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Reggi’s ghost story flitted through her mind, but she was not about to share that with her sister.
“I don’t know. Maybe the trade died out, or they simply decided to move along. You know a lot of the caravan masters don’t like to stay in one place for very long.”
Her father certainly did not. He resented their winter break, always pushing to move at the first sign of the spring thaw.
“I suppose.”
Merry didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t argue as Katerina quickly built a fire in the abandoned hearth. Despite its age, the chimney was still intact, and the fire caught easily, sending a welcome warmth into the space. She gathered the rest of the wood scattered around the room and stacked it neatly next to the fireplace. It was a decent amount, but probably not enough to last through the night given that it was old and dry and would burn quickly.
“I think I’ll go and see if there’s more wood in the other gatehouse.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She shook her head, worried at how pale and tired her sister looked.
“Don’t be silly. You just stay here and rest. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Fortunately the door to the gatehouse was pointed away from the wind, but the opening still allowed heat to escape. Making a note to put a blanket across it when she returned, she crossed the stone paving to the matching building on the other side. The snow had started to fall in earnest, quickly whitening her hair and the shoulders of her cloak, but very little had accumulated, the wind whisking it away almost as soon as it landed.
The second gatehouse was a mirror image of the first one, and in even better shape. There was even a wooden chair, still intact despite its age. Somewhat cautiously, she tested the chair but to her delight it held. Would Merry be equally as thrilled, or was appreciation for a chair something that occurred with age?
For a moment she wondered if they should move over to this building, but she didn’t want to waste the fire or uproot her sister again. Instead, she piled as many of the scattered pieces of wood as she could manage on top of the seat before lifting it cautiously. It was heavier than she had expected, but she didn’t have far to go and she made her way carefully back across the paving, finally beginning to whiten.
“You’ll never believe what I found,” she called cheerfully as she backed into the gatehouse and carefully set down her burden. “It’s an actual chair.”
She lifted her head to smile at her sister, but the room was empty. Merry had disappeared.
“No,” she whispered, staring at the empty room in horror.
How could she have been so foolish? There must have been someone following them, and it hadn’t been some mythical snow prince, it had been a human. A human who had stolen her sister. She raced back outside.
“Merry!” she cried, but the wind whipped the word out of her mouth. She searched the ground desperately, looking for any trace of footprints, anything to indicate where he might have taken her sister, but the swirling wind disturbed the snow so much that it was impossible to find any tracks. She rushed back to the entrance of the courtyard to look out across the valley. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but she couldn’t see any signs of movement in the valley.
A tiny spark of hope lit in her chest. Maybe Merry’s kidnapper hadn’t wanted to face the snowstorm. Maybe he was concealed somewhere in this complex of buildings. They were far too many to be able to search easily, but she refused to let that deter her. She would knock every stone to the ground before she let someone take her sister.
She raced back inside long enough to fumble through her bag and pull out a small torch. She breathed a thankful prayer when she pressed the button and a thin, bright stream of light appeared. The technology to create such a thing had long since been forgotten and she had no idea how long it would last, but at least she wouldn’t have to search in the dark.
Grabbing a sturdy length of wood with her other hand, she hurried back outside. As she started for the first in the row of buildings that lined the courtyard, something brushed against her foot. She jumped back, her heart beating wildly, but when she aimed the light at her feet, she found a pika sitting on its hindlegs and staring up at her and her racing pulse slowed. The small furry creatures lived on the lower slopes of the mountains. They were shy and tended to avoid humans, but this one seemed intent on attracting her attention. Its white fur mingled with the falling snow but its lavender eyes sparkled as it chirped at her.
“I don’t know what you want, but I have to find my sister.”
She tried to move around it but it jumped in front of her again, still chirping, and one of those small, hand-like paws tugged on her cloak – almost as if it wanted her to follow it. It was ridiculous, impossible, but as she looked at the complex of dark, abandoned buildings her heart sank. The pika traveled in family groups. Was it possible that it was trying to lead her to her sister?
Another spark of hope lit in her heart, but she did her best to temper her excitement. It was only a chance, a slim chance at that, but since she was going to have to search anyway, maybe she would start by finding out where the pika wanted her to go.
“All right. Show me the way.”
Her feeling of embarrassment at speaking to the small animal disappeared as it immediately dropped back down on all four feet and scampered away across the courtyard. Praying that she was right, she took off after it. It moved with surprising speed for such a small creature, but whenever she thought she was about to lose sight of it, it would pause and wait for her. The combination of hope and dread as it led her deeper into the warren of ruined buildings made her heart beat faster and faster until it finally paused in front of one of the smaller buildings.
Although it looked abandoned, it was remarkably intact, the heavy wooden door still solid in its hinges. Turning off the torch to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, she tightened her grip on the piece of wood. As her eyes adjusted, she caught what might have been the faintest glow from behind the closed shutters. Grasping the door handle, she pulled it down as quietly as she could. It responded with surprising smoothness and she gradually began to ease the door open.
But then she heard her sister’s voice, and her caution vanished. She snatched the door open to reveal an obviously inhabited space, lit by lanterns. Her sister was standing in the middle of the room, whole, safe, and clearly annoyed as she stomped her foot and glared at the man, no, the boy, standing in front of her.
“And I’m telling you I was perfectly safe. She’s my sister.”
Katerina burst into tears.
CHAPTER6
