Fragments of your Soul (The Mirror Worlds Book 1) (21 page)

“Nod?” she whispered in a trembling voice.

The animal made a rumbling sound, then lowered its head and pushed it against Arvid’s belly. At first Arvid winced, but then she forced herself to take some deep breaths and put a trembling hand in the soft fur.

Carefully Arvid looked around. A dropped sword was the only thing that could be seen of the first guard. The other one was still whimpering and moaning, curled up in a corner. Arvid’s stomach clenched when she saw that the skin on his head was completely burned, and his hands, with which he was desperately trying to keep his face covered, were full of blood. Arvid felt nausea rising in her as she realized that she had done this to him.

Nod squeezed his big head under her arm and pushed her in a direction. Arvid lost balance on her weak, trembling legs, and instinctively clutched his fur in order not to fall.

“Stop it, I have to get out of here,” she moaned, trying to straighten up again. She thought she heard a noise somewhere above them, but even if the sound was nothing but her imagination, it would not be long until the fled guard returned with help. She had to flee, but how in her ailing state? She would collapse even before she had overcome the stairs in front of the building.

Again Nod came at her with an impatient sounding growl. He lay down precisely in front of her and made himself as flat as possible.

“Should I… I mean, do you think that I…” stammered Arvid, but now Nod let out a loud hiss that made her wince. She put both hands in Nod’s bushy hair, drew herself onto his back and clung to him with her last remaining strength.

Nod wasted no time, but rose in a powerful, fluid motion. He jumped over to the door and forced it open, first with his paw, then with his mighty head. Moments later, the icy cold of the night struck them. A sharp wind blew small, hard snowflakes against them almost horizontally. Nod overcame the stairs in two long, springy jumps and ran on through the deep snow without a moment’s hesitation.

Arvid pressed her face deep into the fur on Nod’s neck and focused entirely on not slipping off his back. It wasn’t an easy task, since she still felt incredibly weak. She had to force herself to stay awake and to cling to the fur below her body.

Her head was mass of thoughts. All this shouldn’t have happened this way. Their plan had been a secret escape without force, without hurting anyone. But now? Arvid had apparently injured one of the guards seriously and didn’t even know how. She remembered that she had been very angry and worried about Nod, but why had she attacked the man? What the hell had gotten into her? With her reckless behavior she had proven exactly what Asgard was trying to accuse her of, namely, that she was dangerous and destructive. The thought almost drove her to despair.

Arvid was just about to sink into a dim, exhausted sleep, when a violent, electrifying pain shot through her body. She would have screamed had she not been so weak, but only a tortured moan escaped her lips. Then a swirling blackness covered her senses.

The next few hours everything seemed to Arvid like an endless, monotonous dream. She didn’t sleep, but she wasn’t really awake either. Again and again she was haunted by confused, terrifying visions in her head. She saw the screaming guard, his head burned, blood on his hands, but suddenly they were her own hands. Then impressions of her surroundings got through to her again, and the terrible images faded into a vague, dark snowscape. The wind blew and howled so loudly that its sound was the only thing Arvid could hear. Her belly and her face were hot and wet with sweat, while her back and her legs felt stiff and cold.

After what felt like an eternity Arvid could feel Nod’s steps slowing down. He began to climb something. Arvid looked up and saw that he was about to climb a rocky slope, half-covered with snow. Above them a pale hint of brightness had spread on the murky sky, the light of the sun that revealed that the middle of the day was reached. Nod had been carrying her on his back for several hours. Arvid felt a strong sense of gratitude.

Nod carried her to some kind of stable, enthroned on the crest of the hill, half built into the rock and shrouded by deep snow. He slipped inside through the open door and Arvid slid stiffly from his back. The floor was cold and covered only with a small amount of frozen straw, but compared to the biting wind and the snow outside, it was a real treat.

Nod seemed at the end of his tether and sank to the ground. He buried his head in Arvid’s lap, and she carefully lifted her hand and stroked his fur.

“Thanks,” she murmured. “You really saved me.”

Nod showed no reaction. He was probably too exhausted to react to her, so Arvid closed her eyes and soon fell asleep again. This time she didn’t dream.

On awakening, Arvid felt alert and refreshed although it seemed she had not slept for long. Nod was curled up at her feet and was fast asleep.

They couldn’t remain here for long. Arvid’s thoughts involuntarily returned to what happened in Vero-Maghen. The events now seemed to her like a nightmare.

How much time had passed? Were soldiers on their way to find them? If what Nod had told her was true, then they would lose no time, especially not after her escape. Arvid thought about the guard’s burned face and blood-covered hands, which she had seen over and over again in her dreams. She hoped that his injury had looked worse than it was. The thought of having a third life on her conscience was unbearable.

Arvid remembered what Loke had said to Thor in the garden, back when she had had no idea who he really was. Yes, fear could wake hidden powers. Just like anger. In the Light World her anger had often led to unpleasant confrontations and had repeatedly caused damaged furniture and even a broken finger once. Now that she had powers she neither fully knew nor could completely control, her temper suddenly seemed to have developed a scarily destructive potential. The realization scared her.

Arvid rose with a jerk and went over to the door, through which the wind had blown a trace of snow. She pulled her cloak tighter and stepped outside in the drifting snow. A cold wind was tugging at her clothes. She looked to the right, in the direction from which they must have come and where still a pale, bright gleam was visible on the horizon. Around her lay an untouched layer of snow. The wind must have obliterated their tracks instantly. As unpleasant as the icy weather was, it could be crucial to their advantage. No one knew where they had fled. Maybe they would be looking in the wrong direction.

Arvid glanced into the distance. There was no hint of Vero-Maghen and Black Castle, because the dense snowfall greatly restricted her view. She had no real idea of how far away they were. She turned to the other side, where a large forest spread in the distance; otherwise she could see nothing but endless, white hills. Arvid realized that she didn’t know this country. She didn’t know if there were farms or villages, whether the people were friendly toward strangers, or how great the chance to encounter dangerous wildlife or demons was.

As the cold became painful, Arvid returned to the shelter of the barn and looked for Loke’s letter, in whose envelope she had also put the map.

It was hard to see the lines in the dark. Arvid hesitated for a moment, then she focused and produced a tiny sphere of light and combined it with a small amount of resting energy. She was surprised when she succeeded immediately. Although she had read about this principle, she had never had occasion to try out this spell herself, but now she didn’t even have to put much effort in it.

She tore herself away from the sight and looked at the map, like many times before. The problem was that she didn’t know exactly where she was. Fortunately, the two rivers that sprang from further north in the mountains offered a good starting point. A river couldn’t be overlooked or accidentally crossed, and as long as they stayed somewhere in the middle and wandered upstream, they would eventually reach the point where Loke’s house was.

Arvid tucked the map back and ate a handful of nuts from her provisions. She was extremely thirsty, but the thought of the icy wind outside made her shudder, so she clung tightly to Nod and closed her eyes. She must have dozed off again, because when she was suddenly startled by a noise, Nod was gone.

The sound repeated itself, a rumbling growl, accompanied by an unpleasant snapping sound. Arvid’s heart began to beat faster.

She got up carefully, but when she looked outside, she saw that it was Nod. Between his teeth he had something that looked like the remains of a rabbit. He tore at its bloody and mangled limbs and repeatedly made guttural, growling sounds. His snout and the snow in front of him were red with blood.

“Nod?”

Arvid let out a startled cry when his head spun around to her with a jerk and he bared his teeth with a soft hiss.

“It’s all right,” gasped Arvid and slowly took a step back. “I don’t want anything. All yours. I’m not hungry.”

Arvid suddenly saw something like recognition in the green cat eyes. Nod ceased to hiss, then he turned back to his rabbit. Arvid took a deep breath, then she went to the side and put some of the sparkling, pristine snow in her mouth. The icy water wiped away the rest of her tiredness. She watched as Nod, with creaking and cracking noises, crunched the bones of his prey.

Arvid had been unaware that shapeshifters could change so thoroughly. Although she had known that, depending on the talent and experience, pretty much any form was possible, she had always assumed that the alterations were limited to their appearance. Nod, however, wasn’t just a human in the shape of a cat. He also had the instincts and impulses of such, although he obviously still recognized and understood Arvid. Arvid would do better not to forget this fact.

As Nod had finished his meal, he sat down in front of her and looked at her, while he licked his mouth with his huge tongue.

“Do you want to stay in this form?” Arvid asked him finally.

Nod showed no reaction; only his ears were moving gently back and forth.

“I don’t even know if you understand what I’m saying,” she said. “It would be nice if we could talk. I don’t know if you want to… well, come along or… or if you want to return to the city.”

Again Arvid paused to give Nod opportunity for a reaction, but he still watched her calmly and licked the blood from his paws.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Arvid asked insistently.

Nod tilted his head slightly to one side and then shook himself in a flowing movement that spread from neck to tail.

“I don’t know what that means!” Arvid said irritably. “Can’t you at least temporarily take a form I can talk to?”

But Nod just rose, turned and trotted a few steps away. Then he stopped, turned his head and looked at her expectantly.

Arvid sighed. “All right, I understand. For some reason, you want to retain this shape. If you want to come along, we have to go in this direction, though.” She pointed to the northeast, away from the forest, which now lay at her back. Nod looked around, turned and then set off in the indicated direction.

At first they walked side by side, but Arvid soon found out that it was easier to go behind Nod and make use of the track he dug in the snow with his paws. The sky was pitch-black again. It had likely become evening, but without a clock Arvid had no idea how late it was. She could hardly rely on her own sense of fatigue after the day before, as she had been exhausted by the use of her powers and had also been asleep for several hours during the day.

It was a monotonous and arduous journey. The still steadily-falling snow restrained her vision, so Arvid could only hope that they continued in the right direction and were not going in circles without realizing it. The wind howled and blew. After only a few hours Arvid’s face ached from the cold, and her hands felt numb and stiff, despite the gloves.

She would have given a lot to be back in her room in Vero-Maghen right now, under the warm fur of her bed or wrapped in a blanket, sitting at a window and looking at the snow outside. Even the thought of the small barn filled with frozen straw was tempting at the moment. There they had at least been out of the biting wind.

Hours later Arvid had fallen into a monotonous routine. Her thoughts kept revolving around the same things. Were they already pursuing them? Did Asgard know where they were going? Perhaps she was now not only a potential threat, but also a criminal, perhaps a murderess. Would her friends in Vero-Maghen believe the stories, and despise, even hate her? And what happened to the guards who had been injured in their flight?

Arvid had no idea how much time had passed when she eventually stumbled on something under the snow and nearly fell. She started again, stopped and looked down at her feet.

The obstacle was a stiff, frozen boot. It didn’t look as if it were empty.

Nod had noticed that she was no longer following him. He came trotting back and lowered his muzzle in the snow. Arvid gathered all her courage and slowly shoved the snow aside with her foot. Shortly thereafter, her terrible assumption was confirmed: The boot wasn’t empty, but part of a frozen corpse, which lay hidden under the thick cover of snow.

Instinctively, she took a step back, but Nod sniffed and dug further around in the snow. He freed another piece of the leg, and Arvid could see that it was in dark blue trousers.

“Stop it,” Arvid said halfheartedly, “I don’t think I want to see that. We can’t do anything for him anyway.”

But Nod only uttered a low growl and continued digging. Arvid could now see that the snow-covered body was anything but unharmed. Although it was still mostly hidden under a thin layer of snow and ice, it was clearly visible that one of the legs was missing almost completely. Arvid shuddered. What had happened to the person? Were there more bodies hidden under the snow? The thought caused her discomfort.

“Nod, cut it out already!” Arvid called more sharply. “I’ve really seen enough. We need to go on.”

Of course Nod didn’t listen to her. He had exposed the lower part of the body and was now walking restlessly from one side to the other and back again. Again and again he raised his head and looked at her intently, but Arvid didn’t understand what he meant. As practical as his animal form and his thick fur were out here, the lack of means of communication was about to drive her crazy. She tried to stifle the burgeoning sense of anger inside her, and forced herself to stay calm.

“You don’t want to eat him, do you?” she asked with a frown, but now Nod let out a low growl, stopped above the dead body and fixated her with his green cat’s eyes.

“No, probably not,” sighed Arvid and slowly walked in Nod’s direction. “Do you want me… to look at something?”

Nod still stared at her unmoved, which Arvid interpreted as affirmation. Reluctantly, she went over to him and looked at what he had unearthed. At first she couldn’t see anything except snow-covered, torn pants, but then she discovered something shiny and stretched out her hand to wipe the snow aside.

It was a sword hilt. As Arvid removed more snow, the top of a plain sheath and a piece of a torn belt appeared. Now Arvid understood. Nod wanted her to take the dead person’s weapon, and as if to confirm this, he gently nudged her with his head.

Arvid hesitated. She had no idea how to use such a weapon, and her magic was probably worth more if she really had to defend herself. Yet perhaps Nod was right. It couldn’t hurt to carry a weapon, especially since she didn’t know what to expect on their journey.

She hastened to remove the rest of the snow. The lower layers had apparently been melted once before, and she had to pull with all her strength to tear the frozen sheath off the clothes of the deceased. She removed the remains of shredded belt and held the weapon into the air to have a better look. She saw that it was less a sword, but rather a kind of curved dagger, barely longer than her forearm. She tried to pull the blade out of its sheath, but it was completely frozen to it.

Arvid was just about to turn away when she discovered another small object in the snow. It was a thin leather cord with a stone. When she picked it up, she saw that it was deep red. Was it a soul gem?

Arvid took a last look at the half-exposed body, then she pushed the dagger under her belt and firmly tied the string with the stone next to it. Then she followed Nod, who had already set in motion again and dug a new track in the snow.