The Snowmaiden, A Bride for Krampus - Jeanette Lynn Page 0,73
through the passage he’d just popped through.
Redressing, grabbing the pelts up, I waited for Baumb to follow Ded’s hooves through. The tunnel this led to was huge. It looked like an old mine shaft. Stepping out into it with Baumb’s assistance, I looked to my Elkfen lover.
“They’re mine,” I felt the need to tell Shnick, so he knew what he was getting himself into.
“As am I, Lumi-love,” he swore, and hefted Ded over his shoulder to motion for us to follow him. “Not to be short, but we haven’t much time.” With Ded’s weight weighing him down, he began to jog. “There are probably about a hundred tunnels just like this, but only one leads to a portal.”
“A portal?” I muttered, wincing as rocks and other debris dug into my bare feet.
Baumb scooped me up, clicking for Yule to follow closely, and caught up to Shnikel to easily keep pace with him.
“Good man,” Shnikel said with a long look at the Baumbel carrying me princess style.
Baumb grunted and his lips twitched.
“There’s a small window to it, but it leads to another winter world.” Determination filled Shnikel’s expression. “We could go there, start over, all of us. Free from all of this.”
Baumbel spoke and Shnikel looked to my alien snow beast mate askance.
“I don’t know what he’s saying,” Shnik admitted.
“He said as long as we all go, and that includes Yule,” I said with a grin, hooking a thumb over my shoulder at Yule ti. Patting my mate’s chest, I told Shnik proudly, “This is Baumb, and,” my hand waved in Ded’s direction, “you obviously know Ded.” Rolling my eyes, I added, “He ate the fruit.”
Shnik eyes twinkled. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And I you,” I said easily.
Baumb grumbled and I shrugged. “He’s basically saying, Less chitchat, more running.”
“Agreed.” Shnikel nodded and they broke out into a run I wouldn’t have stood a chance keeping up with.
Turning this way and that down winding tunnels, we soon found ourselves facing a dead end. A gnarl of candy cane colored vines swamped the floor, covering the walls, spilling out from a large, glowing blue shimmering mirror-like looking section of wall.
“Come.” Excitement filled Shnik’s voice but Yule reared up with a shriek and took off in the opposite direction.
“Yule! No! Come back, girl!” I called, but she was rushing down an unlit tunnel.
Baumb set me down, motioning for me to stay, and rushed after her. He didn't want me to leave without him. He knew I wouldn't and so went after Yule.
“I’m going to set him here and test this out,” Shnikel said, but waited as I laid out the pelts for him to place Ded on. Once Ded was settled, he grabbed up a rotted bit of tree root and walked over to the crystals-blue portal.
Fussing over Ded farther up the way, I glanced up expecting to greet Baumb, murmuring absently, “Well, that was fast.”
The glint of something sharp caught my eye and I froze.
“You know, it really was.” Bels stood there, looking very much alive and whole, if a bit dirty from tunnel traipsing. One of the beheading scythe knives, slick with blood, was in one hand, the other hand balled into a white knuckled fist. “You didn’t think you were the only one who knew about the portal, did you?”
“You- You’re- You were dead,” I spluttered, stumbling to my feet to stand over Ded protectively.
“Elves are immortal, dearest, or did you not know that?” A snicker of a laugh left the male. One look at Ded and a smirk tipped his lips.
“Added him to the culling list myself,” he said with a sniff. He sounded like he was bragging. “Right before I led him to your little cozy cage cell. I knew you’d be dumb enough to take him in, and he’d lead me right to you.” Lifting the scythe, he struck the blade along the wall as he approached. It scraped along the roughhewn earth as he drew near. “This is all your fault. If you’d just died like you were supposed to, Shnik would have come back and all would have been well…”
“I didn’t-” I blurted, but he struck the scythe along the wall and I jumped as the sound rang out.
“Do you know how painful it is to be disemboweled?” His head cocked and an ugly snarl pulled at his pointy chinned face. “No? Well, you’re about to.”
Stumbling back instinctively, I tripped over Ded, who lay passed out on the ground behind me. My hands shot up as