The bear stumbled back, roaring furiously into the sky with a red-feathered arrow lodged neatly in its chest. Then it charged, its razor claws slashing toward me. I ducked as another arrow whizzed close by my ear, landing in the animal’s muzzle. Dropping to all fours, it whined and swiped at the arrow with its paws.
“Let’s go!” A tall hooded figure appeared beside me. He jerked me by the arm and we set off at a quick walk into the dark forest. The wind howled, whipping through the trees with an almost human anger. I leaned forward as my protector pulled me directly into its raging strength.
The unidentified archer wore a heavy fur-lined cloak, a scarf around his face, and a bow and quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. Letting go of my arm, he looked back the way we’d come. I followed the direction of his hooded stare, and saw that the bear was no longer in view.
“Can ye run?” he yelled, his words barely reaching me over the wind.
Nodding, I picked up my pace. He stayed beside me even though it was clear he could’ve outdistanced me easily. We reached the other side of the glen and stopped at the base of a mountain path. As I pulled in deep breaths of icy air, the archer took the bow and quiver off his shoulder and lowered his scarf.
“Jamie!” I flew into his arms, clinging to his neck as if my life depended on it. If I hadn’t been frozen from the inside out, I would’ve cried at the sight of the face I thought I’d never see again. He pulled my arms from around his neck and set me away from him. Oh, right; he hated me. But at least he was here.
He unfastened his cloak and shrugged it off. Swinging it around my shoulders, he lowered his face to within inches of mine—his cheekbones stained bright red and his lips pressed into a dangerous line.
“What the devil were you thinking!” he shouted as he fastened me into his cloak.
“I … I …” My teeth were chattering so hard speech was difficult. Not that I really knew what to say anyway.
“Never mind! Come on.” Slinging his weapons back onto his shoulder, he took off up the path. I stood watching his long strides eating up the trail, shaking with cold and aftershocks of fear. The luxurious fur-lined cloak seemed only to trap the cold closer to my wet skin. When Jamie glanced over his shoulder and saw I hadn’t moved, he came back for me, a mask of rage distorting his features.
“Dinna just stand there. We need to go now!” Grabbing my upper arm, he turned and guided me up the path. Although he’d nearly wrenched my arm from its socket, I was grateful for the support as my knees kept giving way on the steep, slippery trail.
Long, agonizing minutes blurred together as I forced my frozen, exhausted body to keep moving. Finally, we turned right onto a narrow path sheltered by giant evergreen trees. Here, there was only a light coating of snow, the trees a barrier to the harsh wind.
Then Jamie cut left and a door appeared as if set into the mountain. Pushing me through the entrance, he followed closely on my heels. He pushed the door shut and we were plunged into complete blackness. I blinked, blind and disoriented, with no choice but to trust him as he took my hand.
“There’s a staircase in front o’ you. Step up and hold on to the railing on yer right.”
I followed his instructions like a robot. My fingers and toes stung with tiny needle pricks as my blood warmed. The soaked dress I wore hung on my shoulders like a thousand-pound weight. More than once, I tripped up the steps, with Jamie pulling me to my feet each time. After what felt like an eternity, we made it to a landing where he opened another door.
Moonlight flooded into the room through a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, bisected by a massive stone fireplace. He led me to a sheet-covered sofa in front of an empty hearth. Judging by the animal heads hanging lifeless on the walls, I figured we were in some sort of hunting lodge.
“Sit.” Jamie’s voice was void of emotion as he pushed my shoulder, and I fell onto the cushions behind me. He stacked logs and kindling in the fireplace while I shook so hard I had to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering like a battery-powered Halloween skeleton.
A tiny fire began to grow as Jamie knelt, blowing patiently into the flames.