My steps became clumsier as the numbness crawled up my legs. I finally fell to my knees in the soft snow. A few minutes later, the crunch of snow under boots drew my attention. I rolled to look up at the trees, the falling snow, and the face of the shadow man.

"Let me go," I whispered hoarsely.

The white light off the snow lit his face. The scars crisscrossed his cheek in straight lines like he'd been marked on purpose. When I finally looked at his eyes, they looked back with ...