The woods were beautiful. And dangerous. The snow slowed us. But the image of the leafless trees, loaded with snow along the branches, and then unmarred snow on the ground. It was amazing.
"This is a beautiful place," Garrett said, staring at the scenery as we passed. "I could live here."
"Some do," I said. Then I let out an accidental strangled sob. "Used to."
He nodded sympathetically. "Did you lose your family?" he asked.
"Not that it's any of your business," I said. "But yes."
He frowned. "I'm sorry. So did I. But my family wasn't from here."
"Same enemies?" I asked.
"Same," he said. "So I want to kill him."
No need to say the name. We both knew who he was talking about.
We ran on. But he gazed at the trees and snow, as an artist or a child.
"Amazing," he muttered.
The sunlight, breaking through a thin overcast layer of clouds, suddenly through a light on the lightly falling snow. The water crystals flashed and glittered, giving the whole scene light. The shine on the snowy ground was bright, throwing the beams back into the air.
The trees, full of snow, seemed to glow with the reflection. The branches had piles of snow along each branch, fresh and unmarred, with icicles hanging from the bottoms.
The piles of snow at the base gave the whole thing an image of a perfect snow day, the image of a painting or a dream.
Then the smooth, unbroken, uncolored, pure white snow all along the ground, perfectly flat and stretching on in all directions, without grass breaking through or mud staining the perfect color, seemed to be a canvas, empty, ready, waiting. But there was no need to paint.
And then, as I was admiring it all as we passed, I remembered again my enemy. Enemies. And that they had ruined this all, for years and years. Decades. Even centuries.
In one day. One action. The attack on my home, the attack on my people.
And the beauty of the day was gone for me, replaced with the burning hatred. The hatred which had fueled my every action for seven years. And the hatred which would bring me to my enemy, and which would bring him to death.
