Astrid gasped, stepping back. ‘No! No! No!’ Her stomach churned as she noticed several small child-sized bones amongst the sprawled figures. Two skeletons curled around one of them protectively; parents trying to protect their child from the flames that had burned them all to death.
Letting out a strangled gasp, Astrid turned away, tears stinging her eyes. She ran out of the village and back towards Jarl and Knud.
‘We need to leave! Now!’
Knud looked at her, confused. ‘What about-’
‘Everyone’s dead!’
As they began to move away, Astrid heard the unmistakable sound of approaching Dip in the distance, their shrill yelps screeching across the plain towards them. The sun had fully set and the moon had not yet risen enough to light up their surroundings. Everything looked blurred in the twilight.
‘The village! We have to get inside the village!’ Jarl shouted, and he and Astrid grabbed Knud by his shoulders and raced forward, pushing open the heavy gates and closing it behind them. The Dip appeared and yelped and scratched outside the door, howling loudly.
Looking out of the small hole in the gate, Astrid’s face dropped as she saw how healthy the creatures were. These were not like the Dip wolves they had encountered earlier that had been thin and rabid. These were healthy, cared for creatures, two of them with copper torques around their long thin necks.
‘Goblins! There are goblins nearby!’ Astrid whispered, looking around the village for anything they could use to their advantage, knowing it would not be long before their masters would follow.
‘We could hide in the houses,’ Knud suggested, marching ahead.
‘Come back!’ Jarl ordered, but Knud ignored him.
‘If we hide in the ruins maybe...’
With a horrible snap, the strong steel jaws of the trap laid just beneath the surface of the mud closed around Knud’s foot. The powerful spring closed the sharp teeth of the trap like a bear’s bite, and they all heard it crunch through the bone of his ankle with the delicacy of a hammer. Knud screamed out in agony and dropped down to the floor, clutching at the trap and trying to pull his foot from it. Jarl and Astrid raced up to him.
‘Get it off! Get it off me!’ Knud screamed, tears running down his face. The colour drained from his skin within seconds. Jarl managed to force the trap open, his strong arms straining to hold it there, and Astrid quickly lifted Knud’s foot from it. The bone was cut clean through and his foot hung by a few threads of muscle, flesh and veins. Knud’s eyes rolled back and he passed out from the pain.
‘Idiot, idiot, IDIOT!’ Astrid shrieked. Jarl wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or to Knud. Her hands gripped Knud’s foot as she tried to hold it together, the blood spurting out between her fingers.
Jarl pulled off his cloak and began to rip it into thin shreds. Astrid took the first one from him but paused, knowing what she would have to do but not quite able to bring herself to do it.
‘Jarl, he’s lost the foot. There’s nothing I can do to save it,’ she whispered. The Dip shrieks outside the gate intensified and goblin horns sounded in the distance.
‘I know,’ Jarl said, his face stern. ‘Let go, I’ll do it.’
Stepping back, Astrid looked away as Jarl took the goblin dagger Knud had dropped, and in one clean swipe, cut through the remaining muscle and tissue still connecting his leg to his ankle. Jarl flinched slightly but there wasn’t a single flicker of emotion on his face. He knew what needed to be done and he did it. He wrapped Knud’s foot as tightly as he could with the torn strips of Knute’s cloak, and Astrid turned back to help him, doing her best to not look at the small severed foot lying on the ground.
He’s never going to be able to run again! Or climb a tree! He’s going to be a cripple!
Picking Knud up in his arms, Jarl turned to face the gate, hearing goblins shouting as they approached the walls of the village. ‘The wall!’ he shouted at Astrid. ‘We have to go over the wall!’
Running past the charred ruins to the other side of the village, they quickly climbed up the rough footholds built into the stone. Jarl waited for Astrid to climb first and passed Knud to her before climbing up himself. He heard the gate open just as he dragged himself over the top.
Dropping down on the other side and taking Knud from Astrid, they ran for their lives, Knud’s unconscious body a dead weight in Jarl’s arms. The bandages around his severed foot were already stained bright red as the blood seeped through the strips of Knute’s cloak. A cold sweat covered Knud’s face.
In the village the goblins, realising they had climbed over the wrong wall, quickly ran back out of the gates, shouting at their Dip wolf scouts to chase them. The Dip hurtled through the village, their thin gangly feet pattering on the ground.
‘Keep running! Don’t stop!’ Astrid howled, skidding to a stop herself, the wolf-skin stretching over her body. The wolf head slid down over her face and Astrid’s grey and green eyes stared through it. Her claws tore up a cloud of dust from the ground as she scratched at the grass, snarling at the approaching Dip with her eyes flashing.
Ignoring her, Jarl stopped too, laid Knud gently on the ground and drew his broadsword.
‘What are you doing? Run!’ Astrid shrieked at him.
His face was set as hard as stone as he moved towards the approaching Dip He lashed out at the first Dip and took its head off with one swipe. The second Dip to attack died just as quickly. Jarl held Knud’s goblin dagger in his right hand and the sword in his left, fighting and slaughtering them with both weapons as they approached. Astrid caught the last Dip between her teeth and crushed its head between them. Jarl sheathed his sword and picked Knud back up then ran ahead, the dagger still in his hand. Astrid followed him, back in her human form.
‘The goblins. Are they following us?’ Jarl panted, running as hard as he could. Astrid looked over her shoulder.
‘No!’
No sooner had the words left her mouth, they heard the sound of hooves ahead of them. They ground to a stop and four goblins rode out of the darkness towards them, the lower part of their faces covered by horrifying masks that made them look like demonic animals. Each mask was unique and skillfully carved. Astrid remembered the mask Ragi had shown her so many years before.
Drawing her bow, an arrow already pressed against the string, Astrid took aim, shouting out in a strange language Jarl couldn’t understand. The goblins froze the moment they heard her, their eyes widening in shock, confused and amazed at hearing their own language being spoken so fluently. Astrid repeated herself, the words slightly different this time, and Jarl suspected it was a different dialect.
Hearing more goblins closing in behind them from the village, their feet heavy and pounding on the ground as they ran, Astrid shouted out at them once more, praying they would listen to her. Ragi’s face flashed before her eyes.
Please don’t make me shoot you!
When the goblins pushed their ponies forward, Astrid clenched her jaw tightly and shot at them repeatedly, each arrow either hitting them straight in the forehead or directly in their heart. The goblins toppled to the ground with loud, heavy thuds.
‘Grab a pony!’
Jarl draped Knud’s unconscious body over a pony’s back before he clambered on himself, took control of the reins, and rode ahead. Astrid raced after him, turning for a brief moment to fire the last of her arrows out into the darkness. Jarl heard a horrible screech as each one found their mark with such a deadly accuracy that none of the remaining goblins dared to follow them.
* * *
They travelled in silence as fast as they were able, Astrid still keeping her distance from the pony. The moon rose and illuminated the plain and Astrid looked behind her several times to check that they were not being followed.
The Riddari split on either side of them, making way for the Haltija pass. Astrid led the way but stopped every hour to rest her hands on Knud’s face, her own face flooding with pain each time she did so. She made sure he remained
unconscious, but with her hands glowing, she took as much of his pain as she could without impairing herself.
Finally, just as the sun was beginning to rise, they stopped. Astrid took Knud from Jarl and sat down on the ground. She held him in her arms resting her hand on his head again, her fingertips glowing blue with a faint tinge of orange. Tears ran down her face and her mouth pressed into an angry scowl.
‘I’m sorry! I should have seen the trap,’ she whispered, looking down at him.
‘It wasn’t your fault!’ Jarl said angrily, taking Knud from her. Astrid mistook his tone and thought he was angry at her, and not at himself, and she clenched her fists, her fingers still glowing.
‘We can rest for a few minutes and then we should start moving,’ she whispered. She rested her head in her hands, not caring how many tears were streaming down her face.
Hellen and Peter were dead, and once Knud woke up he might wish he was dead too.
Astrid looked away as Knud opened his eyes. Groaning and groggy but feeling nothing, he gazed up at Jarl, a frightened and confused expression on his face.
‘M...my leg!’ he yelled, twisting his neck to look down at the empty space where his foot had been. Jarl didn’t stop him and Astrid felt like her heart might break as she heard him gasp before he let out a torrent of tears. Astrid tried not to sob loudly but tears slid down her cheeks and her whole body shook.
‘Astrid?’ Jarls voice said softly, and she slowly turned to face him. His blue eyes looked at her so intently that she had to turn away. Unable to look Knud in the face, she knelt down next to him.
‘I am so, so sorry.’ she wailed. ‘I should have seen the trap. Knud, I am so sorry.’
‘We should go,’ Knud whispered, his eyes dazed and vacant. The cheeky glint in his eyes that Astrid was so used to seeing was gone. Nodding, she stood up.
See? I told you it would end badly! the voice whispered in her head.
* * *
They had reached the other side of the pass after a solid day’s ride. They’d kept as close to the mountains as they could and darted into the tree line at the first sight of goblins, but didn’t enter the forest. Even Jarl was able to feel the magic which tingled off every root and stone in it, warning them it would be unwise to enter.
They hadn’t been able to light a fire, worried about the unwelcome attention it could bring. They were freezing and Astrid had given Knud her wolf-skin. The cold winds from the Riddari penetrated her bones just a little more each night, despite her thick clothing.
Stopping for the night by a stream, Jarl set Knud down next to the flowing water. He knelt down beside him and carefully unwound the dirty bandages. Astrid held Knud’s hand and absorbed his pain as Jarl re-wrapped his stump with the remains of Knute’s cloak. She winced as she watched but said nothing. She had said nothing for days. Jarl looked up at her for a moment, noticing her expression, before he turned back to Knud and helped him hobble back to the tree line. Knud had refused to let anyone carry him, using a stick he had picked up from the ground earlier that day to help him walk.
Jarl tethered the goblin pony to one of the roots of a tall, red pine and sat down next to Knud whom had already fallen asleep. Astrid had pulled the wolf-skin over his head to hide his face; she couldn’t bear to see the paleness of his skin, the dark circles, the emptiness she knew was behind his eyelids.
Jarl looked across at Astrid who was sat with her back to them and staring out into the plain. The wind had picked up and she visibly shivered as she hugged her knees to her chest.
‘Astrid?’ he called out, and she briefly turned to look at him, unable to hold his gaze. She looked away, shivering as another gust of wind blew down from the mountain. ‘Astrid come and sit with us. You’re freezing!’ She shook her head.
‘I should keep watch.’
‘And you can’t keep watch with us?’ Jarl asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘Those ears of yours will hear anything approaching from a mile away. Stop being so stubborn.’
She sighed, got to her feet, walked a few paces towards them and sat down. The pony was tethered nearby but Astrid barely noticed it. Staring down at her feet, she pulled her knees to her chest again and wrapped her veil back around her head and across her face.
It wasn’t your fault Astrid,’ Jarl said. ‘Come here. You can’t help us if you die from the cold.’
For a moment she did nothing but then shuffled a little closer to Knud, still refusing to look Jarl in the eyes.
‘Astrid...look at me!’ Jarl said, his voice firm. Astrid slowly raised her head, grateful that the veil was hiding half of her face. Her mouth trembled as the lump at the back of her throat grew more and more painful. Her eyes stung. She was drowning in guilt.
Suddenly, Jarl lifted his hand up and reached over Knud’s sleeping body to touch her face, gently pulling her veil away. Astrid, not knowing how to react, stared at him, her stomach twisting into a knot.
As he slid his rough hand against the side of her face, Astrid found herself unable to stop herself from leaning forward. He moved his hand behind her head and pulled her gently towards him, stopping when her face was barely an inch from his.
Astrid looked at him with an expression which could very easily have been mistaken for complete and utter terror, but Jarl ignored it. His hand moved back to her cheek and he ran the edge of his thumb against her lips.
‘Can I kiss you?’
Astrid’s breath caught in her throat and she found herself completely unable to say anything. The knot in her stomach unravelled in an instant and the feeling was suddenly replaced by another, one which she imagined was close to how it must feel to fly. She felt weightless; light headed.
Say something! Say something! both voices in her head screamed at her.
Astrid tried to do as they were telling her but every sound she attempted to make was stopped by the lump at the back of her throat. Her body was unable to decide whether it was going to laugh or cry, so she did the only thing she possibly could. She leant forward. And Jarl instantly pressed his lips against hers the minute he saw her moving towards him.
Nothing could have prepared her for the rush of emotion that followed. She felt invincible and vulnerable all at once. She kissed him back slowly, afraid that she was somehow doing it wrong. But Jarl didn’t seem to mind. His hand cupped the side of her face and then slid slowly to the back of her neck.
What are you doing? the stern voice whispered in her head. You know how this ends! Stop it! Haven’t you messed up enough already?
But there was nothing the voice could have said that would have made her stop.
‘Oh shut up!’ Astrid mumbled against Jarl’s lips, not meaning to say the words out loud. Jarl pulled away from her. ‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ Astrid said, still shivering but no longer cold. She smiled and her whole face lit up. Even her eyes glowed in the moonlight.
‘Please stop,’ Knud suddenly said, and Astrid and Jarl both looked down to see Knud staring up at them. ‘That’s disgusting!’ he said, his face revolted. But the twinkle in his eyes was unmistakable.
Astrid turned bright red and Jarl grinned.
‘Knud, I think you should mind your own business,’ Jarl joked.
‘Then you can sit in the middle!’ he said firmly, using Astrid and Jarl’s shoulders as a support to help himself stand. He wobbled slightly and Astrid and Jarl quickly reached up to steady him, but Knud pushed their hands away. He leant against the tree, hobbled past Astrid and lay down on the ground a few feet away from them. Then he pulled the wolf-skin head over his own to hide the grin on his face and closed his eyes.
For a few moments neither of them spoke, watching Knud until they were sure he was asleep. Astrid’s face hardened as she looked at his severed limb emerging from the bottom of the wolf-skin.
‘I lost someone once,’ she suddenly whispered. Her eyes glazed over as her face automatically masked the turbulent emotions flooding her mind. ‘A little boy from Waidu, Ned. I took my eyes off him f
or one minute and he was gone.’
Jarl said nothing, his arm still around her. Astrid shivered.
‘I never helped a dwarf or an elf again after I lost my ear,’ Astrid explained, turning to look at him, the glazed look slowly ebbing away as she met his eyes. Jarl clenched his fists as he saw the torn and jagged edges of what remained of her right ear-tip. ‘I never wanted anything to do with you, but Knud reminded me of him. I felt like I could make up for my mistake if I got him to safety, if I...’ Her voice trailed off, riddled with guilt. ‘He’ll be a cripple because of me, he’ll...’
‘He’ll be alive because of you!’ Jarl interrupted. More than anything, he wanted to pull her closer and hold her tight but he was terrified that she might pull away. Instead, he rested his hand against the side of her face and Astrid relaxed at his touch.
Oh look at you! the harsh voice in her head snarled, next you’ll be skipping around sniffing flowers and giggling like a fool! You’re pathetic! I thought you were smarter than this!
Shaking her head, Astrid suddenly moved forward and leant her head against Jarl’s chest. He tentatively hugged her closer, surprised, but he didn’t say a word.
‘I have friends who live in the Aldwood. We can take the Three Sisters’ Pass and go there first before we head to Waidu. If he likes it, Knud could stay there while we go to Lǫgberg.’
Jarl didn’t say anything for a few moments, but turned to look over at Knud, and at Astrid’s wolf-skin rising and falling as he snored gently.
‘I don’t like the idea of leaving him with strangers,’ Jarl admitted, turning to look back at her. ‘And he’d probably find a way to follow us, he’s ridiculously stubborn.’
‘I don’t know how well I can protect him now,’ Astrid said, ashamed. ‘The pass is a lot worse than last time, and last time I was able to cross the mountains. The Frǫðleikr thought I was a wolf so they let me through. I can’t do that with both of you.’
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