‘We need to go northwest,’ Caz argues. ‘Those hills are northwest.’
Kyor shakes his head. ‘No. They’ll take a day to cross. At least. Andwith this rain, it’s better we go a little wide as the horses could easily fall on the wet earth. Rockslides could also take them out.’
No one questions his decision further.
‘Elska says it gets easier up here,’ he says as we’re both forced to duck beneath low-hanging branches.
But luckily Kyor’s right. As we break through the line of trees, we find ourselves in a far sparser part of the forest. Not only that, but the rain clouds seem to have passed, too, settling over the higher ground instead.
‘Elska is restless. What do you say to having a run?’ he whispers against the shell of my ear. ‘I’ll have to hold you tight, for safety reasons of course.’
‘Of course,’ I say, fighting the grin that I’m grateful he can’t see. After the last couple of days, a bit of careless sprinting on a wolf feels like exactly what the healer ordered.
I brace myself, ready to feel the lurch of the wolf beneath me, but before she moves, a shout comes from behind us.
‘Stop! Everyone off! Off their horses now!’
I twist my head around, and even though my view is partially blocked by Kyor, I can still see Stide racing towards us.
‘What have you done, you stupid boy?’ she says, glaring at Kyor. ‘You have brought us to a hule – the home of the vätte.’
It is the first time since I took back my dagger that I have seen such emotion from the Sanning, who stands directly in front of Elska yet seemingly unaware of the manner in which the wolf is baring her teeth. She doesn’t love Stide calling her rider stupid.
‘You cannot walk across their ground,’ Stide continues. ‘The old burrows are here.’
‘I’m sorry, did you say vätte? As in the goblins?’ It’s Ruben who asks, and he’s not trying to hide his incredulity.
I understand his scepticism. In the slums, they mutter that all the creatures of myth are just that – myths. Father always told me such beings were real, though, and since facing a jötunn and a kraken, I’m much more open to the idea that the creatures of folklore are exactly as real as he claimed.
But even in folklore, in terms of dangerous creatures, the vätte arehardly up there with the Myrkr or the jötnar. They’re a pest, a nuisance, nothing more. Everyone knows that.
In fact, I’m pretty sure you need to be more scared of some of the starving rats in the slums than you do of these creatures. Sure, the tales say they like a bit of mischief – in our house, the vätte always got blamed when socks went missing – but after everything we’ve been through these past few days, a little harmless humour wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
‘We’ll leave an offering,’ Kyor says, unperturbed. ‘I’m sure we have something in our bags we can give them. Maybe one of Rose’s tinctures. That’ll ensure they leave us alone.’
‘Why are you not listening to me, dog boy?’ Stide barks back. ‘It is not the vätte you need to fear. It is their burrows.’ She waves around us. ‘Look at the size of the horses. The weight of you with your big-city belly. It is not safe to cross.’
Behind me, Ruben and Benny fail to stifle their laughs. I can’t imagine anyone has ever accused Kyor of having a big belly, let alone called him ‘dog boy’.
I feel the crackle of his annoyance in static against my skin, and yet he manages to keep it in. Stide, however, is clearly fuming at Kyor’s nonchalance.
‘She’s right.’ Thessa’s voice is far more measured than the other Sanning’s. ‘These lands are unstable. Can’t you feel it?’
She looks at me as she asks the question, though I’ve no idea what I’m meant to feel, not from up here on Elska.
‘So what do you suggest we do?’ Kyor asks in exasperation. ‘You want to turn around and find a different route?’
‘Yeah …’ Benny’s voice is low and wary. ‘I’m not sure that’s going to be possible.’
My stomach tightens as I twist around to see what he’s talking about, only for my jaw to drop.
‘Where in the Gods’ names did that come from?’ I stare at twelve feet of smooth stone wall – solid, opaque, and utterly impossible considering we just passed through that spot only moments ago.
‘Vätte magic,’ Stide hisses.
‘Vätte magic?’ Caz questions. I can tell from the toneof her voice that this is something she knows nothing about, and she doesn’t like that one bit.
‘Illusions, right?’ Benny asks. ‘That’s what I read.’
