Page 70 of Dragonbound

She groaned as she perched herself on a rock seat and reached for the cooking pot. Immediately, Arrow appeared at her side, pressing her head against Sereh’s ribs in support.

‘Where have you come from then, girl?’ She stroked the wolf-dog’s head. ‘Off exploring, no doubt. Did you find anything interesting?’

The wolf-dog stared pointedly at the cooking pot, and Sereh grinned.

‘All right, I’m hungry too.’ Sereh grinned and ladled them both huge bowls full of a delightful-smelling stew Erann had prepared with the ingredients Emma had brought with her. She had her appetite back today instead of the day before when she’d wanted to eat but had been too tired to do more than sample Erann’s cooking.

Her eyes alighted on the disturbed contents of Emma’s basket. She hadn’t noticed it before, when Emma had been with them. Was that honey? Where had she managed to find that at this time of the rotation? She scurried forwards and pored through the other contents of the basket. Erann had travelled with some shrivelled turnips and not much else, while she’d left Rankil’s steading with little more than peat cakes. But Emma? Emma had salted fish, alongside the honey, and nowhere was there any sign of coagulated animal blood. And, she’d said Arrow had found the hares they’d been eating, but there was the meat of another one, there, waiting to be added to the cookpot. Arrow hadn’t found such a meaty-looking animal. Not at this time of the rotation.

Where had Emma come from and where was she now? Her absence rang loudly in Sereh’s mind. No one would abandon so much good food, especially not with strangers.

In the corner, Erann slept as Sereh mused. So many questions. So few answers. Sereh glanced towards the cave entrance. She’d run once before, angry with him. Now, she considered the possibility again. If she took all this bounty with her, surely she could survive this time.

Yet, the day seemed duller than yesterday, and the sky was overcast. It might rain. That would certainly aid with the thaw. Determined to think about something other than the food, she took herself towards the cave entrance, following where Arrow had gone.

‘Arrow?’ she called, unsure why her wolf-dog had abandoned her half-empty bowl and dashed outside.

Near the cavern entrance, she blinked. She’d thought it might be about to rain, but now the dark blueness of the vast sky revealed itself, without a cloud in sight. The sun was bright, the landscape sparkling.

She blinked in confusion.

There was a clatter of falling stones. She turned, expecting to see Arrow, but the wolf-dog wasn’t there.

She furrowed her brow, held her hand above her head, and stepped outside, pulling her fur tighter.

‘Hello,’ she called. ‘Hello?’

But there was no reply, other than, from quite nearby, the sound of more snow settling over the glacier.

50

ERANN

Erann woke as sunlight and a draught of frigid air filled the cave. Skaldi was outside. He could hear him retreating over the disturbed surface, the clacking of his claws impossible to ignore. He must have slept against the cave entrance, using his bulk to block the worst of the wind and cold.

Ever since Skaldi had revealed himself to Erann, his senses appeared to have become acuter. He could sense the dragon. The dragon could sense him. Somehow, he’d even been able to see through Arrow’s eyes. He could even make out the noise of something small scurrying right at the back of the cave. He imagined Arrow would be darting after the creature soon enough.

Erann was grateful. Without that, he’d not have known of Sereh’s great peril.

He turned towards her. She’d slept by his side all night, but now the space was empty. Rising on his elbow, he glanced around, but the cave was deserted, although he thought he heard her shouting, although not in alarm. She must be outside, which would explain why Skaldi had moved away from the entrance.

Erann bit his lip. In the euphoria of yesterday, he’d not reiterated to Skaldi about his need to inform Sereh of the dragon’s existence. He knew that today he must make some progress. While Sereh had been content, just about, yesterday to be alive and fed, he understood her well enough by now to predict the questions would be coming today. When they did, he wanted to be prepared, even if the solution in his mind meant that she’d have to wait a few days more.

He couldn’t lose her again.

Getting up from his sleeping place was, as ever, a struggle. His leg was healing, and so were his bumps and grazes. Still, he felt awkward and needed his crutches to get around. After the events of the last few days, he didn’t want to push his luck any further. They all needed to leave this place if he was to show Sereh the shield, and to do that, he needed to be able to walk without his crutches.

Once he’d done that, and earned her trust, he’d take her to his aunt and uncle’s. It would be the closest steading to where he wanted to take her. Yes, his sister should be there by now, but with Sereh speaking against Rankil, and with the knowledge he had about Rankil’s determination to burn his steading, Erann felt sure they’d be able to stop the Full Council meeting from confirming Rankil as jarl. Although, it was possible Sereh wouldn’t take the risk.

The Library, then. They’d travel there, together, as originally planned. The Librarian could keep Sereh safe. He didn’t want to be parted from her, not again, but the Librarian was neutral. He could legitimately hold on to Sereh as the wrongs of the last eight rotations began to be put right.

He’d been liberally dosing himself with Emma’s herb. He had no idea of the correct dosage and hoped he wasn’t making things worse. He’d also been giving a smaller dose to Sereh. While she had no outward signs of injury, amazingly, the stresses her body had endured in her days in the cold needed to be combated. They were visible in the rawness of her face and in the gaunt look of her body. He hoped Emma’s mysterious herb was a quick fix for everything and anything.

He hobbled to the cooking pot and helped himself to some of his stew and brewed himself another cup of Emma’s herb. He opened his mind to Skaldi. He may as well get this over and done with. At least, Skaldi might be more reasonable than Sereh.

Erann was pleased to find Skaldi in good spirits. From a perch above the cave, he was watching Sereh and Arrow play. Sereh was throwing balls of snow, which Arrow then couldn’t find once they’d landed in the soft snow. Skaldi broadcast his amusement at the wolf-dog’s antics.

Why can’t she find the snowballs?