Winter's Passage (2010) by Kagawa Julie

Author:Kagawa, Julie [Julie, Kagawa,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-14T19:14:04.250000+00:00

Chapter Four

The Hunter

"Get up."

The cold voice was the first thing I heard the next morning, cutting through layers of sleep and grogginess, bringing me fully awake. Ash loomed over me, his posture stiff, regarding me with empty silver eyes.

"We're leaving," he said in a flat voice, and tossed something on the bed, where it landed in a cloud of dust. A thick, hooded cloak, gray and dusty, as if all color had been leeched out of it. "Found that in the closet," Ash continued, turning away. "It should keep you from freezing. But we need to go, now. The sooner we reach the Winter Court the better."

"Where's Grim?" I asked, struggling upright, reeling from his sudden change in mood. Ash opened the door, letting in a blast of frigid air.

"Gone. Left early this morning." He waited, still holding the door, as I swirled the cloak around my shoulders. When I drew up the hood, the prince nodded briskly. "Let's go."

"Is something coming?" I asked, jogging after him through the snow, my breath puffing in the air. Everything was covered in a new layer of ice. "Is the Hunter getting close again?"

"No." He didn't look at me. "Not that I can tell."

I swallowed. "Did I...do something wrong?"

He hesitated this time, then sighed. "No," he said in a softer voice. "You did nothing wrong."

"Then why are you being like this? Ash? Hey!" I lunged forward and grabbed his sleeve, bringing us both to a halt.

"Let go." Ash's voice held the subtle hint of warning. I shook off my fear and stubbornly planted my feet.

"Or what? You'll kill me? Haven't you already made that threat?"

"Don't tempt me." But his voice had lost its coldness--now it just sounded tired. He sighed, raking his free hand through his hair. "It's not important. Just...something Grimalkin said. Something I already knew."

"What?"

He turned. "Meghan..."

In the distance, a howl echoed over the trees.

I jerked, and Ash straightened, his gaze sharpening. "The Hunter," he muttered. "Again. How could it catch up so quickly?"

The howl came again, and I shivered, drawing closer to Ash. "What is it?"

The prince's eyes narrowed. "I don't know. But this stops now. Come on!"

Ash kept a tight hold on my hand as we sprinted through the snow. I thought of the bridge and the impossible chasm that Hunter had, somehow, cleared, and hoped this plan would work out better. It didn't seem likely that we would outrun whatever tireless beast was behind us.

The forest thinned, and jagged cliffs rose up on either side of us, sparkling in the sun. Huge blue and green crystals jutted out from the sides, sending fractured prisms of light over the snow. Ash led me through a narrow canyon, sheer cliff walls pressing in on either side until it opened up in a snowy clearing surrounded by mountains.

The howl rang out again, echoing eerily through the gully we had just come through. Whatever it was, it was closing fast.

"This way." Ash tugged on my hand and pulled me toward the far side of the clearing.

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