Page 62

CHAPTER 62

D uke moaned as he sat up.

He gripped his chest, trying to pinpoint the pain. Where had the bullet pierced his body?

He glanced down, searching for the blood. For the wound.

Then he saw it.

The bloody hole in his coat near his shoulder.

He grimaced as he pulled his coat away, carefully peeling the fabric from his skin.

Relief whooshed through him.

The bullet had just skimmed his skin.

He would be okay.

Praise God!

Because he had other things to do right now.

He dragged his gaze around until he spotted his friends.

In the field.

The field?

Why were they out there? They needed shelter!

Heath hobbled toward them, his gun raised.

The man called out something to them, something Duke couldn’t understand—threats, no doubt.

Duke needed to get to them. He needed to help.

He rose to his feet, feeling unsteady for a moment.

Then he found his balance and took a staggering step forward.

He only hoped he reached them in time.

“We can’t just stand here!” Andi said. “He’s going to kill us all.”

But as she took a step away, she saw it.

The reindeer. They knew something was going on, and the creatures had been stirred up.

Her mind swirled as she realized what was happening.

All the reindeer had begun to walk in the same direction. In a circle. Around them.

“What is happening right now?” Ranger muttered as he glanced around.

“That’s right, guys,” Juniper whispered to the reindeer. “I knew you wouldn’t fail me.”

“What’s going on?” Mariella glanced around in confusion.

“A reindeer cyclone,” Andi muttered as she remembered what Juniper had told her. “They do it to protect their own.”

A few minutes later, all thirty-five or so of the reindeer had gathered and walked in circles around them.

“What kind of witchcraft are you practicing?” Heath yelled.

He kept trying to creep closer, but the reindeer stopped him and pushed him back.

As he raised his gun, Ranger yelled, “Get down!”

They ducked.

Heath was too discombobulated to pull the trigger.

The reindeer protected them and confused the villain trying to destroy them. Just like nature had designed.

They were protecting their own—Juniper.

Andi lifted a prayer of thanks.

But how long would this protection last?

How long could Andi and the rest of the gang make it out here in the cold?

She wasn’t sure.