Runestone

by Anna Ciddor

  23

  Thora alone

  Thora knew Oddo must have done his shape-change. The boy propped against the chest had a blank, distant look on his face, and somehow didn’t look like Oddo any more. He made her feel uneasy. She crouched in the bow of the boat, hugging Hairydog and keeping as far as she could from that ring of fire she couldn’t see. Nothing seemed to be happening. The boat was still sitting on the sand. Cautiously, she knelt upwards so she could see over the side of the boat.

  ‘Hey, what’s happening?’ she called.

  Thora patted the dog and looked at the empty stretch of beach. She sighed. What was Oddo doing? Why was it taking him so long? Then suddenly she felt the boat give a shiver. Excitedly, she looked towards the sea. The rope was stretched taut as if someone was pulling it, and the boat was edging forward. In a moment they were out on the sea again. Thora gave a cheer.

  At first the boat twisted and bobbed and they didn’t seem to make much progress, but soon they began to glide through the water. Thora stood up and leaned against the prow. She laughed as they sped along. Her hair unravelled from its plaits and streamed in the wind. A fine spray blew against her face and her lips tasted of salt.

  On and on they went. The pine woods and birch trees gave way to different trees with pretty leaves and fruits. Hairydog lay down and fell asleep. Thora watched the coast slip by and wished she could step ashore and explore. She began to grow bored. And then she began to grow hungry. The sun sank low in the sky. Surely Oddo would beach the boat soon so she could get out and cook a meal. But the sky grew dark and the boat just kept on moving.

  It was getting cold. Thora slumped down and wrapped her cloak tightly around her. It was the red cloak that was supposed to save her from drowning. She knew it couldn’t really save her because she’d done the spell herself, but at least it was warm.

  Hairydog woke up, stretched and headed for the back of the boat. Thora watched nervously as she passed right through the magic circle, but nothing seemed to happen. Hairydog poked at their stores of food, then turned back to Thora and gave a little whimper. Thora clenched her hands. It looked as though she too would have to cross the magic circle if they were going to eat. Cautiously she crawled forward, keeping as far from Oddo as she could. Hairydog greeted her enthusiastically, licking her and pawing at her while she tried to open the keg of salted fish. To her frustration, she couldn’t find anything she could use to lever the lid off the barrel. In the end, she gave up and turned to the cheeses instead. These were wrapped in layers of cloth and tightly bound with strings. Eventually she got one open by clawing at it with her teeth and nails. Hairydog shared it enthusiastically, then went back to sleep. Thora leaned against the dog’s warm body and drifted into a doze. But even in her dreams she was aware of the rocking of the boat and the hardness of its wooden floor.

  She kept waking up, cold and uncomfortable. She longed for the night-time sounds of her family sleeping – their funny little snuffles, their snores and their wriggling. She even longed for the feeling of Astrid tugging for a bigger share of their fur bedcover. Tears pricked her eyelids. Time to think of something cheerful.

  ‘Hairydog, how do you think my plants are going?’ she asked.

  The dog’s ears twitched but she didn’t answer.

  ‘Do you think Ketil’s remembering to water them every day?’

  Even if he remembered the watering, was it likely he’d manage to keep the garden secret? He was such a little boy, not even four years old. He still had the soft skin of a baby. She wished he were here in the boat so she could give him a big hug. Was he missing her?

  The sky filled with the pink light of early morning. Thora gave up trying to sleep. Her mouth had a stale taste and her throat was dry. She stretched her aching limbs and rummaged around for the bag of water.

  ‘I guess it’s cheese for breakfast too,’ she told Hairydog, choosing another cheese. ‘I hope we reach the market soon, or there won’t be any left to sell!’

  The Cormorant was speeding through the water now. Thora leaned over the side and wished she could see what creature was pulling them along. All of a sudden, the boat jerked to a halt. She spun sideways and began to drift back, driven by the wind and the waves. Forgetting the magic circle, Thora threw herself forward and hung over the prow. To her dismay, she saw the towrope dangling loose. What had happened to Oddo? Thora stared at the waves, straining her eyes, desperate to see what was going on. A fin pierced the water just beside the boat. A shark!

  Thora’s heart pounded. She clutched the side and watched helplessly as the menacing shape circled around them. Her mind filled with terrifying images of a huge, open mouth and sharp, glittering teeth.

  Suddenly, the fin disappeared. The shark was diving down to something.

  The next moment the sea began to churn and swirl.

  Thora stared with cold horror. Then she sank to the floor, tears pouring down her cheeks. Oddo was gone. The shark had eaten him. And she was left alone, floating in a tiny boat in the middle of the sea.

  24

  Oddo and the shark

  At the sight of the shark, every thought of Thora and the boat was wiped from Oddo’s mind. He dropped the towrope and fled for his life, darting, rolling, plunging. But no matter how fast he went, the sinister grey shape followed after him. It seemed to glide through the water unflustered, unhurried, but every time Oddo thought he’d lost it, it would appear again, just a little closer. Oddo dived through a narrow crevice in the reef, vicious coral scraping along his sides, but when he shot out the other end, there was the shark, circling towards him. It seemed to be teasing him, waiting for him to tire before it closed in for an easy kill.

  ‘If only I was something bigger than a shark!’ Oddo yearned. ‘Not just a little seal!’

  He felt an instant of intense terror as he looked straight into the open jaws of the shark and waited helplessly for those vicious teeth to tear him apart.

  Then something strange happened. The shark began to grow smaller. In seconds it was no bigger than a harmless herring. The coral too, and the seaweed – in fact everything Oddo looked at – seemed to have shrunk. They were all just wriggling little shapes far beneath him.

  Bewildered and relieved, Oddo rose for a breath of air. As he broke the surface, he was surprised by the huge ring of rippling water that spread around him. His lungs relaxed with a feeling like a deep sigh, then his skull seemed to burst open and a spout of something gushed out the top of his head with a WHOOSH. Suddenly he understood what was happening.

  ‘I’ve magicked myself into a whale!’ he thought.‘The other things didn’t get smaller. I got bigger!’

  For the next few minutes he swam around, revelling in his size and strength. Against his massive body, the thrust of the current was just a tiny tickle. He caught sight of a little boat bobbing on the waves, and a girl peering anxiously over the side. The memory of his real life came flooding back.

  ‘I’d better go back to being a seal again,’ he thought. ‘The towrope’s not long enough for a whale’s mouth.’

  He sighed, expecting a fountain to spout out the top of his head again. This time nothing happened. As soon as he’d made the wish, he’d turned back into a seal!

  He glanced towards the boat and saw that it would soon be out of reach. He had to hurry. He swam with his eyes strained open and his body tense, checking nervously for any sign of the shark. At last he reached the towrope, grabbed it in his mouth, and began to pull.

  Overhead, Thora felt the sudden change in the movement of the boat. A tiny worm of hope wiggled in her belly. Slowly, with thudding heart, she raised herself up till she could see over the prow. For a long, unbelieving moment she stared at the towrope stretched out taut in front of them. She felt the wind of their progress drying the tears on her cheeks and once again lifting her hair like a flag.

  ‘Oddo!’ she cried.

  She wished she could see him. But at least she knew he was safe. The shark hadn’t eaten him after all! />
  Under the water Oddo heard Thora calling his name. She didn’t sound frightened, so he went on pulling, keeping a sharp eye out for lurking sharks. Now that he had time to think, he wasn’t sure that a shark could eat a magic seal, but he wasn’t taking any chances!

  On and on Oddo swam, growing hungrier and tireder. Each time he rose to the surface for a breath, he looked hopefully towards the shoreline, but there was never any sign of the market. He didn’t like it when darkness fell again, and he watched anxiously for the first signs of light. Morning came at last, and the surface of the water was blistered with little points of silver. It was raining. When Oddo bobbed to the surface, he saw Thora and Hairydog huddled under Thora’s cape. Oddo tried to tell the rain to go away, but the barking noises he made as a seal couldn’t do the magic.

  ‘Sorry, Thora,’ he thought.

  Under the water the sea was alive with fish. With gaping mouths, they leapt and danced towards the surface of the sea.

  ‘They seem to be drinking the rain!’ thought Oddo.

  Next time he rose for a breath, he saw a few boats in the distance heading in the same direction. They must be getting close to the market!

  A cargo ship drew level with The Cormorant and Oddo could see the bulging muscles of the oarsmen as they hefted their blades in rhythmic unison. It struck him that Thora would look very strange, doing nothing while her boat surged forward. It was time for him to turn back into a boy.

  Even as the thought crossed his mind, Oddo felt the sea rise up in a huge swell. Next moment there were floorboards under his legs again, and the hard wooden chest was pressing against his shoulder. The magic fire was visible for just an instant before it faded away.

  Slowly, stiffly Oddo moved his arms and felt his clothes. To his surprise they were perfectly dry. Thora flung herself across the boat to hug him tight, followed by Hairydog in a frenzy of barking.

  ‘Hey, don’t squash me,’ gasped Oddo.

  Thora sat back on her heels. She was smiling but there were tears running down her cheeks.

  ‘I thought the shark got you!’ she said. ‘I couldn’t believe it when you started pulling the boat again.’

  Oddo grinned. ‘I can beat a silly old shark,’ he boasted.

  Suddenly he heard a loud voice hailing them. The cargo ship had drawn alongside and the oarsmen were all staring into their little boat.

  ‘Is everything all right there?’ they shouted.

  Oddo realised they were letting their boat drift backwards again. ‘Yes, we’re fine,’ he called back.

  Quickly the two friends settled themselves on the chest and picked up their oars.

  ‘I hope it’s not much further,’ said Oddo.

  His arms felt tired already and suddenly he remembered it was two days since he’d eaten. But as he peered into the distance he could see a crowd of boats and a cluster of buildings. The market was in sight!

  A few minutes later they were gliding past stone piers where the tall cargo ships were moored. They reached the shore and Oddo leapt out to haul their own little boat onto the sand. Then he stood back and gazed with wonder at the buildings lining the beach.

  ‘I did it,’ he whispered with awe. ‘I really did it. I brought us all the way to market!’

  25

  Silver and spice

  Thora had never seen so many people in her whole life. They poured out of the boats towards the market, some toting bundles and barrels like Oddo and Thora, some bristling with awkward objects like walrus tusks, deer antlers and giant whalebones. They shouted to each other: greetings, curses and directions. Hairydog gave a short excited bark and was swallowed up in the crowd.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Oddo, catching Thora’s anxious glance. ‘She can look after herself. She’ll find us again before we leave.’

  As they drew close to the buildings, a dreadful stench filled the air. Thora looked at Oddo and held her nose.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  Oddo jerked his chin towards a sunken hut. ‘There’s a pit in there where everyone goes to the toilet,’ he said. ‘After a while you stop noticing.’

  Thora’s mouth turned down and she shook her head.

  But Oddo was right. As soon as they entered the market, Thora forgot everything else. Myriad colours, shimmering fabrics, the glitter of silver and gold dazzled her eyes. A babble of voices speaking in words she couldn’t understand blared in her ears. Odours of spices, spilt wines and sweaty bodies filled her nostrils. Everywhere she turned there was something new to see. Even the ground she was treading on was strange. Instead of earth beneath her feet, someone had laid wooden planks to make a path. It clattered when people walked on it, adding to the jumble of noise. And the people were different. There were grown men with no beards on their faces, like young boys. They had dark skin and black eyes and hair like raven feathers. There were people dressed in long robes of soft, shiny fabrics embroidered with golden thread and some who wore whole bolts of cloth wound round their heads.

  But most amazing of all were the booths.

  At one booth a workman was using tongs to lift a big clay pot out of a fire. He tipped up the pot and something that looked like liquid fire poured out of it.

  ‘What’s that?’ cried Thora.

  ‘Bronze,’ said Oddo. ‘For making brooches and things. He melts it and pours it into moulds. Look, I reckon he’s making brooches now.’

  The man poured the bronze carefully into little clay shapes lying on the hearth. When he saw Thora watching him, he picked up a lump of clay from a wooden bench, held it high, then dropped it with a dramatic sweep of his arm, smashing the thing against the wooden bench. Thora jumped. But when the smashed bits of clay fell away, she saw a glint of shiny yellowish metal. The man blew on it, rubbed it against his tunic and held it out for Thora to admire.

  ‘You’re right, it’s a brooch!’ said Thora, turning to Oddo. ‘It’s just like the brooches your mother wears to hold up her apron-dress.’

  But Oddo wasn’t there any more. He’d moved on to the next booth, where pans of food were bubbling over a fire, giving off a spicy steam that prickled Thora’s eyes and nose. She watched dubiously as Oddo took a bowlful, and scooped some up with a piece of bread. The mixture was bright yellow! When Oddo handed Thora the bowl, she took a cautious nibble – and nearly choked. Coughing and gasping, with tears streaming from her eyes, she thrust the bowl away and quickly stuffed her mouth with the safe, plain bread.

  ‘No more, thank you,’ she said. Her voice was croaky.

  Oddo paid for the food with some of their feathers, then he pointed to the next booth where a man was waving a rod in the air. For a moment Thora thought this was a spellworker waving a wand, but then she saw the rod was made of iron. There was something glowing on the end of it. As the man twirled the rod, the thing changed colour until it looked like a lump of bright blue ice.

  ‘He’s making beads for a necklace,’ Oddo explained.

  He returned his empty bowl to the food stall and the two of them drew closer to the beadmaker. The man was rolling the blue ice swiftly on his bench. To Thora’s amazement the lump took on a smooth, rounded shape.

  Now Thora noticed the shower of necklaces and bracelets hanging all over the stall. They looked like sparkling drops of ice filled with the colours of a rainbow. She was amazed that they didn’t melt away in the heat of the beadmaker’s fire. But Oddo told her they were made of a hard stuff called glass that came from a faraway land. Thora wanted to touch them, but Oddo was already tugging her on to the next booth.

  ‘There’s the comb-maker,’ he said. ‘Mother told me to get new combs for the wool.’

  ‘Is that what the antlers are for?’ said Thora, thinking of the awkward bundles she’d seen people carrying from their boats.

  She was right. The comb-maker was hacking at a deer antler with a short axe. He placed a thin slice of antler between two thicker, narrow pieces and joined them all together with iron rivets.

  ‘How is that a co
mb?’ asked Thora. ‘It hasn’t got any teeth.’

  ‘Watch,’ said Oddo.

  The next moment the man began to file the thin slice into pointed teeth. Sawdust sprayed out, settling on his face and beard and clothes.

  Another customer came bustling up, rattling a pouch in his outstretched hand. Thora couldn’t understand a word he was saying. Obviously, the comb-maker couldn’t understand either. He put down his work and waved his hands helplessly at the man. As he moved, he gave off puffs of white sawdust. The customer raised his voice, held up five fingers and pointed to the combs. Then he opened his pouch and tipped some round silver discs onto the comb-maker’s bench. The comb-maker picked up a set of scales, placed a small iron weight on one side and laid a few of the man’s silver discs on the other side. He nodded, took the silver discs and handed the man five combs.

  ‘What are those silver things?’ whispered Thora.

  ‘If you don’t have goods to trade like we do,’ Oddo whispered back, ‘you can use silver.’

  Oddo offered the comb-maker one of his cheeses. The man took it, sniffed it, and handed Oddo three combs.

  For the next two days Thora followed Oddo in a daze. He went from booth to booth, trading feathers, eggs and cheeses for the things he needed – a gleaming new axe blade, silken cloth softer than the down of a chick, sweet scented spices, nuts closed tight in hard brown pods, strange dried fruits, and jars of honey.

  Every booth they visited held something new and amazing: sea shells from foreign beaches, pelts of animals she couldn’t name, carvings in unknown stones.

  Then, on the last day, Thora saw something familiar. A woman wearing a blue cloak, its cat-fur hood framing her face, was holding a silver fortune-telling bowl in her hands.

  ‘There’s a witch!’ she cried.

  ‘And she’s doing a good trade,’ said Oddo, nodding at the long queue of customers.

  When they reached the herb stall, Thora gazed with longing at the unfamiliar leaves and flowers. There were grey-blue flowers with little pointed leaves that smelt more wonderful than anything in the world. She watched jealously as Oddo swapped the last of their eggs for herbs for his mother. What wonderful new medicines and ointments she and Granny could make if they had herbs like these!