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my father will lead his band to the other side,” Fairmina said. “Those in front will keep them distracted. Have your arrows ready.”
    Josh was stumbling to keep up when they cameupon the enemy. Taken totally by surprise, the Yanti let out yells of fear. They turned and fled, leaving one fallen Yanti behind.
    “Shall we chase them, Father?” Fairmina cried, as Denhelm appeared with his party.
    “No. They are fresh, and we are weary. Let us see to our wounded and get the food back to camp.”
    Fairmina stood a moment over the fallen Yanti and looked sad. “There will be an empty place at their table tonight.”
    “But they started it,” Reb said.
    “I know, but this one is dead. Now his mate and his children will have no provider.”
    It was a side of Princess Fairmina that Josh had not seen before.
    “She’s really got a tender heart under that tough way of hers,” Dave said. “I didn’t know that.”
    “I did,” Sarah said unexpectedly. “She talked about it one day. She really hates killing. But she has to do it because she’ll be the new chief.”
    “Well, I guess a war leader has to be tough, all right,” Jake said, “but I hate for it to be a nice young lady. Too bad the chief didn’t have a son to take over when he gets too old.”
    None of their number had been killed, but several were wounded. One man was placed on Volka’s sled. And Volka, whose injury was just a scratch to him, pulled the extra load easily.
    “I guess that’s enough adventure for us for one day,” Josh said. His nerves were still jangled from the battle. He turned to Sarah who was pulling at the harness beside him. “Were you frightened?”
    “Yes, I was. And, besides, I hate to shoot at another human being.”
    Josh wanted to ask if she had shot the arrow that had killed the Yanti, but he saw that she felt very bad. He had the suspicion that she had, so he said, “It was something we had to do.”
    “I guess so, but I hate it.”
    Not more than five minutes later, a scream went up from one of the Lowami warriors who was in the front.
    “What is it? What’s he seen? More Yanti?” Wash yelled.
    They did not have to wonder long, for those in the front began falling back, all shouting something.
    Fairmina suddenly was beside Josh. Her eyes glittered with hatred.
    “It is an ice wraith. And we cannot flee and leave our wounded. We must fight it.”
    The very name
ice wraith
seemed to go through to Josh’s bones, freezing them more than the cold weather. He had heard rumors about ice wraiths, but the Lowami feared them so much that they could not even clearly describe them.
    Chief Denhelm was getting his warriors in order. “Archers in the second line! Spearmen in the first line! You archers, try to wound him!”
    “A spearman has little chance against an ice wraith,” Fairmina said, her face tense. She notched an arrow to her bow and said, “You shoot a good bow, my Sarah. Get as many as you can into the wraith.”
    Josh swallowed hard and stared ahead. He still could see nothing, but then suddenly a movement caught his eye.
    “There he is! Archers ready!” Fairmina called out.
    The line of archers drew their bows. The othersheld harpoons and spears at the ready. All crouched, waiting. And then Josh saw the ice wraith.
    It was a terrifying beast. It loomed enormous, as it burst out of a grove of trees. It stood upright, and Josh’s first thought was,
It looks like a T-rex
.
    Indeed the wraith did walk on huge hind legs, but, unlike the T-rex, it had huge forearms. And it was entirely covered with a growth of smoky white fur. The creature even looked like smoke as it swept across the snow. He understood why it was called a “wraith.”
    The most frightening thing was not the size or the saberlike claws, but the mouth full of teeth. Josh stood frozen with fear.
One bite of those teeth, and a human being would have no chance
. He had heard stories whispered that an ice wraith could bite a saber-toothed tiger in