Chasing Shadows (46 page)

It will be over soon
, he’d promised.
Oh, God, let it be over soon.

Something soft and delicate brushed her cheek, and she thought it might have been Will’s breathing. But then the miniscule sensation appeared on her exposed knuckles. Was it snowing?

Will hunched over her, his arms tightening around her shoulders. She instinctively leaned back to see what was landing on her, but the hand at the base of her scull held tight, which only made her push harder in panic. What was he protecting her from?

She jerked back enough to see the snowfall. No, not snowflakes. Ash, from the fire. Dark, discolored ash falling from the sky. It speckled Will’s dark hair and clung to the back of his sleeves and shoulders. Some of the ash landed on his cheek, and he wiped at it in revulsion. She watched a few lazy flakes fall from the trail of smoke overhead, the smoke coming from Gabriel’s body. . . .

Sarah shrieked without thought, swatting at the dusting of ash that had collected on her head since she’d pulled back from Will’s embrace. She imagined the gray color of the ash matched the pallor Gabriel’s skin had held. And it was all over her!

Will grabbed her hands, shushing her, trying to calm her. She realized her mistake and bit her lip, tasting blood as she tensed.

The men in the clearing had gone silent, the only sound the dull crackle and hiss of the fire as it consumed what was left of its fuel.

“Did you hear that?” one of them whispered. She couldn’t tell which one; her heart was beating too loudly, though she heard perfectly the sound of a dagger being drawn from its sheath. Their feet crunched over the snow, moving toward the boulder.

Sarah looked to Will, searching his face for the answer.
Fight or flight?
her mind screamed. He was staring at the boulder, chest rising and falling quickly, and she knew what he wanted. But then his gaze landed on her face, and his jaw tightened.

Will jerked his head down the hill, and she knew he planned to run. Pulling her head close, he breathed into her ear, “Can you make it?”

She nodded. That seemed the only confirmation he needed. Taking her hand, he waited only until she had her feet planted before hurrying her down the hill. It was harder this trip, and Sarah slid more than anything. Stopping to face her as he helped her over a rough patch, Will spotted them coming around the boulder. Then he gripped her arm and took off down the hill, practically holding her upright as they both slid and stumbled downward.

The men shouted for them to halt when they had them in their sights, tripping down the hill after them. But Sarah and Will had reached the bottom well before their pursuers, and they took off along the path of the ditch, panting and gasping for breath.

Sarah could hear the men shouting commands to each other, telling the other to move or watch his step. Then another voice, one she didn’t recognize, calling out to them, “You there! Stop!”

Sarah shot a quick look over her shoulder, barely catching sight of the man mounted on his horse as he galloped after the estranged foursome. The look on the two grave robbers’ faces was pure alarm as they sliced through the trees, abandoning their pursuit to cut a new path through the woods. 

“Guard. Don’t stop!” Will panted, dragging her along with him. She wanted to tell him that a guard could help, but then she saw how this must look from the man’s perspective—four people running from the scene of a flaming corpse. They probably looked as guilty as the men who’d done the deed.

Will’s hand slipped from her arm, needing to pump both arms at his sides to keep moving. He was breathing hard and barely managed to gasp, “The lake! We’ll lose him in the trees.” She followed him, choking on frozen clouds of air that pained her lungs when she swallowed.

The two baddies were long gone by now, but the sound of pounding hooves and the guard’s shouts of warning were still clear. Dodging in and out of the thicket, she followed Will into a dense copse of trees, feet pounding over the snow. They ran until Sarah thought she would collapse and it was only pure adrenaline that kept her moving.

Will slowed behind her, and she looked over her shoulder in alarm. But he was striding backward, watching the trees behind them. She suddenly realized that they could no longer hear the guard’s pursuit and jogged a few yards more into the shadowed clearing, almost unable to stop her wobbly legs from running. Her feet slipped on the icy snow and she slowed, gripping her aching side, choking and gasping for breath. Had they lost the guard in the trees? He’d surely be on foot now if he wanted to follow through the thicket, which would buy them time.

The clouds shifted, and a small sliver of waning sunlight broke through the thick tangle of limbs nearby. Reaching up to shield her eyes from the light coming off the snow beneath her feet, Sarah called out, “Did we lose him?” Then she went into a coughing fit, doubling over to catch her breath.

Will turned to her, mid-nod. He froze in alarm, wide eyes dropping to the reflective ground she stood on. A single crack echoed through the forest, startling her. Was that a rifle shot?

Waving his arms, Will motioned for her to come back to him. She had never seen him so terrified, and his fear was contagious, rooting her to the spot. “Sarah, no!” he shouted, running toward her.                    

Her mouth opened in confusion, and then it hit her. The lake! Her body reacted before she could think, and Sarah lurched forward a step, knowing she had to reach the other side. She froze at the deadening
crack
that filled her ears, realizing her mistake too late.

The ice she had thought was solid ground splintered and shattered beneath her weight. She shrieked as her right foot slipped through the sheet of frost that was too thin to hold her weight. Needles of pain shot up her leg as it slid into the freezing water, and icy fingers below seemed to grab hold of her foot, pulling her further down. She planted her hands on the ice and tried to jerk herself free, but her frantic movements only caused the surrounding ice to crack and splinter further.

Sarah froze, panic slicing through her as she realized that there was no way out—her thrashing was only forcing her deeper into the water. Her eyes snapped to Will in desperation, but he was still running toward her, toward the shattering lake, and she knew he would never make it in time. She locked onto his panicked gaze, screaming out his name just as the fragile sheet of glass shattered beneath her weight, plunging her into the dark, icy abyss.

~Chapter 40~

“
Will!”
Her frightened cry tore through him, ringing in his ears and landing in his stomach with a sickening
thud
of finality. He knew he was too late even as he forced his legs to move faster.

“No!” he yelled when her head disappeared from view, heedless of their pursuers as his shout echoed across the snow-capped hills.

His heart stopped for several beats until she reemerged, choking and gasping and slapping the surface of the water in desperation. “Hold on!” His shout was breathless from terror and exertion. He cried out to her again even after her head went under and it was only the tips of her fingers flailing for a handhold before they vanished, as well. Her dress was pulling her under!

Will felt paralyzed by fear even as his stride lengthened. His feet hit the powdered ice, and he slid several feet, not slowing until the ground began to shudder beneath his feet, threatening to break. And even then he quickly dropped onto his stomach, scuttling across the ice as fast as he could to the hole she had left behind. He gripped the edge of the pit, feeling the shards of ice bite into his palms as he hoisted himself closer. The opening was too small; it wasn’t possible that she had slipped through there.

“Oh, God,” he whispered in dread. The water was too cold—the edges of the hole were already reforming, sealing her in.

Thinking fast, he slammed his fist into the paper-thin sheet of ice closing over the gap, ripping at the edges until the opening widened. He scanned the water, hoping for a glimpse of her, a limb to grab hold of. But it was too dark, and he had no idea how far she had drifted. His worried gaze traveled over the length of the shining lake, wondering if she might be trapped under a different sheet of ice, fading.

The water stirred gently, lapping against the sides of the crude hole. He whipped his head back and thought he saw a shadow move in the depths. Without pausing, Will drove his hand into the water. The frozen lake stung his skin, and an uncomfortable tingling laced up his arm. What must it be like for her to be completely submerged?

He grimaced, plunging his arm deeper. His fingertips brushed something, quickening his pulse. Will struggled to reach for her, driving his shoulder into the water until his cheek was pressed against the ice.

He could feel her drift past him, unmoving.
NO!
In a panic, he plunged his head into the water before he could suck in a breath, gripping the edge of the hole with one hand. The fabric of her dress slipped through his fingers, and he clutched at the hold for dear life, his lungs feeling ready to burst. It was a struggle to get his head above water, and when his mouth broke the surface, Will sucked in air like it was his first breath in days. Then he dragged her up, releasing the dress fabric to grab her arms so that he could tug her inert body onto the ice. Groaning, he dragged them both away from the hole and onto solid ground.

Huddled beneath a low embankment, he held her in his arms, shaking her, trying to expel the water from her lungs. Will chafed her back, hoping to see some sign of life. “Please, open your eyes,” he rasped. But her face was so pale, so still, her lips a sickening shade of blue: she wasn’t coming back.

The rubbing motions became more frantic with each passing second that life refused to return to her body. He jostled her to upset the water she had taken in, but to no avail. He touched her ice-cold skin, rubbing his palm across her cheek, trying to stroke warmth back into her face. What else could he do? He was worthless in medical matters—he needed Uncle Thomas!

The cold air blew around them, and a rime was already starting to form on her wet hair. Will pushed it back from her cheeks, trying to brush away some of the water crystals from the damp strands.

His voice was choked, teeth chattering when he whispered, “I cannot lose you.” He watched her chest for some sign of movement, but it never rose. Had he already lost her? “No. No, no,
NO!
” he cried at the thought.

Desperate, Will pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back, searching her lifeless face. Nothing. “I will
not
let you go!” He clutched her to him, willing life back into her frozen body as he smothered her mouth with his own. But never once did he feel her chest rise. It had been foolish to think that she would respond to his kiss, that it would bring her back from the grave.

Destroyed and angry, he released a heavy breath into her barely parted lips.

Sarah choked, a gurgle deep in her throat.

Will lurched back in time for her to turn her head and expel the water from her lungs. She retched weakly even when her lungs were empty, and then she gasped for air, choking in startled breaths. Will rubbed her back, choking back his own emotions and the desire to crush her in his arms.

“What happened?” she gasped at last, staring up at him with a glazed expression.

He shook his head, not fully comprehending himself. “I-I don’t know. I thought you were gone.” He swallowed, but he couldn’t prevent the tears from filling his eyes. They froze on his lashes, and he shivered as the wind found the damp hair clinging to his neck. “I kissed you, and suddenly you came back to me.”

Sarah gave him a wobbly grin, her pale lips pulling into an expression of mock-chagrin. “You g-gave me CPR, and I missed it?”

He laughed in utter relief. Then he crushed her in his arms, clinging to her, feeling the dampness from her own clothes soak the rest of him. Let it. All that mattered right then was that she was back in his arms, alive and well.

Will’s panic faded, replaced by an onslaught of sudden, intense relief. “I thought I’d lost you,” he rasped.

The corner of her mouth twitched, hinting at the barest of smiles. “But you found me.” The words sparked an ember in his chest that smoldered there, filling his freezing body with warmth, cracking the glass walls surrounding his heart until they shattered into a million pieces at her feet. Staring into her eyes, Will drank in the sight of her until he could stand the distance no longer.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, harder than he had intended, every ounce of pent-up fear and elation pouring out in this moment. The sudden floodtide of emotion made him feel light-headed, and he kissed her in the way he had wanted to last night, forgetting every courting convention ingrained in him since childhood.

Sarah shuddered in surprise, and then she clung to him, seeming to fully comprehend that she had just evaded death. Making a low, desperate sound in the back of his throat, he slid his hand to the side of her neck, pulling her closer. Her pulse was beating faster than a frightened rabbit’s, threatening to break through her skin. Beating for him, he realized.

The ember burst into a flame, each rapid beat of his own heart spreading fire into every limb. Will kissed her in reckless, joyful abandon as the flames enveloped them both. His skin thawed, prickling with life as each nerve ending succumbed to the fire. He couldn’t recall ever feeling so alive as when she returned his kiss, hungering for the life she might have lost. Tears pressed between their cheeks, but who had shed them, he couldn’t say.

When the fire threatened to burn the forest around them, he pulled back abruptly, breathing hard. Sarah’s chest was rising and falling rapidly as she sucked in air, her breaths matching his own. Unable to break away completely, Will pressed his lips to her temple and released a shuddering gust of air. “I’m never letting you out of my sight,” he growled against her skin.

He could remain like this for an eternity, holding her in his arms and mirroring each beat of her heart. But then reality came crashing down, too quickly for his liking. He noticed now that her entire being was racked with severe trembling and frowned.

Will forced himself to peel away from her. “We need to get you warm,” he said hoarsely.

Her nod was shaky, lips parting. Eyes wide in the wake of their kiss, she whispered, “’K-kay.”

He stood, kicking himself for being so irresponsible and thoughtless when he needed to get her to safety. However, he couldn’t deny that he would rather spend the afternoon in the snow with her—if she weren’t at risk of freezing to death already.

He was stretching his hand out to help her up when the sound reached his ears: Hooves, trotting lightly through the snow. He felt Sarah’s hand brush his, but he motioned her back. “Stay down.”

The guard came into view then, and Will turned his head to see another approaching from the opposite side. He ducked quickly behind their low covering, watching Sarah with a concerned gaze.

Eyes closed, she shivered uncontrollably. The blood that had returned to her lips during their kiss faded, and her heart-shaped mouth started to turn blue again. Her clothes were soaked through completely, and lying in the snow was not helping matters. But she was in no condition to outrun the guards.

Will pulled her into his lap so she was out of the snow, wrapping his arms around her to shield her from the wind. It was not enough, and he knew she wouldn’t make it much longer if he did not get her dry.

“I lost them.” Will thought the voice came from the left, from the man who had chased them into the woods earlier. “What’d you find?”

“Turns out it wasn’t just a fire.” The second man’s tone was bleak. “Found a smoldering corpse back there. The flames were still going, but I put enough snow on it to get most of it out. It appears someone was trying to cover up a murder.”

“Any notion of the victim’s identity?”

Will held his breath, hunching further over Sarah when the men neared, trying to hide their heads from view. His chest constricted in pain as her teeth chattered audibly. Not daring to murmur assurances to her like he wished, he instead brushed his thumb back and forth across her trembling lips, trying to quiet her.

“Not much left to identify, sir.”

The first guard sighed. “Well, I’ve lost the trail. I didn’t catch any faces, but there were four of them—three male and one female. Although”—his voice turned thoughtful—“I really only saw him from the back, but the one running with the woman reminded me of that blacksmith in town.”

Will sucked in a sharp breath. He thought Sarah’s body stiffened before the trembling overcame her once more. He gritted his teeth, knowing there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. It was the waiting that was killing him, the inability to do anything for her with the knowledge that their only chance was to wait the men out.

“Taylor?” The second guard sounded surprised and doubtful. “You don’t honestly believe he was involved.”

“I have my doubts, but it might be worth looking into tomorrow.” The man’s disgruntled exhale was audible. “You might as well show me what you’ve found.”

One of the horses nickered uneasily, probably sensing Will and Sarah’s anxiety, and then it snuffed loudly as its rider turned the animal down the path.

Will risked a look, stretching his neck until he could see both guards’ backs as they moved back towards Gabriel’s body—what was left of it, that is.

He shifted, getting up to move, but Sarah grasped at his shirt, her frozen fingers stiff. “C-can still h-hear them,” she croaked.

He understood her concern, but he felt too antsy to wait any longer. She needed warmth and safety, and he felt that it couldn’t come soon enough. “They have their backs to us now,” he said lowly, shooting a wary glance at the guards to ensure this was true. “If we’re quiet, we can make a run for it.”

“B-but—”

“We’ve wasted enough time,” he whispered, pulling her to her feet. She tottered a few steps and then stumbled to the ground. Will wrapped his arms around her waist and kept her close to his side, carrying most of her weight as they staggered through the snow together. They were both shaking uncontrollably now, and Will kept his jaw clenched in an effort to conceal his shivering.

His eyes scanned the whitewashed landscape—a tangle of trees and limbs, a sloping embankment—no sign of warmth or shelter. Then he spotted the crest of the hill rising in the east and felt a spark of hope. He cut off to the left, going around it when he realized they would never make it over, his legs moving faster with renewed purpose.

“Almost there,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes focused directly ahead. Sarah never bothered to answer; she was so quiet now, except for the sound of her chattering teeth. She stumbled and went practically limp against his side. With a grunt, he hefted her into his arms, staggering under the added weight. “Almost . . .” His voice faded with the promise.

Will saw the faint shadow of brown amidst the snow and forced his legs to move. The barn was closest, but they had a fire going in the house. He stumbled that way, so intent on his purpose that he wouldn’t have noticed her if she hadn’t gasped audibly. Will turned toward the redhead, and it took him a moment to place her after so many months.

“Sarah!” she cried, aghast. Karen Ashmore ran a few steps toward them and then whipped around and jogged back to the barn, holding the door open. “Quick!”

Gritting his teeth, he moved Karen’s way. A gust of wind had Will’s neck breaking out in gooseflesh, and the petite redhead gripped the door harder to keep it from slamming closed.

“She fell through . . . the ice,” he gasped as he stumbled inside, shifting Sarah’s weight in his arms. Karen quickly closed the door, and the warmth of the barn had him sagging in exhaustion. “She was under for a long time.”