The Elf Thief

Chapter 36: The Hermit

Chapter 36

The Hermit

            Snow clung to Sonya’s boots as she trumped after Dearekk through the snow-covered mountains. The formerly bad weather had now become an all out blizzard and Sonya could barely see the half-elf walking in front of her. It didn’t help that her clothing was definitely not fit for the weather. The jacket she had stolen on their way out of Raydale was sure not a fur coat.

            “Do you see anything?” she nearly screamed over the howling wind for what seemed like the thousandth time. Grabbing her jacket, she pulled it tighter to herself, trying to retain some of her body heat. If they didn’t find some sort of shelter soon, they would both die in this One forsaken mountain.

            Dearekk paused and looked around, causing Sonya to nearly run into him. Squinting through the snow, he raised his arm and pointed to something in the distance. “What’s that?” he yelled to her.

            Peering through the dense fog of snow and sleet, Sonya saw a dim light glowing a ways away. Her eyes darted to Dearekk, to the light and then back again. “Survival,” was all she said before beginning to battle her way through the snow again.

            A few times, either Dearekk or she would stumble and the other would have to catch them. Words of encouragement were whispered, giving her reason to press on. The snow that clung to Sonya’s boots began to feel like weights dragging her feet down, making it impossible to lift her feet above the snow.

            At one point, Dearekk fell into the snow and did not move. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow and short. As Sonya leaned forward she noticed a thin layer of frost on his eyelashes and a blue tint to his lips.

            “Dearekk,” she yelled, the wind screaming in her ears. “Dearekk get up, we have to keep moving!” Snow was already beginning to cover him, leaving a thin white blanket overtop of his body.

Shaking him, Sonya began to painc when he did not stir. A thought passed through her mind that she should just leave him, but she quickly shook it out of her head. He was her friend and she did not leave friends behind. Glancing over her shoulder, Sonya saw that the light was much closer than before. She hooked her arms underneath Dearekk’s shoulders, and began to drag him. Anyone could easily follow their trail, but Sonya doubted that any creature, human or inhuman, would dare traveling this far into the mountains.

After what seemed like hours, Sonya stumbled towards a cabin, glowing brightly amdist the snow. Dropping Dearekk, the elf staggered forward and began digging through the snow so she could open the door. Glancing down at her fingers, she realized that her gloves’ fingers had been torn off, leaving her with numb, frostbitten hands.

She quickly shook her head.  If she didn’t free the door from the snow, a little bit of frostbite would be the least of her worries. Reaching for the doorknob, she jerked the door a few times before it became freed. As quickly as she could, she grabbed Dearekk’s arm and dragged him into the cabin, collapsing next to him as the wind slammed the door shut.

Black began to cloud her vision as everything went blury. The last thing she remembered was Dearekk lying next to her, his soft breathing echoing in her ears.

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A loud popping noise jerked Sonya out of her unnatural slumber. As she sat up, a blanket fell off of her form and she noticed the orange glow of a fire nearby, crackling joyfully despite the screaming wind outside.