Icebound

Chapter 27

It was painfully obvious that they wouldn't be fast enough.

They sprinted down the side of the mountain as fast as was possible without tumbling off the sheer cliffs, but progress was painfully slow. The slope was just as icy and treacherous going down as it had been on the climb up, and the fall was just as deadly. The icy ground forced them to carefully choose their paths and footholds, and jagged cliffs and loose stones stalled them even further. Yet while they frantically picked their way down the mountain, Sakari was moving at an incredible speed across the open tundra. Climbing up the mountain might delay her, but none of them had any delusions about outrunning her.

"Is there any way to face her?" Anyu asked as they hopped down to a lower ledge. She spared a furtive glance over the cliffside. The ground still stared up at them from a dizzying height, the wind howling into the empty void.

"I'm working on it," Kano said uncertainly. His brows were furrowed in concentration, his gaze distracted. Whatever solution he was searching for, it was not coming to him.

"Hurry!" Tavra called from farther down the mountain, as if they weren't already going as fast as they could. He was once more astride Shesh's back. The reindeer's agility and balance made him extremely skilled at making his way down the mountain, easily outpacing those who only had two legs to walk on. He paused his descent and whinnied worriedly, seeming to echo Tavra's plea.

Kano sighed and jumped down another edge, this one even taller than the last. He tripped at the bottom, falling forward into the snow and cursing the mountain under his breath.

"You alright?" Anyu called down as he stood up and dusted off the snow.

"I'm fine," He sighed. He turned back around and held his arms out to her from several feet below. "Here." Anyu only hesitated for a moment before jumping down. Kano caught her by the waist, seamlessly hoisting her to the ground.

"Thank you," Anyu said breathlessly. They were mere inches apart, so close that Anyu could see the flecks of snow caught in his eyelashes. She might have imagined the way he hesitated to pull away, but Tavra's voice and their dire situation brought her back to the present.

"We're not moving fast enough," Tavra said once they'd reached him. It was a statement of the obvious, but there was still no solution in sight. He slid off of Shesh's back and handed the reins to Anyu. "You two get on."

"You're not fully healed," Anyu protested.

"I'm well enough," Tavra said. His form shifted to that of the ferocious black wolf, his glowing yellow eyes conveying his worry. "If we don't move faster we're all dead anyway."

Anyu didn't like it, but she couldn't argue with his logic. She and Kano pulled themselves onto Shesh's back, and the three of them renewed their descent down the mountain, their pace much faster now that each climber had four legs.

They were at last making some progress down the mountainside. Glancing to the side, Anyu saw a small stream of water flowing down alongside them. It must have been runoff from the ice and snow at the peak. The steady flow of water continued to increase in size as they descended until a full fledged river was racing down the mountain beside them, like a thick vein in the mountain's icy skin. It was a good sign. If they were at a low enough altitude for running water to flow freely, then they were approaching the tree line.

"Whoah boy!" Anyu called as Shesh suddenly stumbled, nearly tripping over his own legs.

She patted his flank, looking down to check that he hadn't twisted his ankle on the rocks. She felt Shesh's body suddenly freeze, in the way that it did when facing down a dangerous predator, and the reindeer took off without any warning. Anyu fastened her arms tightly around his neck lest she fall off his back as Shesh descended down the mountain at a reckless pace. Anyu was wondering what in the world had inspired so much fear in her brave companion when she started to feel it too.