Cloudburst Ice Magic (4 page)

“Now, then, Mr. Snow. What brings you to our
demesne?” The Matriarch fixed him with a sharp look. Her hair
crystals sat arranged in a glorious cascade of white and silver
around her head, glinting in the increasing light.

“I’ve come to ask permission to stay and
work here in your mountains, Matriarch.” He tried to keep the
rising tension out of his voice.

“Intriguing. I thought the Sandfoot clan was
highly nomadic. Why would you wish to make your home range
here?”

“I haven’t decided if this will be my
permanent home, but there’s something I need to take care of here
and it’s urgent. I simply didn’t want to offend you by coming
without your say-so.”

Icedora tilted her head and narrowed her
eyes. “I think there’s more to this than you say, Mr. Snow. It is
good you stopped to see me. Has this to do with the human hikers
who have been lost in the Spring Fling?”

“You know about them?”

“Oh, yes. Just because we live on the
mountaintops doesn’t mean we don’t pay attention to the slopes.”
She eyed him carefully. “These humans mean something to you?”

“I’ve worked with the humans in Search and
Rescue for the last twenty years, and I’m very pleased to help
them.” He paused and took a chance. “But this time, it’s personal.
One of the SAR professionals is a friend of mine, and I can’t leave
her out there to die if I can help it.”

The small woman took two steps to him and
grasped his jaw with her taloned hand, scanning his eyes.

“Ah, she means more to you than friendship.”
A smile curled her lips around her protruding canines. “You’re
mated to this human, yes?”

How in the Ninth Hell did she see
that?
It didn’t matter. He couldn’t lie to a ten thousand year
old Ice Demon and get away with it.

Zach swallowed hard. “Yes, Matriarch. We
mated the winter before last and she is human. But I swear by
Freya, the mating was honorable and accepted by the Goddess.”

A joyful smile curled Icedora’s lips. “I
have no doubt Freya watches over you, Mr. Snow.” She patted his
cheek and released him. “I give you permission to be in our
mountains and to rescue your humans. But when you’ve rested and
recovered your mate, you must both return to the Tarn to see
me.”

“You want me to bring my human mate to Ice
Demon sacred ground?”

Icedora laughed, the sound echoing off the
walls around the lake like a shower of gravel. “Yes, Zachary. I
must see the female who has rooted one of the rootless Sandfoot
clan.” Then she sobered. “You don’t have much time. She and the
humans are located midway down a valley the humans call Quicksilver
Chute. While none of the celebrants have set off their slides there
yet, I cannot guarantee they’ll hold off longer than today. If you
wish to save your mate and her companions, you must get there by
the sun’s zenith.”

“I’ll leave right away.” Zach bowed and
turned back the way he’d come.

“And Mr. Snow. Leave your friend Cade
Cliffrose here with us. I need to speak with him more. I shall make
your goodbyes.”

“Of course, Matriarch.”

Icedora nodded. “Swift winds and flurries to
you, Mr. Snow.”

Zach bowed again and followed the path
opening through the mists to the snowy slopes beyond the guards.
Adrenaline and worry fueled his determination to get back to his
gear, find a good topographical map, and get up to Quicksilver
Chute.

He wondered what the matriarch wanted with
Cade, but suspected it saved Cade from having to decide whether or
not to accompany Zach in the rescue.
Easier to keep the Ice
Demons secret when it’s only me there.
Lily wouldn’t say
anything, but Cade might not be as adept at hiding his true
form.

Zach made it back to his truck in less than
five minutes. The hood and cab wore a thick mantle of snow already.
I’m coming, Lily. Just hold on a bit longer.
He shouldered
his pack and grabbed the map from his glove box.
Next stop,
Quicksilver Chute.

Chapter Five

Lily shivered awake from dreams of Zach’s
intense ice-green eyes begging her to hold on. Dim light brightened
the snow around her, telling her morning had arrived. The others
struggled to various forms of wakefulness and Randy already had hot
water for tea started.

She scrubbed her face to warm up her cheeks
as she sat up. Her body ached from the cold and odd sleeping
position, but she stretched her neck and checked her watch. The
little digital readout showed nearly ten o’clock.
Damn, still so
dark at ten.

Inhaling the scents of hot water and cold,
she glanced over at Randy. He met her gaze and shook his head at
her unspoken question.
Hell.
She crawled over next to him
and warmed her hands on the stove.

“Did you radio base?” Lily kept her voice
low so the other wouldn’t hear.

“Yeah. The blizzard has intensified. They
have zero visibility and fierce winds to top it off. The whole
flight crew is grounded.”

“So we’re gonna have to make it out of the
Chute on our own.”

Randy’s jaw tightened and his gaze slid to
the tent before returning to the hot water on the stove. “It’ll be
easy to get turned around with zero visibility, Sinclair. I’m
concerned with the wind chill and horizontal snow we could easily
get lost.” He jerked his head in the direction of the hikers, brown
eyes solemn. “They aren’t dressed to be out in this stuff for more
than an hour. We might be safer in here.”

A gut deep warning screamed through Lily’s
awareness and she shook her head, trying to keep her voice even.
“We can’t stay, Randy. We’ll be buried or crushed by the first
avalanche. As the day warms, the danger increases.” She dragged out
the map and stabbed the ridge. “We’re not too far from the ridge
and the Forest Service shack. I bet we’re less than an hour
away.”

“If we don’t get turned around.”

She gritted her teeth. “All we have to do is
head upwards and keep north to our right. We’ll use the climbing
ropes to keep everyone together.” She scanned his face, willing him
to understand the need to move. “Please, Randy. Trust me in this.
We can’t stay here. I got a bad feeling about being in the
Chute.”

Randy met her gaze and held it while he made
his decision. He was older and more experienced, but she’d never
steered him wrong when it came to weather.
Not since I got
involved with Zach.

Mr. Thomas crawled over beside them and
gestured toward the stove. “Is there any hot water? Tammy is
freezing.” He scrubbed his Beach-Boy face with one nail-bitten
hand.

“Of course.” Randy immediately poured some
of the melted snow into a mug. “Take one for yourself and Ms.
Benedict, too.”

“Thanks. What’s the plan for today?”

Lily stared at Randy, waiting for him to
make a decision. His gaze flicked to her before he answered.

“We’re going to make a try for the ridge.
Bad weather is keeping the flight crews grounded, so no helicopter,
but if we can get you three to the Forest Service shack, they’ll be
able to bring in snowmobiles to take you down-slope.”

Lily silently exhaled the breath she’d
forgotten she held.

“Are you sure we can make it there?” The
younger man scanned their faces, doubt flashing in his pale blue
eyes.

“Yes. We know about where we are and where
we need to go.”
Or we would if Zach was here.
Lily shoved
his comforting presence away. “The problem is we’re in an avalanche
chute and with the continued snow accumulation, the chances rise of
a slide. We have to get out of its way or we’ll be buried here
until the thaw.”

Randy grunted a warning and she shut her
mouth. She’d told the truth, but it wasn’t always helpful when the
hikers already swam in fear.

“We can’t stay as Ms. Sinclair said. Let’s
get the gear packed up and we’ll outline the plan so we’re ready to
make the trek.”

“How far is this shack?” Ms. Benedict had
joined them and Mr. Thomas handed her one of the mugs. “Thanks,
Brad.” She sipped the hot liquid, her freckled nose wrinkling as it
hit her tongue.

“Not far. Maybe a thousand feet of actual
distance. The trick will be finding a safe path to it in the
weather. It hasn’t improved.” Randy poured more mugs of tea for
himself and Lily.

“We’re going out in a blizzard?” The horror
in Ms. Benedict’s voice reminded Lily of a scary movie heroine.

“It’s that or wait for an avalanche to get
us here.” Randy glared at Lily, but she refused to sugar-coat their
situation. “No one is coming for us, Ms. Benedict. They can’t get
the crews to us where we are and the weather has intensified. We
have to make an effort to get to them. They can find us at the
Forest Service shack, but out here, we’re as good as lost.”

“How soon do we need to leave?” Brad handed
back his mug, his youthful looks aging with his tension.

“Brad, you can’t be thinking we can get
through this, can you?” Ms. Benedict gaped at him.

“What choice do we have, Caroline? Are you
willing to just wait for an avalanche to wipe us out?” He shook his
head. “I’d rather make an effort to save ourselves than wait for a
cavalry that isn’t coming.”

Lily shot a look of surprise at Randy, but
kept her mouth shut. She approved of Brad’s perspective, even if
some part of her wished Zach would come out of the wind and snow,
playing the literal white knight.
Let it go, Sinclair. You have
no idea if Zach even got your text.
Or if he’d make it to them
in time. Nevada sat miles away from Colorado.

“Let’s get packed up and ready to go.” Randy
crawled toward the tent. “Ms. Sinclair will get out something you
folks can eat just before we leave. The sooner we’re ready, the
faster we can get to a safe place.”

Randy’s confidence seemed to galvanize the
others into action and Lily busied herself with packing up the
stove and setting out granola bars for everyone to eat. She
listened to Randy calmly instructing the hikers how to pack up the
tent and bags, but her mind kept drifting to Zach and how much she
wished he’d come.
Forget it, Sinclair. This time, you have to
save yourself.

Shaking her head at her damsel-tendencies,
she made sure her pack’s load was well balanced and strapped her
feet into her boots with crampons. Her fingers caught on one of the
sharp metal claws and tore the nail. The small pain made her gasp
and she put her hand to her mouth, sucking on the injured digit.
Scents of cardamom and cloves filled her nose and she closed her
eyes, remembering the night she’d spent with her Ice Demon
lover.

I don’t want to die without seeing Zach
again.

She’d just have to make sure she made it
long enough for him to find her.
And hopefully not my frozen
body.

“You almost ready, Sinclair?” Randy’s voice
intruded on her musings.

Lily opened her eyes and gave a sharp nod.
Ready or not, they needed to get moving. She handed out the granola
bars and they bundled up to face the elements. Lily clipped her
compass to the front straps of her pack and picked up her little
shovel.

“Ready?”

“Let’s do it.” Randy nodded grimly.

Together, they attacked the snowpack
covering their entry hole. The top layer had frozen and took a fair
amount of strength to break through. Lily almost regretted the
opening as the wind and stinging snow slapped her in the face
between her goggles and scarf.

“Holy shit.”

She didn’t know which man had said it, but
she concurred. Using the shovel as an anchor, she dragged her body,
pack and all, out of their shelter. The wind howled and buffeted
her from uphill, damn near rolling her past the little hump they’d
made in the snow. Lily dug in with her heels, her crampons
skittering across the icy crust before finally finding purchase.
She swallowed against the heart-pounding fear and dug footholds in
the snow for the others.

“Are you all right, Sinclair?” Randy
appeared before her and held out his hand to pull her up.

“Yeah. Just watch it out here. Between the
wind and crust, it’s pretty slick.”

“Got it.” He braced himself with his heels
and looped the climbing rope around her waist. “The others don’t
have crampons, so we’ll need to make deep steps for them to follow.
The wind’s gonna be a bitch.” He tightened the knot on the rope and
tugged gently to be sure it held. “Can you cut a trail in the
crust?”

“Yeah.” Lily struggled to her feet and
braced the shovel against her hip. “Get the others tied and jerk
the rope twice to let me know when you’re ready. I’ll start cutting
now.”

“Sounds good.”

Randy disappeared into their shelter and
Lily focused on chopping through the hard, icy snow. The wind
whipped the snow into a whiteout, but she focused on making a path.
Even with gloves on the frigid air cut into her hands. Lily gritted
her teeth and remembered what Zach taught her about mountaineering
in whiteout conditions.

Keep your compass handy, your ice ax in
front of you, and your mind focused on the direction you want to
go. Your eyes will be useless and the wind will throw you off.

She’d been surprised he knew so much when he
had ability with the elements. He’d laughed and said Ice Demons got
drunk on their power and often blew themselves far from home in
their revelry. Lily had to admit she’d like to see Zach get so
wild.
But only if I’m safe, with a warm hotel nearby.

Not much likelihood of that right now. Two
sharp tugs on the rope behind her told her Randy had the others
ready. Lily inhaled some of the wind and swore she got a taste of
spiced chai, but shook her head and put her focus into cutting
steps in the ice.
I’m imagining Zach when I need to be focused
on heading west.
She glanced at her compass, making sure the
needle pointed to her right, and chopped at the slope ahead of
her.