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"Maybe two hundred and fifty, or three hundred - I cannot say for sure"

As I was re this old conversation, Mr Crepsley ca It looked the sareat forer the closer to Vaot, so he could o down," Mr Crepsley said, referring to the sun

"I thought it was going to snow earlier," I said

"There will be snow aplenty soon," he replied "We should reach the snowdrifts this week" He glanced down at my feet "Will you be able to survive the harsh cold?"

"I’ve made it this far, haven’t I?"

"This has been the easy part" He sed frown "Do not worry - you will be fine But let ain There are rare bushes that grow along the trail, the sap of which can seal the pores of one’s skin"

The Little People ca their faces The one without a li a dead fox

"Ready?" Mr Crepsley askedahead over the rocky terrain, I asked the usual question: "Is it , and said over his shoulder, "We are solanced back at the pretty comfortable cave, then faced front and followed the vampire The Little People fell in behind, and after a while I heard brittle snapping sounds as they chewed on the bones of the fox

Four nights later we ran into heavy snow For a couple of nights we traveled over country that was one long, unbroken blanket of freezing white where nothing lived, but after that trees, plants, and aniain

My feet felt like two blocks of ice as we trudged through the belt of snow, but I gritted my teeth and walked off the effects of the cold The worst part was getting up at dusk, having slept with my feet tucked underneathwhen ht they’d fall off Then the blood would circulate and everything would be fine - until the next night

Sleeping outside was really uncoether in our clothes - which we hadn’t changed out of since reaching the snow - and pull rough blankets we had made from deer skins over our bodies But even with our shared war Madae, only waking to feed every few days I wished I could change places with her

If the Little People felt the cold, they didn’t give any indication They didn’t bother with blankets, they just lay down underneath a bush or against a rock when they wanted to sleep

Almost three weeks after we had last stopped at a way station, we came to another I couldn’t wait to sit beside a fire and eat cookedin a coffin - anything was better than hard, cold earth! This way station was a cave set low in a cliff, above a forest ring and a large streaht ht sky lit the way - while the Little People went off to hunt The climb only took ten minutes I pushed ahead of Mr Crepsley as we approached the et the fire started, only for him to lay a hand on my shoulder "Hold," he said softly

"What?" I snapped I was irritable after three weeks of sleeping rough

"I s, I sniffed the air, and after a few seconds I got the whiff, too, strong and sickly

"Stay close behind me," Mr Crepsley whispered "Be prepared to run the instant I give the order" I nodded obediently, then trailed after hi and slid inside

The cave was dark, especially after the brightness of theour eyes tioing back sixty or more feet Three coffins had been placed on stands in theoff, and another had been sht

The wall and floor around the shattered coffin were dark with blood It wasn’t fresh, but by its shts old Having checked the rest of the cave - to ed over to the blood and crouched to exa it

"Well?" I hissed, as he stood, rubbing his finger and thuether

"It is the blood of a vahtened - I had been hoping it was the blood of a wild animal "What do you think -" I started to ask, when there was a sudden rushing sound behindarm wrapped around my middle, a thick hand clutched my throat, and - as Mr Crepsley shot forward to help - runted triumphantly: "Hah!"