The Ice People 1 - Spellbound (The Legend of the Ice People) (13 page)

Benedikt quickly told Tengel what had happened.

“You come as sent from above,” he finished. He forgot that normally the feared guest was reckoned as coming from somewhere else.

Tengel had turned very pale. His glance glided over the red-eyes faces and then stopped at Silje.

“Thank God I dropped by after all.”

Marie started and made the sign of the cross.

Tengel lost his control when he saw that. “Does that mean to say that a banned isn’t allowed to mention God’s name? Why do you absolutely want to plunge me into utter darkness? What do you know about my soul? Perhaps I don’t have a soul. Is that what you believe?”

Marie and Grete bent their heads in shame.

Tengel pulled himself together and spoke directly to Benedikt. “A cart is waiting for me to the south in the valley. If we can possibly make it to there … But myself and Silje and all that paraphernalia – it’s just too much for the horse.”

“Abelone took the only usable cart we had,” said Benedikt. And there’s not enough snow on the road for the sledge. But you can take the one mare. Put it on the farm at the farthest end by the bridge. Then the foreman will pick her up there.”

“Good,” said Tengel.

“What about you, Mr. Benedikt?” asked a concerned Silje. “I hope they won’t take you prisoner for this?”

“No, no.”

“Where are we going?”

The two men looked at each other. For a long time.

Finally, Tengel broke the silence. “There’s only one way of saving Silje.”

Benedikt nodded. “Yes, I agree. Besides, I’m afraid of letting the children stay here any longer although it breaks our hearts to lose them. But I just don’t know what the awful Abelone and her brats may be up to. I’ll leave the little ones in your hands, Tengel.”

The tall man gave a brief nod. He put the cumbersome window pane up on his horse. Both horses were heavily laden but they actually managed to carry everything, which was a bit of a miracle.

It was a quick and heartrending farewell. Silje embraced them all in turn, thanking them warmly for a fantastic time. Grete held Dag as if she would never let go of him but then she came to her senses and handed him over to Tengel. Marie stood by Silje’s horse and told Sol not to forget her and that they all ought to call on them one day. Then it was time to take leave. They had to leave quickly because the soldiers would most likely take up the pursuit. Every second was costly.

Silje was grateful that Tengel had taken little Dag. She wasn’t so used to riding a horse and holding the little baby as well wasn’t so easy. They hadn’t been able to find a side saddle so Silje would have to ride as a man. Grete and Marie had been quick to pull Silje’s cloak over her knees and Tengel had been discreet, turning away as they did so. She thought he’d given a little smile – that rascal!

When they came to the road they glanced anxiously northwards but no soldiers were in sight, and so they breathed a sigh of relief.

Saying goodbye to these wonderful people had been very difficult, and Silje wiped away her tears. But soon the situation would require everything of her.

The village seemed deserted as they rode southwards along the main road. Only the smoke that rose in the winter cold signaled that there were people on the farms. But Silje knew better now. She knew that the eyes of the neighbours watched every stranger that moved on the roads. This painful experience was something she brought with her now.

Tengel was impatient and tried to make them move faster. Silje and the old mare did all they could but it wasn’t fast enough for him.

“We’ve only got one hour’s lead,” he shouted, “and the soldiers ride swiftly once they’re in the saddle.”

Silje’s arms hurt. Sol sat on her lap as she steered and tried to remain sitting on the horse all at the same time. She no longer paid attention to propriety – her cloak had glided off her bare knees a long time ago. The best thing was to forget about it and let Tengel think whatever was on his mind.

Sol, on the other hand, seemed to thrive with the excitement and the swift ride. She sat in front of Silje with bright eyes and a smile on her face. Silje noticed that Tengel would often glance at her, and his eyes were full of tenderness and concern.

He is a good man, she thought to herself. No matter what they say about him and what they call him and despite his terrible looks, deep down he was a good person.

Nevertheless, he resembled a demon from the underworld as he dashed there ahead of her. A stately, attractive and fascinating demon. If his kind existed, that is.

She’d realized a long time ago that she’d reacted far too strongly to Sol’s odd behavior towards Abelone’s son.
He
, by the way, had also reacted too strongly. It was only fair that she didn’t like him and then her eyes really flashed. Perhaps he’d been distracted and slightly shocked by the hatred he saw in her eyes – and then he hadn’t been careful while he cut a slice of ham. It was easy to blame others!

It was no worse than that. Her hysterical reaction had been completely exaggerated.

Finally, they left the parish and entered a forest on their way to the next village. They were moving more slowly now because they had to spare the horses a bit. It was still early in the day but Tengel said that they still had a long way to go and that
they just had
to arrive before night set in.

“There’re wolves in the mountains,” he said, “and we might not be able to avoid them in the dark.”

Silje felt anxiety building up. She knew where they would be going but she tried not to think about it.

In her unconscious mind, however, a thought was beginning to dawn on her. All this seemed to be some sort of consummation. All her fantasies, nightmares – they had all been in preparation of what would one day happen. And now it’d happened.

“Is it really so dangerous to stay down in the village?” she asked while she tried to make Sol sit quiet.

“Well, now it is,” Tengel answered sternly. “They’ll hunt you down because you’ve been seen with me.”

“That evil woman,” Silje groaned. “Poor Benedikt and the others who must put up with those terrible people – perhaps for the rest of their lives.”

She hesitated for a moment before she went on: “You were right. Mr. Benedikt asked me whether I would marry him. Of course, I thanked him for the offer but said no. Maybe I ought to have done so because then we’d escaped all this.”

“No,” Tengel answered. “A marriage wouldn’t have saved you now. Just think of all those priests’ wives who’ve been killed for witchcraft and sorcery. It didn’t help them that the priests pleaded for them on their behalf. If you’ve been branded a witch, then there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Mr. Benedikt asked me to return,” Tengel said hesitantly, “as soon as I could. He asked me for help against them.”

“Surely it isn’t dangerous for you to move among human beings?”

As soon as she’d said that, she realized that she’d fallen in the same trap as Mr. Benedikt a long time before.
Among human beings
… sounded offensive.

But Tengel seemed unperturbed. “Yes, I suppose I’ve managed fairly well up until now.”

“What kind of assistance did he ask for?”

“He seems to think that I’ve the power to drive them away.”

“For once, I’d almost wish that you could,” Silje said in a whisper.

“I wouldn’t try such an attempt because I fear of arousing a dormant cruelty within me. But I’ll return to him because he took such good care of you when I asked him to do so. But
that
they undoubtedly never regretted. Surely you know, don’t you Silje, that they adored you and the children?”

“This is something that makes me warm inside. I’d so desperately wish that you could help because they don’t deserve this.”

“I agree. It’s awful to think of how easy it is for evil to win in this world.”

Now was the moment she ought to tell Tengel about Sol and the sign she’d seen of supernatural powers in her. But she kept quiet. She was increasingly convinced that she’d exaggerated.

He paced the horses. They left the forest and in front of them lay a plain with farms under the ridge. The valley had turned and they realized that they were heading towards the Outfarm Mountains.

Shortly afterwards Tengel turned into a driveway to a farm and Silje followed him.

“Wee-wee,” said Sol.

“Of course, darling. Tengel, can you lend us a hand? She mustn’t get wet.”

“Wait until we enter the yard. Then the whole village won’t see us.”

I hope Sol can hold on,” mumbled Silje.

But everything went fine. He got off the horse and Silje looked down as she felt his strong arms around her waist. She didn’t want to meet his glance once more the way she’d done before every time he helped her off the horse. Just having him so close made her blood rush faster and she had to make an effort to hide the intoxicating feeling.

What happened? Was he able to – bewitch … and hold her spellbound? What was it Mr. Benedikt had said? “
Has he bewitched you
?”

One thing was certainly clear: She’d never before experienced anything like this. But then she told herself: “I don’t have all that much experience either.”

Silje helped Sol while Tengel kept an eye on the load while cradling little Dag who was fast asleep. He didn’t want to meet Silje’s glance as he helped her on her horse once more. “He can see it,” she thought. “He can feel it. He knows …”

The farm that they’d reached was deserted. Tengel undoubtedly knew that, which was why he’d chosen this place to check whether everything was in order.

They continued their journey. Not long afterwards, Tengel turned into yet another farm, which seemed just as deserted as the previous one. But a man came out and greeted them.

“Hi, man!” Sol shouted, happy to see him.

“Hi, you little troll,” he answered.

What a memory little Sol had! It was the driver who’d taken them from the execution place to Benedikt’s farm nearly three months ago.

The driver glanced at Sol. “Yes,” he told Tengel,” she’s bound to be one of us. She’s the spitting image of Sunniva.”

So Tengel had spoken about her. Perhaps, deep down, he was quite proud of his little niece.

“Are they …coming to the farm as well?”

“Yes, all that awaits them in the valley is death. Certainly as far as Silje is concerned.”

“Good. I’m ready.”

Tengel told him quickly about the bailiff’s men who were probably after them now.

The man nodded. “My horses are rested.”

“I’ll have to stay here,” Tengel said to him and Silje.

“I have to return the mare to the farm on the bridge, and I also promised to bring Heming home. I know where he is. Here’s in the village here, and now he just
has
to come even if I have to drag him by the hair. Be on your way now. I’ll join you later.”

“No, please don’t go back,” begged Silje. “Come with us now.”

“I’ll soon be able to overtake you. So hurry now!”

It was obvious that she couldn’t persuade him and soon everything was loaded onto the cart and they were on their way up along a narrow forest track.

“He’s running a terrible risk,” she complained to the driver.

“You don’t have to worry about Tengel,” he replied. “That man is capable of more than is good for us to know about.”

“I don’t think so. It’s just his bad reputation. He’s not like that.”

“Dear, Miss Silje,” said the driver and turning towards her. “How do you think he’s managed down here for such a long time? He’s also reckless.”

“D’you mean …?”

“I have no idea whether he can twist people’s minds or whether he makes use of other kinds of magic. Anyway, this is the first time he’s spent
this
much time among human beings.”

“Why on earth does he expose himself to this kind of danger?”

“I hadn’t expected this question from you, Miss Silje,” he mumbled, looking ahead of him once more.

Silje didn’t think any further about his answer because at the moment Dag began to cry. Whether he was wet or hungry she didn’t know – probably both. But she couldn’t do anything for him in the cold cart. His milk was ice-cold, and it would have been madness to remove the clothes off him. Instead she put him to her face and began to rock him back and forth until he stopped crying and fell asleep again.

The horses that pulled the cart were strong. The trail they followed went steeply upwards, winding along dizzying gorges. Every time she looked over the valley, the river and the houses seemed increasingly smaller. Finally, they resembled small dolls’ houses and they couldn’t be seen any more.

Dag was sound asleep in Silje’s arms while Sol stood behind the driver’s back, rooting for the horses. Silje had a loose grip on her legs so that she didn’t fall.

She cast admiring glances at the window pane that was placed at the top of the rest of the paraphernalia. She’d never owned anything so beautiful, and she wondered whether she would ever be able to use it. Where were they to live now? Anyway, she wanted the window to stand as decoration on a wall maybe. Or did people live in cabins built of spruce up there?

Her fingers played with the sketch book which Benedikt had given her. She could feel that it was bound with a woven ribbon in the back. Wasn’t that nice of him! It was certain to have cost him work and money.

Neither she nor Benedikt had any idea that now she owned something that was to mean an awful lot to her. In fact, what he had given her would once contribute to solving the puzzle about the Ice People. But right now, it was just a collection of joined, homemade parchment.

Silje looked at the little boy with his clean, light features. His hair had grown a bit so that yellow hair stuck out of his skin hood. She wondered what his mother would have said if she could have seen him right now on their way to the land of anxiety and cold – the Land of Shadows.

She often thought of Dag’s mother – C.M. – What was this mother thinking about now? Relief, maybe?

No. Silje’s strong intuition told her that she was bound to feel something else.

A small detail confirmed her in believing so. A small mug filled with milk that was put next to the little baby. A clear token of the young’s mother’s despair.