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‘I need to be able to see more of the marker, to read the symbols, to activate it but the ice has it in its grip. It’s too deeply buried. I’d not realised the ice had advanced so much. The marker’s at least as tall as me, and look at it now, buried so I can only see a hand’s dept of it. I’m such a fool,’ the Librarian continued, and then in a heartbeat, he’d moved away from her, and Sereh again heard the frantic actions of his axe against the ice. It wouldn’t work. She’d have liked to tell him that.

She heard the blows grow ever more frantic, as the Librarian’s breath became sharp and short. And then the sound stopped.

‘Why won’t you come free,’ the Librarian roared. ‘Why, why, why?’ he continued to demand at the top of his voice. She was sure he was kicking it. What did he hope to accomplish? Even Arrow was growing distressed, her barks adding to his shouts.

Abruptly, a sharp crack split the air.

‘No,’ the Librarian wailed.

‘What?’ Sereh tried to gasp but again, although her voice was so low she suspected she thought more than said anything, he replied.

‘The marker’s broken into five pieces. They’ve shorn from it. How is that even possible? Now, what should I do?’ he shouted. At least Arrow’s barking had stopped.

‘Why is everything I do wrong?’ the Librarian growled, and Sereh heard her grief for losing Erann echoing in those words.

He fell silent, and Arrow returned to Sereh’s side. Again, she opened her eyes, just narrow slits. Above her, the stars had appeared, alongside Gemini. It felt brighter than day, and her eyes teared. She was getting cold again. She needed to leave here, and yet the Librarian was more intent on the marker. Why?

‘The Library,’ she managed to gasp, and then a little louder. ‘The Library. I’m so very cold.’

‘By the Gods.’ The Librarian was before her again, peering down at her. ‘I’ll get you to safety,’ he promised, although she saw the look on his face. ‘Can you stand?’ he repeated from earlier.

‘No. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Everything hurts.’ It felt too much like when she’d been lost in the crevasse, only here, the Librarian could help her, and so could Arrow. It wouldn’t be easy.

‘I’ll make a sledge, and drag you. I should have done this before,’ he berated himself, moving aside. ‘There’s never time for self-pity, you foolish old man. We could have already been back,’ he muttered over and over again.

Arrow was quiet, and Sereh sensed the wolf-dog was watching him, as perplexed as she was.

‘If I take this, and this, then we can make a sledge,’ the Librarian stated, and she tried to decipher what he was doing. Surely he’d not brought a sledge with him? What could he be using then?

‘What do you think, girl?’ was the next thing she heard, aside from the ripping of fabric and the determined movements of the man. Arrow again left her side, and she felt bereft. She opened her eyes, but the Librarian wasn’t in her line of sight, and neither was Arrow. Instead, she heard the sound of wood sliding over ice. So, he has made a sledge, somehow.

‘Ah-ha,’ the Librarian called. ‘Arrow thinks it’ll work, and so we’ll try it,’ his voice filled with resolve and perhaps relief that he’d managed to make the sledge. ‘Right, Sereh, I’ll be as gentle as possible, but this might hurt,’ he cautioned, reaching out to touch her face. She felt the heat of him through his gloves.

‘Just do it,’ she whispered.

‘That’s the attitude,’ he agreed, but his words came from by her feet. She felt her legs being swung onto the sledge, and then he appeared again. ‘Now for your head, and hopefully, your body will arrive too. Sorry about this.’ He lifted her shoulders, and she groaned.

‘Just do it,’ she reiterated, and felt her head settle onto the lumpy surface of the sledge, and then her body did the same. The Librarian looked down at her, and so did Arrow. Both of them were out of breath.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘Don’t thank me until we’re back at the Library. But, we need to take these pieces as well, as useless as they are now,’ and she felt something else being placed by her feet. ‘Now, this might not be very smooth,’ and she sensed him walk away from her again, and the stars above her head began to move, as she did.

Despite what he’d said, Sereh felt no jolting, as she occasionally opened her eyes to see Arrow above her. The wolf-dog wasn’t leaving her side. But as smooth as the sledge felt, it was also getting very cold, a chill wind blowing along the glacier. She’d have liked to shiver, but couldn’t.

She listened to the shrieking wind and the soft padding of her wolf-dog’s paws and once more, her thoughts turned to Erann and Skaldi. Why hadn’t the dragon come for her? And where was Erann? Would she never receive any answers?

19

SEREH

A noise woke her, and she felt the sledge stop its momentum.

‘Skaldi,’ she whispered. Had he come for her after all? Overhead, Gemini still glowed, but she was sure she could see the planet Loki hiding in its shadow. The night was nearly over, surely? When would she return to the Library? Or was Skaldi here? She sought him, but Gemini was just too bright.

‘Skaldi,’ she called again. Perhaps he’d hear her, or see her, or whatever it was he did. Ahead, she heard the Librarian calling to Arrow.

‘What is it, girl?’