Galen ducked his head against the freezing wind and struggled to hear the others' shouts above the gale.

"This way!" Sev yelled, tugging on his hand. "We will shelter by the rocks!"

They had passed a large outcrop of stone right before they chose a place to camp.

"Good idea!" Rea shouted in reply. "They'll have stored some heat from the day and should keep the snow off for a while!"

"Everyone gather whatever fuel you can! We'll need to get a fire going!" Sev hollered, and Galen slipped his hand free and dropped back a bit to help Behn scoop up armloads of the firewood they'd already collected.

Laden with their burdens, they followed the others as the icy wind stung their ears. Within minutes, the few flakes had increased, and fell so thickly they could hardly see more than a few yards ahead through the swirling sheets of white.

"Damn it!" Sev swore loudly several minutes later. "We've gone too far east! We need to double back!"

"Sev, we're losing light fast!" Obi warned.

"I know! Stay calm!"

They turned back, retracing footsteps that were already vanishing beneath thickly falling snow.

Galen shivered. He'd been wondering what they would do when they reached the mountains. Their clothes and blankets were warm enough for most weather, but from Harrald's tales he knew the snow was another matter. Despite the warmth of exertion, he already felt the bite of cold through his clothes; cold never seemed to bother Thrynians like Triss and Behn, but Galen hated winter. Moreover, despite the rush of triumph he'd felt after healing Obi's hand, he couldn't deny it had left him drained. He wasn't sure how much trudging through blizzards he was up for.

Meanwhile, Obi was right. The light was fading, dimming from pale gray to blue, and within an hour would be gone entirely. Then, if they did not have a fire, and with the moon and stars behind thick clouds, they would be as blind as Zenír, and in all likelihood they would freeze to death long before dawn.

"There it is!" Triss yelled, pointing ahead to a dark shape just visible through the snowy gloom. "The rocks!"

Galen's heart lifted as Rea gave a whoop of excitement. Obi chimed in, but Sev remained silent, and as they approached and the shape resolved itself, their hopes dimmed.

It was an outcrop of rocks, but not the ones Sev had in mind. Those were a jumble of upthrust slabs, some of which leaned together, or canted at angles that would have made good shelter; these were little more than a cluster of rounded boulders. Still, the largest was the size of a small shed, and offered at least some measure of protection from the wind.

"We must make do," he said, as they all huddled against its leeward side, heads close together. "We can't risk getting even more lost and being left with no shelter at all." He picked up a stone the size of a loaf of bread, with flattened surfaces. "Look around for more rocks like this, but don't stray beyond sight of one another."

Without question, everyone obeyed, and soon they had a pile of such stones. Then Obi and Rea began laying them in a half circle, with the boulder forming its flat side, building a firepit with high, curved walls, like a beehive with the top cut off.

To everyone's great relief, they soon had a fire going strong, and while the wind still licked at the flames, it burned steady and bright.

"We must conserve our fuel," Sev warned. "And as soon as we are able we must gather more. The first snow will have left everything wet, and it will need to dry before it burns."

"Agreed," Rea said. "What we've gathered should last us through the night, but barely, and while we may not freeze, neither shall we be particularly warm."

"We must hope the snow stops and the clouds lift by morning," said Sev. "If we are fortunate, the storm will depart as quickly as it came."

No one said so, but Galen suspected they were all thinking something similar: they had not been particularly fortunate, so far.

-✵-

They sat in a semi-circle around the firepit, with their bedrolls around their shoulders and their backs to the cold. Rea and Obi had left gaps between the stones, letting the heat escape while keeping the wind out, but the heat felt weak compared to the chill of the driving snow. Despite the fire and the warmth of Sev and Behn on either side of him, Galen soon shivered uncontrollably.

"Come here," Sev said, as Galen shook so hard his teeth chattered. "Sit in my lap."

"W-W-What?" Galen stammered, sure he had not heard the man right.

Sev reached an arm around him and pulled him closer, shifting so Galen sat with his back to Sev's chest. "It's a survival technique. Our bodies produce warmth; why waste it? The rest of you do the same," he added to the group at large. "Pair up."

"We're oddly numbered," Rea remarked.

"We can rotate with Zen," Obi said.

"I've got a better idea."

To Galen's surprise, this last came from Behn.

"I might not be good for much, but I'm good at keeping warm. I'm hardly ever cold—even now. And I'm big. Triss and Rea can sit with me, and I'm happy to stay on the outside."

"Keeping two girls warm at once, eh?" Triss teased, even as she moved to sit in front of him. "There's something to brag about."

"Shut up, Triss," Behn grumbled. "Besides, this is probably the closest to any girl I'll ever get."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Rea said, winking at Triss as she leaned back against Behn's other shoulder. "I bet you have a sweetheart at home."

Even in the firelight's dim glow, Galen saw Behn's round cheeks—less round than they were some weeks ago—flush red.

"I don't," he mumbled.

"Oh? Are you a 'man's man' then, like Sev?"

"N-No!" Behn exclaimed. "I like—I mean, I like girls."

"Ah—well, don't go getting too warm on us, then."

"Rea, enough," Sev chided. "He's only a boy."

"That's not stopping you, is it, Omalan Sevhalim," she said, with something almost like a sneer.

At his back, Galen felt Sev stiffen, and he spoke just to break the sudden and unexpected tension in the air.

"What does that mean?" he asked. "'Omalan,' that is. Obi called you that before."

Sev relaxed. "It means 'honored,' or 'most dutiful.' It's a title among Hands."

"Hands who have taken certain vows," Rea added pointedly.

In a voice Galen hadn't heard before, Sev said, "I am well aware of my vows, Sei Re'annith. Perhaps you ought to mind your own."

Galen held his breath, seeing his uncertainty mirrored in Triss and Behn. The sudden tension seemed to come out of nowhere, and nothing like it had surfaced on the journey so far.

Sev and Rea continued to stare at one another, but after a moment, Rea looked away first.

"Forgive me. I think the strain of travel has affected me," she said.

Sev huffed an incredulous laugh. "The 'strain of travel?' We've lost a friend, Rea. And we're allowed to lose our tempers, now and then."

She shook her head. "No. We're not. We're supposed to be above that."

A hard edge returned to Sev's voice. "Not above, Rea. Apart. There's a difference. Now enough talk. Everyone sleep, or at least rest, if you can. We will rotate a watch for the fire."

-✵-

In the morning, Galen woke to a world clothed in white. The snow had continued to fall in the night, and now a fresh layer that would sink a man to his knees covered the ground. On the other hand, the air sparkled clear and frost-bright, though a veil of gray clouds still hid the sky.

The ground around the fire had stayed clear, warmed by their bodies and fire, and though snow dusted their hair and backs, it brushed off easily and left their garments dry. Only a few bits of fuel remained to be burned, and the fire had reduced nearly to coals; but meanwhile, Galen felt surprisingly warm and well-rested.

He'd fallen asleep soon after the uncomfortable and cryptic exchange, and slept undisturbed until dawn. Sev had not woken him to trade places, he realized, and twisted to look up at him.

The other man was already awake—if he had slept at all—and met Galen's inquiring look with a smile.

"You were not cold?" Galen asked.

"Not unbearably so," Sev replied.

Galen frowned, suspecting he would hear more of 'duty to the p'yrha,' if he pressed. He turned forward again, shifting away from the other man as he took stock of his companions.

Behn dozed, his cheeks rosy with warmth and his chin resting on top of Triss's head. Triss lay nestled in his arms with Rea tucked around her back. Zenír sat awake, a troubled expression on his face, while Obi shivered in his arms.

"Is he alright?" Galen asked, moving closer to touch a hand to Obi's brow. His skin felt hot and damp to the touch.

"No," Zenír said. "He took a turn in the night."

"But...?" Galen inspected the site of the bite, but the skin remained healed and unblemished.

"The barrowlings are unnatural creatures," Sev murmured. "We must expect their bites to be unnatural as well. I suspect there is some agent—an infection, or a poison, that spread to his blood long before you healed his flesh. I am not sure how much magic can help him, now."

Frowning, Galen sat back on his heels.

"I will try, nonetheless," he said.

Sev rested a hand on his shoulder. "No. I've seen this before, Galen. Magic won't help. He needs an antidote."

"An antidote?" Galen furrowed his brow. He knew how to make several kinds of antidotes, but they were specific to certain kinds of poisons, and they all took time and special implements to prepare.

Sev shook his head. "The best we can do is hope he can fight through it on his own. In the meantime, we must consider our next step carefully. This storm..." He paused and rubbed a hand across his mouth, his silver eyes flashing bright as they reflected the sky. "Our plans must change. The pass is surely blocked, now. We'll have to find another way into Sakkara."

They sat in silence for a moment, but Galen's eyes remained fixed on Obi.

"What about the path?" he asked.

Sev touched his shoulder. "What path?"

Zenír leaned forward. "In the Pinedark, you mean?"

Galen nodded, then realized the other man couldn't see him. "Yes. Who made it? And who felled the trees to serve as bridges? Not the barrowlings, I presume."

"No," Sev agreed quietly. "Not the barrowlings."

Galen spread his hands wide. "Who, then? Perhaps they will help us."

"Or not," Sev replied drily. "But you are right—that may be our only choice. Zenír, do you have any insight to add?"

Zenír took a breath and sat with his sightless eyes fixed on the fire.

"No," he said. "All is clouded before me. However... I am with Galen on this. We are unprepared, Sev. If we do not turn back and head for lower ground, or else find aid, the snow will take us all. In the meantime, Obi will not last long."

"So be it," Sev said, and quickly roused the others.

In short order, everyone understood the situation, and Triss and Rea had built a makeshift stretcher from saplings and a blanket on which to carry Obi. They all took turns bearing it as they trudged through the snow.

An eerie silence blanketed the world; the only sounds came from the crunch of snow beneath their feet and the quiet whumpf of branches shedding their loads. The cold quickly penetrated Galen's clothing and skin, and even the warmth of constant movement could not shake it.

A tense mood settled over them: they were headed back the way they had come—back towards the Pinedark and the barrowlings—though this time they searched for any sign of tracks other than their own.

"What if those paths were made years ago?" Rea grumbled. "The tree across the gorge certainly wasn't fresh. Anyone could have seen that."

Galen saw Sev wince, and almost instinctually came to his defense. "Maybe; but the path through the pines was clean. Even after a season, a disused trail will disappear."

"True enough," Rea conceded grudgingly. "Still, we don't know if these 'pathmakers' are friend or foe. They may very well—"

She cut off abruptly, and froze in place.

"Rea?" Sev asked, stopping short and grabbing Galen by the arm, halting him as well.

"Don't... move," Rea whispered, eyes wide. "It's a—"

With a snap and a whoosh a net sprang from beneath the snow, lifting her high above their heads and raining white powder down on them.

"Rea!" Triss let her end of Obi's stretcher drop and started forward, even as Sev yelled for her to hold her place.

With another series of snaps, more nets deployed all around them. Triss and Zenír were caught and hoisted aloft, while Sev shoved Galen to the side just as another net deployed from the snow beneath their feet.

Galen landed on his back with a soft whump and stared up in confusion as his companions dangled high above. Struggling to his feet, he ran to the stretcher, knowing Obi carried several knives on his belt, but as he dropped to his knees beside the sick man, he froze as something sharp and cold touched the back of his neck.

"Do not move," a voice warned.

Very carefully, Galen lifted his hands and his head, and saw that a ring of figures with drawn bows surrounded him.