The aurora borealis isn’t out yet, but some of the stars are, and seeing them against this gorgeous, seemingly never-ending horizon helps put everything I’m going through in perspective. I can’t help comparing what one human life—one human’s problems—is in contrast to all this, just like I can’t help wondering, for the very first time, what immortality feels like. I mean, I know what I feel when I’m standing here. Small, insignificant, finite. But what does someone like Jaxon feel, not only with the knowledge that he can climb—and conquer—this impossible mountain in minutes, but also with the knowledge that he will be here as long as this mountain is.
I can’t imagine what that feels like.
I don’t know how long we stand there staring off into the ever-darkening distance. Long enough for Jaxon’s arms to creep around me and for me to relax against him.
Long enough for the last little bit of sun to sink down below the mountains.
More than long enough for the cold to seep in.
Jaxon notices my first shiver and pulls away reluctantly. I know how he feels. Right now, I’d be okay with spending eternity up here on this mountain, just him and me and this incredible feeling of peace. I haven’t experienced anything like it since before my parents died. And maybe not even then.
Peace can’t last with Hudson inside you, a voice in the back of my head says, shattering the feeling of contentment. Could it be my gargoyle side again, warning me? I wonder. Obviously Hudson wouldn’t warn me about himself.
Another question for my research, I decide, if my life ever slows down enough for me to actually get some done. Which reminds me, I need to set aside some time when I get back to Katmere to review the notes on gargoyles that Hudson apparently took. Another shiver races down my spine as I wonder what he was looking for about me.
“We need to go,” Jaxon says, unzipping my backpack and pulling out a stainless-steel bottle of water. “But you need to drink something before we do. These altitudes can be brutal.”
“Even on gargoyles?” I tease, leaning in to him again because it feels right.
“Especially on gargoyles.” He smirks as he holds the bottle out to me.
I drink, more because Jaxon is standing there watching me than because I’m actually thirsty. It’s a small thing, not worth arguing about, especially when he knows more about this climate than I do. The last thing I need is to add dehydration on top of everything else going on inside me right now.
“Can I have a granola bar?” I ask when I hand him the bottle to put back in my pack.
“Sure,” he says, digging in the backpack to find me one.
After chewing a few bites, I ask, “How long until we get to the Bloodletter’s cave?”
Jaxon lifts me into his arms again, considers it. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not we run into any bears.”
“Bears?” I squeak, because nobody said anything about bears. “Aren’t they still hibernating?”
“It’s March,” he answers.
“What does that mean?”
When he doesn’t answer, I poke him in the shoulder. “Jaxon! What does that mean?”
He shoots me a wicked grin. “It means we’ll see.”
I poke him again. “What about—”
He takes off, full fade, before I can finish the thought, and then it’s just Jaxon and me flying down the side of a mountain. Well, Jaxon, me, and, apparently, a bunch of bears.
I so didn’t sign up for this.
30
Winner Winner
Bloodletter’s
Dinner
It seems like only a few minutes before Jaxon stops again, but when I glance at my cell phone, I realize that another hour has gone by. That means that if we traveled at the same speed we did during the first half of the trip, we must be about five hundred miles from Katmere.
“We’re here,” Jaxon says, but I figured as much. It’s in the tightness of his mouth, the sudden tenseness of his shoulders.
I look around, try to find the ice cave where we’re supposed to meet the Bloodletter, but all I see is mountain in every direction. Mountain and snow. Then again, I’m not exactly an expert on ice caves.
“Is there anything I need to know?” I ask when he takes my hand, starts to lead me closer to the base of the mountain.
“Honestly, there’s so much you need to know that I’m not sure where to start.”
I laugh at first, because I think he’s joking, but a quick glance at his face