably be safer. The air's warmer, lower down."
"Let's only cross that bridge if we come to it. If it turns out we're eight miles from your ranch, then great, but otherwise let's stick to old-fashioned feet."
"Or paws." Jo smiled at him, and as if she'd set a cue, they began packing up, Colton keeping an eye on her to make sure she was all right. She seemed to be: she moved easily, she wasn't tired, and her mood was upbeat. He swore to himself they wouldstop and camp again the moment she seemed to flag, because getting back to civilization wasn't as important as making sure they both got there healthy and strong. But she kept up easily as he broke a trail for her in his chimera form, though she yelped with surprise as he crested a ridge and suddenly shifted back to human. "Everything okay?"
"Come see." He stepped aside and she joined him on the hilltop with a gasp of appreciation.
It was as if half of creation had laid itself out for them in a flawless winter wonderland vista. Unbroken snow shone blue and white for miles, the far edges littered with the dark green of evergreens capped in their own snow. Mountains soared up on both sides of them, brown and white and blue against a broken grey sky that sunlight shot through, here and there. A black thread ran across the bottom of the vista, suggesting a river, and in the far distance, at the horizon, the smudge of a city could be seen.
Jo gave a cheer. "Civilization!"
"A long damn way away!" That didn't stop Colton from scooping her into his arms for a hug, or beaming down at her once she was back on her feet. "Any idea where we are, now?"
"I think this is Shotgun Glacier. It's not stable enough to climb, so I've never seen it from up here, but if I'm right…" She took her phone out, checking its power and then holding it up as if it could find a signal if it had another three feet of elevation. She muttered, put it back in her pocket, and shrugged. "If I'm right, we actually aren't all that far from the ranch, which means we got blown farther off course than I thought, but…well, it doesn't matter. We're almost out of the woods. We've got to be careful, though. This snow will be hiding crevasses that won't hold our weight."
"I would suggest we not test it, then." Colton shifted into a chimera and, lacking eyebrows to lift in question, wrinkled his forehead at Jo instead.
"Only as far as the bottom of the glacier," she promised, and crossed her heart so insincerely that Colton rumbled a laugh. Then he crouched, she mounted, and they were off, soaring over the glacier.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ItwasShotgun Glacier: that much became clear when they landed at its base, beyond the sliver of black that turned out to be a huge crevasse, not a river at all. Jo had seen it from the low angle hundreds of times while out on the northern corner of the ranch, and its lower lip was a familiar, comforting shape to finally recognize. It had only taken a few minutes to glide down its length, and now she stood at Colton's side while he turned his phone on and searched for signal, then paused to take some pictures.
"Why's it called Shotgun Glacier?"
"Cave system at the bottom. We're basically on top of them right now." Jo refrained from stomping a foot. "They haven't been explored much because of the danger of the glacier collapsing or shifting and crushing the tunnels, but their entrances look like shotgun pellets hit the rock beneath the glacier. The ranch is that way," she said, pointing northwest. "Thirty or forty miles or so, probably too far to fly, but it's out there, at least. Any signal?"
"Not even a single bar. Are there any roads between here and there?"
Jo made a face, turning to study the landscape and try to remember. "Most of it is ranch or national park territory out here. There are some access roads, but not much anybody is going to be using this time of year. Snowmobilers, maybe. I'd guess we're probably fifteen or twenty miles from the nearest real roads."
"So what you're saying is it's low-risk for flying over."
Jo glanced at Colton, startled. His eyebrows were drawn down, expression calculating, though he gave her a crooked smile when she said, "That's not what I said at all!"
"No, it isn't, but am I right? It's a long flight for you, but it's an even longer hike. We don't have to take it all at once."
"Well, but—yeah, okay, sure, but Colton, Great Falls is that way." She pointed southwest this time. "And it's probably closer. And you have a court case to get back to."
"The case is important," Colton said quietly. "Getting you home safely ismoreimportant."
"I'm not sure it is, in the bigger picture."
"Then you shouldn't argue with me and we should fly out to your ranch. Unless we're going to reach a road a lot faster going the other direction?"
Jo groaned. "No, it's about the same either way. I think the technical term for this part of the country is 'remote as hell.'"
