Wolfspell

by Anna Ciddor

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ he called. ‘When they’re gone.’ A tantalizing sizzle of frying onion and fish drifted from a neighbouring booth.‘I’ll go and buy something to eat. I’m starving.’

  Thora smiled ruefully. ‘I won’t be long. My herbs have nearly run out. And Oddo!’ As he looked back, she held up a bulging pouch. ‘I’ve done it!’ Her face was alight with happiness. ‘I’ve made enough silver for the taxes!’

  15

  Words of warning

  Oddo glared across the campfire at Thora, chattering with Hallveig. That rat-faced girl was such a groveller, telling Thora how marvellous she was, giving Thora bits of food, offering Thora a bed in her tent. Thora wasn’t even looking at him. She was too busy telling Hallveig about her family.

  ‘They’re counting on me!’ she said proudly. ‘Except for Astrid, of course. She never thinks I can do anything.’ She grinned and patted her pouch. ‘I can’t wait to see her face when I turn up with this big bag of silver!’

  Then she and Hallveig slipped off their stools and squatted next to Hallveig’s father. Erp was shaped like a frog, with puffy eyes, a round belly and stumpy legs. His voice was almost as high and squeaky as his daughter’s, and he spoke in funny jumbled sentences.

  Hallveig and Thora spread some plants on the ground.

  ‘Herbs!’ thought Oddo sulkily. ‘With Hallveig around, that’s all Thora can do – show off about her herbs.’

  Erp and the girls picked up stones and started thumping the plants.

  Hairydog, who’d been dozing, opened startled eyes and scrambled to her feet.

  ‘Hairydog, you’ve got the right idea,’ said Oddo. He stood up too, knocking over his stool so that it clattered noisily to the ground. ‘I’m going to find Ulf,’ he announced.

  Thora glanced his way at last. ‘Hang on!’ she cried. ‘You didn’t tell us what the law court said.’ She laid down her stone and gestured to the others to stop their banging. ‘What was the judgement?’

  ‘You’re not really interested,’ said Oddo.

  ‘Oh Oddo, don’t be so huffy. Tell!’

  ‘I heard it,’ piped Hallveig’s father. ‘I’ll tell, if Oddo won’t.’

  Oddo glared at him.

  ‘They said I have to do a ceremony to claim the land back,’ growled Oddo. ‘I have to carry a burning torch around the boundaries and light a few bonfires on my way – and get back again before the sun sets and the fires go out. It doesn’t sound too difficult.’

  As he spoke, he pictured himself parading round the land, a flaming torch in his hand. He heard the cheers of the watching crowd when he made it back to the starting point, and his parents’ exclamations when they arrived home and found out what their son had done to save the farm.

  His happy imaginings were interrupted by Hallveig’s father.

  ‘But the needfire!’ squeaked Erp. ‘The torch you carry, it must by a needfire be lit. Know you what a needfire is?’

  Uneasily, Oddo shook his head.

  ‘Explain it I can. A fire it is that you light by rubbing two sticks together. To use a flint and steel you are not allowed, nor a flame from your hearth fire.’

  ‘What?!’ Oddo stared at him. ‘But that’s impossible. You can’t light a fire just by rubbing two sticks together!’

  ‘A bit of doing it takes,’ said Erp, nodding and smiling. ‘But possible it is. So fast you rub them, they get hot enough to burn, see?’

  ‘But what if I can’t?’ asked Oddo.

  Erp tutted his tongue.

  ‘Then lose the land, you do,’ he said. ‘And Grimmr the Greedy, he wins it!’

  To Oddo’s disgust, Thora decided to spend the night in Hallveig’s tent. Next morning he was mooching about on his own, watching Ulf and the others prepare to set sail, when Thora came dancing along the shingle towards him.

  She was followed by Hallveig and the round, froggy figure of Erp.

  ‘Look!’ cried Thora.

  She held out her basket with something green coiled inside it. For a moment Oddo thought it was a serpent.

  ‘What is it?!’

  ‘A present from Hallveig and her father,’ said Thora. ‘It’s the rope Erp made last night from those nettle stalks.’ She lifted up the long green plait.‘Wasn’t it kind of him to give it to us?’

  Oddo felt his cheeks flush, remembering all the mean things he’d thought about Hallveig and Erp.

  But before he could say anything, Ulf called from the boat.

  ‘How . . . are you two . . . getting back home?’ he puffed, hauling on a line.

  ‘On foot,’ answered Oddo.

  ‘On foot!’ Ulf paused and lifted one arm to wipe his brow with his sleeve. ‘It’s a long way on foot! A long way! The coastline here’s more jagged than a wolf’s teeth . . . In a boat you don’t get caught ’cause you can sail out to sea. But on land . . .’ He tutted and shook his head. ‘You’ve got to get round fjords and bogs and mountains. The track winds all over the place! And there are bears . . . and wolves.’

  A gust of wind made the rigging twang.‘You should find another boat to take you home!’ he called. He waved and grabbed the steering oar as the sail billowed.

  On shore, the four figures watched in silence as the boat glided away.

  Thora looked at Oddo.

  ‘We’ll be fine,’ she said.

  Oddo nodded. ‘Come on. We’ve got five days to get home.’

  ‘Fare you well!’ cried Hallveig, wrapping her arms round Thora’s neck.

  ‘Ooh,’ squeaked Erp, and held up his hand. ‘Forgot I did last night to tell you something more! When home you get, take care no fire to light!’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘A needfire you cannot light if any other fire in your house or land can be found!’ warned Erp.

  ‘I’ll remember,’ promised Oddo.

  ‘Ha!’ said a voice above his head. Oddo spun round in surprise. Grimmr, seated on a horse, was leering down at him.

  ‘Travelling on foot?’ asked Grimmr.

  Oddo gulped. That grin looked more menacing than Grimmr’s usual scowl.

  ‘Yes,’ he answered warily. ‘We’re walking.’

  ‘Giving me the chance to get home first, eh? Isn’t that convenient?’ Grimmr spurred his horse and sped away.

  ‘Now, what did he mean by that?’ muttered Oddo.

  16

  Into the forest

  Trees crowded the path. Branches, furred with moss, reached over their heads and the wrinkled bark looked like gnarled, peering faces, sprouting the bushy beards of ferns. There was a smell of rot and dampness. Hairydog sniffed round the lumpy roots, then darted ahead, eager to explore.

  A stream trickled across the path, so clear they could see every stripy pebble lying on the bottom.

  ‘Look!’ whispered Oddo.

  An otter was paddling upstream, its sleek head poking above the water. Suddenly it dived, then bobbed up again brandishing a big fish. Thora giggled as it rolled onto its back and proceeded to make a leisurely meal, holding the fish on its chest with its two front paws.

  ‘That’s a good idea!’ said Oddo. ‘Want some fish for lunch?’ He pulled off his shoes and waded into the stream. ‘Ouch, the water’s freezing!’

  ‘I’ll find some sticks,’ called Thora. ‘Give me the flint and steel and I’ll light a fire!’

  Oddo tossed her his pouch, then grabbed at a big fat fish as it glided past. He touched it, but couldn’t get a grip, and it flicked away.

  ‘Poop!’ said Oddo.

  The next fish he spied was a perch, with a long spiny fin down its back. He snatched at it, but the perch just flattened its fin and dived out of reach.

  ‘They’re too slippery!’ he exclaimed in frustration. He climbed out of the water and flopped onto the bank.‘They just pop out of my fingers before I can get a grip.’

  ‘You need to be as quick as an otter!’ said Thora.

  There was a pause. The two friends looked at each other.

  ‘Well, why
not?’ said Thora. ‘Did you bring a wand?’

  Oddo shook his head.‘I haven’t done a shape-change since last summer, when I turned into that seal,’ he said.

  ‘Well, then, we’ll just have to make one,’ said Thora. She frowned as she faced the forest again. ‘We’ll need something scented, like that juniper branch we used last time. And some flowers . . . That’ll be tricky, there’s nothing much in bloom yet!’

  A few minutes later, Thora was arranging a handful of tight green dandelion buds in a ring. Oddo found a hazel twig for the wand and placed it in the centre. He lit the end of a pine branch for incense and held it over his head. The pine resin filled the air with scented smoke, but as the pine needles caught fire, each one exploded in a shower of sparks. Thora hastily backed away and Oddo held up his other arm to shield his face.

  ‘Quick, say the spell you made up last time,’ said Thora.

  ‘Magic from the ground, magic from the air

  Touch this little twig, leave your power there!’

  gabbled Oddo, then he threw the pine branch into the stream. It hit the water with a hiss.

  ‘Good,’ said Thora, and pointed to the hazel wand. ‘Now see if it works!’

  Oddo took the wand and began to mark out a circle in the mud of the bank. A spearhead of golden flame shot from the point of the wand and Oddo felt a thrill of excitement.

  ‘It’s working!’ he yelled.

  He turned to look at Thora, hunched on a stone. She was peering intently at the circle scratched in the mud, and he knew she was trying to see the magic fire streaming around it.

  Grinning proudly to himself, Oddo squatted in the centre of the ring. He fixed his eyes on the surrounding flames as they grew higher and higher. Was that the shape of an otter on the other side?

  He felt himself melting, and pouring across the ground. For a moment he was in the middle of the golden light, and then he was out on the other side, and strength seemed to fill his body again. His muscles tensed, his back arched, and he found himself bounding along the bank.

  ‘I’m an otter!’ he thought exultantly. ‘I’m an otter!’

  To his right, the grasses grew high above his head, but as he leapt, he caught glimpses of the forest beyond. To his left, the bank, looking wide and steep, sloped down to the water. With a whistle of delight he dropped on his belly, tobogganing down the slippery, muddy bank, steeling himself for the shock of diving into freezing water. But he’d forgotten about his waterproof fur! He didn’t feel the cold at all.

  He swam happily, eyes and nose bobbing above the waterline, front paws curled against his chest. All he had to do to push himself along was wiggle his tail. When he dipped his head into the water, he could feel vibrations through his whiskers. He sensed something swimming close by, and swung round with lightning swiftness to grab a nice fat perch trying to sneak past.

  He rolled onto his back with the fish clasped between his paws, and closed his eyes. He savoured the warm sun on his face, the smell of the fish, the feel of the gently rippling water bearing him along . . .

  ‘Oddo! Don’t be too long!’

  The voice wrenched him out of his pleasant reverie and he glanced towards the shore. A girl was there, peering anxiously at the stream. And a boy, squatting in a ring of fire. Oddo the otter rolled over, swam to the shore, and dropped the fish on the muddy bank.

  Thora waited. Beside her, the squatting figure of Oddo stared vacantly, jaw slack, not a muscle moving. Thora avoided looking at it. It made her feel uncomfortable.

  ‘Oddo,’ she called impatiently, peering into the water. ‘Don’t be too long!’

  As if in answer, she saw a fish flip out of the river and onto the bank. A moment later it was joined by another.

  ‘Well, how about cooking them, then?’ It was Oddo’s voice.

  Thora swung round in relief. Oddo was grinning at her with his proud, toothy grin. He pointed at the fish.

  ‘I’m starving. I could have eaten them raw!’

  Soon the smell of cooking perch rose in the air. Hairydog burst into view on the other side of the stream. She paddled through the water, scrambled out and shook herself dry.

  ‘Trust you to turn up when there’s food around,’ said Thora.

  Thora ate slowly, savouring every bite, watching the play of sunlight on the rippling water. When Oddo spoke, his words ruffled her contentment.

  ‘Why do you think Grimmr’s so keen on getting home first?’ he asked.

  Thora shrugged, threw a fishbone in the water, and wiped her fingers on the grass. ‘No idea,’ she said.

  ‘There must be a reason,’ Oddo persisted.

  Thora looked at his fingers wrenching at the reeds. His nervousness flowed through the air like a cold breeze. She picked up a stick and poked at the dying fire.

  ‘I don’t see what he can do,’ she said.

  ‘He’s Grimmr – he could do anything. He could tell the Thingmen I’m not coming. He could burn down our farm. He could steal our animals. He could . . . No!’ he grabbed her arm and pointed at the fire. ‘It’s that!’ he cried. ‘That’s what Grimmr’s planning to do!’

  Thora stared at the embers in bewilderment.

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘He’s going to light a fire on our land! That’s all he has to do to stop me! Remember? Erp said – if someone lights a fire on our land before the ceremony starts, I won’t be able to get the needfire going! And remember, Grimmr was right behind us, sitting on a horse. He was listening!’ He scrambled to his feet, cheeks flushed, eyes glittering. ‘Thora, we’ve got to stop him!’

  ‘We can’t,’ said Thora. ‘He’s got a horse! There’s no way we can catch up with him, let alone get ahead of him.’ She stood too, and began to gather their things. ‘Anyway, you said the Little Folk were looking after the farm.’

  ‘What can they do against a big bully like that?!’ cried Oddo. ‘And they don’t know about the needfire and stuff!’

  In tense silence, they took off their shoes and waded across the stream. Oddo kept frowning at the path and glancing up at the sun. Eventually, he stopped walking.

  ‘This track’s no use – it’s veering south and we want to go north!’

  ‘Well, it must be going round a fjord or something,’ said Thora. ‘Ulf warned us that would happen. It has to twist and bend all over the place.’

  ‘That’s crazy. It’ll take us forever to get home!’

  ‘I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t make a different path!’

  To Thora’s astonishment, Oddo whooped with delight.‘That’s a brilliant idea. That’s exactly what we’ll do. We’ll make a different path. A short cut!’

  ‘Oh, Oddo, don’t be silly. We’ve got to get round the mountains and forests and things. We . . .’

  ‘No,’ said Oddo fiercely. ‘We won’t go round them. We’ll go straight through them!’

  He pulled the dagger from his belt and began to hew a way through the brambles and bracken at his feet.

  ‘Oddo, this won’t work!’

  ‘Why not? These aren’t trees. They’re just herbs and stuff. They won’t bring me bad luck if I cut them.’

  He disappeared through the undergrowth. Thora chased after him, trying to dodge the branches that flicked back in her face.

  At sunset, they found themselves in a rocky cleft. All around was the sound of running water. Little stream-lets trickled down the valley walls.

  ‘What’s that roaring noise?’ wondered Oddo.

  ‘I bet we’re near one of the fjords,’ said Thora. The trees parted, and she let out a shout. ‘I told you!’

  A wide chasm of water blocked their path. It looked as if a giant had thrust his dagger in the land and hewn a gap to let the sea pour in. Cliffs hemmed in the water on all sides, and at the end a waterfall thundered downwards, crashing into the fjord with a foaming roar.

  ‘Now what?’ yelled Thora.

  Oddo hesitated only a moment. He began to make his way round the
narrow shore, stepping carefully from rock to rock. Thora shook her head and followed him. On their left, the deep water, like a vast, rippling mirror, turned the setting sun to liquid fire. On their right, the vertical walls of the cliffs towered over their heads.

  As they neared the waterfall, the sound of tumbling water grew so loud they had to yell to make themselves heard. Thora imagined the full force of it pounding down on top of them.

  ‘Oddo!’ She leaned towards him. ‘How are we supposed to get past the waterfall?’

  Oddo jerked his head upwards.

  ‘Climb up and go round the top,’ he answered. ‘Like that time we went climbing for seabird eggs.’

  Thora looked at the hundreds of tiny waterfalls trickling down the surface of the cliff. She slid her hand across the slimy, moss-covered rocks, and shook her head. This was no friendly cliff like the one back home, with easy footholds, and tufts of grass to cling to.

  ‘We can’t climb this,’ she shouted. ‘I knew this wouldn’t work. We’ll have to turn back and look for that path!’

  ‘Rubbish!’

  Oddo threw himself at the cliff and tried to claw his way upwards, but there was nowhere to get a grip on the slippery surface, and he just slithered down again.

  He glared at it, panting.

  ‘We’ll have to go back,’Thora repeated.

  Oddo flopped on the ground and didn’t look at her. ‘We’ve only got four days left to get home!’ he muttered.

  Thora bit her lip.‘And one of those days will be spent going backwards,’ she thought, but she didn’t say it.

  They both turned to look behind them. The rocky coast was barely visible now in the gathering darkness. Neither of them spoke as they curled up on the hard, stony ground to wait for morning.

  17

  Waterfall

  Thora slept fitfully, and even in her dreams she could hear the thunder of the waterfall. When she opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing she saw was its white froth foaming down the cliff face.

  ‘Let’s go,’ mumbled Oddo. He rose dejectedly to his feet and turned to head back the way they’d come.