Within seconds of the car coming to a stop, heavy snowfall blanketed the windshield. A frightening darkness seemed to move past the glass and metal of the vehicle like a ghost going through walls. It pressed heavily and coldly against her heart.
"Great. Just great," she muttered. Her voice trembled. Emily reached for her phone again. No service. Not even one bar.
Maybe the fix was simple. She popped the hood, shrugged on her coat, and braced against a wind that slashed through heavy wool.
Emily used her phone’s flashlight app to stare at the reminder of yet another mistake she’d made. Wafts of steam rose from the engine into the frigid air.
Rick had told her to pull over and let the car cool down if it got too hot. He’d suggested she bring a couple of gallons of coolant just in case.
Only she hadn’t.
And now she was stuck up on an isolated mountain road off the beaten path, and Emily hadn’t seen another vehicle since leaving Cedar Creek.
The vast stretch outside of Glacier National Park loomed ahead. Darkness was broken only by her flashlight. The only sound was the angry wind through the pine trees on either side of the road.
Another check of the phone confirmed there was still no service. Maybe if she hiked farther up the road, she’d catch a signal.
As she weighed which way to walk, she spotted it—a golden light, lantern-bright but unmoving, deep in the trees on her right. Perhaps a cabin window.
Relief weakened her legs. Someone else was here. Maybe someone is willing to help.
Emily stepped from the road into the trees toward the glow. Instantly, the woods choked off the last threads of daylight. Pitch black seized her. Snow slipped over the tops of her ankle boots as she walked, soaking her socks and chilling her to the bone.
Yet the light remained steadfast. She envisioned a warm fire where she could thaw out and tell her plight to the cabin’s owner.
Her frozen feet slipped over hidden roots and rocks.
“Hello?” she called out, her breath fogging the air in front of her. Her voice seemed to bounce around in the dense air.
The light hovered deep in the woods, drawing her in.
"Please, I need help!" she called out. Nothing but wind answered. She pressed on, heart pounding. Her feet were numb. Branches clawed at her face and sleeves.
She reached a clearing where a cabin sat. The light she’d been following burned inside. Relief flooded her limbs.
Emily hurried up to the door and knocked. “Hello. Is anyone in there?” When no response came, she stepped over to the window and peered inside. An inviting fire burned in the woodstove. A large vat of something sat on top of it. The fragrance of vanilla reached her.
Maybe the owner had gone into town for something. Yet even as she stepped to the door again, it didn’t make sense. It would be impossible to get a vehicle up here.
An icy prickle traced her spine.
“You’re being silly,” she told herself, then reached for the door handle. It opened freely. She stepped inside.
A candle sat on the floor. Wax scattered all around.
Her throat tightened. “What on earth...?”
Then she heard it.
Footsteps rushing toward her. A shadow flickered in the candlelight.
Before Emily could turn, a rough hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream. A needle pricked her neck.
Instantly, her world tilted. The candle’s flame blurred into a smear of gold as she hit the floor.
Everything around her faded; the last image Emily saw was a shadowy figure of a man leaning over the candle, whispering something like a prayer as the flame trembled in his breath. Then everything went black.
Chapter One
