Chapter 42
ERANN
The ice gave a loud crack, and Sereh was gone.
One moment her boots were crunching ahead across the white, bitter-smelling snow.
The next, there was a whoosh of snow collapsing in on itself and her cry disappearing into the blue dark below.
The wolf-dog scrambled to the edge, skidding on the slick ice, cold wind biting through her fur.
She could smell blood, fear rising faintly from the crevasse.
Every instinct screamed go down, pull her out, do something.
She shuffled hesitantly forward on her belly.
The icy edge splintered beneath the wolf-dog’s feet and she scrabbled backwards.
‘Arrow?’ Sereh’s voice was weak and shaking.
Arrow yipped sharply, ears flat against the screaming wind, pacing in circles because movement felt better than helplessness. Something wild carried on the air that made the fur rise along her spine. She looked into the white haze of the horizon and then back into the blue crack where Sereh lay.
She yipped again, but it tapered into a whine.
She stretched a paw over the edge, ice crumbling beneath her, and low on her belly, looked down at Sereh.
Over the howl of the wind, she could just make out the sound of Sereh’s breathing, ragged, uneven. She lay twisted, one arm trapped strangely beneath her. Her face was pale except for a bright streak of blood near her hairline.
The icy prison creaked and groaned.
She didn’t know how to save her. Not this time.
‘Sereh!’ Erann sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain in his leg. Something had happened to Sereh. He was sure of it. He needed to find her.
The fire was just embers, so he fed it with bits of kindling and small pieces of wood. Outside the day was bright, but all he could feel was the terrible cold from his vision of Sereh.
What had happened to her? Where was she? Skaldi had said he’d watch her, but he couldn’t even sense the dragon’s presence.
But maybe that meant there was nothing wrong. If something had happened to Sereh, Skaldi would know and he would have told him.
His stomach growled.
He needed to eat.
He fed the fire a larger piece of wood. The welcome yellow flames licked hungrily along its length. He felt the warmth on his face. Some of the chill from the vision fled.
‘It was just a dream,’ he said aloud. ‘Sereh’s fine. She’ll be at some steading by now, towards the Western Quarter, or perhaps at the Library.’
He lifted the pot of cold, snow-melted water onto its place above the fire and pulled the cooking pot of food closer to him.
He scooped out a bowlful and hungrily dug into it, aware of how famished he was.
The food tasted good. He refilled his bowl twice before he felt full.
Then he looked about, wondering what to do next.
The vision of Sereh disappearing into the snow played in his mind in an endless loop.
‘Skaldi will be back soon enough. Or I’ll at least be able to hear him again shortly.
Then I can ask him about Sereh. Just to be certain she’s well, wherever she is.
’ He cast his eyes about the small cave.
He needed to do something. Anything to distract him.
He could check Emma’s supplies – bandages, some of the salve she’d brought to cover his wounds.
Her basket was on the other side of the cave, near the pile of furs she’d slept on.
He picked up his crutches from the night before and forced himself to his feet.
He dragged his injured leg. It hurt like Valhalla, even without any weight on it.
His head started to pound. All the same, he was going to ensure he was walking by the time Skaldi reappeared.
‘Yes.’ He let out a whoop as he painstakingly moved forwards towards Emma’s belongings.
His shout of exhilaration masked the scampering noise of an animal entering the cave.
‘Arrow!’ he gasped, only to overbalance on his unsteady crutches, crashing to the ground. Arrow rushed to him and breathed her warm, musty air over him.
‘Sereh,’ he gasped, breathing roughly, pain lancing down his leg. She’d come back. She’d forgiven him for not being able to trust her.
He looked eagerly for Sereh behind Arrow, forcing himself to look upwards because right now, he couldn’t stand.
‘Sereh!’ he called, pushing himself further up. He coughed. ‘Sereh?’
Surely if Arrow was here, then so was she.
‘Sereh?’ he cried again, but there was no response, aside from the echoing of his cry.
‘By the Gods,’ he growled, concentrating on standing again.
His breathing grew as ragged as Arrow’s. He couldn’t speak to the wolf-dog or shout Sereh’s name for some time. Where was she? What if his dream hadn’t been a dream at all, but a vision?
Arrow walked to the fire. She licked the remains of Erann’s meal. In the two days since he’d last seen her, she’d lost weight. Her usually pristine fur was matted and filthy.
He hobbled to her, dragging his wounded leg behind him.
Arrow looked on patiently, as he reached his previous perch and sank gracelessly. She eyed the cooking pot.
‘If I feed you, will you tell me where she is?’ he bartered, swinging the pot his way. He refilled the bowl. With the fire burning again, the aroma of the food was enticing.
‘It’ll be hot, girl,’ he warned, placing it on the floor in front of her.
The heat was no deterrent. The wolf-dog gobbled the food. She lifted her head and tilted it to one side, imploringly.
‘Still hungry. Here, have some more.’ He refilled the pot and returned it to her.
When she’d finished, Arrow came and put her head in his lap. Her yellow eyes were flooded with sorrow. His hand caressed her ears.
‘Come on now, what is it, girl? Where’s Sereh?’
Arrow stood at the sound of Sereh’s name and tugged on his arm, gently, with her mouth.
‘Is Sereh in trouble?’ he questioned Arrow. She tugged more insistently.
‘So something has happened to Sereh?’ He bit back the rising panic.
He needed to focus on something practical, otherwise it would consume him.
‘I’ll search Emma’s supplies. She’ll have something in there that will help Sereh.
I’ll get that ready. And I’ll try to reach Skaldi.
He’ll be able to get to Sereh faster in the air than we can on foot. ’
Arrow released her hold on him, her eyes straying back towards the cave entrance. Erann swallowed. Sereh was out there on her own. She needed him.
If Skaldi wasn’t here soon, he would go out to rescue her himself.
He grabbed his walking stalks. He’d get more snow. He’d rebuild the fire. He’d find whatever Emma had been using to heal him. Then he’d find Sereh.