Chapter 23
ERANN
Just as Erann was easing the inner door open, trying to slip quietly into the entrance tunnel, Anya appeared.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she hissed, grabbing hold of his arm.
‘I have to go. I have to go back to our steading. Something’s going to happen.’ His words were barely above a whisper.
‘What do you mean? What’s going to happen?’ Anya stepped back, alarmed.
‘I don’t know,’ Erann admitted. ‘It’s just a feeling. I need to be sure. Tell Aras where I’ve gone – but don’t tell Rankil. Tell Aras I’ll see her soon, at our aunt and uncle’s.’
Anya’s eyes narrowed, and she caught hold of his arm again.
‘I will do so, Erann. Just be careful. Be very careful.’
Her warning stayed with him, as he pulled the outer door open. It gave a shrill shriek as he stepped once more onto the snow-covered ground. Only now did he take a proper breath, free from the cloying stink of the steading.
He was going home.
He’d felt no qualms about leaving his steading unguarded, but that had all changed and grown stronger during the night. The conspiratorial looks Rankil had shared with his men made him certain about what Rankil was planning.
While it was barely dawn, the dark was lessening. A faint line of violet along the horizon promised the brightness of day wasn’t far.
It remained bitterly cold. His breath fogged in the still air before him. He pulled his fur closer to his throat and wrapped his mouth and nose tightly. It felt colder than it should, even for early morning. Perhaps then, as poor as Rankil’s steading was, it offered more protection than a cave.
Without a backwards glance, he set off. The outer door creaked shut as Anya closed it on him. He didn’t slow. He wasn’t heading towards Vatna Jokull, but angled away from it, turning towards the coast. If he kept moving, he might arrive home before full dark fell.
As Erann made his way across ice and snow, his thoughts wouldn’t settle.
He worried about Sereh. About his mother.
His sister. His brother. About what his future held for him.
The weather. His father. Everything pressed in on him at once.
He couldn’t believe how much rested on his shoulders.
He was responsible for so many people, and feared he’d be unable to help any of them.
As much as he despised Rankil, he’d even failed to inform him about the burnt steading, and it was the jarl’s responsibility to ensure those who perished weren’t forgotten. He’d need to make sure the names of those who’d died were recorded at the Full Council meeting.
Every so often, Erann stopped to take a drink from his water bag. It was all he had left.
Last night’s evening meal had been grim, little more than the peat cakes and watery soup.
He still didn’t understand why Rankil was seemingly so lacking in wealth.
As the jarl, he should have great prosperity, as shown in the clothing his sister wore, but the food, the steading, even the servants, everything seemed dismal and poorly managed.
He admired Sereh for taking the chance to escape Rankil when she had it. He hoped she’d be safe, and have made it to wherever she planned to go. She’d taken a risk to travel across Vatna Jokull, and in the process, save his life. She must have plans. And she knew speed was important.
His thoughts continually circled back to Sereh. He hoped she managed to evade Rankil’s claws.
All she needed to do was to enter another Quarter. Then she’d be under a different jarl’s protection. But did she know all she needed to do was reach the Southern or Western Quarter? It was something he remembered from his father’s lessons.
Maybe he should go back and find her. Tell her. Then he’d get to see her again and reassure himself she was safe and well. And retrieve his father’s journal.
The idea lingered longer than it should.
He found himself remembering the way her hair reflected the dim sunlight as she stooped over him, checking he was still breathing.
And her eyes – those bright, deep blue eyes.
They were so deep, he thought idly, he might be able to swim in them.
He shook himself, forcing his thoughts back to the present.
He was going to his home, alone, trying to reach his steading before Rankil’s men caught up with him.
He felt as though he was being hunted, even though he hadn’t seen anyone trailing him. In fact, there were no prints in the pristine, blue-tinged snow at all. The ground around him was untouched, pale and unbroken. No tracks. No signs of anyone else travelling in these harsh conditions.
Still, the feeling of being pursued wouldn’t leave him.
Adding to his unease was the worry he’d find another steading like the last – silent, empty, filled only with the dead. With the weather so unpredictable, there may be many more like the farmhouse he’d found.
The distance between his family steading and Rankil’s was just over a day’s walk in good weather. Now, as the scant sunshine deserted the sky, Erann pushed himself harder. He’d not stop. He’d not rest. If he had to walk all through the long, dark night, he would.
The silence was all-encompassing as full deep cobalt dark fell.
Erann stopped on an exposed rocky outcropping to catch his breath and turned to admire the view.
Snaefell loomed in the distance – dark and vast. It was imposing under the fading light, a deep violet against the inky mountains.
Even now, it held an awe-inspiring majesty, as the stars began to appear.
The sapphire planet, Frey, overhead came abruptly into view as the clouds scudded across the sky.
He gaped in wonder at the beautiful sight before him.
The sky was filled with light – thousands of tiny gems sparkled in the deepening blue sky.
They were reflected by the forbidding frozen glacier of Vatna Jokull.
It was stunning.
Then he heard a sharp snap behind him.
He spun, heart pounding.
He could see nothing. No movement. No shapes outlined against the dim skyline. The path he’d come was already swathed in thick twilight. No pinpricks of flames being carried towards him. No sign of anyone following him at all.
As Erann squinted, his eyes glanced upwards, and for a moment, his heart lurched. It looked as though Frey had disappeared from her position in the sky.
He stood as still as he could, eyes and ears straining.
Slowly, he let out the breath he’d been holding. No one was there. No one was following him. And Frey was there, as she should be. His imagination was getting the better of him.
Turning back to his journey, he grinned at his overactive imagination.
As if a whole planet could just disappear.