She finally crawled outside, then held the flap open for him. Luke gave one last push at the tent, then dove for the opening just as the rest of the snow slid off the outer storm fly and down the back of his neck.

“Lovely,” he said, standing up and digging the snow out of his collar. He looked around to find that visibility was less than a quarter mile. “We’ve already gotten six or seven inches of heavy wet snow, but if the temperature drops and the wind kicks up, we won’t be able to see past our noses.”

“Roger won’t really keep our snowcat, will he?” she asked, brushing more snow off his shoulders.

“If he doesn’t give it back when we ask nicely, we’ll just threaten to break his satellite dish so that he doesn’t get any channels.”

Camry started dismantling what was left of the tent. “I love your criminal mind.”

While she rolled up the storm fly and collapsed the rest of the supports, Luke pulled everything out from inside and started making a pile of their gear to pick up on their way back. In twenty minutes they were entirely packed up, and half an hour after that, they arrived at the cabin.

Or rather, they arrived at where the cabin should have been.

“It’s gone!” Camry cried in dismay.

“That’s impossible. We must have walked right past it. The wind’s picked up, making visibility worse.”

“No, this is the right spot.” She pointed to their right. “I distinctly remember that pine tree with the burn scar where Podly crashed. The cabin should be right here!”

“An entire building can’t just suddenly vanish overnight.”

She looked up at him with a gasp. “And he took Tigger and Max!”

Luke wiped a gloved hand over his face, attempting to wipe away his disbelief along with the snowflakes catching on his beard. “Okay, let’s think about this. There has to be a perfectly logical explanation for why we can’t find the cabin, or Roger, or the dogs.” He shot her a scowl when she snorted. “An explanation other than magic.”

“I know! A spaceship swooped down and took Roger and Tigger and Max back to Mars to add to their zoo.”

Luke sighed. “That’s just as plausible as anything else that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Listen. Did you hear that?” She pointed to their left. “There it is again. That’s Max barking. Come on!”

“Camry, wait!” Luke called out, chasing after her as she disappeared into the blinding snow. “You don’t know what you might be running into!”

But when they reached the shelter of the dense evergreen trees, the visibility got considerably better. They stopped to listen again, then started running toward what sounded like both dogs barking.

They skidded to a stop when they saw Max and Tigger sitting under a huge spruce tree, in the sled made out of Podly’s housing. Max immediately jumped out and ran up to them, and Tigger—wearing not only her pink sweater, but what looked like a tiny version of a wizard’s hat—started yelping in protest.

“Oh, that’s a good boy,” Camry said, dropping to her knees to hug Max. “You helped us find you without abandoning your friend.”

Luke walked over and scooped up Tigger, then reared back to avoid getting his face washed. “It’s okay, Tig,” he crooned. “Mommy and Daddy are here. We wouldn’t have left this mountain without you.”

“Mommy and Daddy?” Camry repeated with a laugh, walking up to them. She gave Tigger an affectionate scratch behind the ears, then straightened the dog’s pointed little hat before looking down at the sled, which now had a small tarp fashioned like a tent over the top.

“Well, at least he made sure they were comfy. And judging by the snow on the tarp, they haven’t been here more than an hour. Hey, there’s something else in the sled,” she said, reaching inside. She pulled out a small tin coffee can. “I don’t think it’s big enough to be the data bank.”

Luke set Tigger back in the sled, on top of what appeared to be a straw-filled mattress, and took the tin from her—only to nearly drop it when whatever was inside suddenly chirped.

Camry snatched it from him and popped off the lid. “It’s the transmitter!” she cried, pulling it out. “And it’s been put back together!”

When she tried to hand it to him, Luke shoved his hands in his pockets. “That infernal thing is possessed,” he growled, stepping away. He suddenly groaned. “Oh, God, now I’m talking like Roger.”

Camry stuffed the transmitter in her pocket, then reached into the can again. “There’s a note,” she said, pulling out an envelope. She held it toward him. “And it’s addressed to you.”

Luke plopped down on the ground, tucking Max up next to him. “You read it. I’ve had my fill of Roger AuClair and all his hocus-pocus.”

She dropped down beside him, pulled a colorful card out of the envelope, and held it for him to see the front. “It’s just like the ones Fiona gave us.”

Luke picked up the envelope. “But this isn’t Fiona’s writing.” He looked back at her hand. “So, what’s it say?”

“Dear Lucian,” she read. She stopped, eyeing him with amusement.

“What?”

She looked back at the card, cleared her throat, and continued. “You may have had enough of my hocus-pocus, young man, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to put up with a bit more of it, if you’re hoping to hold on to that miracle sitting beside you.”

She smiled over at him. “In case you’re wondering, he’s referring to me.”

When Luke merely arched a brow, she looked back at the card. “You have less than two days to get Camry back into the loving arms of her mama and papa. Actually, it’s one day, nine hours, and sixteen minutes from right now. You step foot in Gù Brath even one second after the winter solstice, and your marriage to the woman of your dreams will never have happened.”

“That bastard can’t do that!”

“Tsk-tsk,” she said. She held the card toward him. “That wasn’t me. See, he actually wrote tsktsk right here.” She held the card in front of her again. “Tsk-tsk,” she repeated, “it’s dangerous to call a drùidh names. And though you may not believe it right now, not only am I your greatest ally, I’m also your only means of accomplishing the seemingly impossible task ahead of you. Your science will only take you so far, Dr. Renoir, before you will have to concede that there’s more to life than numbers, equations, and cold hard facts.”

She stopped reading and looked at him. “What impossible task is he talking about?” she asked, her eyes filling with worry.

“He’s messing with us, Camry. It won’t be the first time I’ve walked off this mountain in a blizzard. We’re both strong and healthy, and it shouldn’t take us even one day to get to Pine Creek.” He gestured toward the tree next to the sled. “Especially with snowshoes.”

She looked where he was pointing, then back at him. “But he left only one pair.”

Luke stood up and walked over to the tree, giving Tigger a pat on his way by. He looked back at Camry and smiled. “Maybe my ‘seemingly impossible task’ is that I’m going to have to pull you all the way home in the sled.”

She didn’t return his smile. “I don’t like this, Luke,” she whispered, her eyes darkening with concern. “Why would he say that you had to get me home, when I am perfectly capable of getting myself home?”

“Because the old bastard is messing with us,” he repeated, walking over and sitting down beside her. He hugged her to him. “He’s just a bored old hermit, Camry, who loves drama.” He snorted. “He even took it so far as to dress up like a wizard for added effect.”

“Then where is he?”

“Gone in our snowcat. When we get back to Pine Creek, we’ll probably find it parked on Main Street. Roger will be sitting in a bar, getting folks to pay for his drinks while he tells them about the two rocket scientists he duped into believing in magic.”