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She shook her head. “We’ll get it on the way back. That will be far less distance we have to drag it. We’ll go to the end of the traps first and then gather what we caught on the way home.”
By the time we reached the last of the traps it was already noon. If we kept up our pace and didn’t meet with any accidents, we’d make it back to the cottage before dusk, but it would be close.
Ashera had managed to trap the deer, three wild turkeys, and a small wild boar. The latter were difficult to fight, and I was grateful that it had died from the trap. Boars were dangerous and I really didn’t want to fight one.
The bodies were still fresh thanks to the frigid weather, and I helped her load up the sledge as we headed back toward the cottage. We were just coming on the deer when I heard something to the side. As I turned, a charimont leapt out from behind a large bilberry bush.
Ashera immediately reached for her wand. I pulled out my bow, smoothly fitting an arrow to it. The charimont bounded toward us, fire in its eyes. I aimed, focusing on its chest, then let the arrow fly. It struck deep, in what I hoped was the heart, and the charimont dropped not two yards from us. As I knelt beside it, seeking to retrieve my arrow, there was another sound. I turned around to see a second charimont descending on Ashera.
I didn’t have time to aim this one, so I withdrew the dagger and raced to her side, pushing her out of the way. The charimont reared up on its back legs, front claws out as it pounced at me. I stumbled back, tripping over the body of its companion. As it leapt atop me, Ashera muttered something and a bright light filled the air around us. The charimont let out a roar as a bolt of lightning hit it along the side. The bolt was small, but the smell of singed flesh filled the air as the creature screamed.
Falling back, the charimont rolled onto its side. Before the creature could get up again, Ashera blasted it with yet another lightning bolt. She caught her breath and stumbled back as I moved in, dagger ready. The charimont was stunned, and I quickly slit its throat before it could do anything more to us. With a single shriek, it fell silent.
I stumbled back in snow, propping my elbows on my knees as I breathed heavily, watching the downed animals. Ashera approached them, prodding one with her walking stick.
“We got them both. We’ll take them home with us as well. Charimont hide makes for a supple, warm leather. Come now. Get up and help me. We’d best be out of here before any other animal gets the scent of blood.”
We quickly finished loading the sledge, adding the deer and the charimonts to our stockpile. Dragging the sledge through the snow, we then made our way back to the cottage.
Once we returnedto the cottage, we carried the carcasses around back. While she began on the turkeys, I butchered the deer and the boar. Ashera had sharp knives that made the job a lot easier, and by late afternoon we had finished carving up the meat and hanging it in her smokehouse. After that, we skinned the charimonts and stretched the hides on a rack so she could tan them once they were cleaned. That finished, Ashera stoked the fires in the smokehouse and we carried one of the turkeys into the house to cook for the next few days’ meals.
Both of us were covered with blood so she found clean clothing for me, and then retired to her bedroom to wash and change clothes herself. I poured hot water from the cauldron into a bucket and began to wash in the living room. By the time I was clean and dressed, it was time for dinner. My stomach rumbled. Hard work burned energy, and so I helped myself to a handful of cookies while I waited for her to come out of the bedroom.
When she emerged, she, too, was clean.
She pointed to the turkey. “If you could carve that up, I’ll make us a stew and then roast the rest of it for tomorrow and the next day.”
I make quick work of the bird, butterflying and then quartering it. Ashera popped a thigh and a leg into the soup pot, along with several potatoes, carrots, and dried herbs. The rest she put on the rotisserie over the fire and it sputtered as the fatdripped down into the flames. Before long, the cottage smelled so good that it made my mouth water.
“All right,” she said. “You’ve helped me with my task. I’ll see if I can pinpoint the location of your friends now.” She fetched a crystal ball off one of the bookshelves and settled down at the table with it. I sat opposite her, waiting. I didn’t understand how prognostication worked, but I knew that witches usually had the ability to divine the future. Magic scared me, but I also knew that if the right person wielded it, they could produce incredible results.
I gave her Bran’s name first, and she told me to focus on him. I close my eyes and pictured him, imagining him and his strength.
Ashera leaned over the crystal ball, cupping her hands around it as she slowly chanted something under her breath. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but the energy quickly filled the room—a presence that had a mind of its own.
A few moments later, she sat back. “He’s alive, and he’s no longer in captivity. He’s in the Bramble Fel, although I’m not sure exactly where he is. He’s searching for someone, and I think that person is you. I can sense a deep regret about him, a feeling like he failed.”
“Do you think he’s near us?”
Ashera considered my question for a moment. “That, I am not sure. He doesn’t feel incredibly distant, that’s the best I can tell you. Who’s next?”
“Fenling. His cousin.” I was worried about her as well. If Karehl was willing to imprison his own brother, it occurred to me that he would be more than willing to force Fenling into his bed.
Once again, Ashera sank deep into trance, her hands on the sides of the crystal ball.
“This is easier,” she said. “I can see her clearly, sitting by a campfire with a group of riders around her.”
“The Lorani?”
“I don’t know, but they seem friendly enough. And they look to be seasoned, weathered men who have been on the road for quite some time.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the Lorani. If it were her cousin Karehl, she’d be fighting back.” I rose and went to the window, opening the shutters to stare out into the darkness. Evening had fallen, and it was so dark it was hard to see the trees that were only a few paces away from the cottage. I hoped they were nearby, and that I could meet up with them soon. I missed them—all of them. It was at that moment that I realized I considered them family, and their path was my path. I turned back to Ashera.
“Is there a way to call them here? To magically summon them?”
“I don’t usually call people to my home, but I might make an exception for you. Let me think about it. In the meanwhile, why don’t you check the stew, and I’ll knead up a pan of rolls to go with it.” She moved over to the counter and began mixing up the dough, while I checked on the stew.
As she popped the rolls into the oven, I went to use the outhouse. The snow had begun in earnest for the night. It was pouring down in huge flakes, blanketing the world around us. Once again, I thanked Mother Bear that I had a place to stay.
