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fire nearby-though the gods only know how we'll ever get one going in all this mess! I'd like to know how she did it last night! Must have been witchcraft, because I can't imagine we'll find anything that isn't too cold and wet to burn."

Leo didn't reply to that, but I felt my body being shifted before settling into something soft. Not particularly warm, perhaps, but soft and dry. A hot tongue swiped across my cheek-which wasn't something I thought Leo would do, so it must have been Max. Yes, it was Max. His feet were cold and wet, but his body was warm as he snuggled up against me.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Yes, just can't seem to find the strength to talk out loud or open my eyes yet," I said. "What happened?"

"Dunno," he replied . "You got too sleepy, I guess, and fell off the horse. Are you okay now?"

"I think so." I replied. "Just cold, and very, very tired."

"Well, I'll keep you as warm as I can," Max said, licking my ear. "I have to, because I don't think they'll ever get a fire started."

Gerald crawled in with us. "Tell that dog not to eat me!" he said. "I made a leap for it when you fell, Tisana, and he chased me again, but I'm back! Br-r-r, it's cold!

We're crazy to keep going in this weather!"

"I thought you were tougher than that, Gerald," I said critically.

"Well, I am," he said staunchly, "but you obviously aren't!"

"Couldn't help it," I said. "I must have drifted off or something."

*173 *34*.

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Cheryl Brooks "Hypothermia," Gerald said, sounding firm in his convictions. "You need a fire and a hot stone to put at your feet."

The fact that this was exactly what I'd done with Leo after I'd pulled him out of that snowdrift led me to suspect that Gerald had been lurking nearby at the time and had been listening in on my thoughts-the little eavesdropper! That episode seemed so long ago now, and my mind had been much clearer then. Good thing he was around to remind me.

"You sound very knowledgeable," I remarked. "You should be a healer. Too bad you can't actually do any of that."

Gerald's only comment was a loud chirp as he crawled back inside my cloak. I suppose it didn't pay to remind a squirrel of his shortcomings "Ack! You're all wet!" I exclaimed, rising up slightly.

"Hey, Tisana," Max said, giving me a nudge. "I think you're going to have to get the fire going yourself. The men aren't having much luck."

Rafe and Leo had a fair amount of wood stacked up, but the usual methods for starting a fire were useless given the current weather conditions. Of my three most carefully kept secrets, there was only one left, and keeping it hidden now seemed pointless-if not suicidal.

With a substantial effort, I managed to rise up on one elbow. I was feeling light-headed and dizzy when I moved, but was at least able to open my eyes.

Clearing my throat, I said weakly, "Stand back, guys."

The men both seemed startled to see me awake, but were able to grasp my meaning and drew away from the site of the campfire. I knew I might only have one shot *174 *34*.

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at it, so I focused my bleary eyes on the wood as well as I could through the curtain of swirling snowflakes that threatened to obscure it, and fired a blast of heat right into the heart of the pile. With a loud, sizzling pop, the branches ignited, sending a shower of sparks leaping into the air, only to be extinguished when they fell into the snow. I felt the welcome warmth immediately and sank back into my bedroll. Max grinned happily, thumping his tail, obviously pleased with the result of my efforts.

"Way to go, Tisana!" Gerald said, adding a few chirps of approval.

"Ha!" Rafe exclaimed. "I knew it was witchcraft!"

Leo smiled at me as though he'd known I could do it all along. He must have been more alert than I'd supposed during some of the previous instances in which I'd used that trick. He'd known I could warm up soup, of course, but starting a fire was different.

"Gerald says I'm hypothermic and that you need to heat up a stone to put down by my feet," I murmured from my pallet. "Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Gerald?" Rafe echoed. "You mean the squirrel knew that?"

"Yep," I replied with an almost drunken giggle. "The squirrel knew that. Smart guy, huh?"

"That would have been my suggestion, as well," Leo said equably. "But does he have any idea where a stone might be found?"

Following Leo's gesture, I realized that stones of any kind would be hard to come by, seeing as how everything was buried under about two feet of snow.

"He didn't say," I replied. "Don't suppose we have any on the pack horse, either." Sighing deeply, I added, *175 *34*.

176.

Cheryl Brooks "Guess it'll have to be you then, Leo. Get warmed up by the fire and then come in here and warm me up, too."

"Hot soup will help, as well," he said, but from the curl of his lips, I knew he took my meaning.

"Yeah. I am hungry," I muttered. "Get it together, and I'll cook it real quick."

"So you did do that!" Rafe exclaimed. "I thought it was ready awfully fast last night!"

"Yet another of my claims to fame," I said, as I began to drift back off to sleep. "Instant soup."

Gerald nipped me on the neck with his sharp teeth.

"Ouch!" I gasped, sitting up abruptly. "What was that for?"

"You have to stay awake, or you'll freeze!" he warned.

"Well, there's certainly no danger of that now!" I declared. "Falling asleep, I mean."

Rafe looked at me questioningly. I think he was finally beginning to get used to the idea of having to listen to those little bits of one-sided conversations that I had with the animals when I forgot myself and spoke aloud. Gerald, on the other hand, probably didn't understand my spoken words, though I think he got the gist of what I said, based on the fact that I'd smacked him-a purely reflexive response, of course.

"Gerald says I have to stay awake, or I'll freeze to death," I explained, rubbing the side of my neck. "And he bit me just to make sure I would."

"Nice guy," Rafe remarked.

"Yes, he is," I said. "Well...sometimes. He used to throw nuts at me, but, now that I've gotten to know him a little better, I think that's just a squirrel's way of having fun."

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Max tried to do his part to keep me alert by licking me in the face again, but I told him not to bother, that Gerald's bite had been quite enough. I liked Max very much, but I've never particularly liked being licked in the face by a dog. Long ago, I had asked another dog why they often felt the need to do that, and he told me it was because they have claws on their feet and attempting to paw at someone would hurt too much-which seemed reasonable enough to me. When I explained to that particular dog that people didn't always like getting licked in the face, he said it didn't matter, because they felt compelled to do it; said it was one of those canine social behaviors, like people hugging someone they haven't seen for a while. He also told me that dogs jump up on people because they're trying to reach their faces. I told him I didn't particularly enjoy being jumped on, either, and he said he could understand that, but if I would just kneel down, he wouldn't have to jump, which also made sense. I chuckled to myself, thinking how odd were the things that come to mind at such times....

Leo remarked that he'd never trusted Gerald because of his habit of throwing things at me, but I didn't hold it against him-or the bite, either, really. He was just trying to keep me alive the only way he knew how. I hoped I didn't have to stay awake for the rest of the night, because I truly didn't think I could do it for much longer. I had about reached the limits of my energy.

Leo filled up the stew pot with food and snow-the meat and vegetables were all frozen, as well as dried, now-and brought it over to me. Without my visual heating ability, we'd have had to wait a long time before anything was edible-possibly half the night-and *177 *34*.

178.

Cheryl Brooks without a fire, it would have been impossible to even gnaw off much of anything and eat it the way it was, either. My reserves being low at the time, it seemed to take more concentration than usual, but soon I had everything thawed out and bubbling enough that hanging it over the fire could finish it up.

"Why did you never tell me you could do that?" Rafe marveled.

"Because I didn't want to risk getting burned at the stake," I said, as I flopped back down on my bedroll.

"That sort of magic tends to make people nervous, you know."

"Yes, but no one would ever bother you if they knew you could start fires like that."

Honestly, he could be so nave sometimes! "No, they'd merely sneak up behind me, hit me over the head, and then burn me at the stake! Thank you, but no, Rafe-and I'd prefer that you not let that become common knowledge. I might be able to take out anyone who faced me head-on, but I'd just as soon not have to.

It would be a pretty terrible death-and anyone who saw me do it might at least try to burn me at the stake."

"Well, yes," he conceded, though reluctantly, "but you could look at an animal in a tree, or running through the forest, and have it cooked and ready to eat in no time. That would be very useful-especially in a situation such as this."

"I happen to prefer more humane ways of preparing my food," I remarked acidly. "Do you think you'd like being roasted alive?"

"Well, no," he replied with a grim look that seemed to become even darker the more he thought about it. "But *178 *35*.

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there are some people in this world who might deserve such a fate-and I would be glad to watch it happen."

"Meaning the ones who took your sons, I suppose."

He nodded. "They deserve the most horrible death you can imagine," he said. "To steal someone's children...it is a terrible crime."

Now that I'd regained my senses, I took a moment to give my hands and feet another quick glance to warm them up-and Max's feet, as well, since his were pretty chilly and we were sharing a bed at the moment. He seemed to appreciate the gesture and thumped his tail gratefully. It occurred to me then that dogs don't really have to be able to talk, since their emotions are fairly transparent most of the time, anyway. I dried out Gerald as well, and though he looked a little less like a drowned rat, he had to work on his tail for a while to fluff it up.

Having done that, I looked up at Rafe. "You still haven't told me everything," I said evenly. "You know who took your boys, don't you?"

"Is mind reading another talent of yours, perhaps?"

he ventured, a little nervously. Dipping some of the broth out of the pot, he took a careful sip, obviously not intending to say anything more on the subject.

"No more so than anyone else with two eyes in their head who can see what's right there in front of them!" I responded. "You know where we're headed, too, don't you?" I gave it a moment or two before adding, "Mind telling me why that's such a deep, dark secret?"

When he still didn't reply, I stared at his cup until it got too hot for him to hold onto anymore and laughed mirthlessly as he cast it aside into the snow, cursing me *179 *35*.

180.

Cheryl Brooks for an evil witch. I glanced over to watch the steam rise from where it fell and then looked back at Rafe.

"Oh, so now I'm evil, am I?" I remarked dryly. "You see what people truly think of witches, don't you, Rafe?

And you also see why."

He didn't answer me, but he was obviously considering the matter. I could have had a very evil reputation, if I'd done any of the things he'd suggested-which was why I'd taken such care to safeguard against the possibility of being coerced into doing them. He, on the other hand, already knew what I could do, so I figured it didn't hurt to threaten him with it.

"Listen, I can make things very uncomfortable for you, Rafe, so you'd better tell me. After all, I think Leo and I deserve to know what we're up against."

His silence dragged on, goading me to anger.

"By the gods, Rafe!" I exclaimed. "We had to kill those men back there! Tell me why that was necessary- who would want your sons badly enough to kill for them?" When he still didn't answer, I added reflectively, "Or is it that someone wants to kill you?"

Rafe took a deep, ragged breath and said evenly, "You don't need to know, Tisana-and neither does he. No one does. Just understand that this is a very serious matter."

"Oh, is that right?" I snapped back at him. "As if I couldn't have guessed that! Let's see now, so far four people have died-I believe I'd call that serious!-and you know the reason why!" I took a deep breath and regarded him scathingly, but my voice was somewhat softer when I continued. "Look, I'm here to help you if I can, Rafe, but I'm not moving another inch until you *180 *35*.

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tell me the truth! I have no intention of being the next fatality in this grand adventure-and I'd just as soon that we not lose anyone else, either!" I took a moment to steady my voice again, thinking that a good measure of anger worked very well to keep a person from drifting off into the long, cold sleep of death. I'd have to remember that if the need ever arose again-which I would do my utmost to avoid in the future. My demands weren't swaying Rafe in the slightest, however, so I decided to take a different tack.

"Fine. Don't tell me what I want to know, and I'll just take all my little animal friends and go home! I'd like to see you try to track them without us-and don't forget, Leo lost the scent a long time ago, so he can't help you, either! Of course, if what I suspect is true, you really don't need us to find them, though you may need me for some other reason," I suggested. Rafe continued to stare stubbornly-and mutely-at the snow just beyond his feet. "Look, Leo has to go with you, he's your slave and is bound to follow your orders, but I'm not!"

A few paces away, Leo was busy stirring the soup; I could smell it cooking from where I sat and, judging by the aroma, it was nearly ready. Leo seemed to be keeping very quiet at that point-perhaps to follow the conversation, or perhaps because he was as tired as I was. Rafe followed my gaze, as if to assure himself that Leo was still there.

Picking up the one thread of my tirade that he could safely follow and not reveal any of his own secrets, Rafe commented quietly, "I'm not sure he was ever my slave.

I believe I gave up ownership of him the day I dropped him on the floor of your cottage."

*181 *35*.

182.

Cheryl Brooks "That may be true," I conceded, my heart leaping at the thought that he might finally be seeing at least some things my way, "but you're changing the subject." I added sharply, "Answer me, Rafe!"

Rafe's eyes were as cold and bleak as the rapidly darkening sky. "If I let you have him, will you not insist that I tell you anything more?"

I stared back at Rafe for a long moment before replying. What could possibly be so important that he would give up as fine a slave as Leo, just so he wouldn't have to tell me the truth? Under ordinary circumstances, I would have jumped at the trade-off, but I still stood an excellent chance of losing Leo-as well as my own life-if things kept on as they had been.

"I didn't realize you had as many secrets as I did, Rafe,"

I said dryly, ignoring his offer for the moment. "I've told you mine-out of necessity, perhaps, but still, I've told you. We've been through a lot together-you should be able to trust me more than that, don't you think?"

"No, Tisana, I cannot." His voice was weary, but firm, and he added ruefully, "There seems to be no one I can trust." He seemed certain about that, and subsequently drew himself up straighter, as though having come to a difficult decision. "I will give you my slave in payment for your help if I must, but I will not tell you anything more."

I thought perhaps I should have gotten that in writing-or at the very least, a sworn oath or a handshake-but instead, I chided him, "You might buy my silence that way, too, you know."