Chapter 21
ERANN
He blinked awake, confused for the second morning in a row at his surroundings. Where was he? Above him there was a black-ceilinged cave – and a girl peering at him. He recognised her. He lifted his head to get a better look.
‘Oh, my head bloody hurts when I do that. It feels like someone’s trying to squash my head into my body.’ He reached up as though touching his head would make it stop hurting.
‘Sorry about that,’ the girl replied, her sharp words echoing in the cave and making him wince again. ‘Arrow’s just dragged you most of the way across the glacier alone. I doubt she was gentle.’
As though summoned, the furry grey ears of a wolf-dog popped up at his right side.
He felt a smile spread across his face. Now he realised why that half of his body was so warm.
Arrow lay flanked against him, on the side which didn’t feel the heat from the fire, her nose just about reaching his elbow.
‘So, I have you to thank for saving me, do I? Well, Arrow, you have my heartfelt thanks.’ He reached across to ruffle her grey ears.
The girl laughed at the wolf-dog’s reaction.
He had no idea how he’d survived the night. No one crossed Vatna Jokull wholly unprepared and lived to tell the tale. And yet the light flooding the black cave told him he’d been on the glacier all of last night and much of today as well.
He searched his memories for the girl’s name. Sereh – that was it. Her parents’ unexpected death had left her with little, if he remembered correctly. That had been just after his father’s exile.
He looked at her closely. Her blonde hair seemed to glow in the soft light, but she had a bruise on one cheek and her hands looked calloused from hard work.
Life might not have been kind to her in the rotations since he’d last seen her, but even with the frown she now turned on him, she was beautiful.
‘So what are you doing here?’ Sereh asked him.
He’d have liked to know the answer himself.
Although, he realised she probably meant what was he doing on Vatna Jokull, not what he was doing, still being alive after being on the glacier all night.
She watched him expectantly. He remembered her fierce gaze from the Quarter Council meetings his father had presided over.
He’d always looked forwards to seeing her.
She’d been slightly too serious then too.
‘No, you first, tell me how you came to find me, wherever I am.’
He sensed some unease from Sereh. ‘Arrow found you out on the glacier, as we were walking across it, towards the south.’
‘Where exactly am I?’ His gaze turned upwards, peering at the cave’s roof again.
‘You’re in a cave, on Vatna Jokull. And you, why are you here? Where are you going so early in the Long Day?’
‘I was going to Rankil’s home. I have to see the healer.
’ He spoke in a rush, memories crashing in his mind.
He’d lost a precious day. He needed to get going, if he was going to make up time.
He tried to make sense of his actions. ‘I thought I was going around Vatna Jokull and not over it. How in Valhalla did I get here?’
His eyes stayed on the cave roof. Even so, he felt Sereh stiffen at his words.
Inwardly, he grimaced. Rankil was not likely to be one of Sereh’s favourite people.
Not after what he’d done to her family. If not for Rankil, her parents would be alive and she wouldn’t have been forced to serve him as a servant.
If not for Rankil, she’d still live within her family’s steading, as opposed to Rankil stealing it away from her, with some rubbish about her father bequeathing it to him in exchange for his assistance in bringing Ramon to justice.
What must she think of him, mentioning him so flippantly?
But before he could apologise, she spoke again.
‘You must have missed the marker stones. Where were you coming from?’
‘From my uncle’s steading.’ He tried to push himself up.
He really needed to continue his journey in what daylight remained, but his elbows buckled, and with a cry of surprise, he found himself lying on his back on the cave floor once more.
Snow exposure took time to recover from, he knew, time he wasn’t sure he had.
He’d have to waste the day. He’d have to stay here and resume his journey tomorrow.
Surely his aunt would keep his mother safe for the one extra day it would take him to bring help.
‘Are you all right, Erann?’ Sereh asked, her fierce gaze unsettling him. It was as though she could see inside him to his muddled and tangled thoughts. He didn’t like such scrutiny.
‘I think I’m well, thanks. I thought it would be nice to sit up, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to lie here and wait while you brew some tea.’ He tried to laugh off his discomfort.
She looked unconvinced. But thankfully, she turned away from him, and with her attention elsewhere, Erann thought back through the events of yesterday.
Had the Gods saved him after all? Had his prayer to Thor worked?
Belatedly, Erann became aware of Sereh’s resumed scrutiny.
What was she looking at? And then he felt it.
His father’s journal. How long had he been holding it?
Unwilling to answer any more of her questions when he didn’t possess the answers himself, he slipped the journal under his cloak. He’d return it to his backpack later.
He accepted the tea she offered him, lifting himself up on one elbow to drink.
‘That was exactly what I needed, thank you.’
He lay back, looking at the cave roof again. What a fool he’d been. He could have found the shelter himself, surely. He should never have walked on as he’d done, even with the tragedy of the steading playing on his mind. After all, all he’d really done was risk his life. Again.
‘I’ve not tasted that for some time.’ Sereh broke the silence. He offered her a smile, feeling his eyelids close, but they shot open again at her next question. ‘How long do you think you’d been exposed for?’
‘Long enough, but not too long that I’m dead,’ he suggested warily. It truly didn’t bear thinking about. ‘You have my sincere thanks for saving me. You and Arrow.’
‘Do you have any other food?’ Her tone wasn’t as warm as it had been. He wasn’t surprised. He was being evasive.
‘There should be some of last rotation’s harvest left in my backpack for both of us,’ he offered.
He’d taken what he could from his steading to his aunt and uncle’s and had packed just enough to ensure he could make it to Rankil’s and back again without having to limit himself too much.
It was always important to eat as well as possible while the weather remained so bad.
‘I’ll see what I can find,’ she replied, still sounding annoyed.
Even so, he was pleased she’d given herself the task of feeding them. Now, he’d have some time to try and remember more detail about last night. He was aware of her sighing at his evasiveness, but he couldn’t tell her what he didn’t know himself.
‘Erann… Erann… You could at least answer me. Oh, for the Gods’ sake—’
Something warm was thrust into his hands. It felt good – grounding. He blinked, dragging himself back to the present, to the cave, to Sereh. For a moment, he felt completely disoriented, taking in the sharp, annoyed set of her face.
‘Thanks… thanks, Sereh. Sorry. I was a bit distracted.’
Her response was acerbic. ‘Whatever. Eat your soup and go back to your “distraction”. Don’t mind me.’
She turned away, fussing with the fire.
He took a sip of the soup. It was hot and tasted like almost nothing.
‘This is good. What’s in it?’ he asked, trying to sound grateful, hoping to smooth things over.
‘Whatever you had in your pack, turnips, some meat,’ she said. The edge in her voice hadn’t softened.
Guilt pricked at him again. He wanted to apologise, but he was worried that would just open the door to more questions.
‘I brought just enough to make it through my journey from my aunt and uncle’s.’
‘Your aunt and uncle?’ Sereh turned slightly, remembering now. ‘So that’s where you came from? Don’t they live southwest of here? How did you end up on Vatna Jokull?’
There it was – the questions again.
‘Yes,’ he muttered. ‘I came from my uncle’s.’ Then he focused very intently on his soup, watching her over the rim of the cup, hoping she’d let it drop.
Her blue eyes were bright with questions, though she deliberately looked away, lips pressed tight. She knew he was avoiding her. How long she’d stay quiet, he couldn’t say. But he welcomed it. For as long as it lasted.
They finished their soup in silence. Erann slowly relaxed as she didn’t push further. When she was done, Sereh poured some soup into a cup for Arrow, who lapped it up noisily, giving them both something else to focus on instead of each other.
When the wolf-dog finished, she padded over to Erann. He reached out and scratched between her soft grey ears, her warm breath brushing his face.
‘Thank you, girl,’ he murmured.
She studied him for a moment with her yellow eyes, then turned and went back to Sereh, flopping down with her head in her lap.
Sereh stroked Arrow between her downy soft ears as she stared out into the starlit night, her lips still tight, as though it was an effort not to talk.
The fire crackled softly, remarkably stable, despite the increasingly wild storm blowing outside, and Erann found himself wondering what they were burning before his attention drifted back to Sereh, studying her.
Her face was a perfect oval shape, her features small and neat.
Her lips formed a delicate bow. Her hair was now hidden under a white wolf fur hat, although stray wisps of pale blonde – almost gold – framed her face.
But it was her eyes that arrested his attention.
They looked too old. Too tired. Too haunted. They looked like his mother’s.
He wanted to ask why. He wanted to ease the dark shadows beneath them.
But he didn’t dare. He couldn’t ask about Rankil – the man he hated.
He couldn’t even bring himself to ask after his sister.
Their parting had been bitter, and it would hardly be a secret, especially from someone who served in Aras’s new household, as he’d recalled Sereh did.
Why was she on Vatna Jokull? He didn’t know. Neither did he feel the urge to ask.
So instead, he forced himself to his feet, wobbling, and stepped outside briefly beneath the clear, cold stars to relieve himself out of the wind, which blew as fiercely as the night before.
Then he returned, taking the opportunity to slip his father’s journal into his backpack and lie down on the makeshift bed.
He turned his back to the fire so he wouldn’t have to see Sereh – or feel her watching him surreptitiously.
But sleep didn’t come.
He listened as she moved around, tending the fire a little too loudly, packing and repacking the backpack, until at last she settled down. He stayed still, saying nothing, not turning around, hoping she hadn’t found his father’s journal. He didn’t want to share it with her.
Only when she crawled under the furs next to him did he shift at all – just enough to give her a little more space.
She huffed softly before turning her back on him.
He stayed tense until her breathing slowed and steadied. Only then did he let himself relax.
He’d leave at first light.
He couldn’t risk staying so close to someone who asked too many questions.
There was too much he couldn’t explain himself about why he was on Vatna Jokull and how the steading had burned down.
Decision made, he lay there with his eyes closed, breathing evenly, waiting for the first hint of daylight so he could slip away.