Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Part 77

Saeunn was undaunted. 'You cannot lead us into the Far North.'

'Oh, I wouldn't lead you, Mage. I'd make sure that you stayed here, in the Forest '

'I'm not thinking of myself, but of the clan, as you well know!'

'And so am I.'

'But '

'Enough!' With a slicing motion of his palm, he cut short their talk. 'When I tell you how to do Magecraft, you may tell me how to lead!'

Again he raised his head, and this time he spoke not to Saeunn, but to the creature who stared down at him from the spruce tree: the eagle owl with the feathered ears and the fierce orange glare, who sat watching. Listening.

'I won't lead the clan out of the Forest,' said Fin-Kedinn without dropping his gaze. 'I swear it on my souls.'

The eagle owl spread its enormous wings and glided north.

THIRTY-TWO.

Torak and Renn made good speed, and for a while, relief at having escaped the caves raised their spirits. It was good to be out in the brilliance of ice and Sea and sky; to hear Wolf's brief, rea.s.suring howls drifting from the east I'm here! I'm here! and to howl back an answer.

'They'll never catch us now!' yelled Renn.

She told Torak how she'd slashed the Soul-Eaters' skinboats, and he laughed. Wolf was free, and they were heading back to the Forest. Soul-Eaters and demons seemed very far away.

Then, quite suddenly, the day turned. Flinty clouds darkened the sun. Fog crept in from the Sea. Torak's head ached with fatigue. His paddle was heavy in his hands.

'We've got to rest,' said Renn. 'If we don't, we'll capsize, or crash into an ice mountain.'

He nodded, too exhausted to speak.

It took all their strength to haul the skinboat out of the water, and drag it across the sea ice to the shelter of an ice hill; to prop it up on sh.o.r.esticks, and pack snow over it for a makeshift shelter.

As he worked, Torak remembered the sudden stillness that had come over the Viper Mage. 'What are you?' she had said. She had sensed his souls in the tunnel of the offerings, as they were making their way back to his body; maybe she had guessed that he was a spirit walker.

From far away came the deep 'oo-hu, oo-hu' of an eagle owl.

Renn paused with her mittens full of snow. Her face was taut. 'They're after us.'

'I know,' said Torak.

'Oo-hu, oo-hu.'

He searched the sky, but saw only fog.

Renn had already gone inside the shelter, and he was alone on the ice. Sounds came to him unnaturally loud: the moaning of the wind, the distant boom of crashing ice. His head ached, his eyes stung. Even the shelter and the hill were strangely blurred.

Out of the corner of his vision, he caught movement.

He spun round.

Something small and dark, flitting from ridge to ridge.

His mouth went dry. A demon?

He wished Wolf were here. But he hadn't heard a howl since mid-afternoon.

Drawing his father's knife, he went to investigate.

Nothing behind the ice hill. But he had seen it.

He sheathed his knife and crawled into the shelter. Renn was already huddled in her sleeping-sack. He didn't tell her what he'd seen.

They were too exhausted to pound blubber for the lamp, or to force down more than a few bites of frozen seal meat.

Renn fell asleep instantly, but Torak lay awake, thinking about that dark shape flitting from ridge to ridge.

The demons were out there. He could feel them sapping his spirits, quenching courage and hope.

And it's your fault, he thought. You failed, and now they're loose. It was all for nothing.

He woke feeling stiff and sore. His eyes felt as if someone had rubbed sand in them. He couldn't think of a single reason for getting up. The demons were loose. It was no use fighting back.

Outside, Renn was moving about in the snow. Why did she have to make so much noise? Surely she knew that every crunch of her boots was ramming another icicle into his head.

To put off going outside, he checked what remained of his gear. In the rush to get away, he'd left behind his axe and bow, but his waterskin was still around his neck, his tinder pouch and medicine pouch on his belt, and Fa's knife safe in its sheath.

The hilt felt curiously hot. Maybe it was an omen. He should probably ask Renn. But that would only give her a chance to boast about how much more she knew than him. The thought filled him with unreasonable rage.

When he couldn't put it off any longer, he crawled outside.

Overnight, the breath of the World Spirit had swallowed the world. The ice the Sea it had taken it all. The wind had gone. Without it, the cold wasn't so biting; but the boom of breaking ice was closer.

That's all we need, thought Torak. The thaw is coming.

'You look terrible,' snapped Renn. 'Your eyes you should've worn your snow-visor.'

'I know,' growled Torak.

'Then why didn't you?'

Her voice was so grating. She was always telling him what to do. And she, of course, had worn her visor all day, because she never forgot anything.

In p.r.i.c.kly silence they dismantled the shelter, and carried the skinboat to the edge of the ice; then went back to fetch their gear.

'Just as well I thought to slash their boats,' boasted Renn, 'or they'd have caught up with us by now.'

'Boats can be mended,' Torak said nastily. 'You won't have slowed them down for long.'

She put her hands on her hips. 'I suppose you think I should've made a better job of it? Well I didn't have time, I had to go and rescue you!'

'You didn't rescue me!' spat Torak.

She snorted.

To give her something to snort about, he told her why the Soul-Eaters were coming after them: about the spirit walking, and Seshru sensing his souls.

Her jaw dropped. 'You were spirit walking? And you never told me?'

'So? I'm telling you now.'

She was silent. 'Anyway, you're wrong,' she said. 'They're not following us because of that.'

'Oh no? What makes you so sure?'

'It's the fire-opal. I took it. That's why they're after us.'

'Why didn't you tell me?' cried Torak.

'I'm telling you now. There wasn't time before.'

'There was plenty of time!' he shouted.

'Don't shout at me!' shouted Renn.

He was shaking his head. 'So it's not only the Soul-Eaters who are after us, it's the demons as well!'

'I did mask it,' she said defensively. 'I've got herbs, and I put it in a swansfoot pouch that Tanugeak gave me.'

He threw up his arms. 'Oh, well that makes it all right! How could you be such a fool?'

'How could you? You were the one who spirit walked!'

Her voice rang out across the ice. The silence that followed was louder. They stood glaring at each other, chests heaving.

Torak pa.s.sed his hand over his face, as if he'd just woken up. 'What are we doing?' he said.

Renn shook her head to clear it. 'It's the demons. They're making us fight.' She hesitated. 'I think they can smell the fire-opal. Or sense it.'

He nodded. 'That must be it.'

'No, no, I mean, I know they can.' She caught her lower lip in her teeth. 'I heard noises in the night.'

'What kind of noises?'

She shuddered. 'I stayed awake to keep watch. Then I heard Wolf. He was howling, the way he does before he goes hunting. After that they were gone.'

He took a few paces, then turned back to her. 'We've got to get rid of it.'

'How? We'd have to bury it in earth or stone and there isn't any out here, there's only ice!'

They stared bleakly at each other.

Renn opened her mouth to speak . . .

. . . and an ear-splitting crack split the air, as a fine black line zigzagged across the ice a hand's breadth from her boots.

She stared at her feet.

The sea ice gave a sudden heave, and she staggered back.

The black line was now a channel of water as wide as a paddle blade.

'A tide crack,' said Torak in disbelief.

Time seemed to slow. He saw that he stood on the landfast ice the side that held the boat and their provisions while Renn stood on the other side: the side that was breaking away.

'Jump,' he told her.

The floe lurched. She braced her legs to keep from falling.

'Jump!' he cried.

Her face was blank with shock. 'I can't. It's too late.'

She was right. The crack was already more than two paces wide.

'I'll get the boat,' he said. He raced over the ice towards the skinboat stumbled staggered upright again. Why couldn't he see properly? Why was everything taking so long?

He'd nearly reached the boat when it rocked teetered and slid gracefully off the ice, into the Sea. With a cry he lunged for it but the waves sucked it just out of reach. He howled with rage and the Sea Mother splashed salt.w.a.ter in his eyes, laughing at him.

'Torak!' Renn's voice was m.u.f.fled by the fog.

He got to his feet and was horrified to see how far she'd drifted.

'Torak!'

He ran to the edge of the ice but he was powerless, he could only watch as the Sea bore her away, and the breath of the World Spirit closed in around her.

Then there was nothing left but silence.