There wasn’t much snow piled on the ground, but something else lay there amidst the white. An animal? A dead one, from how still it was.
She stepped closer, and the wind no longer blew around her.
The creature was half covered, so she couldn’t see its head or legs to determine the species. Whatever it was, maybe she could cover herself with the carcass until the storm ended and morning brought light.
Perhaps the weight would provide enough cover to stay alive.
The creature didn’t move as she dropped to her knees by its side. She wiped the snow from one end, trying to dig out legs.
Suddenly, the animal jerked. It came to life, rising up before her.
She screamed and tried to scramble back, but her numb limbs wouldn’t do what she told them. She fell on her rear, still trying to scramble backward. Her bow tangled in her right arm, locking it in place and stilling her escape. She screamed again as the creature rose higher.
Then the animal took shape ... the shape of a man.
23
Brielle’s heart thundered as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Snow clung to the fur on its head, but a narrow patch of human skin and eyes peeked through.
Familiar eyes.
The person reached up and tugged part of the fur down, revealing splotched red cheeks.
Marcellus? Had she really found him?
Her mind finally caught up with what her eyes were taking in. She couldn’t form words with her face so numb, but she let out another cry and gathered strength to crawl toward him. It took long moments to untangle her arm from her bow. Every movement she attempted was clumsy, as if she moved in slow motion.
But finally she freed herself and crawled to Marcellus. He was still sitting there, watching her. He’d not spoken at all, but she finally managed a stiff, “Marcellus?” He might not have heard her through the fur covering her mouth, but at least her lips and tongue were working again.
She couldn’t tell how long he’d been lying there, but he’dcreated a patch of bare ground the length of his body. Snow rose up on either side of the spot where he’d lain. Likely, he would’ve been covered completely in a few more hours of snow blowing sideways into the nook.
She turned to face him and worked to form words. “How are you?”
Maybe those weren’t the best first words to say, but she wanted to hear him speak.
He stared at her, his eyes barely focused. Had he even heard what she said? She was about to reach out and grab his arm to shake him when a word slipped through the fur covering his mouth.
“Cold.” His voice was raspy, but the familiar timbre sent a thread of warmth to her heart.
She reached out and pulled him into a hug. “Marcellus.” Tears burned her eyes, but she couldn’t let them fall. Moisture like that would only make her colder. Ice had already crusted her eyelashes and probably wasn’t helping her ability to talk.
She pulled back and looked him over once more. His eyes held a little more life than they had moments before. Now she had to make sure they stayed that way.
A glance outside their little miniature cave showed the snow still swirling. They would need to stay here a while. Maybe together, they could keep warm.
She turned back to Marcellus and crawled in beside him. They both wore coats of thick fur. Hers was grizzly, and his looked like it might be the same. Would they be warmer sitting side by side or lying front to back in the place he’d been stretched out before?
Probably the latter. As much as her body craved the chance to rest, she didn’t fancy laying out as if she were giving up.
Still, that might be the best they could manage. They had no wood to build a fire and keep it burning, and the only other option was to go out in the wind and snow.
She glanced at Marcellus’s legs. Was he able to walk? Would moving in the blizzard be better than lying here, sharing body heat?
In truth, she wasn’t sure. Her mind didn’t seem to be reasoning well.
Her body told her she wouldn’t be able to keep on much longer if she forced herself back into the wind and cold. Staying here together would have to do.
Protect us, Lord. Keep us alive.
