Odin's Child

by Siri Pettersen

  Rime will be quick. In and out again.

  She had bloodweed, vengethorn, and yellowbell.

  He’ll take off his Kolkagga blacks. The clothes that set him apart from everything else. He’ll just be Rime. In a hot spring.

  The spiral-shaped stone from Hlosnian. A couple small linen bags containing Father’s valuable herbs.

  Naked.

  Hirka stuffed everything back into her bag. She raised her hand to the wolf tooth around her neck. Her fingertips grazed the lines scratched into it. Eight on one side. Seven on the other. That wasn’t right anymore. He’d gotten one for pulling her up out of the Alldjup. Not that she’d had much choice than to concede that one. But he’d also helped her during the Rite. And saved her from Urd. Saved her life. A couple times. Definitely. Still, that could all be factored into the same point.

  Hirka pulled out her pocketknife and scratched a neat line into Rime’s side. It stood out more than the other marks. The first in more than three years. She had clearly grown since then, because she didn’t feel as grumpy now when allowing him points. She smiled, pleased with herself. Grown-up and mature. Wiser. He really ought to have been given an extra point for not rotting yet, but she’d never bet against that.

  If Rime found out she still wore the tooth with their points carved into it, he’d laugh at her. Call her a child.

  He doesn’t know about the current. He might drown!

  It was probably best she kept an eye on him. Hirka shouldered her bag again and crawled carefully to the top of the rock. There was a crack up there she could see through. Just to make sure he was safe, of course.

  Rime had gotten out of the spring again. He’d put on his black trousers and strapped his sword belt back into position. His white hair clung to his bare back. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His spine formed a valley down his back, disappearing beneath his waistband. His tail hung straight down but curved where it met the ground. He bent down to put on his shoes. A pendant swung away from his chest, hanging from a leather strap around his neck until he straightened up again. She was too far away to see what it was, but she guessed it was a Seer amulet, something he still wasn’t ready to part with.

  He laced up his shoes. He looked strong. His arms were smaller than Father’s, but the ripple of his muscles was more defined. Had the Might done that, consumed all the excess? It was as if he’d been carved from stone. Hirka hid a smile behind her arm.

  Right. He’s not drowned. Good.

  She forced herself to look away from him and out across the landscape. They were near Ravnhov now. If they were lucky, they’d spent their last night in Blindból. The mountains were barer here. Pale and gray. Some of them were already snow-topped. A shadow in the corner of her eye made her duck down even though she was already hidden. What was that? What had she seen?

  Two black-clad figures were wending their way down the mountainside. Her blood turned to ice.

  Kolkagga!

  They were almost impossible to see, even though she knew they were there. Her breathing hitched and her mouth went dry. Her arms tingled and wouldn’t cooperate.

  Down! Get down!

  They’d been found. It had all been for nothing. She coaxed her feet down the side of the rock and ran toward Rime. He met her gaze. “I know,” he whispered, but he didn’t move.

  “Two of them,” Hirka swallowed.

  “Three.” He tightened the belt holding his trousers up.

  She looked around for the third, but couldn’t see him.

  “Hirka, I need you to listen to me. Do you understand?”

  She nodded and waited for him to tell her to run. But he didn’t. She wondered whether to run anyway. He pulled his wet hair back into a ponytail and secured it. He did everything painfully slowly. Moved slowly. Spoke slowly. It made her want to scream.

  “Keep track of where they are at all times and try to be as far away from them as possible. Don’t run away, and don’t come near us. Stay where I can see you, but move so that I’m always between you and them. Understand?”

  Hirka didn’t understand, but she nodded anyway. Her heart was in her mouth and the only clear thought in her head was the one telling her she had no idea what to do.

  “Turn around and walk. Now!”

  Rime gave her a shove and she backed away. She kept going until she reached the rock, where she stopped and looked back. He was still fixing his belt as if he had all the time in the world while three figures appeared behind him. His upper body was still bare. Unprotected from the shadows behind him, who were all in black. Only their eyes gleamed through narrow slits in their hoods.

  She jumped when Rime suddenly whirled around. She could barely see what was happening, but he drew his swords, crouched down, and lunged forward, the flashing blades sweeping along the ground. He hit the closest of the black shadows, whose leg broke with a nauseating crack, causing him to topple over onto his back. They’d thought Rime hadn’t seen them. Now they were paying the price.

  The injured man tried to get up, but to no avail. Half his lower leg was hanging limply, so he stayed down, hissing and lashing out with his sword arm. Rime brought his foot down on his elbow. It shattered. His hand opened and he dropped his sword.

  Hirka’s stomach twisted. She’d seen pain and suffering her entire life, but always as a healer. People with cuts and broken legs had come to her to find relief. To be put back together again. She’d never seen anyone fight like this. To maim. To crush. To kill.

  And it was Rime.

  He stood with his swords raised on either side of him. Bared his naked chest like an invitation and started sizing up the two who were left.

  “No one needs to die here today.” His voice was steady. His eyes fixed on a point between the two shadows, both of whom had drawn their swords.

  “You’re here because you think I’m a traitor, but we’re the ones who’ve been betrayed. All of us. Nothing I say will stop you, but I’ll give you a chance to choose anyway. No one needs to die here today. The Seer is a lie.”

  Hirka slumped to the ground in despair. His words were meaningless. This wasn’t a truth you could convince anyone of in the middle of a fight. No one would stop and say, “Really? Well, I’ll be.” It was too great a truth, and the way Rime delivered it, it could only be interpreted as one thing.

  “Blasphemy!” The shout came from the shorter of the two shadows. He raised his sword over his head and brought it down across Rime’s body. But Rime wasn’t in front of him anymore. He was above him, and on the other side. He was dancing. Hirka felt the Might flow toward her. It hadn’t been like this those first times in Elveroa. It had grown. Now it was keen as a knife’s edge. Balanced. Full of purpose. She could taste steel in her mouth.

  “You were always the most devoted of us, Launhug. If you choose to die for Him, you die for the Council’s lies.”

  “As we have sworn to do,” Launhug replied.

  He lunged at Rime. Hirka’s entire body twitched. She wanted to help. She had to do something. Rime was defending himself well, but it was two against one. If he hadn’t taken one of them out before it began, he’d be dead now.

  Hirka sat as if in a trance and watched them dance around each other. A macabre partnership with moves she would never be able to master. But this was no dance. This wouldn’t end before someone died.

  The nameless shadow rushed forward and swung his sword straight at Rime’s head, but Rime had more than swords to defend himself with. He landed a kick under the shadow’s chin. Hirka heard his neck break. His body hit the ground and lay still. One against one.

  Launhug had come closer. His boldness made no sense considering the fate of the others. Rime adjusted his grip on the swords. He was the better swordsman, by far. He knew he would win, but Hirka could tell it bothered him. It would be a tragic victory. He prepared to deliver the final blow.

  “You were supposed to bring good luck!” Launhug shouted. “You were the An-Elderin child. I believed in you!”

&nb
sp; Rime stopped. He lowered his swords. Hirka felt the Might falter under the weight of his despair. What was happening? What was he thinking? He was going to die!

  Raise your sword, Rime!

  Hirka acted quickly. As Rime half-heartedly parried Launhug’s attacks, she ran toward them. Launhug would kill Rime. Kill her. What gave him the right? Hirka drew her knife, threw herself at Launhug, and plunged the knife into his shoulder.

  She screamed, holding the knife with both hands. Hot blood seeped forth under her hands. Launhug fell over onto his side and pulled her with him. He stared at her, eyes wide with shock. With recognition. He’d seen her before, she realized. On the roof in Ravnhov. Hirka let go of the knife and pulled away from him. What had happened? That was her knife. Her knife was sticking out of his shoulder.

  She looked up at Rime and backed away. She needed to get out of here. Rime stared at her. Launhug was lying on his front behind him, but Rime no longer cared about the shadow. Rime came toward her. He looked like a wild animal. He was bleeding from a wound on his upper arm. He reached out to her with one hand. She didn’t want to take it. Couldn’t take it. What had he made her into? She backed even farther away.

  Hirka stared at the black-clad man with the knife in his shoulder. He sat up, fumbling for his sword. Hirka pointed. She tried to shout, but no sound came out. Rime sensed the danger and turned as the sword made contact with his side. He screamed. The Might left her, leaving an icy cold in her chest. Launhug backed away, but it was too late. Rime aimed a kick at his knees and they were knocked out from under him. Before the shadow had time to fall, Rime pulled the knife out of his shoulder and plunged it into his chest. Launhug opened his mouth as if to shout, but no sound came out. Hirka turned away and closed her eyes. She heard a blow land. She didn’t know where. Didn’t want to know where. Silence descended. Then she heard Rime fall.

  She got to her feet and ran toward him. Rime was on his knees, his back straight. His head drooped forward. This was all wrong. Horribly wrong. It terrified her to see it, but she didn’t have a choice. She had to help. She bent over him.

  His left side had been slashed open. Blood poured from the cut like a river, running down into his waistband. It was already saturated. She could see the white of a rib. Her feet gave out and she fell to her knees. She looked around. Along his body. Along the ground. Three dead. All in black. Launhug on his front, lying half in the hot spring. He had turned the water red. The water she had bathed in. The current in the deep was pulling the blood down. It was like it was glad to be leaving the dead body and diving down into the unknown.

  Something happened inside her as Rime’s body started to slump forward. It was as if a candle had been blown out by the wind. Extinguished. She was no longer Hirka. She was something else. She was somewhere she was of use. She had a role. She was already dead. She started to speak. Calmly.

  “Rime, the others are dead. I can’t help them. But I can help you.”

  He didn’t reply. She gripped his upper body and lowered him down onto his side so that the wound was facing up and he couldn’t see it.

  “Don’t say anything, Rime, just breathe and listen to me.” She tried to laugh and mimicked his voice. “I need you to listen to me. Do you understand?” She thought she could see the shadow of a smile. She tore off her bag and pulled out the plants. “You’ve got a small cut. It feels worse than it actually is.”

  He gave her a quizzical look. She smiled as reassuringly as she could. “I’m going to clean and bandage it, and then we can have a proper look at it when we get to Ravnhov in a couple hours.”

  He smiled and closed his eyes. She couldn’t trick him. He was Kolkagga. He knew how serious this was, she could tell. “This is nothing, Rime. Not even close to the worst thing I’ve seen. Lie still for a moment while I stitch you up. Just for now.”

  She found a needle and thread, which she dipped in yellowbell. It looked like he might need internal stitches as well, but she couldn’t do those here. They didn’t have time. The ravens would come. They’d lead more Kolkagga to them. She just had to hold him together until they reached Ravnhov.

  There was no point wiping up the blood. There was too much of it. He didn’t react when she shoved the needle through his skin. First on one side of the cut, then on the other. She pulled the ends together. The wound started to close. She made another stitch and it closed even farther. More with every stitch. Her eyes started to sting. She blinked to keep her vision clear. He’d see that this was nothing. He wasn’t in any danger.

  Twelve stitches weren’t enough. Nowhere near enough. But they’d have to do. She had spaced them evenly. Rime needed to get back up on his feet again. Quickly. She cut a trouser leg off one of the shadows to use as a bandage. He wouldn’t be needing it anymore.

  “Rime, I’ve stitched you up and put some yellowbell on it. I’m going to bandage it now.”

  Rime still wasn’t reacting. She tore up the black fabric and wound it around him. Several times. It would have to do. “It looks good, Rime. You’re starting to look like Kolkagga again.” She smiled at him. “Sit up, carefully now, so I can tie the ends.”

  He sat up, his face twisting in pain.

  “It feels worse than it is. Take all the time you need. Try not to move your arm. And chew these.” She handed him some opa berries. The leaves alone wouldn’t be enough. These would keep him going for a while. He did as she asked. His lips were cold against her hand. She tied the ends of the bandage at his back. His pendant was in the way, so she brushed it aside. It ended up hanging in midair, where it spun a couple times. She stared at it.

  It was a shell. She reached out and held it in her hand. R and H. Eight lines under each letter. Something welled up in her chest, threatening to choke her. Filling her throat. She swallowed and swallowed. Her fingers were shaking now. Rime sat with his eyes closed, waiting for her to tell him what to do. The bandage was already wet. A darker stain against the black fabric. She got up. She stood swaying for a moment.

  I got up too quickly. That’s all.

  She found his shirt and together they managed to get it on. “Come on. It gets cold quickly at night and we need to get to Ravnhov before the sun rises again.”

  Rime got up. His arm hung limply by his side. He walked slowly and stiffly. But he was walking. She hadn’t been sure he’d be able to.

  We don’t have much time.

  They stumbled their way through the landscape. They no longer cared where they walked. They followed the valley floor, where the going was easiest. She wanted to run. Wanted to get him to safety. Into a warm bed. To give him something to make him sleep so she could work uninterrupted on his wound. For a moment she wondered whether Rinna or someone else in Ravnhov would be able to offer advice, but she knew it was a false hope. She knew best now. Father was dead. Even the Seer was dead. There was no one else to ask.

  Until they got there, all she could do was talk. Talk about anything she could think of. About Ravnhov. About the weather there. The beautiful houses made of stone and wood that looked like they were part of the mountains themselves. About how they huddled together in the narrow streets. About the thatched roofs. About Eirik. About the town gate made of whole logs. She talked about the stone circle, and about how Father had found her. And about Hlosnian, who had known she didn’t belong here.

  She could hear ravens nearby. Lots of them. Kuro had company. So she talked about the ravens, and about Tein. How he’d seen her in the bathhouse. And she talked about tea. And plants. The medicinal plants she’d used on his wound. It would heal in no time.

  She heard him stop behind her. He sat down, smiling like an old man who had found the best place in the world to sit. “Rime, we can’t stop now. We’ll rest soon.” She went over to him. His face was paler. “Rime, I know you’re tired. You can be tired later!”

  Rime lay down, resting his head on a rock. “I’m … coming. You go on. I’ll … follow.” His breathing was shallow. Hirka screamed at him.

  “O
n your feet, Kolkagga!”

  He didn’t move. The wind was cold on her cheeks. They were wet with tears.

  I’m just tired. We’re both tired.

  “I’ll help you.” She grabbed him under his arms and lifted his upper body. He didn’t react. Not so much as a wince. Hirka wiped her nose on her sleeve and lifted again. “Come on!”

  Rime’s body slumped back onto the ground. She could feel her composure slipping. She couldn’t pretend anymore. Rime was fading fast. She was going to lose him. “The Might, Rime! You need to hold onto the Might.” She shouted in his ear. Hammered her fists against his chest. “Use the Might, you idiot!”

  Her last word was nothing more than a hollow cry. Like a wolf’s howl. The small group of ravens shrieked and flew in bigger circles around them. Pain turned her stomach. She felt nauseous. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t happening.

  She felt a prickling heat and realized he was trying to bind. Desperate, she seized onto it. Clung to the Might. Let it flow through her. Life force. He needed life.

  In the name of the Seer, Rime …

  But there was no Seer. Rime’s eyes turned glassy and she heard herself shout that he wasn’t allowed to go. She lay down on top of him. Laid her head on his chest and clung to the Might. She had to give him everything she had. But it was gone. What did she have to give him? Intense fatigue seized her, pressing her face down into his chest. She grew dizzier. The Might drained her.

  So tired.

  Rime …

  Someone was coming. Figures in the fog moved across the rocks. Kolkagga. More Kolkagga. It was over. His hand slid down from her arm and flopped into the undergrowth. Small white things were falling onto his face. Snow? It was snowing.

  Much too early.

  She slipped into the Might. Escaped into it. Became one with the snow. A snowflake. She became cold and white. Danced in the air. She fell down onto Rime’s face. Melted and disappeared.