Free Fate Defied: The Silent Tempest, Book 3 by E. J. Godwin Page A

powers to melt the snow around me.” He shrugged. “A wild chance, especially since I wasn’t sure which way to shoot.”
    “I was disoriented, too, at first,” Telai said. “But I was close to the surface, and had a faint light to guide me.”
    “Well, my idea solved both problems at once. I pressed the contact of the laser, and felt a cold trickle running down my hand.” He changed positions with a groan.
    “Take your time,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    The hint of a smile turned his cracked lips. “Not tired of my company yet?”
    “Not until Slink gets better at conversation.”
    Tenlar grinned wider, then gasped as his lower lip split open.
    “Sorry,” Telai murmured. She dabbed at the thick blood with a tattered cloth she kept inside her coat. “I never did learn when to shut up.” His eyes so close to hers were filled with memories, but she pretended not to notice until the bleeding slowed and he resumed his tale.
    “I used the laser to melt a space around my head and shoulders. Water pooled around me and soaked my clothes, so I had to stop for a bit. But at least it gave me a little more room to breathe. Then I changed my aim and held the trigger long enough to form a tunnel a few inches wide.”
    “I must have been half blind not to see that,” Telai said.
    “No. Remember what Caleb Stenger told us? You can’t see it when it’s used to heat things like that. But I wish I’d thought of it. A few regular shots and you would have found me a lot sooner.”
    “I think you did pretty well, under the circumstances. Besides, you might have brought down another avalanche on our heads.”
    “Or sliced you in two, for Orand’s sake! Anyway, I felt a draft against my skin, or thought I did. So I made another hole, then lay back and hoped for the best. I was too worn out to do much more. Besides, there was too much snow to burn through.” He coughed suddenly, a raw, wheezing effort that put a worried crease between Telai’s brows. “I never felt happier in my life than when I felt that leather thong tug on my leg,” he said. “I wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”
    “You still need help, though. Your face is frostbitten, and that cough sounds terrible.”
    “Is any part of my skin black or dark?”
    “No. But you should keep it covered, especially after we get started.”
    “I will. Another meal or two and plenty to drink should take care of my cough. We should get below the timberline—we need shelter and firewood. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk or stand for a while, but I can ride.”
    “I’ll get everything ready,” she said, and rose to her feet.
    “I don’t understand it, Telai. Seeing Hodyn near Udan or Ekendoré would be no great surprise. But this far west?”
    She scrutinized the brilliant landscape. “I don’t understand it, either. How did they get past the Raéni? I can’t believe they’d miss a set of tracks leading all the way from Dernetondé.”
    “Well, we’ll solve that puzzle later. We need to get moving, especially if there’s any more Hodyn in the area.”
    Digging the sled out of the snow proved to be long, hard work, but Telai refused to let Tenlar help. She cleared a sloping trough away from the slide, then led the dogs over and retied the harnesses. At her first command they only stirred a little, stubborn and uncooperative, but after a few stinging cracks from the whip they yelped and strained forward. She detested such treatment, but their survival was at stake. With her own strength added to their efforts the sled pulled free of its grave, shedding clumps of snow as it emerged into the sunshine.
    The dog with the injured haunch whined and lowered to the snow. Telai had no choice but to let him ride with Tenlar. She finished packing, helped settle Tenlar into the sled, then after erasing the signs of their stay resumed the journey to Enilií. The team pulled well for such a heavy load, not to mention having survived an avalanche.