Meridian. Part 8

"But could they really get rid of death?" I asked.

Auntie shook her head. "No, of course not. Death isn't us. We aren't bringers of it, nor do we hasten it. We are the pillows, the blankets, the hugs that accompany the sleep of death.

Yes, that's it, we are the comfort. Our presence helps a soul find eternal peace." She paused.

"Then there are those who work not for the Creators but for the Destroyers, trying to tip the balance away from the light."

"The Aternocti are hunting us, aren't they?" I asked.

She nodded. "Tens?"

I blanched. "Sorry," I muttered to him.

Tens snorted, but didn't glance up from whittling pieces of wood.

"Tens, how much have you told her?" Auntie asked in an ominous tone.

He set down his tools and stilled, staring first at me, then at Auntie. He shook his head. "Not all of it."

"There's more?" I asked, my head already reeling.

Auntie nodded. "Yes, death isn't the only choice you're faced with."

Tens sprang to his feet and began pacing. "It's not viable. You shouldn't even tell her."

Auntie put down her sewing and calmly said, "It's not up to you. You can't force Meridian -"

He growled in frustration. "I know, but ..."

My gaze bounced back and forth, watching one and then the other.

"Trust -" Auntie broke off as headlights drew up to the house and car doors slammed.

Tens walked to the window and stared out. "It's the sheriff." He went to open the door.

Auntie wobbled as she got to her feet. "Oh my."

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching for her elbow to steady her.

"Let's see what Sheriff Michaels has to say."

49ani *Tens opened the door and the sheriff nodded at each of us. "Evening. Mrs. Fulbright. Tens.

Miss." He didn't bother to come into the house. "Have you seen Celia Smithson wandering through your property tonight?"

"No. What's going on?"

"Seems the girl is missing. She was snowmobiling with her older brother and wandered off.

He thought she'd gotten a ride home, so we don't know how long she's been missing. They were around the outskirts of where their property meets yours. Thought maybe you'd know something. Girl won't live the night if we don't find her soon."

"Tens, get a chair." I clasped Auntie to me, supporting her weight as she seemed to collapse with this news.

The sheriff helped me hold her in the foyer while Tens brought over a chair.

"I'm fine. Stop fussing." Auntie batted us away.

"You almost fell over!" I shushed her.

"I'm fine. You have to go scout for Celia. She's a precious girl. Lovely. So full of life."

Auntie pushed away our hands. "I'm fine. Tired, maybe."

"Will you stay here and rest?" Tens knelt in front of her. His eyes shone with concern.

She patted his hair. "Promise. Take Meridian and go check the property."

"You be careful out there. I don't need my team searching for you, too. Take a rest, Mrs.

Fulbright." Sheriff Michaels tipped his hat and shut the front door as he left.

"I'm fine. Go," Auntie told Tens.

"Okay. You ready for this?" Tens asked me, already pulling on his thick-soled boots and snowpants.

I nodded, trying to at least project confidence, even if I didn't feel any.

"Your mother shipped ski gear in the fall. It should all fit." Auntie pointed to a hall closet.

I rummaged through an a.s.sortment of outfits I had shopped for online before school started -Mom had told me she wanted to plan a family ski vacation for winter break. That trip never materialized. How long had Mom been planning this?

Tens hesitated and shared a glance with Auntie. "What if we find Celia and she's dy -"

"She won't be," I interjected. I wasn't willing to go out there already believing it was too late for the little girl.

"It would be very dangerous if that's the case." Auntie struggled to stand. "You're right, I 50 should go instead."

a ni *"No!" I shouted."I'll be fine. And so will she. You'll see. We will all be okay."

Auntie nodded. Though she still seemed concerned, she didn't argue. I shot Tens a black stare. Regardless of the danger, a tiny, frail old lady wasn't stronger going out into the snowy wilderness than me.

"If you're ready?" Tens opened the back door.

"Ready." I donned the last of the black and emerald gear. "How do you walk in this stuff?"

"You get used to it." Tens smiled at my stiff-legged waddle. "Let's go."

We plunged into the snowdrifts at the back of the property stumbling. The air squeezed my lungs with its crispness. We called "Celia!" every ten feet or so as we walked parallel to the stone bridge, listening to the creek bubble and ice crack in the distance. The world was so beautiful, bright snow covering it all. There were birds everywhere in the late afternoon, chirping and flying, an angel choir with wings. I wanted to pretend we were strolling for the beauty instead of seeking a lost and probably terrified little girl. I hoped she was alive.

I sucked in the fresh air, enduring the unfamiliar snap in my lungs. A light sweat broke out along my brow. I followed Tens along deer tracks and deeper into the forest.

"Celia!" Tens yelled.

"Celia?" I called.

I stopped to listen. I heard something. A whimper. "Did you hear that, Tens?"

"No. Hey I'm going to head over to the left here. There are Anasazi caves she might have crawled into. Keep me in sight at all times, okay?" He loped off, easily cutting through the snow when he didn't have to worry about me keeping up.

I pushed through the muscle burn and aches. My body wasn't used to exercise.

Concentrating on listening and watching, in addition to wading through the snow, was almost more than I could handle. A sound made me freeze in place. I was sure I'd heard something. I wasn't moving until I was positive it wasn't Celia. "h.e.l.lo?" I whistled, too. "Is someone out there? I'm a friend."

Tens turned in the distance, "You hear her?" he yelled, but I was barely able to make out his words. His outline stood stark against the snow and darkening forest around us.

The birds disappeared with the falling night. I switched on my flashlight, swinging the arc of light over the animal path in front of me. Color at my feet snagged my attention.

I bent down. A pink mitten.

"Celia?" I yelled her name until my voice completely gave out and I couldn't even hear 51 myself. She'd come this way for sure.

ani *Tens shouted, but I couldn't hear the words.

Then, a high keening came. I swung the flashlight. "h.e.l.lo?" The blood rushed in my ears, "Mommy?" A little voice sounded tired and far away.

"Celia? Is that you? My name is Meridian. I'm a friend. Where are you?" I frantically shone the flashlight, but the trees all looked the same, snow drifted into piles beneath them. I couldn't find tracks.

"Here ... I see light.... Hurt my leg."

"That's my flashlight. Keep talking to me, Celia. It's so dark I can't see you. Have you ever played that game called Marco Polo?"

"Yeah." She sounded quieter, as if I were moving away from her, even though I was standing still.

"I'm going to keep calling out 'Marco' and you yell 'Polo' as loud as you can, okay?"

"Kay."

"Marco?"

"Polo."

I moved three steps to my left, every cell in my body tuned to listen for, and spot, a little girl. "Marco!" I shouted.

"Po -"

I didn't catch the last syllable. My heart beat itself into a frenzy. There were no other sounds in the forest, no distant lights, no sounds of the snowmobilers the sheriff had said were out searching.

"Marco!" I called again. And waited. And waited. "Marco!" I tried again. Please, please, please answer me.

There was rustling behind me. I turned my flashlight to spotlight the movement. "Custos."

I'd never been happier to see anyone in my life. I shook the mitten under Custos's nose.

"Find Celia, Custos, find the little girl."

I saw a flashlight in the distance coming toward me, but I didn't have time to wait for Tens to reach me. I hoped he'd follow my light.

Custos ran past me about twenty feet, then stopped and waited for me to catch up before running on ahead again. She ran to the edge of my limited vision, then disappeared behind trees.

52a I heard her whining and moaning and pawing at the snow. I caught up and leaned down ni under low-hanging branches heavy with snow. A coppery scent I recognized as raw meat *hung in the air. "Celia?" I was hoping Custos hadn't led me to the bear's den for dinner. I shoved branches out of my way.

"Mommy?" A tiny shaking brunette reclined against the trunk of a birch tree. Her face was as pale as the snow around us, her eyes too big for her delicate face. Her ponytail slid to the side under a knit cap; her pink down coat appeared soaked with a dark liquid. She wore only one mitten, and she lifted her hands toward me as her teeth chattered.

"I'm Meridian. Let's get you out of here." I leaned down to haul her upright and then stopped and stilled myself. Followed the deepening dark circle with the light.

"I hurt my foot."

I gagged. Her little foot, in its tiny pink Dora the Explorer boot, was caught in a trap, the kind of jawed trap I'd only ever seen in books about the pioneers of the Wild West. "What the h.e.l.l?" I gasped. What was a trap like this doing on Auntie's property? There was no way Tens or Auntie would use such a cruel device.

I wanted to run. I'm not brave. I'm not even remotely good in a crisis.

The little girl started crying. "It hurts."

I didn't have the first idea how to get the trap off. "Breathe, Meridian, breathe." I whispered.

I lifted my head, hoping that Tens was gaining ground. I had no idea how much time had pa.s.sed or how long we had before shock and blood loss affected her. I had to act. I had to save her or we were both in trouble.

Custos stood next to me, watching, like she was waiting for me to get on with the part she couldn't do.

"Okay, Celia, do you know how this thing works?"

"You know you're not supposed to leave the trails?" she whimpered.

"Really?" I grappled for a release bar. "Is there a switch?"

"I got lost, so I stopped like I'm s'posed to. Then he said to wait over here for Daddy. That's when it got me, but he didn't come help me."

"It's going to be okay. I'm going to get you back home to your mommy and daddy, okay?"

"You pull it apart. My daddy has some, but he never uses them where people are."

Contemplating her mangled foot, I wanted to ask why anyone would use them at all.

"This is gonna hurt, but I have to get your foot out, okay?"

"I know"