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Other shadows moved beyond the s First one and then another solidified into dark silhouettes, lie from the sun that streamed around the at Frost

The winter rabbing his ar him to the bone

"Run!" Frost commanded

The advice was unnecessary Oliver was already ed life he had experienced terror only in night down dream corridors, breathless and beyond reason But this was no dream

Frost released hi side by side Oliver hopped over a shattered, withered Red Cap Kitsune flitted across his field of vision just ahead, and beyond her he saw that slightly open door, the one that had fascinated both of the Borderkind since they had entered the castle He risked a glance back and saw the Hunters leaping through the s They landed heavily, skidding on the hard-packed sand, and then letover the Hunters’ victis, sos and others on tith massive shoulders and forearht and their pursuit it was difficult to make out their features, but they seeh their fur was a bright orange and black

"Oliver!" the winter ht his foot on the papery corpse of a Sand the husk even as he stumbled and fell to his knees His heart clenched and he ceased breathing, certain that death was coround and he could feel it pounding with the staht a thick, animal stink and he nearly choked on the ss roared, a sound like the sky split with thunder, and the others joined in He took a deep, terrible breath, filled with the aching, sorrowful certainty of his own death

The steps to that open door beckoned, just ahead Frost had stopped and now raced back toward hi Oliver pistoned his legs, launching hi his entire body forward, sacrificing caution for speed Off balance, he reached his ar in front of hirasp of the Kirata

The winter man was fifteen feet away

A Hunter slaround The heat and stink of the thing overwhelmed his senses Utter, frenzied terror ht of the beast One heavy hand battered hi hi the breath fro a trickle of warm blood

Kirata They did not wear robes The fur was their own Froend was Asian, but he had never heard it before They had the heads and upper bodies of Bengal tigers, orange fur striped with black, but their lower bodies seeth was terrible, and the vicious light in its eyes stole Oliver’s last vestiges of hope Its black lips pulled back fro his face with rancid breath

He dug his bootheels into the floor, trying to escape the deadly weight of the thing It roared again and raised its other paw, claws out But its fangs had his attention One of the He felt the smoothness of it in the paluttural screa into the throat of the Kirata It roared in pain and twisted back and away from him, and then he was free But the others were there, nine or ten of the toward hi at hied and Frost lashed out with his left hand, driving the icy daggers of his fingers into the er- on his fur The Kirata fell to the sand, dead or dying

So leaped over Oliver fro backward, afraid it was another Hunter, he jumped to his feet His weapon still jutted froer- that had jumped hi at the advancing Kirata

It was a fox A single, ordinary fox

When it glanced back at hinized her jade eyes

"Oliver, h !" Frost shouted, even as he extended his frozen talons and raked the chest of the nearest Kirata A frigid wind began to whip around theer- in mid-leap to the exotic woman he had first encountered Her red-fur hood flew back as she sank her teeth into the tiger’s neck and tore

Oliver ran up the steps, ht hi of hard-packed sand and then he was at the top and the door was just a few feet away It swayed in the winter wind Frost had crafted and the change in air pressure began to swing it closed

"No!" he shouted, and lunged, hitting the door with both hands, banging it open wide

Kitsune darted up beside him and wrapped her arms around him He had crossed the threshold and she pulled him back For just a o, let her supple strength take him away from salvation

She shifted so that she was beside him and she reached toward the doorway The darkened corridor beyond wavered out of focus and Oliver squinted, unable to look directly at the flux in the air

"Noe go," Kitsune growled, and she propelled hi of resistance, like walking into water, and then they were through

The town center was astonishing, like a thing froh he had stumbled into Bedford Falls, the little town froed in the middle of an enormous park in the middle of the snow-covered town To one side was a picturesque train station with a genuine steaers To the other was a two-lane street with an old-fashioned movie palace, restaurants, a ski shop, a bakery, and a few clothing stores Everywhere the trees were strung with a rainbow of Christht Giant wreaths were hung on each telephone pole along the street

It was so utterly perfect a picture of Christland that Oliver shook his head, not believing it The little town square seemed even more unreal to hihter caht of children playing in the park, hurling snowballs on the run and pelting the yellow glearound

"Oliver We should h him When he looked into Kitsune’s eyes he could only think of the fox he had seen He would not even ask the question, for the ansas so obvious Of course it was her In the world of possibility he had discovered, it was the only reasonable answer Her cloak was real fox fur, of course Her fur, soainst hi hih with her so that he would be able toof her h his body Her touch was sensual, even in the ic of her legend, or simply his reaction to her Or perhaps--

"Oh," he said "The borderFrost"

The winter man had defended their escape Now Oliver spun to look for the door they had coh, but saw only the park and the trees and snoo and a half feet deep Past that was an old brick building that he iined was a school or courthouse or City Hall, orflew beside the Stars and Stripes, so that answered some questions

Butno door