Читать книгу The Ice People 41 - Demon's Mountain - Margit Sandemo - Страница 7

Chapter 2

The mist was very cold. It was as if frost had fallen down on the earth ...

Weren’t there faces in the mist? Big, blurred faces, far inside all the woolly dampness?

The mist’s own faces, formed by the movements of the steaming clouds, formed and dissolved, and new ones appeared.

Heavy, gloomy faces.

The gravel no longer crunched under their feet. Had they left the road?

No, there was the grass by the side of the road. What they were walking on now ... sounded like hard stones.

Gabriel tried to look down, but now the fog was so dense that he could hardly see his knees.

What were they walking on?

Where were they? How did Ulvhedin and Niklas know that they were going in the right direction? There were no clues, only dense clouds of mist, dripping wet and cold, whirling slowly around them.

What if they were walking in the wrong direction? And came to some horrible place, which you could only create in your own, macabre imagination?

Gabriel was groping for his mother’s hand. This was something he hadn’t done for many years. He was almost grown-up. Twelve was an impressive age.

Now he was walking between his mother and Ulvhedin, holding each of them by the hand. Of course, this was slightly embarrassing, but he needed it. His heart was beating so hard that he thought he might pass out.

Niklas walked on the other side of his mother, as if the two spirits wanted to protect the mortals against invisible enemies inside the unknown.

Quiet now! He mustn’t get worked up!

All of a sudden, he heard voices, deadened by the mist.

Christa – that was Christa’s voice, and he could also hear Nataniel. This made him relax a bit. He and Mum weren’t alone in this horrible, magical world.

There they were, right next to them.

“Oh, thank goodness!” murmured Karine.

They greeted each other quietly. The other two also had two men with them. One of them was a young, kindly-looking man with eyes that radiated goodwill.

“This is Linde-Lou,” Nataniel explained. “And this is Tarjei, the blessed,” he continued, pointing to the other man, a youth of middling height with pronounced features and a sharp, penetrating glance. But exceptionally friendly.

Everything felt much better now.

They walked for a long time. Gabriel felt miserably cold. It was the coldest mist he had ever experienced. Finally, he plucked up courage and asked: “Where are we?”

In a deep voice that sounded quite jolly, Ulvhedin explained: “You’re crossing a threshold. We’re coming out in an entirely different place.”

“Are we far from home?” asked Christa.

“Well, yes and no. You haven’t walked that far. Nevertheless, you’re very far from home. You wouldn’t be able to find this place, even if you searched all over the earth.”

“I can well imagine.”

“We’ll get back home, won’t we?” asked Gabriel in a quivering voice. He was mostly thinking of Dad, who would be puzzled if they weren’t there.

“Yes, definitely. You’ll be back tomorrow morning. Nobody will have time to miss you.”

Their footsteps clattered in the quietness.

Nataniel said pensively: “I thought ... the border could only be crossed up on the mountain ridge opposite old Gråstensholm? From the place where Heike conjured up the grey people and Vanja disappeared with Tamlin? But we’re walking on stony ground now, so ...?”

“That route is just a portal that the Ice People created themselves. It’s an eerie way where you meet many undesirable creatures. This is the correct route.”

“Are you ... are you... able to tell us where we’ll end up?”

Ulvhedin smiled. “To be honest, I don’t really know myself. I know where we come out, and that’s about all. It was Gand who summoned us. We’re invited. That’s what he said. To a suitable meeting place for the living and the spirits.”

“In the dark marble halls of the black angels?” Christa asked.

“No, that’s what we thought as well, but Gand tells us that would never work. No, somebody else has invited us to their abode for this meeting. We’ve no idea who it is.”

“That sounds exciting,” said Nataniel. “It seems we have a lot to thank Gand for, don’t we?”

“Yes,” replied Tarjei. “Without him, this meeting would never have been arranged. Saga’s love story with Lucifer was a major triumph for the Ice People.”

Nataniel nodded thoughtfully. “I believe the struggle would have been far more difficult if the blood of the black angels hadn’t been mixed with ours.”

“Virtually hopeless,” agreed Ulvhedin.

Dawn was breaking around them. The cold wasn’t quite so noticeable now.

“We’re walking on a floor,” said Gabriel.

“No, it’s not a floor,” answered Niklas, “but rock, as Nataniel said.”

Suddenly, they came out of the mist. Around them rose tall, glistening mountains of black and anthracite with touches of deep green and dark violet. The mountain walls were so shiny that the light was reflected in a glaring, sparkling glow.

The light? Yes, because they were engulfed in a peculiar light, as if they stood in a burning sunset. The sky was a flaming gold, orange, deep red and soft yellow, and it wasn’t unpleasant for the eyes.

Gabriel told himself that he was dreaming.

Big, black birds circled majestically around the summits of the mountains. Or perhaps they weren’t birds, after all? They were so high in the air that he couldn’t make out the details; but perhaps they were human beings with wings? Grotesque, humanoid creatures!

A creature rose in front of them by the nearest cliff. It was almost as tall as the cliff itself and had a dragon-like head. It was just as dark and colourful as the mountain behind it. Actually, it was a bit difficult to make out at first.

“Who’s that?” Gabriel whispered, and pulled back slightly.

“Can you see it?” smiled Ulvhedin. “That’s good, because it means you’ve got imagination. This is a kind of test of your ability to identify problems. It’s the link to everything you dream about and weave into your fantasies. It makes everything real for you. Your relative, Mari, walked past it a little while ago. She didn’t see it at all. Christel had some difficulties, but she noticed it at last.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not at all. It’s the best friend you can have – provided you don’t allow it to seize control. Then things can go wrong. Now I can see that we’re going to meet somebody we know.”

Gabriel was tense, but he relaxed a moment later.

The Voldens and the large group from Linden Avenue were waiting for them. Nataniel explained to Gabriel, his nephew, that Heike and Dominic were among them. So was the Wanderer. He intimidated Gabriel a bit because he was so enigmatic. But only slightly. The dragon, that barely visible fantasy figure that brooded over them all, had instilled in Gabriel the courage that he needed. Now he could truly imagine that he was discovering all this in a wonderful dream world. He smiled at the dragon-like creature, which nodded its head almost imperceptibly in return.

“Where will we be going now?” Gabriel asked Ulvhedin, his protector, because now he felt that Ulvhedin had become an ally, an old acquaintance. That wasn’t bad for a young boy who was meeting all the spirits of the Ice People for the first time.

“We’ll be entering the mountain pass over there. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Ulvhedin, with an approving look that showed that he had sensed Gabriel’s newfound courage.

They heard Nataniel shout and saw him hurry over to two people who came out of the mist, followed by two female spirits.

“Ellen,” said Nataniel, with so much love in his voice that Gabriel felt quite warm inside. Gabriel had expected Nataniel to embrace her, but he didn’t. He merely took her hand, holding it between his for an eternity. Both he and Ellen had tears in their eyes.

Gabriel stared at the beautiful women who accompanied the new arrivals. “Dida and Villemo,” explained Ulvhedin.

Gabriel looked more closely at Dida. She was so unbelievably dignified, but translucent, as if she belonged to an age that was unfathomably remote.

Without realizing it, Gabriel seized Ulvhedin by the hand. Just to show where he belonged.

“Is she a queen?” he whispered.

Ulvhedin murmured back: “We don’t know. Perhaps we’ll get to know her story tonight.”

Those words made Gabriel shudder. He felt rather scared.

Rikard and Tova approached, together with a boy who was said to be Trond. He was with the handsomest man Gabriel had ever seen. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. And everybody else seemed just as impressed. They greeted the newcomer most courteously. Then Gabriel understood who he was. This had to be Gand, whom everybody had spoken about with so much respect.

Now all the members of the Ice People were gathered: Benedikte, André and Mali. Rikard and his daughter, Tova; Vetle Volden, his son Jonathan, and Jonathan’s children, Finn, Ole and Gro; Vetle’s daughter Mari, with her five children, and his other daughter, Karine, with young Gabriel; Christa Gard with her son Nataniel; and Knut Skogsrud with his daughter Ellen.

Twenty-two people. It was a long time since the Ice People had been so numerous. Vetle’s descendants were the biggest crowd.

They had twelve helpers between them in all: Dida, the Wanderer, Heike, Villemo, Dominic, Niklas, Tarjei, Trond, Ulvhedin, Ingrid, Linde-Lou and Gand.

And nobody apart from Gand knew where they were going or who had invited them. In these strange surroundings.

They were all excited, but a few were still scared. Gand led them in between the blue, shining cliffs. The cold from the mist had gone completely; the temperature was pleasant and a perpetual, burning sunset lay over the entire golden landscape.

The phrase “evening land” rushed through Gabriel’s mind. He had read about Silje’s name for the country she had seen in visions. Once more, he looked up towards the summit where the winged creatures circled around. This was precisely what Silje had described. Demons ...?

Could they be demons, those creatures up there?

He couldn’t be sure from so far away. He heard a distant roar as if from a volcano that suddenly flared up, or some kind of underground explosion. The roaring sound came and went with greater or lesser strength. Like irregular bangs inside the cliff itself.

Gabriel looked at the others to see whether they had also noticed the phenomenon, and found that was clearly the case.

They had only taken a few steps between the cliff walls when a gate appeared in front of them. It was guarded by two giant, black creatures with beaks and thin, spidery limbs.

“I recognize them!” Tova exclaimed. She was frightened. “But before it said ‘The Gates of Peace’ over them. How bizarre! I know I’ve been here before. This is the entrance to the other world. This place is dangerous, as I certainly experienced!”

Gand gave her a calm smile. “It isn’t now. Vanja also passed these gates once, when she was trying to find Tamlin down in the abode of the night demons.”

“Surely these gates with beasts can’t be everywhere, can they?” Tova protested hotly.

“Yes, they can. Because, as you so rightly pointed out, this is the transition into another world. It differs according to the circumstances in which you pass such a border. Vanja did so on the way to the grottos of the night demons. You did so when you searched for the parallel world. And here ...”

Mari was frightened. “This is all just a dream, isn’t it?” she said quickly.

“Of course not!” Tova replied sharply, and Mari burst into tears.

Vetle tried to reconcile them. “You have to understand,” he told Tova, “Mari is so afraid that people might dislike her and be angry with her. She can’t stand sharp voices.”

Tova tightened her lips and tried to sound gentle and compassionate, something only Mari didn’t notice. “I’m sorry, Mari. I didn’t want to sound brusque. Now we should continue on our way, shouldn’t we? So we won’t come across anything unpleasant here, Gand?”

His name was so difficult to pronounce without setting her whole soul in uproar!

As always, Gand was grounded and completely calm. He smiled and said: “No, it’s not dangerous now.” Why did her presence never affect him?

And he was quite right: the creatures stood up with gentle, sinuous movements and lowered their shining swords. They bowed deeply before the procession that followed. But it was Gand whom they greeted with the greatest respect, as everyone could see.

Gabriel assumed that everybody would slip through without any further ado, but a short exchange of words followed when it was Mari’s turn to pass the creatures by the gates. The spidery creatures blocked her way with their swords. With harsh, grating voices, they asserted that she didn’t have the right frame of mind. She was negative and didn’t see all this as something fine and exciting and outstanding. In other words, she had lost her sense of adventure. Mari began to weep again and explained that it was only now that she grasped the importance of belonging to the Ice People. Could she please be allowed to join them? She entreated them all, and most of all Gand.

The children were concerned for their mother and prayed for her. The younger children were probably thinking that she would have to walk the long, raw way back all by herself. What if she got lost?

Gand regarded her mildly. “Losing your imagination in childhood is dangerous. You were a gentle, sensitive girl. Perhaps you were too sensitive. Have you tried to become hard in order to face your disappointments and grief in the cold world of humankind?”

“Yes, I probably have,” Mari sobbed.

Gand addressed the guards at the gates: “This is just a façade to protect against the uncertainty that runs deep. I think she is showing her true self now. Let her in.”

The swords were lowered. Mari wiped away her tears, giving the beasts a grateful nod.

Everybody was inside the “other” world.

Tova was puzzled. “The landscape isn’t the same. Last time, all this was an open plain. What lay behind it was hidden in mist. And the grey people were lurking inside the mist.”

“They’re not here now,” said Gand. “You’re not at all in the same place as you were then.”

All they could see was an endless range of mountains. They walked silently along roads that twisted and turned; a long caravan of living and long-dead souls that right now seemed to be equal. Apart from two members who were different: Dida in her ethereal translucency and Gand, who was leading them all.

They walked on like this, in puzzled silence, until they reached a valley. All along the way, they could hear dull thuds that came ever closer and became ever louder, followed every time by a flare of colours in the sky – as from erupting volcanoes in the distance.

They stopped.

A shining peak, tall and conical, protruded from the ground in the middle of the valley, as if it had been forced up from the underworld by a gigantic earthquake.

The younger children instinctively sought their mother or father.

The cliff wall rose sheer before them. A black stone stairway led up to a new, open gate that led inside the cliff. Up there, on a broad ledge outside the gate, stood some awesome creatures.

Gabriel took a firm hold of his mother’s hand. “I don’t think we’ll go any further now.”

Ulvhedin turned to him with a smile. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re expected – all of us. You’ll find that there will be many happy reunions tonight. To begin with, certainly; later on, we’re bound to have something else to focus on.”

They were all expected! Some other creatures broke loose near the foot of the stairs. They were very beautiful, with elegantly shaped horses’ heads with human features. Each was dark blue, with a silver mane that grew from his forehead and all the way down his spine to his silver tail. Their limbs were human. These immensely beautiful creatures greeted the Ice People gently, beckoning to them to follow them. Each horse-man took care of a guest.

“I’m dreaming,” said Mari.

“No, you’re not,” replied one of her sons. “If you were, we’d all be dreaming the same dream, and that’s not possible.”

“You’re just taking part in my dream.”

Her brother Jonathan pinched her arm. “Are you also dreaming this?”

“Ouch! No, I’m not.”

“You must be a bit more careful, Mari,” Jonathan warned her. “If you can’t make the effort to show a more positive attitude, they might throw you out.”

Mari sobbed, but pulled herself together.

Gabriel looked anxiously up at the ledge. Now there was no doubt at all. The four creatures up there could be nothing else but demons. They were horrible to look at, half naked, with big wings of thick skin, and claws instead of fingers and toes. Their facial expressions were appalling, with pointed teeth and eyes that glowed orange and yellow. Horrific! Gabriel hesitated; he was dragging his feet up the stairs as if he was on his way to doomsday.

Perhaps he was!

Their steps slowed. All of a sudden, a woman stepped out on the ledge between two of the horrible creatures.

She was young and charming, with dark blonde curls and a roguish face. Not the most beautiful face Gabriel had ever seen, but with intense eyes and a happy, infectious laugh. She seemed to have boundless charm.

She greeted them all: “Welcome to the mountain of the demons.”

Heike stopped abruptly. He was elated: “Tula! It’s you, Tula!”

The Wanderer repeated, with a gentle smile: “Tula. The lost one! The Ice People’s stricken member that we lost. You’re one of us!”

“The one who vanished from us without trace,” Villemo said. “We hadn’t expected this!”

Tula chuckled. She was thrilled at having given them such a surprise.