He was surprised to find it was hot coffee.

“We have a small coffee plantation on the foothills,” she said, handing him a sandwich, then buckling herself in.

“I think it’s time you told me our exact destination,” he said before taking a bite.

“It’s close to where you were before-the small valley just off the plateau. There are some caves there. You must have seen them on your scans.”

“Yeah, Weis wanted a good look at them. Is that where your aliens live?”

“It’s the entrance, yes. I know about the blizzard, but get us as close as you can before stopping.”

“What are they like?” he asked, glancing over at her as she nibbled on a granola bar.

“You know what they’re like. You saw them.”

“If I did, I don’t remember, so humor me and tell me.”

“Do you know what the Sidhe are?”

“Stop answering me with a question every time I ask you something! You promised me answers, Avana.”

“I am answering you,” she said, taking a mouthful of her drink. “Do you know what the Sidhe are?”

“Mary told me something of them.”

“They’re supposed to be one of the original inhabitants of Eire, or Ireland. It was said they were angels, fallen ones, too good to go to hell and too mischievous to go to heaven. A few besides me have seen them, but all they see is a ghost of what they truly are-a flicker that is hardly there.”

“And you can communicate with them?”

She gave him a long look. “They communicate with me, but I am learning.”

“Doesn’t sound very friendly.”

She smiled. “You’ll see.”

“Is it because of them that you all refused to map the Splitback and scan it for minerals?”

“Who said we refused? We lost the scanning equipment when we lost the shuttle.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes. I’m tired, Jensen. Let me rest a while,” she said, folding her arms across her lap and shutting her eyes.

“You were on that shuttle, weren’t you?”

“What makes you think that? Do you really think I am that old?”

“It’s the only way you could have met these Snow Angels.”

She said nothing for a minute or two then murmured, “Jensen, don’t ask me a question unless you really want to know the answer.”

He glanced over at her again, seeing the high cheek-bones, the slightly upturned nose, and the pale braid lying against the dark fur of the jacket, comparing her to Mary. There was no comparison-how could he have thought they were the same age?

“Who rescued us, Avana? Was it them or your people?” he asked suddenly.

“Later, when we land, I’ll tell you,” she said.

“It was them, wasn’t it?” he demanded, feeling his blood run cold, but Avana said nothing, just lay there, her breathing slowing as she slept.

Her sleep was not restful. Jensen watched as she moved fretfully, muttering words that even his good hearing couldn’t identify. They were deep in the storm now, almost at the caves when she suddenly sat bolt upright.

“Hoshi! The mountain! Watch out!”

“What the hell?” he muttered, adrenaline rushing through his system as he pulled the scouter back on course. He glanced at her, seeing her staring out the windshield, eyes wide open in terror.

“Avana.” Attention still on the nav screen and looking ahead of them, he reached across for her shoulder, shaking her gently. “Wake up, Avana.”

She shuddered, blinked, then looked around her, hand reaching up to grasp his as her gaze came to rest on him. “I’m sorry, I had a bad dream.”

“You sure did. It aged me ten years at least,” he said, trying to make light of it as he squeezed her hand comfortingly before returning his to the controls.

He risked a glance at her, seeing how gray her complexion had become as she began to shiver uncontrollably. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he realized she was in shock.

“Dammit, Avana! Weis shot you, didn’t he? Don’t try to deny it!” he said as she opened her mouth to speak. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“You wouldn’t have brought me and I had to come.”

“Your life is more important than this!”

“The whole colony depends on me. I have to go-they Called me,” she said, wiping her sleeve across her sweating forehead. “It’s only a flesh wound.”

He swore, volubly and descriptively, cursing himself most of all for missing the signs she’d been hit. “Don’t lie to me, girl! I know the symptoms. Where did he hit you and how bad is it?” he demanded, his attention now torn between her and piloting the craft through the rapidly worsening snow storm.

“My arm, and I don’t know how bad,” she said, her voice quavering a little. “I put a pressure bandage on it when I came into the shuttle.”

On the scanner, he saw a flat area ahead and changed course for it. “I’m taking the shuttle down. You need treatment now, Avana.”

She sat forward, looking at his nav screen. “Just a bit further, please,” she said. “We’re almost there. They’ll heal me. I only need to…”

“No!” he snarled, starting to descend. “I’m not risking your life!”

“Jensen, please,” she whispered, sitting back and hunching herself around her injured arm. “I’ve had worse, trust me.”

“No, dammit! You’re the only sane thing on this godforsaken planet!”

The landing was not one of the smoothest; he had to break hard on the maneuver jets as the shuttle began to skid on the glassy surface, but they were down and safe.

“It’s too dangerous here, Jensen! My blood will bring them to us! Weis could be nearby…”

“Blood? Great, they’re vampires as well,” he muttered, releasing his harness and instantly going to her side.

She laughed faintly as he undid her harness and scooped her into his arms. “Not vampires. It’s the life-energy in blood-makes it easier for them to find me in a blizzard.”

He carried her to the cargo area, sitting her down on one of the crates secured there, resting her back against the hull. “Where’s the med kit?” he demanded, shaking her as her eyes began to close. “Don’t you dare fall asleep on me, Avana!” he said harshly.

Her eyes flicked open and she looked around. “In the bag there,” she said, pointing to one secured against the opposite bulkhead.

He fetched it, then began to strip her out of her jacket. Now he could see the burned hole on the inner side of her sleeve. Flinging her jacket around her shoulders, he let her lean back again. Squatting beside her, he lifted her injured arm.

She’d pushed her sweater sleeve up before placing the pressure pad over the wound. Thankfully it had acted as a basic tourniquet, but she’d still lost a lot of blood. Reaching for a fresh pressure pad, he ripped the wrapping off, laying it aside before carefully removing the old one.

The energy blast had clipped her on the inside of her upper arm, vaporizing an area about four inches wide and over an inch deep. Much of it had been cauterized, but there was still a slow seeping of blood and fluids. He thought he saw the glint of bone. Swallowing hard a couple of times, he hastily covered the wound with the new dressing. This was beyond his ability to treat except with the most basic first aid.

“Bad, eh?” she said, watching his face.

“Not good. The beam was wider since it was deflected up at you. Avana, we need to get you back to the settlement,” he said, carefully binding the dressing in place. That done, he took the scissors and began cutting through the rolled-up sweater. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“Just take me to the caves, Jensen. They’ll heal me. I’ve had worse, believe me.”

“You’re too weak…”

“Jensen, listen to me! We have to go on. If Weis succeeds, they’ll come for the colony, especially after they prevented me from going last time I was Called. There’s energy drinks in the pack where the med kit was. Help me back to my seat and give me one of them,” she said, getting unsteadily to her feet. “It’ll keep me going till we reach them. Trust me-trust them.”