When Winter Mist calls out the warning, it is only a blink of an eye before we are all ready to leave the cave. I snatch up my bows and the pouch of arrows. Then I scramble to bundle up the slightly scattered belongings of my wife and me. Toad! Where's Toad? I don't see him in the little floor-hollow in the bedbox room. He must be on her somewhere and safe.

In the middle of the hurry-scurry, Winter Mist stands still. Her bright eyes have gone all dreamy and blank. By Dagda's pot! She's staring at the wall.

I grab her shoulders and shake her to wake her up. "Why are you standing there, m'chroi? Get to the horses!"

”I…I will stay behind.”

”WHAT?..No!”

”They do not know me,” she answers in a tiny, cold voice. She points her chin at Keu, Baine and 'Daig, who all have their heads together now, listening to Nion tell where we'll meet after we scatter.

I give her another shake, harder this time. "They are my family! We are wed and now they are your family too. If you don't come with us, how can they ever know you?"

Winter Mist just folds her arms and starts to turn away. I hear Toad chirrup from somewhere very close. "I'm staying here!" she insists.

"No! I say you have to come with me! Are you not my wife?" I pull on her arm and she pulls back. We rock to and fro in a stubborn tug-o-war.

"I am staying!"

"You are going!"

"Staying!"

"Going!"

"Am NOT!"

"Are TOO!"

"Winter Mist!"

"Sean!"

I throw my arms around her and try to carry her off, whether she likes it or not. Toad protests loudly. My hard-headed wife pummels me with her fists and struggles so much that I can't lift her off the ground. Still, I refuse to let go of her.

"Please," I whisper into her ear. "I love you."

She softens a bit and stops fighting me. "You don't understand. I do want to go with you. But I could be a danger to you all, don't you see?" One hand goes to her beautiful, sensitive ear. Sadly, she blinks her lovely bright eyes. So shiny, even in the dark.

"I won't hear it!" I press one finger to her lips to quiet her. Then it occurs to me that I could accomplish the same thing with a kiss. If that doesn't persuade her -

We're just getting started when a slap on my back knocks me off balance. Da smirks and gives me shove. "Come on, lad, no time for lovemakin' now! Move! We're splitting up, then we'll meet at the Sea Hag at day's end."

Defiantly, I hold Winter Mist tight against me. She shakes her head, refusing to change her mind. Everyone else has left the cave. The riders, whoever they are, will be here soon.

She can probably feel the wild pounding in my chest as I try to calmly explain. "We're doing what we always do when they come after us. We scatter to confuse the trackers. Then we meet somewhere later. Da says the Sea Hag at the edge of the village. I'll leave your horses. Here's your pack. I'll be waiting for you. Be careful, please, be careful!"

I kiss my bride in a way that I hope she will not forget for a long time. All I can hope for is that she'll be at the inn tonight. For all I know, it may be our last kiss. Then I run out of the cave into the blinding light of day, stung to the heart by the toad witch.