Page 100 of When the Snowman Whispered
“There goes all of those questions again,” she said. “We don’t have time for those.”
I hurried behind her. “You can fly.”
“I can do a lot of things.”
The sounds of the icy woods rose in the air. With Remy gone, nature had returned to normal. Dread circled in my chest. There were too many things left undiscovered. For one, Addie Mae didn’t appear worried anymore. She hadn’t even helped me battle Remy.
Why not? What am I missing?
“I need you to get Faith for me.” Addie Mae quickened her pace. “The wolves will let you near them.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re your wolves.”
Things were starting to make sense. “The mojo bag brought them alive?”
“Yes. The bag called to spirits on the land to lead Faith and you to each other. I’d conjured animals for her and you.”
“Wolves grabbed my attention, but no animal led Faith. It was Remy that came alive.”
“Yes.” She led us back to the opening, where the trees ended and the mountains sat off in the distance. “Again. That was my debt.”
“Your debt?”
“I have blood on my hands. . .had I not participated in spreading negativity to this land. . .my conjuring would’ve worked as planned.”
We headed toward the mountains.
Howls sounded.
Thank God, it had stopped snowing. I squinted and spotted a circle of glowing ice wolves lounging on the ground. Faith sat in the center with her arms and feet held in blocks of ice.
“Faith!” I raced away. Done with the mystery of Addie Mae or Remy. I had to make sure she was safe, before caring about anything else.
I had to make sure she was warm and okay. “Faith!”
“Daniel!” She wriggled on the ground, spotted something behind me, and screamed, “No! No!”
I glanced over my shoulder. Addie Mae had remained a foot behind me and hadn’t come closer.
The wolves growled.
Faith continued to scream.
Something isn’t right.
It wasn’t like I could fight Addie Mae. I’d grown up around her. She’d always taken care of me and kept me healed. For god’s sake, she’d returned my love to me.
I should’ve freed Faith in that moment. Should’ve simply focused on saving her and not question anything else. But Addie Mae did not look like herself and Remy had seeped into my head, laying doubt in the corners of my mind. At the bare minimum, the wolves did protect Faith. They saw Addie May as a threat.
Why?
Being that I didn’t think I could keep her safe against her own mother, I decided to figure this out now.
I turned around and had to yell over Faith’s screams. “If you made the spells, then why won’t the wolves let you pass?”
“Because blood covers my hands.”
