Читать книгу The Ice People 02 - Witch-Hunt - Margit Sandemo - Страница 7

Chapter 2

Two days later, a visitor called. At first, Silje had no idea who was struggling up the hill. Then she caught sight of the horrible face full of warts that resembled a cabbage head, the penetrating eyes and the bent figure.

It was none other than Grimar.

Silje didn’t know what to expect so she curtsied and welcomed Tengel’s and Hanna’s relative.

He shook his head. He looked like a bag of filthy rags as he stood there in the yard. His clothes seemed to be made of mildew and cobwebs. He said in a low voice:

“Hanna wants to see you. She wants to talk to you all.”

“Thank you,” said Silje, horrified at the invitation. “We’ll be pleased to come and visit Hanna.”

“There’ll be no feast,” the old man said hurriedly.

“Of course not. Mother Hanna is probably bedridden. But Tengel and the boy are out in the forest gathering wood. They’ll be back before long. The girls and I will put on some better clothes. Won’t you sit for a while and have something to eat while you wait? Then we can all walk back together.”

The repulsive creature hesitated and gave Silje a surprised look. “Are you inviting me into your home? No one has ever done that! Well, I suppose I might come in,” he mumbled as he shuffled inside accompanied by a terrible stench.

Before the girls had time to make any embarrassing comments, Silje had led them into the back room to put on their “Sunday aprons” which she’d made to hide their tattered everyday clothes. She immediately began to lay the table for the old man with the best food she had, which wasn’t much because like so many in the valley after the harsh winter, the famine had depleted their stock of food. Nevertheless, she had ale, bread cakes – made from the last sweepings of corn from the floor of the barn – and goats’ milk cheese. She even brought out the last few precious cloud berries that she’d saved since the previous autumn.

Grimar helped himself eagerly to the food and the noise he made while eating could be heard throughout the cottage. Silje left him and went to see if the girls had finished dressing and quickly combed her hair.

“You two go out and talk to Grimar while I change to some other clothes,” Silje said hurriedly. “Liv, you mustn’t say a word about the way he looks or smells! Sol, you’ll behave, won’t you?”

“Yes, I know him well,” said Sol precociously.

I’m sure you do, Silje thought wryly.

Finally, Tengel returned, which made everything so much easier. They all left together with Grimar, and it was a well-fed old man who shuffled along, huffing and puffing at their side.

Dag hadn’t been prepared for the visit and he almost spoke out because he didn’t like dirt and disorder. Tengel hurriedly placed a hand over Dag’s mouth to stifle an embarrassing statement. Now Dag walked next to Silje, as far away from the smelly old man as possible.

As expected, Hanna greeted them from her bed. In the dim light from the fire, Silje could see that she’d aged considerably. It looked as if age had finally caught up with the old witch. She was one generation older than her nephew, Grimar, and two generations older than Tengel. As a matter of fact, Silje was grateful that the light in the room was so dim because if Grimar was repulsive to look at, Hanna was ten times worse. Here Tengel the Evil’s legacy lay right before her eyes!

“So there you are,” the old woman snapped. “I thought you’d never turn up.”

“Silje offered me something to eat, Hanna,” said Grimar excitedly. He was on the verge of bursting into tears at the incredible incident.

“I know very well that one is offered some food at their place,” Hanna hissed. “I’ve eaten more times than you when I helped Silje’s little girl into the world. I’ve seen how well they live, believe me! Tengel, why didn’t you leave with Eldrid?” Hanna was the only person who treated the intimidating Tengel like a naughty little boy.

“Should we have done so?” he asked calmly. He didn’t seem surprised at Hanna’s question.

“You know perfectly well that you should have, and so does Sol.”

The children stood in respectful silence at the door. Dag didn’t feel at ease in the filthy house.

“I wasn’t sure,” said Tengel. “There’s so much evil that awaits us out there.”

“You’ve always been a big fool,” Hanna said scornfully. “None of us can afford to be kind. You must rise to the occasion and fight for yourself and your family. Listen to me now...”

Hanna leaned forward as if to add weight to her words: “I know you’ve also sensed it. You didn’t want Eldrid’s livestock, which was wise of you. Now get ready to leave, Tengel. At once!”

He stood still, his face expressionless. “And you, Hanna? And Grimar?”

She sank back against the pillow. “Oh, we’re too old. But the children and your wife ... Come over here, Silje!”

There was a strange atmosphere in the small, dark room. It was as if spirits in all the corners were watching them. As if somebody somewhere was mourning the loss of a wasted life.

Silje tried to hide her revulsion and moved towards the obnoxious person in the bed. After all, Hanna had saved her and little Liv’s life at one stage, and this was something that Silje couldn’t forget.

Hanna took Silje’s hands in her own gnarled fingers.

“You and your children, Silje. They’ve ... they’ve ... Well, forget it! See to it that that half-wit of a husband of yours gets you out of the valley!”

She lowered her voice. “Because this time I won’t be able to help you.”

Silje twitched. So Hanna knew! Of course she did. Hanna knew everything.

Silje pressed old Hanna’s hands. “Why do you think that we should leave the valley?”

Hanna looked at Tengel. “Don’t you know why?”

“No,” answered Tengel. “I just feel great anxiety.”

The old witch nodded. “I sense more than that. I sense that one of our relatives among the Ice People is in real distress.”

“Could it be Heming?” Tengel asked quietly.

“Exactly! That hopeless person. He should have been stifled in his cradle.”

They hadn’t heard any news of Heming for many years. They thought he was far away or even dead.

“So now you maybe realise why you must leave the valley?”

“Do you really believe we’re in danger?”

“I’ve summoned you, haven’t I? I have a burning sense that you must get out of the valley urgently.”

“Right, I’ll think about it.”

“Well, then think fast! Fast! And let your – or rather your sister, Sunniva’s – daughter, Sol stay here for a moment. I want to talk to her alone.”

“Hanna!” Tengel exclaimed sternly.

“Mind your own business!” Hanna yelled in a voice that chilled blood. “Imagine such bright girls having to mix with such a big idiot! Out you go. And you take good care of little Liv Hanna, my goddaughter.”

Tengel said a guarded goodbye. Hanna and he had never been able to agree on anything. She was the witch who fought to keep alive the evil legacy, and he was the friend of humanity, who had been tainted but who tried to prevent the legacy from spreading.

Silje bent down instinctively and kissed old Hanna’s hollow cheek. This was when she saw that Hanna’s eyes, so close to her own, were brimming with tears.

“You go on,” said Grimar, who took leave of them. “Sol will catch up with you, I’m sure.”

On the way home, Silje said: “I feel so sad, Tengel. Today is the first time I’ve seen Grimar as a living human being, and I feel sorry for him.”

“You shouldn’t,” said Tengel grumpily. “Grimar is Hanna’s tool. He happily carries out what she orders him to do. The Ice People know what he’s done: people have vanished, and terrible things happened which nobody dares to speak openly about. Nobody does anything against him because Hanna protects him.”

“I feel sorry for him even so ... for both of them,” Silje muttered sadly.

“Let’s be thankful we’re under their protection,” Tengel admitted, “thanks to you.”

“They were horrid!” said Dag. “Will we be moving then?”

“I don’t know,” answered Tengel.

“Yes, we’re going to move,” said Silje.

“But we’ve nowhere to move to,” answered her husband. “We can’t just drag our children into misery just like that.”

But Silje was deaf to his protests. “We’ll start packing today.”

“Alright then,” Tengel said with a sigh.

***

Once the decision was made, Tengel worked like mad. He worked all day long sorting things out in the outhouses and the cottage, carefully selecting and packing everything they’d need.

“It will be a couple of days before we leave,” he said. ”I need to catch some more fish and talk to the neighbours about bartering some meat and other supplies. And I need to fix the cart.”

“Good,” said Silje. “Then I’ll have time to do the laundry.” Looking at the pile of stuff that needed to be thrown away, Silje said: “Heavens, what a lot of rubbish we’ve collected!”

“Yes, it’s hard to believe. We’ll burn it tomorrow.”

He lifted the beautiful, leaded window pane down from the shelf with great care. “We mustn’t forget to bring this with us.”

“Do you remember when you said that it would be suitable in some other house?”

“Yes. Maybe I was right after all.”

But his voice suggested that he was still in doubt.

He took something else down from the shelf. “We must also bring this with us.”

With a broad grin, Tengel held a book in his hand. Silje took it and placed it together with the other things that they would bring with them.

“We don’t need to bring everything with us, do we? Surely we’ll be back in summer?”

“I really hope so. I’m glad to hear you say so, Silje.”

Silje glared at him. “I love this valley with the lake, the mountains and the bogs, the yellow mountain violets and the little blue flowers. I just don’t like to feel trapped. And I could certainly do without the people in this valley. Some of them, at least.”

“On that we agree,” he smiled, snatching a quick kiss before the children came in.

Silje brought out the carved wooden box which Tengel had given her for a wedding gift. “Because I picked a lily before I’d received God’s blessing,” he’d said when he gave it to her. It never occurred to Silje that she would probably be able to make a far more elaborate one herself if she’d wanted to. Instead she kept the gift as one of her most treasured possessions.

Smiling wistfully, she folded the garments which Dag had been wrapped in as a newborn baby, placing them in the pile they would be bringing along with them.

“The children must go to bed now. They’ve been so worked up with all the packing.”

“I agree. The sun has set behind the mountains. It’s bedtime. Where are they?”

As Silje and Tengel went out into the yard, the three children came rushing towards them.

“Dad! Mum! Come and see!” they screamed. “There’s a fire!”

Silje and Tengel ran out of the yard. When they came round the corner of the cottage, they could hear terrible screams from the other side of the valley, at the entrance to the ice tunnel that led under the glacier. They could see the flames flickering towards the evening sky that was covered in dense smoke.

“Oh, my God,” whispered Tengel.

“It’s the gatekeeper’s house,” said Silje. “We must help them.”

“No,” said Tengel. He was quite white in the face. “It’s not only that house but also Hanna’s house. And the Bratten Farm ... Silje!” Tengel exclaimed in despair. “We won’t survive this. It’s too late.”

“Oh, no,” Silje moaned. “You think Heming has done this?”

“Yes. He’s been captured again and betrayed us to save his cowardly skin. He was bound to seek revenge since I punished him so violently when he laid his hands on you. I should have listened to my own instinct. I should have listened to you and Hanna. She was right. I’m an idiot. Oh, God, what are we to do?”

“Hanna’s house,” wailed Sol. “Hanna’s house is on fire. I must go.”

Tengel had to use force to hold her back. She bit him but this wasn’t the time to get angry with him.

“We saw a lot of men at the ice gate,” said Dag, “and their hats were all shiny.”

Soldiers’ helmets.

Finally, Tengel’s mind had begun to fathom what was going on.

“Quick! We must get away from here and hide! They’ll know we’re descendants of Tengel the Evil. At least our cottage is at the top of the valley, so they will come here last.”

“Which way should we go?” asked Silje desperately.

“Into the forest. There’s nowhere else. Only how long can we hide in there?”

“What about the mountain pass?”

Tengel stopped and thought for a moment. “Leave through the mountains? It’s almost impossible, but we must give it a try. The forest will give us cover for the first part of our journey. I’ll saddle the horse. Gather up only the most important things. Bring as little as possible! We’ll have to spend the night out in the open so bring the furs and blankets. Children, you must help your mother.”

Sol realised that they were in danger themselves and so didn’t run over to Hanna’s house. But she still sobbed and could only cast sorrowful, helpless glances in the direction of Hanna’s house, which was totally engulfed in flames.

Everybody ran to and fro, but there was somehow order in the chaos. It reminded Silje of a similar occasion when they’d fled from Benedikt’s farm. Now the situation was far more frenzied.

“My cat,” shouted Sol. “Has anybody seen my cat?”

Silje, who was also fond of animals, understood her anxiety. “Look in the barn, and then put it in this sack.”

Sol pulled the sack out of Silje’s hands and was off.

“We ought to warn our neighbours,” said Silje as she went to Tengel with another load.

“We haven’t got time for that.”

“What about their livestock ...?”

“The soldiers will take them. They’re too valuable to leave unattended. No, that doll’s too big!”

“We can’t possibly leave without Liv’s doll!”

Tengel had carved the wooden doll and Silje had made dresses for it. Liv adored the doll.

“You’re right. Was that the last bundle?”

“I think so. We’ll have to go – at once!”

There was the diary ... and Dag’s clothes. And the wedding present.

“You’re so sentimental about things, Silje, and I adore you because of it. But you’ve forgotten the window pane.”

“We can’t take that as well!”

“We have to,” Tengel said quickly. “Get the children up on the horse!”

Silje lifted the two youngest up on the horse. It wasn’t just her who was attached to useless objects, she thought to herself. How on earth had he imagined that they were to carry the window?

“Sol, Sol, where are you? Hurry up, for God’s sake!”

Sol appeared from the barn. “I can’t find the cat,” she wept as Tengel appeared and fastened the window pane to the rest of the baggage.

“The cat? It was chasing mice behind the pantry a moment ago,” he said.

Sol rushed over to the pantry and just as they were ready to leave, she returned, lifting the sack proudly. A pitch-black tail thrashed angrily through the top of the sack, showing just how tactless humans can be in disturbing a great mouse hunt!

“Well, thank heavens for that,” Silje sighed. They left the farmyard, and soon they couldn’t be seen because of the birch forest.

“We haven’t brought much food with us,” she told Tengel anxiously. “Grimar ate all the cloud berries and nearly all the food that was left in the house. I’d planned to make some bread tomorrow.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. I suppose we have some food at least?”

“Yes, but it won’t last long.”

The Valley of the Ice People was covered in thick smoke. Behind them, the smoke raged in several farms and panicked screams could be heard.

Silje felt sick with fear for her children and compassion for those that they’d left behind. She had to run to keep pace with Tengel, who drove the horse onwards. Tengel took very big steps. The three children clung to the horse’s back. Her breathing became painful, and she had a lot to carry. There were things they hadn’t been able to put on the horse, not to mention the things they’d had to leave behind.

She wanted to cry out that they had to wait. She couldn’t cope any more. She also had an unborn child to think of. But she said nothing. She knew that every second was costly.

She couldn’t think of a worse situation to be in than the one they found themselves in now, running uphill and downhill with the threat of certain death close behind them, driven on by sheer panic, fighting for the strength to get away – and not being able to.

At last, Tengel noticed that Silje was lagging behind, so he stopped. There was an opening in the forest just there, and Silje reached Tengel while she was gasping for breath. Her legs were about to give way.

Now all the farms were in flames, including the chieftain’s, with the beautiful carvings

And ... and theirs. Tengel’s childhood home.

“Oh, Tengel,” she moaned.

“We must move on,” he said. “Quickly.”

“Do you think they’re following us?”

“Not yet, but you never know. Let’s move on.”

It wasn’t much of a rest for Silje. Tengel only waited until she’d caught up with him, then carried on.

The uphill trek was a nightmare. Now and then she would catch a glimpse of the village down below, and then she saw something that made her hair stand on end.

“Tengel,” she shouted. “Look!”

He stopped and whispered something under his breath. Coming towards them, from their own farm, were three boys from the village with a group of soldiers in close pursuit.

“Oh, poor boys,” Silje wailed.

Silje half ran, half stumbled, towards Tengel and the horse.

“No, you mustn’t look down,” he ordered, took Silje by the hand, urging the horse forward.

A terrible scream of anguish reached them. Silje didn’t want to turn round but she understood that the boys’ flight had been in vain.

Tengel glanced over his shoulder. “The soldiers have stopped to talk. If we keep absolutely quiet, they won’t see us here.”

Just standing still without being allowed to flee, even when the soldiers were at a comfortable distance, was almost unbearable. Silje looked down through the birch trees while her lungs ached. Fatigue was causing her vision to blur. She saw soldiers everywhere among the houses. A small caravan of cows was driven towards the ice tunnel, but not a soul from the village was in sight.

Silje shuddered.

“I don’t know what’s become of the soldiers that were behind us,” Tengel said uneasily. “Either they’re on their way uphill, or they’ve moved in another direction. We must move on as quickly as possible.”

They climbed steadily higher and as they did so their progress became slower and slower. Silje fell behind once more. She felt a pain in her stomach and began to worry about the tiny life within whose existence she’d been trying so hard to deny. She had a dull pain in her head. Her legs were aching, and every breath was painful. But Tengel didn’t wait.They reached the edge of the birch forest. Now they would have to continue across open countryside, where they would be clearly visible. The midsummer twilight was not dark enough to conceal them from watchful eyes.

And there in the opening of the forest, Silje collapsed. Overcome with nausea, she disappeared behind a large boulder where she vomited uncontrollably. The cramp in her stomach was more than she could bear.

Then she straightened her back, wiped the perspiration off her face, took a couple of deep breaths and staggered on.

Tengel was coming towards her.

“Now, my dear,” he said gently, “is there something you’ve forgotten to tell me about?”

Her legs felt like jelly, and she didn’t manage to take another step.

“Yes,” she sobbed.

Tengel put his arm around her and helped her back to where the horse was waiting. “You little fool,” he said tenderly. “You silly, little thing. And you didn’t dare say anything, eh?”

“No,” she said, wiping her nose. “We don’t see eye to eye about it.”

“No, we don’t. But let’s not think about it now. Don’t be afraid of me, sweetheart. You need some help.”

“You walked so fast,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t keep up with you.”

“I didn’t notice it. You were right behind me and I was so anxious about the children, I was quite out of my mind. Forgive me, my dearest. Sol and Dag! Jump off the horse. Mum needs a rest.”

They started off again, but their progress was much slower because the children had to walk. Silje had a bad conscience but barely had the strength to cling to the horse. Liv sat behind her, hanging on to her skirt with her small hands.

She looked down at the others. The children and Tengel all wore tunics and hoods that reached over their shoulders. They’d pulled the hoods off their heads because they were beginning to feel warm from walking so fast uphill. The children looked grim and Silje wondered how much they understood. The cat hissed angrily inside the sack, which just made Sol’s grip tighter.

Silje couldn’t help looking over her shoulder.

“They can see us, Tengel. We can look down over the whole valley.”

“There’s too much smoke down there.”

“But if one of them has come up above the smoke, looking for us?”

“Just keep going,” was all Tengel said.

But he stopped abruptly. Silje turned to see what he was doing and was amazed. He was standing on the edge of a precipice, looking down into the valley below, with both arms stretched out in front of him, palms forward, as if he was trying to block somebody.

A strange authority, an air of majesty, seemed to surround him.

Silje had rarely seen him practicing the powers he was said to possess, but she realised that this was what he was doing, and it made her shudder.

Then, to her horror, Sol walked over to Tengel, looked up at him for a moment and did the same as him.

Silje was afraid of disturbing them, she didn’t even dare move. Dag and Liv were also watching them in amazement. Nobody could deny that Tengel and Sol, standing there, tall and dominant, with their strange power within them, imposed something powerful but indefinable on their surroundings.

Then Tengel lowered his arms and breathed out heavily. Sol followed suit and together they walked back to the others and they continued their trek.

“What were you doing?” Silje asked softly after a while. “Did you make us invisible to them?”

Tengel smiled wryly but his eyes were serious. “Nobody can do that. It was something less drastic. I ... forced their thoughts away from us so that they wouldn’t look up.”

This was difficult to fathom.

“A kind of telepathy?”

“In a way. Or hypnosis – directing their minds – something of that kind.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“I don’t know.” He chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I don’t know my power – I just did my best.”

“Did Sol know what she was doing?”

Tengel also shuddered. “I’m sure she did. There was a very strong flow between us, of compassion and co-operation. That girl, Silje ... I’m scared.”

Silje’s reply was slow and deliberate. “She has a large bundle hidden among the baggage.”

“I know. Hanna gave it to her.”

“Do you intend to let her keep it?”

“Do you?”

“This is something that you must decide. Do you believe what I also believe? Has it ever occurred to you whether it’s all Hanna’s ... what shall I call it? Has Sol got Hanna’s inheritance?”

“I’m sure of it. I realised a long time ago that Hanna has chosen Sol as her successor. Once many years ago she tried to have me be her successor, but I refused. She’s hated me ever since. Sol was the answer to her wishes, and there are bound to be valuable things in that bundle. Ointments and recipes, which would have otherwise been forgotten, and which mustn’t leave the protection of the family. Hanna has probably kept herself alive just long enough to find a person to pass them on to. So I won’t take the bundle away from Sol just yet.”

“You’re right. Hurry up, children!”

They began to walk faster. It grew darker but never entirely dark, which they were grateful for because now they had almost crossed the mountain pass.

“Do you think we can get the horse through?” Silje asked. Her voice betrayed a note of doubt as she saw the threatening mountain massif above them in the crevice they had to pass.

“I must give it a try. Otherwise we’ll have to leave it here.”

“Here? Alone in a deserted valley without being able to get out? No way!”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Silje.”

She stared at him, aggressive and defiant. She knew perfectly well what he meant.

“The horse will have to get through,” she said tersely. “We need it, don’t we?”

“Absolutely.”

“And it needs us.”

Tengel looked away, hiding the trace of a smile at her determination, which had made her cheeks look a rosy red. She’d fight for her horse with her life, if need be. He knew that.

Once more, he was so overcome with great affection for his young wife that his eyes brimmed with tears. Then he blinked quickly and brushed the tears from his face.

Step by step they trudged onwards over the harsh and jagged rocks. They tried to make their way, got stuck and were forced to try another route. The horse was definitely their biggest problem, but now they were all determined to bring it with them.

Then came the inevitable moment where they stopped, looking wistfully at the deserted valley of the Ice People.

They could hardly see it any more. They knew that their home was somewhere under the thick blanket of smoke that covered the valley. This was a home and a valley to which they’d never return.

They were silent for a long time. Dag sobbed but tried to hide it because he didn’t want to show how much he understood. Tengel put his arms around him.

“I’ll miss the valley,” Silje sobbed. “Our little family was happy there.”

“Yes.”

“It’s better not to hold a grudge against the children that bullied ours. When you haven’t got anything to be proud of, you need a scapegoat for your anger. The descendants of Tengel the Evil are an obvious choice.”

“You’re right, Silje.”

“Tengel,” she blurted. “Do you remember what Hanna once said? That we were the only ones left of the Ice People? We and no others!”

“Yes, I do. And now I fear that we realise what she meant.”

“There won’t be any other survivors from the valley. Oh, Tengel, I can’t bear it. I feel like I’m suffocating!” If she thought about each person in the valley, the children ... No, it was simply too horrific. She couldn’t, wouldn’t. “What about Eldrid ... and her husband? After all, she was one of the Ice People.”

“Her lineage will die with her.”

“And Heming?”

“Heming is bound to be dead by now.”

Silje noticed that Sol’s hands tightly twisted the top of the sack she was holding. Between her gritted teeth, she said over and over again in an almost inaudible whisper:

“Heming. Heming. That’s his name.”

Dag was more pragmatic. “I suppose we’ve been lucky really?”

“You can say that again,” replied Tengel tersely. “Now let’s go. We need to move on.”

“Will we walk for the whole night?”

“Yes, because there’s no place for us to rest, and the night is light enough. It’s very important that we get a good head start – in case they’re following us. Soon we’ll be out on the glacier. It’s a long, dangerous route but we have no other choice. I think it’s best that I walk in front with a stick and feel my way, step by step. The ravines will be covered in snow. We’ll have to walk in line, one after the other, even the horse, heavy as he is. We must tie something around his hooves to spread his weight.”

Silje nodded. She’d placed the children on the horse, and she herself was now walking next to Tengel through the sharp, stony mountain path. She led the horse carefully so that it knew where to place its hooves. The horse was nervous now and shied away all the time, fearful of the bleak, inhospitable landscape and the ground underfoot.

The Valley of the Ice People was entirely lost from their view.