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"But you are not Lost You are an Intruder And no Intruder is ever allowed to pass through the Veil and live You will be executed the moment you are discovered Unless we can keep you hidden"

Oliver took a ragged breath and pressed his eyes tightly closed He pushed his fists against theo away

"What are you talking about?" he de at the winter man "He’s after you Okay, I did you a favor, but I didn’t want to come here, I--"

The winter man had seeed ice and frozen eyes, he did not so e at Oliver as slide toward him Sharp blue-white talons snatched up the front of Oliver’s wet shirt and frost forhtly

"That’s enough!" he hissed, his breath frigid in Oliver’s face "I owe you et that But a wasted effort it shall be if your foolishness keeps us here long enough for Hunters to arrive The Falconer and his co for your excuses It is time that you--"

"No!" Oliver shouted at him He plucked at his sodden shirt where it stuck to him and his boots squelched as he marched away Panic thrummed in his chest "I have to"

He stopped Sed Reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose "I have to go back," he whispered Oliver shook his head "Oh, shit Oh, Julianna, I’m sorry"

The winter e in him, for he stood back and waited, arms crossed Oliver took several deep breaths Where those snakes of fear had coiled in his sto harden After abreath The breeze across the lake had kicked up a little and though the night was comfortably warm, he shivered in his wet clothes The sweet air helped to wake him The sparse trees rustled with the wind, but other than that, nothing ht bore down upon his shoulders, but Oliver stood taller, ht" His left eye twitched as he said it "We’re here I still only have the vaguest idea where here is, and you’re going to have to explain it all tohere, then you can talk while we go"

He ran a hand through his hair, h escaped hiain "Which way? Toward the mountain?"

The winter"No There is ice atop the mountains That is the first place they would look for e o northeast to start, to get away from the lake, and then due east until we meet the Truce Road"

Oliver opened his mouth, but could suain at his wet clothes where they stuck to his body It would be an uncomfortable trek until they dried, and they had no supplies, no food at all He wondered if Frost needed to eat, or would consider that Oliver did

"What are aiting for?"

Frost started off across the brittle grass on a diagonal path away from the lake After a moment, Oliver followed hi it would dry better if he let it wave in the breeze But his mind was not on that task Reluctantly, he turned to cast one final glance at the sky above the lake, the place where the Veil was thin enough for the Borderkind to pass through

Lower, on the water, soht his eye

He had nearly reached that copse of trees-- Frost had already begun to duck in a a direct path northeast-- when he saw theence of s onto the shore

"Frost," Oliver rasped

The winter ain, ard him with deep frustration He seeument about their course of action, until Oliver pointed back to the lake and the winter e So at the place where Oliver had stood only leas were squat and rolled fro beside theht he caught a hint of green in the ly as their bodies were, their heads were far worse Their faces were pinched, ether Worst of all was their skulls, which were concave on top, creating a strange kind of bowl out of their heads Even those who had dropped to the ground to investigatefrom side to side, their heads tilted back and forth to remain steady

Otherwise the water in the bowl formed by their concave skulls would have spilled

"We er They must have sensed us from deeper in the lake We’ve drawn their interest"

He reached out to grab Oliver’s wrist At the winter man’s touch, Oliver hissed from the cold and pulled away

"What are they?"

"Kappa," Frost replied

Oliver frowned "What the hell are--"

The Kappa seemed to notice them for the first time Their heads all ratcheted around to stare and Oliver did not finish his thought He could only stare back

The creatures began to screech The sound tore at his ears and he clapped his hands to the side of his head They launched the with their overlong ar hied to keep their heads up, water sloshing in the strange bowls upon their heads but not tipping out

Oliver had no idea what to do He looked around at the trees to see if any were tall enough for hih to support him Would the little monsters be able to climb up after hiht better of it and turned to sis could carry hiers snatched hih his shirt

"Turn! Quickly!" Frost shouted

Without thinking, Oliver cos Terror leaped in his heart, for noas the first time he noticed their mouths Their jaide and filled with tiny little razor teeth, row after row, like sharks