Nevertell by Katharine Orton

Author:Katharine Orton [Orton, Katharine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781536211962
Google: fPi5DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2020-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

Tuyaara’s uncle ushered them onto the raised porch at the front of the house, while his children rushed out and took the horse and dogs to shelter around the back. At the door, Lina glanced one last time at the snow behind her.

In the midst of the storm, a dark-haired girl reached out toward Lina from the plains before the wind-driven snow obscured her. Lina let out a cry of shock. The girl couldn’t have been more than four years old. She wore no coat or furs. Her face had been bunched up into a cry and she held her arms out in front of her, begging to be held.

“There’s somebody out there — I just saw her! A tiny girl,” she shouted, gripping Bogdan’s arm.

Bogdan looked between Tuyaara and her uncle, fast. “Is someone missing from inside? From another home, maybe?”

“There are other families nearby. Children, possibly,” said Tuyaara sternly, hovering between them and the warm hearth of her uncle’s home. “Show me where.”

Lina pointed to where she’d seen the girl.

Tuyaara frowned. “I can’t see anything, Lina. I’m not my brother, but I have a bad feeling in my gut about this. Don’t trust your eyes.”

Lina’s stone pulsed with heat. She couldn’t be sure what it meant. Something was definitely wrong. It could be a trick of Svetlana’s. What should she do?

Then Lina remembered all the times she’d cried for her mother with her arms held up to her like that. How small, selfless acts — of fellow prisoners, of Tuyaara’s family — had no doubt saved her life. The child’s sob carried on the wind. It wrenched at her. What if it wasn’t a trick?

She couldn’t leave her to freeze in the storm.

Lina strained her eyes to see the girl again and thought she caught a glimpse of dark hair whipped by the wind. “She’s just over there,” said Lina, looking at Bogdan. “I’m sure of it. If I run quickly, I can grab her and bring her inside.”

Tuyaara shook her head. “Lina. Bogdan. My friends. Don’t do it.”

Her uncle said, “No, please stay. There’s nothing out there but your own deaths.”

Just as doubt crossed Lina’s mind, the child’s cry came again, clear as anything, carried by the wind. “I’ve got to,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Lina! Bogdan!” called Tuyaara.

But Lina wasn’t listening anymore — and Bogdan was right beside her as she dashed into the swirl of the storm. If she could just grab the little girl and carry her indoors, she could save her. But where was she now? The girl had been just there. She was sure of it.

All Lina could hear was the howl of the wind. All she could see was a blur of white and gray. Her own breath, blown back at her, turned to ice when it touched her skin, pulling tight and pinching as it froze.

Bogdan grabbed her arm. He shouted something, but she couldn’t hear over the noise of the storm. He had frost flowers blooming across his cheeks. It felt as though they were being buried alive.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.