Page 29 of Dragonbound

Perplexed, but unable to stop himself, he stepped carefully towards the remnants of the tunnel entrance, peering inside – to see the twisted, charred remains of the wolves. Now he gagged.

The steading was only half burned, the bodies there too visible. He must do more to ensure the fire consumed the whole place. He bent, grimacing, and pulled the remnants of bedding from one of the disturbed beds. He forced himself towards the flames outside, and then, when the bedding caught alight, rushed back inside, placing it next to the half-burned remains. Choking on the acrid stench, he walked back outside. His mouth tasted of ash and sorrow.

Staggering, his steps hurried him away from the devastation, but the scent of burnt fur and flesh clung to him, no matter how fast he walked.

His strides took him towards the edges of Vatna Jokull, scarcely aware of where he was going.

He trudged on, slipping through the deep snow, his mind trying to shut out everything he’d just seen, trying to outrun the smell that seemed to carry in the air, no matter how far he went.

Only then, the daylight faded almost between one breath and the next, and a howling storm roared to life.

‘Just a little further,’ he promised, bending into the fierce wind. ‘Rankil’s steading should be just round the next bend. It must be. I’ve been walking all day.’

But all Erann found when his steps faltered, seeming to wake from a daze that had clouded his thinking all day, was the vast empty glacier stretching before him. The planets offered no guidance, hidden by storm clouds; even the moon was obscured.

‘Where am I?’ he gasped, heart thudding in his chest. ‘By the Gods.’ He cursed his own stupidity, his words ripped from his mouth by the force of the wind, which battered him. He couldn’t turn into the wind because it stole his breath.

‘I’m lost and it’s too dark to go on. If I don’t stop, I risk falling into a crevasse on the glacier. I can’t even see my own hand in front of my face.’

Frantically, he tumbled to his knees and fumbled with his backpack. There was another fur inside. He was sure of it. He could use it to cover his head and warm the air before he breathed it. It was pitiful but all he could do.

‘No,’ he gasped, only just in time feeling his father’s journal springing free from the unfurling fur, before it too flew away from him. Gripping the journal tightly, he pulled the fur over his head, lying curled on his side, gripping the precious link to his father tightly. Perhaps, with the journal in his hands, his father would come to his aid once more. As he had before. Somehow.

‘Thor,’ he whispered, his voice hoarse. ‘Once more, please, protect me.’

Abruptly, the wind dropped and the blizzard seemed to stop. Yet, he could still hear the wind howling, see dancing eddies of snow when he risked looking. But none of them touched him. A steady, creeping warmth spread through him. He felt entirely at peace.

So this is death, he thought. It’s not so bad.

And he slipped into a deep sleep, unable to prevent it, clutching his father’s journal tightly.

21

ERANN

He blinked awake, confused for the second morning in a row at his surroundings. Where was he? Above him there was a black-ceilinged cave – and a girl peering at him. He recognised her. He lifted his head to get a better look.

‘Oh, my head bloody hurts when I do that. It feels like someone’s trying to squash my head into my body.’ He reached up as though touching his head would make it stop hurting.

‘Sorry about that,’ the girl replied, her sharp words echoing in the cave and making him wince again. ‘Arrow’s just dragged you most of the way across the glacier alone. I doubt she was gentle.’

As though summoned, the furry grey ears of a wolf-dog popped up at his right side. He felt a smile spread across his face. Now he realised why that half of his body was so warm. Arrow lay flanked against him, on the side which didn’t feel the heat from the fire, her nose just about reaching his elbow.

‘So, I have you to thank for saving me, do I? Well, Arrow, you have my heartfelt thanks.’ He reached across to ruffle her grey ears.

The girl laughed at the wolf-dog’s reaction.

He had no idea how he’d survived the night. No one crossed Vatna Jokull wholly unprepared and lived to tell the tale. And yet the light flooding the black cave told him he’d been on the glacier all of last night and much of today as well.

He searched his memories for the girl’s name. Sereh – that was it. Her parents’ unexpected death had left her with little, if he remembered correctly. That had been just after his father’s exile.

He looked at her closely. Her blonde hair seemed to glow in the soft light, but she had a bruise on one cheek and her hands looked calloused from hard work.

Life might not have been kind to her in the rotations since he’d last seen her, but even with the frown she now turned on him, she was beautiful.

‘So what are you doing here?’ Sereh asked him.

He’d have liked to know the answer himself. Although, he realised she probably meant what was he doing on Vatna Jokull, not what he was doing, still being alive after being on the glacier all night. She watched him expectantly. He remembered her fierce gaze from the Quarter Council meetings his father had presided over. He’d always looked forwards to seeing her. She’d been slightly too serious then too.