Chapter 36 Frostbound Tracks

• The world beyond Lucy’s windows remained an endless white. Snow piled high against the shutters, and the wind sang its hollow song through every crack. Yet inside her little house, the hearth’s glow and the two foxes by the fire offered enough comfort to steel her nerves for the day ahead.
• She rose before dawn, pulling on layers of wool and leather boots. The satchel at her side held her grandmother’s journals, a coil of rope, a folding shovel, and several glass phials of concentrated tinctures—wintergreen for pain, ginger for circulation, and a thick herbal paste to seal wounds. A slender hunting knife hung at her belt. The healthy fox sat expectantly at her side; the injured one limped into view, eyes bright with concern.
• “I’ll be back,” Lucy murmured. “Keep watch.”