Home is a Treasure Beyond Price

Chapter 13

Nick woke to a pounding in his head. Other sensations dribbled back in: the damp chill of the ground beneath him, the leaden weight of his limbs, the musky stench of the sack covering his face.
Scrabbling at the sack with numb fingers, he pulled it off and sucked in the bitingly cold air with relief. He patted his waist. Sure enough, his purse was missing. His jaw clenched as anger flared. Someone had lain in wait for him, no, two someones he guessed. He took some satisfaction in knowing that all they'd get for waiting in the cold for him was a bare handful of nickels.
A quick glance at the moon's position told him he'd been lying unconscious for at least an hour, possibly even two. He needed to get back to the cave. He rolled up onto all fours on limbs that felt heavy and uncoordinated. Using the sheer face of the outcrop for balance, he pulled himself to his feet with hands that were too numb to feel the texture of the stones under them. He wasn't shivering. Bad sign. Small and thin as he was, it wouldn't take all that long for him to die from exposure.
He wrapped his arms around himself and staggered back to the path, leaving his basket and packages scattered on the grass behind him. The cave, he repeated in time with his steps, the cave, it was warm where Cadence was, and Cadence was at the cave. If he kept putting one foot in front of the other, he'd get there. Every time his knees gave out, he lay where he fell for a few moments before forcing himself back to his feet. It got harder and harder each time. A stiff breeze started up, cutting through his clothes and sinking cold fingers into his bones.
Get up, he told himself, get up. Keep walking. Crawl if you have to. He forced himself up once more.
<Nick! Nick!>
He groaned in pain as Cadence's voice reverberated in his head. "Cadence!" he shouted. He winced as his shout rattled around inside his skull. The cold had dulled most of the pain, but he still felt like his brain was trying to leak out of his ears.
<Nick!>
His knees gave out again and he collapsed back onto the ground. A blackness silhouetted by stars sped towards him. Cadence had found him. The thought roused a tiny flame in his heart. "Watch out for your tail, Cadence." He laughed feebly at the silly joke, then coughed as his lungs seized from the cold.
With powerful backwings that churned the air and sent icicles through Nick's body, Cadence landed on the path. Nick felt the impact of the hurried landing all through his body. As he watched, the huge darker mass in the dark night that was Cadence seemed to shimmer at the edges, then shift and waver and shrink down.
Panic seized him. "Cadence!" Was something attacking Cadence? Another dragon using some kind of magic attack? He struggled up and stumbled forward, desperate to reach her.
A ball of light winked into existence ahead of him, illuminating—a Woman.