Christopher Golden - A Winter of Ghosts

Kara ran, snow crunchingunderfoot, arms up to protect her face from branches whipping by. Her hearthammered in her chest and her skin felt flush with terror, not for herself, butfor her friends. Behind her she heard a grunt and glanced back to see MissAritomo stumble and fall, sprawling across a bush. Without a thought she dartedback, grabbed Yuuka's upraised hand and hauled her to her feet, and MissAritomo fell into step behind her again.

"Where are we going?" Miss Aritomo asked, struggling to catch her breath.

"I don't know exactly,"Kara told her, not for the first time.

She expected Miss Aritomo toargue, but the woman said nothing more. They ran through a clearing amongst acircle of pines where the snow was deeper and it slowed them down, but momentslater they emerged into the open area of the Takigami Mountain Observatory. Thesnow had started to come down hard, driven by the wind.

"Okay, we're here,"Kara huffed.

They had gotten off the path butshe had not wanted to spare even the few moments it would have taken for themto find it again. Now they sprinted past snowpacked picnic tables and reachedthe far side of the observatory area, and Kara could not believe it had beenonly days since they were here last, days since the field trip that had endedwith Sora dead and Hachiro and Ren missing.

Wiping snow from her eyes, Karawhipped out her phone, hit the button to dial Miho, and was answered instantly.

"Hey," Miho said,breathing hard but trying to be quiet just the same.

"We're at the observatory. Whereto now?"

"Head northwest. Kubo saysthere's an old trail. You'll find it, he says. It leads down at an angle. We'llmeet you on the west face. There's a cave there — "

"A cave! We should beheaded for the car!" Kara said. "This is crazy!"

She started into the trees,searching for the trail Miho mentioned. Yuuka Aritomo followed, and Kara couldn'tbelieve she did not speak up. They'd spent precious seconds arguing afterYuki-Onna had left them behind on the southern slope of the mountain. MissAritomo was right, Kara knew. They should have headed back down to the parkinglot right then. But when Kara had called to warn Miho and Kubo and Mr. Yamatothat the witch had figured out their plan and was on her way, Kubo had insistedthey all be together.

Kara had hesitated, but then sheheard Hachiro's voice in the background and her heart leapt. "Is that him?He's alive?"

When Miho confirmed that bothHachiro and Ren were alive, Kara had started running up the mountain toward theobservatory. She hadn't given Miss Aritomo another second to argue. Whateverhappened, she and Hachiro needed to be together.

But now. . a cave?

"Kubo says not to worry,"Miho said.

"How can he say that?" Kara demanded. She pushed a branch out of the way and saw a kind of naturalpath through the trees that must have been the trail the old monk wanted themto take.

The line crackled. The windwhere Miho was must be blowing hard. Kara could hear it roaring loudly now. Mihosaid something else, but Kara had trouble making out the words.

"What?" Kara said."What was that?"?"The storm. . Yuki-Onna. ."

"She's there?"

Kara started down the trail,barely aware of Miss Aritomo following. The snow had started to pick up aroundthem as well, the wind gusting, trees swaying.

"Not yet. But she's near. Wehave to hide. Just get to that cave. The ghosts will show you the way."

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

But all she heard was the hissof static. She shoved the phone in her pocket, picking up her pace, rushingalong the old trail, ducking branches that were weighted down low with snow. Theworld had turned to a white blur around her.

Over the wind, she almost didn'thear Miss Aritomo calling her name. But then Yuuka shouted louder and Karaturned to see the teacher, buried inside her thick winter coat, running tocatch up to her, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Karaasked, stopping to wait for her. A ripple of fear went through her. "Yuki-Onna?"

Miss Aritomo shook her head. Shetried to speak but had been running so hard that she did not have the breathfor it. Instead she pointed into the trees on the side of the path. Kara lookedover and caught a glimpse of a figure in the woods, but with the wind and thesnow turning everything a ghostly white, it took her a moment to realize thatthe elderly woman she saw amongst the trees was not alive.

The ghosts will show you theway.

Another stepped up beside thefirst, this one the spirit of a young man. She did not recognize either ofthem, but stared in fascination at the way the snow passed right through them.

As one, they pointed along thepath. Kara looked at Miss Aritomo, saw an expression of astonishment that sheknew must match her own, and then they both looked toward where the ghosts werepointing.

"I know that girl,"Miss Aritomo said, her voice like a whisper in the roar of the storm.

"Chouku," Kara said. Once,the girl had been one of Ume's soccer club friends, but that was before herblood had been drained from her body by the creature Kyuketsuki had sent toprey on Monju-no-Chie school.

In life, Chouku had been apretty girl with a full, round face and intelligent eyes. Now she had nosubstance at all. As gusts of wind swept curtains of snow across the path, sheseemed to fade in and out of the world.

The ghost gave Kara a meaningfulglance and then turned, leaving the trail and hurrying through the trees. Karastarted to follow and Miss Aritomo grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?"

Kara took her hand. "Theghosts will show us the way."

"The way to what?"

There were a dozen answers tothat, but Kara did not feel certain of any of them. She pretended that the windhad stolen the words away and ran along the trail and into the woods, chasingghosts.

Miho tripped on a snow-coveredstone and nearly fell. Mr. Yamato caught her by the arm and they ran together. Herface stung with the cold and the speed of the snow pelting down around them. Thestorm had kicked up only seconds after Kara had first called her to say thatYuki-Onna had figured them out and was on her way back, and they'd been runningever since. Now it raged around them, the wind so strong that it had knockedher over twice.

They bent against the storm, allof them fringed with snow and ice, their hair crested white. The cold bit deepinto Miho's bones and her teeth chattered and her eyes watered, tears freezingon her cheeks.

Ren and Hachiro straggledbehind, both of them weak. The storm beat at them but they kept running,practically stumbling down the mountain. Hachiro held Ren by the arm, but Mihowasn't sure if this was to maintain his own balance or to keep the smaller boyfrom behind swept off into the trees by the screaming wind.

"Look out!" Mr. Yamatoyelled.

Soundless, a huge tree fellacross their path, branches snapping off, shards tossed into the maelstrom andwhipped up into the storm. The gale was roaring so loudly that they had noteven heard the crack of the old tree giving way.

Up ahead, Kubo climbed over thefallen tree without slowing. When Miho and Mr. Yamato tried to follow, the principalslipped and scraped his knee on the bark.

"I can't see anything inthis!" he said, reaching up to tear away the mask Kubo had insisted hewear once they knew the witch had discovered their ruse. Miho and the boys hadthe wards the monk had given them, and Kubo had whatever mystical defenses hehad mustered, but Mr. Yamato had only the mask.

"No!" Miho shouted,grabbing his wrist. "The Unsui said you cannot remove it!"

Mr. Yamato swore, shocking her,but he kept the mask on as they scrambled over the tree. By then, Ren andHachiro had caught up and came right behind them, and then they were allfollowing Kubo down into a thicket of dense brush. They forged their waythrough, the sky growing darker.