Recalled (Death Escorts #1)(41)
Author: Cambria Hebert

She didn’t look at me. She looked everywhere but at me.

“Piper?” I asked. “I really am sorry.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I know.” She uncrossed her arms. “Look, I’m not hung up on him, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” I agreed even though I thought she was totally hung up on him. I saw it in her eyes every time she mentioned him. And sometimes when she got this far away look in her eyes I knew she was thinking about him—me—and wondering what would’ve been if they met in a different place and time.

I kind of wondered that too.

I cleared my throat and held out my arm. “To the Ice Museum?”

She slid her arm into mine, her gloved fingers resting on my forearm. “Let’s go.”

We didn’t say anything until the house came into view.

“Huh,” I said, “it really is made completely of ice.”

“It’s so beautiful,” she said as we made our way inside, where it was just as cold as it was outside.

The place was pretty awesome and it featured a ton of life-sized ice sculptures like jousters on horseback and an animal-themed chess set. There was also a two story observation tower and a spiral staircase all made completely of crystal-clear ice.

“I love the lights,” Piper said as we made our way through some of the rooms. It was almost like a light show, with the lights all in neon colors like green, blue, and pink. Some changed periodically and others stayed the same. Some of them seemed to light the ice from within and I marveled that they found lights that wouldn’t produce enough heat to melt the sculptures.

There were four bedrooms here—all made of ice—and of course the bar with carved barstools and martini glasses made of ice.

“Dex, look!” Piper said, pulling me toward a carved vase full of ice flowers. “This one looks like that daisy you gave me.”

Inside the vase was a yellow light giving all the flowers a cheerful cast.

“You want this one too?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and wiggling my gloved fingers, and I reached toward the ice flower.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Sure, and the minute we get back to the cabin it would turn into a melted mess.”

“Well, I’m not cleaning up any messes.” I scoffed.

“I think it’s best left here, where it belongs.”

Something overhead caught my attention and I looked up. It was a very large ice crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. An idea began to form in my head…

Nearby, there was a man on a very tall ladder, leaning against one of the ice walls, using some tools to carve out what looked like the makings of a window. He had a tool belt on and some kind of pick in his hand. There was another tool, something electric that had a very long cord that dangled all the way down and went behind the bar, where it was likely plugged in.

I left Piper still admiring the ice flowers and casually wandered over toward the ladder. There was another ice display nearby with a few people admiring it. As I walked closer to get a good look at the sculpture, my foot “lost” its holding on the very slick ice and I began to slip and slide, flailing my arms.

I called out a warning, but it was too late. I bumped into the people near the sculpture and sent one of them careening toward the ladder. I watched as the man plowed into the bottom and sent the ladder falling back, away from the icy walls.

The man above gave a startled shout and jumped as it fell over and landed on the upper story of the observation deck. But the ladder continued to fall and it crashed into the crystal chandelier, causing it to crack and a big section of it went hurtling toward the ground… right where Piper stood.

“Piper,” I shouted, the sound ripping from my throat. It startled me at the amount of fear I heard as I watched the unfolding scene before me.

My feet began moving, rushing to get to her—for what I didn’t know. But the floor was slick and I didn’t move as fast as I wanted. I watched, actually horrified, as the big chunk of ice fell, effectively cutting off my view of Piper.

People were shouting, a few were crying, and the sound of ice splintering echoed along the walls, bouncing around, creating a deafening roar. I scrambled around, trying to get to the other side, shoving people out of my way as I tried to see if Piper had been crushed.

Crushing her had been my intent, but now, faced with the aftermath, I felt a little mournful and panicked.

Finally I made it around to the opposite side and heard a crunching sound beneath my feet. I looked down and my stomach twisted uncomfortably. There was a broken piece of the ice daisy beneath my boot. Piper’s flower was crushed. I bent and picked it up, turning it over in my hand. The crystal-clear ice was still beautiful even though it was broken. What had I done?

I looked up. There was a man lying on the ground, his body limp, and it was draped over something, someone I couldn’t see.

I looked a little closer and saw a foot, a boot, sticking out from beneath him. It was white with fur trim and purple laces. Piper.

Piper was the something that was underneath the unmoving man. Her foot was slightly askew and she didn’t move at all.

I swallowed.

My plan had clearly worked.

She was crushed.

Job complete.

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Marshmallow – spongy confection made of gelatin and sugar and corn syrup and dusted with powdered sugar.”

Piper

It all happened so fast. One minute I was standing in the Ice Museum admiring the ice daisy and then the next there was this sound and I was being pushed onto the ground and something heavy was coming down on top of me.

I couldn’t see what was happening, but from my position on the floor I heard the commotion and worried yells. It was hard to breathe; the weight pressing in on me was suffocating and I felt panic begin to build within my chest.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms were shaking and I couldn’t. I wiggled my foot, trying to find a place to dig my toes into the floor, to help push me up.

A low groan filled my ears and I stilled. The mass on top of me was a person. Most likely a man. And he sounded hurt.

Dex! “Dex,” I said, my voice muffled and I lifted my head to try to say his name louder.

I heard some crunching ice behind me and then blissfully, the weight was lifted and I could draw in a deep breath.

“Piper, oh my God, are you all right?” Dex said as he grabbed me by the elbow and hauled me to my feet.

I swayed a little, trying to get my bearings.

“Yes, I think so. What happened?”

“You didn’t see?” he asked, studying my face.