* * *
Fierce winds drove the sleet, turning it into stinging projectiles that immediately froze on whatever it struck. Borga Jahn walked with his head down, each step a trial as he had to stomp through the thick layer of ice that coated the snow; to walk on top of the ice was impossible.
"We should turn back," Enit said. "We'll die long before we ever reach Ohmahold."
"You knew what you were getting into when you accepted this assignment. Keep walking." Both knew this was a mission from which they would not return; they also knew they had to succeed. General Dempsy would keep his word, which meant there was no turning back. He did not know what deal Enit struck, and he did not care to know. For Borga, success was the only option. To fail was to send his daughter, Bella, to her death, and that he could not even think about.
Bella was a good girl; too kind and sweet to be in an army. Borga could not blame her for deserting, and with his final act, he was determined to set her free. This task would be completed even if he had to do it alone, and given Enit's whining, that was beginning to seem increasingly likely.
Borga looked around and said, "We need to make shelter for the night, or we'll freeze to death."
"Make a shelter out of what? Snow and ice?"
"Precisely. Now dig. We need to form a pocket of air beneath the snow; that'll keep us warm."
"Warm?"
"Warmer than we would be exposed to this wind. Shut up and dig," Borga said, tempted to just kill Enit now and go on by himself, but he knew that together they had a better chance of succeeding. He would tolerate Enit for Bella's sake.
When they had a shelter large enough to hold them both, they settled in for what would be a long night.
"I thought you said it would be warmer in here."
"Shut up, Enit."
Inherited Danger Page 33