‘I can’t stop him,’ Jarl said, his tone of voice implying that he would like to.
‘Maybe Astrid can stop him!’ Knud grinned and glanced over at her from the corner of his eyes.
Looking down to her hand, Astrid winced, the skin starting to ooze slightly. While she had no problem with bearing the pain - she had endured much worse - she knew if she left it much longer it would start to affect how well she could protect the others. And that was not something she was willing to compromise.
‘We should stop for a moment,’ Astrid said, turning to face them. ‘Rest for a bit.’
Clambering off the ponies, Skad and Halvard went about collecting firewood, all of them cold. Jarl passed Knud the flint. ‘Go on. Light the fire.’
‘I don’t have a sword.’
‘Here, take this,’ Astrid said, passing Knud the mid-sized dagger Ragi had made her. ‘Keep it for the moment. You shouldn’t be without a weapon out here.’ She turned and walked away into the forest.
Knud waited until Skad and Halvard had arranged the firewood into an upstanding triangle. Jarl tossed small pieces of kindling at the bottom and Knud quickly ran the blade Astrid had given him down the flint. A burst of sparks shot from the edge of the dagger and lit the kindling, and Knud smiled excitedly.
‘Great...maybe next time he can use the flint to fight! Scare them away with the sparks!’ Skad laughed, and strolled back into the forest to collect more firewood.
Astrid walked as far into the forest as she dared, worried that the moment her back was turned something would happen. Spotting a small hollow in the ground not far from her, she walked towards it, the ground falling low enough for her to be able to stand in it without her head being visible to anyone standing in the rest of the forest.
She knelt down on the ground and took a deep breath, pulling her wolf-skin cloak around her. Her burnt hands held its claws and stabs of pain shot through her nerves as her hands pressed against the wolf-skin. Astrid gritted her teeth.
‘Don’t scream!’ she muttered to herself, closing her eyes.
Like a flower’s petals closing for the night, the wolf-skin shuddered slightly before curling around her. The hairs flexed and swayed, and the wolf’s head slid down over Astrid’s face, its eyes opening. Its legs shook in pain, the burnt patches suddenly turning pink and raw as the skin came to life. The wolf’s grey and green eyes flickered as it clawed at the dirt, its pain making Astrid feel as if she were resting on burning coals, searing every rational thought away and leaving only pure animal instinct. She wanted nothing more than to howl in pain, just as she had earlier that morning when she had stopped the swarm of fireflies approaching the others as they had slept.
Astrid focused her energy on the wolf-skin, willing it to regenerate, her wolf form whimpering as it did so.
Shaking the skin off, Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. Another few hours and it would have been too damaged to wear again. Although it was much like any animal fur in appearance, as soon as she wore it, the skin throbbed with life. It could be hurt or killed just like any other living wolf, and if the skin got too damaged, it would be useless.
‘Astrid?’
Looking up, she stared in horror at Knud who was peering down over the edge of the hollow at her, a bundle of firewood at his feet. His face with shocked, his skin ashen.
He saw me!
Five Questions
‘Astrid?’ Knud repeated.
‘Knud...please...please don’t tell the others!’ she begged, holding her hands out and sitting down on the ground incase Knud though she might leap up and hurt him. She didn’t want to frighten him. ‘I can explain! Just come down and I’ll tell you everything!’
A sudden glint appeared in his eyes and Knud turned back for a second to look at the others in the distance. The fire was fully burning now; the firewood could wait. He jumped from the edge, landed next to Astrid in the hollow, and sat down on the ground in front of her.
Taking a deep breath, Astrid quickly weighed her chances.
She could run away and return later, denying that she had ever been there and blame anything Knud claimed he saw on an overactive imagination.
No...that won’t work! The Red ‘shrooms had already shown her that Halvard didn’t trust her; he would instantly side with anything which portrayed her in a negative light. Skad...he would take neither side, stepping back to observe the chaos, and Jarl...what would Jarl think?
It wouldn’t be right! To lie would hurt Jarl and Knud, and neither of them deserved that. But if she told Knud, would he keep her secret?
You have to risk it!
‘You were a wolf!’
‘No. The skin is. I can use the skin to take the form of a wolf, but without it I can’t change into anything.’
‘Where did you get it?’
‘Five questions! You can ask me five questions and then you never mention it again! You never tell anyone! You have to promise,’ Astrid said firmly, hearing Jarl calling out for Knud in the distance.
‘Any five questions?’
‘Yes any!’ Astrid replied, panicking, as Jarl’s voice became louder.
‘Good!’ Knud said, and quickly clambered out of the hollow and ran up to Jarl as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Astrid waited for a few more minutes until she was sure they had both gone, then made her way out and attached her veil firmly over her face, not wanting her expression to give anything away. She didn’t know if Knud would hold up to his end of the bargain, or if he could even lie convincingly. The less emotion her face showed, the better.
* * *
Jarl looked back at Astrid, surprised that she wasn’t racing ahead like she usually did. Knud waited for an hour or two before falling back and walking next to her.
For all his naivety, Knud was far from stupid. In the last two hours he had run over every possible question he could ask Astrid, knocking off the questions that might be answered anyhow in the course of the journey and whittling it down to only the questions he was burning to know the answers to.
‘How did you get that skin?’
‘That would be a story, not an answer,’ Astrid replied indignantly, regretting having promised five questions so easily.
‘Then answer it with a story!’ Knud grinned, refusing to back down.
‘Not here. I’ll tell you tonight when we stop. Ask Jarl if you can go out with me on the patrol. I’ll answer you first question then.’
‘We could walk ahead now,’ Knud suggested, impatient.
Not entirely sure if she could trust him, Astrid agreed, and Knud raced up to Jarl.
‘Can I walk ahead with Astrid?’
‘No. She likes to be alone, Knud, you know that.’
‘She said it was alright.’
Jarl turned to look at her and Astrid nodded. ‘Ok then, but don’t bother her.’
‘I don’t trust her,’ Halvard muttered as they walked out of earshot. Jarl rolled his eyes at him, annoyed with his persistent distrust of her.
‘You’ve said that already,’ Jarl said, tired of arguing with him.
‘If she’d spotted those fireflies sooner, you wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place!’
‘I could say the same to you!’ Jarl retorted, and Halvard looked away.
‘I’m just saying there’s something strange about her. Humans can’t use magic! And her eyes, they scream of witchcraft!’
‘I think they’re beautiful,’ Jarl said without thinking, his face as shocked as Halvard’s as soon as the words left his mouth.
‘They’re unnatural,’ Halvard said, trying to ignore what Jarl had just confessed.
Ignoring him, Jarl strode ahead.
‘Ok. Are we far enough away now?’ Knud asked Astrid, glancing at the others.
She nodded. ‘I was given it by a Vârcolac called Una-’
‘Vârcolac?’ Knud interrupted.
‘Is that another question?’
‘No!’ Knud said quickly.
‘Her fam
ily had been captured by goblins. Most of them were skinned alive before I found them. I think the goblins thought that if they took their skins, they could turn into wolves. It doesn’t work like that,’ Astrid said, a haunted look in her eyes, remembering the terrible things she had seen that day. ‘I managed to save some of them. Una was very sick by the time I got her out. By the time we got to the Aldwood she was dying. She passed her gifts to me and gave me her wolf-skin.’
Looking over at Knud, she decided to not make him pay for more information by giving up another question. The question he was dying to ask her was practically written on his face.
‘When a Vârcolac gives up their powers, they die. You can take their skin but it’s useless without their birthright. They have to will it to you or it doesn’t work.’
‘She died to give it to you,’ Knud whispered, shocked and fascinated at the same time.
‘She was dying anyway,’ Astrid said matter-of-factly. ‘And she was happy; her family was safe and there wasn’t any chance of the goblins following us into the Aldwood. Now...any more questions?’
Taking a few moments to think, Knud looked at his boots as they walked, his face twisted into a knot.
‘Why are your eyes two different colours?’
Stopping in her tracks, Astrid stared at him, feeling like a long hand had reached into her chest and crushed her lungs, stopping her from breathing.
‘Why do you want to know that?’ she asked, her voice nearly breaking mid sentence. Knud looked at her worriedly.
‘I’ve never seen anyone with eyes like that before.’
‘I’m sorry Knud, I won’t answer that,’ she said firmly.
For a moment Knud looked like he was about to argue with her, but to her surprise, he didn’t.
‘Ok...will you give me two more questions then? On top of the four left?’
Growling under the veil, Astrid nodded, rubbing her fingers together nervously, suddenly feeling very frightened and exposed. Memories flooded through her head, each one like a fresh stab to her chest.
Please! Ask me something which will make me think of something else!
‘Where did you learn to fight?’
Smiling, Astrid took a deep breath. This one she could answer.
‘A friend of mine called Ragi taught me. Skad did too, and later, a human called Aaren.’
‘I don’t like Skad,’ Knud growled.
‘Neither do I!’ Astrid laughed. ‘He’s a miserable git!’
‘He is, isn’t he?’ Knud said, walking beneath a large pine that had half fallen across the path. It was leaning perilously on its side with its branches entangled with those of nearby trees, and its roots emerging from the earth.
Suddenly, with a creak and a groan, it gave way, crashing into Skad and his pony. Skad just about managed to throw himself backwards to avoid it.
Astrid raced over to them, relieved to see that the pony was dead. Its back legs had been snapped by the branches that pinned it to the ground. If it had survived, it would have been in so much pain that they’d have had to have killed it to put it out of its misery.
Skad, on the other hand, was very much alive, screaming at them through the thick foliage that covered him to get him out. Astrid reached him just as Jarl clambered over from the other side.
Pushing the branches aside, Astrid saw that his lower legs were pinned down under one of the larger branches, his left leg in particular caught at an odd angle. She looked up and flashed Jarl a worried look.
‘Are you just going to stare at me or help?’ Skad yelled up at them.
Astrid pulled her hammer axe from her belt and chopped away at the branches that prevented her from reaching down to help him.
‘Cant you move your feet?’ she called down. Skad swore, his feet flinching as he did so.
‘I guess he can,’ Jarl muttered.
Grabbing one of the larger branches, Jarl and Halvard crouched down below it, propped their shoulders beneath it and tried to lift it. The branch over Skad’s legs lifted by a few centimetres but not enough for Astrid to pull him out. After a few more attempts they finally stopped, unable to lift it up high enough.
‘It’s too heavy!’ Jarl muttered, panting.
For one very brief moment, Astrid considered either leaving Skad behind or cutting off his trapped legs to free him. Looking up at her, a small trickle of fear flashed across Skad’s face, her eyes reflecting what she was thinking. Skad was terrified that now he was utterly helpless, she might act on her hatred of him.
‘Knud?’ Astrid said, turning to the small dwarf. ‘Stand behind Skad, and when we lift the branch high enough, I want you to pull him out.’
Nodding, Knud did as she’d asked. He crouched down behind Skad and linked his arms through Skad’s and wrapped them around his chest.
Astrid propped herself under the branch, and the three of them pushed on their feet as hard as they could, taking the weight of it on their shoulders. Finally, it lifted just enough to enable Knud to pull Skad out from beneath it.
Screaming, Skad gripped his left leg. His right appeared to be fine, but his left was twisted at an odd angle.
Astrid stood back and watched as Jarl checked Skad’s leg, a small smile creeping up her face. They were only a few days away from the Salt Monasteries, and in this condition he would not be able to travel with them the rest of the way. She would only have to put up with him for a few more days.
‘You don’t need to look so happy about it,’ Skad spat up at her.
‘I need some bandages,’ Jarl said, knowing he did not have anything of the sort in his bag. ‘Some strips of cloth, anything.’
‘You could use that damn veil of hers,’ Skad said, glaring at her. Astrid ignored him and slipped off her cloak and handed it to Knud so she could take her bag off her back. Knud tried not to look like he was in awe as he stroked the fur like it was alive.
Astrid pulled two thick bandages from her bag, both of which looked like they had been reused repeatedly, the once cream coloured cloth now a light brown colour, some patches darker than others.
‘You can use these,’ Astrid said, passing them to Jarl. He plucked a thick branch from the ground and sliced off the protruding twigs and leaves with a dagger, using the branch to make a splint.
‘You couldn’t give me clean bandages?’ Skad grumbled, looking at them in disgust.
‘Would you prefer I used a dirty, torn up cloak?’ Jarl snapped back at him. Skad’s constant bad attitude was pushing him to the edge of tolerance.
‘I don’t want to get any elf diseases,’ Skad muttered.
Halvard saw a look of fear cross Astrid’s eyes. She quickly turned away and strode off with Knud following her, the wolf-skin cloak in his hands nearly tripping him as he walked.
‘Do you have to be such an asshole all the time?’ Jarl said, deliberately tightening the bandages a little too much and making Skad yelp in pain.
‘She’s stubborn! She deliberately gave me old bandages!’
‘Be pleased she gave you bandages at all!’ Jarl said, standing up. He stepped back and let Halvard help Skad onto his pony. ‘I wouldn’t have.’
* * *
Keeping her eyes on the ground, Astrid avoided all eye contact with Halvard, feeling his gaze on her as she walked back into the camp they had set up for the night. Two dead rabbits and a stoat, strung together, hung from her hand. Her arrow had hit them squarely in the forehead; they were dead before they even saw what was coming.
Jarl had wanted to hunt for food as he usually did, but Astrid had insisted that he stay in the camp with the others, desperate to get away to calm herself down and focus on something other than the worry that Halvard might discover what she was, or that Skad might have another slip of the tongue.
She had tucked her bow under her cloak as she walked back, not wanting Halvard to see anything which was elven. He was suspicious enough as it was.
For the moment, everything else was in her favour. She was short, too short for an
elf. But she would have to be extra vigilant over the next few days. If Skad let anything else slip she swore she would break his other leg in retaliation. Reacting to him earlier would only have acted as an admission to guilt, which Halvard would have jumped on immediately. Ignoring Skad’s remarks had been the only logical course of action.
As frightened as she was, the chance to be around her own kind was exhilarating, an odd combination of terror and euphoria. She was terrified that they would discover she was a half elf but she was overjoyed to find that she had so much in common with them. They were physically very strong like her and had the same kind of stoic personality. Even something as silly as knowing they enjoyed some of the same foods made her feel wildly happy.
For so long she had avoided any contact with either the elves or the dwarves, but right now she felt accepted, even if it was in a small way, and the feeling was addictive.
Sitting down a little away from the fire, Astrid began to skin and gut the stoat and the rabbits. Knud offered to help but Astrid shook her head. ‘Not now,’ she whispered, and Knud nodded and walked away.
‘Have you ever travelled with elves?’ Halvard asked, his hands extended to the flames of the fire, his voice a little too casual.
‘Once,’ Astrid replied, worried that remaining quiet would only make him more persistent. ‘A few years ago.’
‘Why?’ Halvard asked disgusted. ‘Why would you help elves!’
The feeling of acceptance disappeared and Astrid tightened her grip around the knife and skinned the rabbit more aggressively.
‘Why would I help dwarves!’ she snapped back. ‘I help who pays me!’
‘We haven’t paid you yet,’ Halvard pointed out.
‘I prefer to be paid on arrival,’ Astrid said quickly. She pulled the skin off the rabbit and tossed it to the ground, making a mental note to bury it later, like she often did.
‘You’ve always been a sucker for helping people,’ Skad laughed, somehow making it sound like an insult.
‘Good!’ Jarl said quickly, seeing a glaze moving over Astrid’s eyes as she stopped what she was doing and turned the knife in her hand like she was ready to plunge it into something other than the rabbit she was gutting. ‘None of us would have made it otherwise.’
Outsider Page 16
