Gabriel smiled dryly. "That's one of the few things I still miss about being mortal-how pleasant the warmth from the hearth felt on my hands. The cold doesn't chill us, but neither does the fire warm us. One of the trade-offs of immortality."
They found the inns along the way more crowded and prosperous than during their journey to take back Margolan's throne. If the innkeepers wondered at their two guests who slept during the day and left at sundown, they said nothing, happy for the coin. Gabriel chose their accommodations, and Carina guessed from his manner with the innkeepers that their companion was well-known along this route. Where Gabriel spent the days she did not know, but she was sure that the vayash morru had his own secret places.
"It's hard to shake the feeling that we're running from someone." Carina's voice was nearly lost under the scarf that kept the chill from her face. "Don't get me wrong-I'm glad we're not sleeping in cellars and crypts! But compared to the last time we came this way, it seems odd to travel so openly."
"Personally, I'm enjoying the chance for a warm fire and a real bed, and a room we don't have to share with half a dozen other people." Jonmarc chuckled. "Nice to be able to pay for it, too, instead of having Carroway barter for food or having to muck out stables."
They reached Dark Haven twenty-one days after leaving Shekerishet. Given the deep snows, they had made excellent time. The forest was long behind them though the vyrkin remained, loping at the same speed as the sleigh along the edge of the road. In the moonlight, it was difficult to tell whether the same pair of Vyrkin always accompanied them or whether many shared the duty, but each night when Carina and the others reached a stopping point, the vyrkin howled, as if searching for their fellows.
"There it is. Dark Haven." Jonmarc pointed to the manor as they reached the top of the hill. Carina leaned forward to get a better look at her new home. In the bright moonlight, she could make out the main rectangular shape of the great house, surrounded by smaller dependencies. Two square towers rose a storey higher on each of the front corners. Light shone from the windows in the front of the manor house. Even in the moonlight, the dark stone building seemed commanding and ominous.
A cheer went up as their sleigh glided into the main courtyard, and Carina was surprised to see dozens of people waiting by torchlight for their arrival. Jonmarc grinned and stepped from the sleigh, reaching up to give Carina a hand down. The small crowd clustered around them.