Ten
Henrik
T
he following day, neither Henrik nor Johan trusted Elias to speak up and ask for help, and so they stopped to rest at least every two hours. With everything they’d endured, Henrik had never seen Elias’ positivity waver, and so witnessing him break down the night before had shaken him.
That night, they had set up their camp down by the river. Elias had fallen asleep as soon as they’d eaten supper, but Henrik’s brain wouldn’t quieten enough for sleep, so he’d wandered a short way to the water’s edge and sat down. Their camp was still in view, so he wasn’t surprised when Johan joined him. They took their shoes and wool socks off and both gasped when their feet plunged into the icy water, but it was refreshing on Henrik’s blistered feet.
“I love water that startles you it’s so cold, it reminds me of home,” Henrik said.
Johan didn’t reply right away, but Henrik got the sense he was trying to find some words, and so he sat patiently with his feet dangling in the water.
“T-tell about it?” Johan blurted out eventually.
Henrik smiled a sad smile.
“My home in Varinien was beautiful growing up. My family were fishermen, we lived near the fjord. Imposing mountains with deep-blue waters. At the right time of year, you could spot pods of dolphins leaping from the surface.” Henrik sighed wistfully. “But elf families are huge, and people began to struggle to feed so many mouths. When the famine took hold and we could no longer procure imported food, things went from bad to worse. Brothers and sisters turned on one another, or like in Eli’s case, parents turned on their own kin. It was as though this place, which had always had soft edges, was suddenly lined with blades. I dream of returning home, but that place no longer exists.”
Johan reached over and squeezed Henrik’s thigh in a way that felt as if Johan was taking some of his heartache and the weight that came with it. Henrik had never realised how empty words could be until now. How much a person could speak without saying anything and how much a person could say without speaking.
“I know you disagree with me, but you’re good with people, you know? You are a bright spot in a dark world, Johan. And I’ve seen some of the darkest corners it has to offer. Don’t ever underestimate your light.” He pressed his leg against Johan’s, who hooked his foot around Henrik’s under the water. Henrik could barely take a breath at the contact, and he merely stared at where they were connected until a short while later, when Johan pointed back to camp and said “Fire” before reluctantly getting up to tend to it.
Henrik waited a moment before returning. Guilt churned in his stomach because his foot touching another man’s shouldn’t make him feel like this. But it was as though tiny wings fluttered inside his stomach, and he wasn’t sure how they’d got there. Likebeing scared, but not quite. Scared for something good, maybe. Only, that was wrong of him, wasn’t it? Henrik rarely dared to hope for good, but these tiny wings seemed determined to betray his logical mind.
O
n the fourth day, there was a buzz of life in the air. Excitement laced with fear accompanied them every step until, eventually, they entered a clearing where a tower that must have been at least five stories tall loomed over them. It possessed only a single window near the top, and a large wall wrapped around it protectively.
There was an eeriness to how still and quiet the clearing was, and Henrik couldn’t fight the feeling they were being watched, the fine hairs on his arms standing on end in warning. Henrik stepped closer to the stone barrier to see what was lying across the bottom.
“Gaaah!” Henrik leaped back from the skeleton-like husks that littered the base of the wall. If that wasn’t an ominous sign, he wasn’t sure what was.
“What is it?” Elias asked, trying to peer around him.
Henrik gulped. “Some questions are best left unanswered. Where is the entrance?”
Just as Henrik asked, the stones in the wall began to shift on their own, slowly creating an entryway for them. It had been a long time since Henrik had seen magic in action, and it sent a thrill down his spine.
Johan stepped forward and through the gap in the wall but motioned for the two elves to follow closely behind. Not thatthey needed telling; they were practically glued to Johan’s back, frightened of both entering the tower and of being left behind in the creepy clearing.
Johan seemed to be searching for something near the base of the tower. Both Henrik and Elias were his shadows until they came to a spot where something was growing.
The plant had bright green leaves with gold stems, unlike anything Henrik had seen before. As they stared at the plant in wonder, stones within the tower stole their attention as they shifted on their own, creating another entrance.
Nobody greeted them from the gap in the tower, and all Henrik’s instincts told him to run,run far away. But they hadn’t come all this way for nothing, so Henrik gritted his teeth and followed Johan and Elias inside. Silently, they made their way up what felt like a never-ending spiral staircase before reaching their destination.
The room they entered was luxurious in comparison to the entrance and stairway, and Henrik was surprised to find a beautiful man with long golden hair sitting lazily on a fabric chair.
“We’ve met before” came a voice from somewhere else in the room.
The owner of the voice stepped out from behind a large bookcase. He was as equally stunning as the man in the chair, but with a darkness that emanated from him. Something about him was predatory and made Henrik feel like prey.
Johan nodded at the man.
“I assume that the predicament you and your parents came to me with is still unresolved, then?” the man asked.
Johan confirmed with another nod but appeared embarrassed. Henrik instinctively knew that Johan and his parents had come to the sorcerer to try to help with his difficulties speaking, and it sent a pang of pain through his chest.
