Christopher Golden - A Winter of Ghosts

Ren nodded. "She made mepromise not to speak of her, or to tell anyone what happened on TakigamiMountain."

A chill raced up Kara's spineand along her arms.

"But you just told us,"Sakura said.

"Did she say what wouldhappen if you did tell?" Miho asked.

Ren looked up. "She saidshe would come for me again and I would be in the storm forever."

The chill in the room was notKara's imagination. Gooseflesh formed on her arms and as she exhaled, herbreath fogged the air.

A rush of alarm swept throughKara as she glanced at the window. She saw ice spreading on the glass, and shestood up, staggering back from Ren. He had broken his promise and now Yuki-Onnahad come for him.

"No," she said. "Wecan't let this happen."

Sakura shoved past her, grabbedRen by the hand and hauled him to his feet. Miho yanked the door open and thefour of them raced into the corridor together. Doors were opening up and downthe hall, boys poking their heads out, shivering in spite of their sweaters andsweatshirts. Some of the rooms would be empty — a lot of students wereprobably in the common areas or heading down to the cafeteria for dinner — but there were enough of them to get in the way.

"Why is it so cold?" one of them asked. "Is the heat broken?"

"Ren?" anotherventured. "What's wrong? Why are you — "

"Out of the way!" Sakura shouted, shoving the boy outside.

Kara led the way, racing downthe corridor to the central stairs. Her thoughts were awhirl, her heartslamming in her chest. Sakura and Ren came right behind her, with Miho bringingup the rear.

"Anything behind us?" Kara shouted.

"Not yet!" Mihoreplied.

"Where are we going?" Sakura snapped. "How are you going to outrun her?"

"I'm working on it!" Kara replied.

They reached the centralstaircase. The temperature had dropped so low that ice had begun to form on theinside walls. Her eyelashes stuck together when she blinked. Ice crystalsfloated like tiny snowflakes in the air.

"My God," Karawhispered in English.

"No," Miho said."Not your God."

Think, girl, think! Thewindows in the stairwell rattled as storm winds gusted against them. Snow andsleet pelted the glass. With another gust, a crack appeared, and then another. Windows .

"Kara, look!" Rencalled.

They all turned. Down the hall,back the way they'd come, a pair of ghosts stood in the corridor staring atthem. Sora looked just as he had the last time they had seen him, except thathis presence seemed little more substantial than Kara's pluming breath in thecold air. The other spirit was female and it took Kara a moment to place her — Chouku, one of the victims of the Ketsuki.

Before any of them could react,a blast of winter air filled the hall. Back along the corridor, the door to Ren'sroom froze over and then shattered, blown outward in a splintering of ice andtimber.

Kara grabbed Miho's hand. "Go!"

They hit the stairwell and shenearly fell. The steps were slippery but the metal railing was so cold that itstung to touch. She hurried down as quickly as she could without falling, awareof the cracks that lengthened and spread in the stairwell windows above herhead.

At the far end of the girls'wing, glass shattered. Kara heard screams. Doors banged and as they descendedthe stairs, the storm seemed to rush in behind them, snow whipping through thesecond floor, a blizzard filling the hall and blowing out from the landing,sweeping into the stairwell.

Miho slipped and fell backwardonto the stairs, crying out in pain as her back hit the steps. She slid andtumbled the last few stairs to the landing between floors. Kara crouched byher, fear racing through her at the thought of Miho hurt, or dying.

"I'm all right," Mihosaid. "Go!"

Even as the girl spoke, herglasses frosting over, she struggled to stand. Pain etched itself across herface but she started down toward the first floor. Kara glanced up at Ren andSakura, saw they were all right, and beyond them she noticed the ghosts in theswirling snow, untouched by the wind, unmoved by their plight.

The lights flickered and shefroze. No, no. We need light. Please not the lights .

But the wavering light glintedoff of something around Sakura's neck and then Kara remembered the wards Kubohad given them. Her hand flew to her throat and she touched the round, smoothstone that hung from the thong around her neck. What had the old monk said? Demonsdidn't see faces, they recognized essences. Something like that. She and Mihoand Sakura were hidden from Yuki-Onna for now, but they had to hide Ren aswell.

Kara slipped and nearly fell. Shecaught herself on the railing and her fingers froze to the metal in an instant.Skin tore away as she pulled her arm back and she cried out, swearing loudly asshe kept going. Injured hand tucked under her arm, she turned to Sakura.

"The ward Kubo gave us forHachiro! Do you have it?"

Understanding flickered acrossSakura's eyes, following by regret. "It's back in my room!"

The long cathedral window in thelanding shattered at last. Storm-driven glass shards sliced the air aroundthem, blown in with snow and sleet, wind whipping at them, stinging as much asglass splinters. A jagged piece slashed Kara's shoulder, and she stared inshock as blood began to seep from the wound. She was so cold she could barelyfeel it.

"Where are we going?" Sakura shouted to be heard over the howling wind.

"Not outside!" Mihosaid. "That would be insane!"

Kara faced them. . and beyondthem, through the shattered window up the stairs on the landing, she sawYuki-Onna hovering in the air, swaying with the wind. Her white kimono seemedto dance with the snow and her long white hair flowed around her.

Don't look! Kara thought,remembering the stories, knowing that Yuki-Onna could freeze her with a glance.

"This way!" shecalled, racing down the next flights of steps toward the basement level. As shedid, she realized that the White Woman had not been staring at her, but at Ren. Kubo was right. She can't see us!

The others had not seenYuki-Onna, but they felt the storm moving in, the temperature dropping, thestorm thickening around them. They all had cuts from the flying glass, but theair was so cold their blood barely dripped at all. Their fear drove them on,and Kara knew they had only one slim hope.

"Where are you going?" Ren called.

Kara hurried down the steps tothe basement. "Somewhere with no windows!"

The others pursued her, and shesaw realization ignite hope in their eyes. Behind the cafeteria was a kitchenwith heavy wooden doors and no windows. A bank vault would have been better,but they had very little to choose from.

"It isn't going to work!" Ren said.

Kara shot him a hard look."It has to!"

Other students were coming outof the cafeteria now, loudly complaining about the cold. The real storm reachedthem now, snow and sleet whipping around them, wind roaring into the cafeteria,blowing the doors in, scraping tables across the floor, and people started toscream.

Kara led her friends through thescreaming and the chaos of the storm. Another scream cut the air, but this wasdifferent, and when she turned she saw Yuki-Onna glide into the room, iceforming on the walls around her, crystallizing the floor and the nearest tables.A girl in a ponytail had looked at her and now stood frozen as Yuki-Onnaapproached, then bent to kiss her.

The kiss seemed to go on aneternity, though it was only a brush of lips. When it ended, the girl had beentransformed, her body coated in ice, a statue carved of winter and death.

"Kara!" Sakurashouted, grabbing her roughly and pulling her along.

Then they were barging into thekitchen. But as her friends set about slamming and locking doors, sealing theminside, Kara could not get the image of the frozen girl out of her mind. Shethought of Sora, who had died the same way, and of Hachiro.