Page 49 of Dragonbound

Erann felt something reaching for him. He batted at whatever it was with his hands. He wanted to be left alone. His dreams pulled at him as he replayed the events of the last few days. With a deep sigh, he was left alone, and he could sleep in peace.

He saw the land stretched out in front of him for distances he couldn’t grasp. He could see the peaks of the mountains shrouded in cloud and was amazed to realise he looked down on them and not up. The vision was awe-inspiring.

In the blink of an eye, he could see the Eastern Sea stretching out endlessly, and in another blink, he could see the far distant peaks of Odedahraun. He could turn his head to look at Lang Jokull and turn it again to view the volcanoes of the south. He looked directly down to see Vatna Jokull over which he’d been walking for many sunrises. It all appeared no bigger than his father’s journal.

He knew he should hold on tightly to the images. Instead, he lost the pictures as once again, he drifted into blackness.

32

SEREH

Sereh was beyond relieved to see Erann alive if unconscious. Whatever had brought about his release from his snowy prison (and she didn’t want to think about that right now), she wished it’d somehow managed to lift him from the deep hole he was in.

She looked about frantically, but could think of no way to haul him out. Neither was there anyone else on the entire glacier as far as the eye could see who’d be able to help her. The day was quiet, cold and deserted.

The hole Erann lay in was taller than she was. The steep sides meant she’d had to slide down, landing in a gangly heap near his head. He was pale and sweaty, shivering in his sleep. He needed a fire.

She touched him hesitantly, eager to know he breathed. ‘Erann.’

Something shot between them, and she felt it in the tremble of her hands, even though he didn’t respond and his face was slick with sweat.

His injuries looked to be many and painful. His face was covered in scratches. There was a huge gash under his right eye, already swollen shut. There was another deep cut on the side of his neck. She traced his swollen eye with her small finger and again felt a jolt through her body. He was unresponsive, but somehow, being near him thrilled her.

The last she’d seen of him, he’d fallen facedown. But the sheer force of the moving wall of snow must have tumbled him over and over. He now lay sprawled on top of his backpack. She wondered what other, less visible injuries he’d sustained.

Glancing upwards to the lip of the hole, she saw Arrow, looking at them quizzically, head tilted to one side, both ears alert. In the quietness of the day, she was very aware of her and Arrow’s laboured breathing. Erann’s was harder to hear.

Arrow’s face was so intense and filled with concern, Sereh felt as though she could hear Arrow’s thoughts.

‘I know, girl. I’ve no idea how we’re going to get him out of here, either.’ She stood on her tiptoes, examining the sides of the hole. ‘I think the only thing for it is to carry him.’ Sereh patted her leg. ‘Arrow, come, girl. I need your help.’

Arrow joined her with a scrabble of claws, a whoosh of air and a gentle shower of yet more snow.

‘Here, can you support him from behind, and I’ll get his arms.’ She put Arrow where she wanted her, and somehow, Arrow seemed to understand. Between them, they pulled Erann into a sitting position and leaned him upright, Arrow at his back. He groaned but didn’t wake.

‘Erann,’ Sereh murmured, hoping he might open his eyes, but he didn’t.

Fumbling, she threaded one arm and then the other out of his crushed backpack, holding tight to him. Gripping him so he wouldn’t fall, she turned to the wolf-dog.

‘Arrow, carry this back to the cave.’ Arrow gripped the backpack in her powerful jaw, and, using her powerful legs to brace herself against the steep sides, dragged it backwards out of the hole.

‘Good girl,’ she called to the wolf-dog, as she disappeared from sight. Sereh could hear her paws scampering over the surface of disturbed snow, ice and rocks.

‘Now if only it was as easy to get you out of here.’ She gritted her teeth and put her arms around Erann’s waist, and managed to stand while holding on to him.

‘By the Gods, you’re heavy,’ she huffed. There was no way she’d be able to carry him alone. Not with the steep sides of the hole. Neither would Arrow be able to pull something as heavy as Erann straight up. She gently laid him down again, taking care of his bruised head, and turned to the side of the hole. Maybe if she constructed some snow steps, she’d be able to haul him up with the help of Arrow.

She looked more carefully. One side of the hole was at a slightly more shallow angle than the other. She started to fashion footholds for herself in a gradient up the side, only semi-aware her hands didn’t become numb with cold while she worked.

By the time Sereh reached the top, she was hot, sweaty and thoroughly fed up. Just doing that had taken all her energy, and she still needed to get Erann out.

Arrow had returned during her exertions. She’d sat and watched her work from Erann’s side, her head tilting from side to side as she tried to make sense of what Sereh was doing. Sereh was grateful for the show of moral support and for the warmth Arrow gave to Erann. She was also glad her wolf-dog had thought better of helping her. She’d have simply gotten cross and frustrated with her for being in the way. Her paws were good for digging, not for construction.

She needed to focus on getting Erann out and warming him properly with the aid of a fire.

From below, Arrow emitted a small whimper. Sereh jumped back to the bottom of the hole, jarring her legs and feet once more.

‘Let’s try again,’ Sereh decided, panting with exertion. She pulled Erann into a sitting position and then to standing, resting him against the side of the snow wall.