Page 66 of Dragonbound

Skaldi extended his wings, and Erann felt himself being lifted from the ground.

As they got higher, Erann could see the destruction the avalanche had caused. The mountain looked misshapen. The grey of the rock showed where, before, there’d only been white.

Without Skaldi’s help, there was no chance he’d have survived.

You are welcome, the dragon’s words whispered through the wind.

As Skaldi flew, Erann struggled for balance. It was unlike anything he’d ever dreamed. All around him was a gleaming vastness of white. Where the sun caught it, it reflected back in an assortment of blues and purples, no two places looking quite the same.

Here and there, the colours of the land could be seen starting to break through the white layer – the deep greens, browns and black. The snow must at last have begun to melt. The thaw was coming, but slowly. Finally, Erann understood. He’d been imprisoned in a cave for over seven days and had only seen glimpses of the landscape through the dragon’s eyes. Sereh had seen all this first-hand, and had certainly been paying more attention than him to what it all meant. There was little Long Night growth poking through the snow. The rivers didn’t yet run free from Vatna Jokull. In the far distance, he could see the sea remained ice-locked even close to the coastline. There was something very wrong, but why Sereh thought he knew the answers to it all, he didn’t know. He had to believe they would find the solution together. When she was well again.

The journey was surprisingly calm, despite the wind buffeting his hair through the gaps in Skaldi’s claws. The brief feeling of pleasure from seeing his land from so high up, despite his worries, disappeared as soon as they landed, again jolting Erann painfully. Immediately, he understood how precarious Sereh’s position was.

‘Where are they?’ he demanded, seeking Sereh and the wolf-dog but not seeing them, although he could faintly hear Arrow’s whine.

There. Skaldi nudged his mind to where Sereh had disappeared in the snow.

‘She’s all the way down there?’ he gasped, warily eyeing the opening in the snow that yawned a dragon’s length away, while he fought for balance between his crutches.

Discarding one of the crutches, he pulled out all the furs he’d brought with him to use as makeshift ropes. Hooking one crutch beneath his armpit, his fingers fumbled as he tried to tie them together, and he forced himself to slow down and concentrate on the knots. They needed to be good ones.

Take your time.

Skaldi entered his mind again.

Arrow is with her.

But Erann was no fool. Sereh had been lying, unresponsive for a long time. He needed to get to her. Still, he paused, took a deep breath and returned to his endeavours.

Eventually, Erann had everything ready.

‘Arrow,’ he called. He waited impatiently, but at last she came, claws scrabbling against the ice and snow. She pulled herself out of the hole and came to stand by Erann. Her fur was frozen and unruly, her eyes watching him.

‘Take this to Sereh,’ he said and thought to the wolf-dog, holding out the end of the tied-together furs. ‘I need you to wrap it around her. Can you do it?’

He couldn’t go into the hole. Neither could Skaldi. Erann couldn’t even go anywhere near the hole for fear more of the snow would collapse onto Sereh. But Arrow could. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he wondered if Arrow was able to see his thoughts, as he believed he’d seen hers. He tried to press the thought into the wolf-dog’s mind and felt Skaldi doing the same. For a moment, Arrow gazed at him, but then she clamped the fur between her jaws, rushing back to the hole and disappearing. Erann watched her go. Arrow was nimble, and the hole didn’t collapse any further.

He waited.

He was aware of Skaldi watching him, but he made no suggestions.

Finally, Arrow barked, the sound seeming to come from far away. Erann took hold of the end of the tied-together furs. If Arrow hadn’t managed to get Sereh onto the fur at the heart of his rope, when he pulled, she could fall further. He wound it round his forearm and heaved. He dug his good leg into the drift and leaned back, bracing against the snowpack. The snow threatened to give way under his feet. Suddenly, the rope tautened and Erann felt himself lifted to his feet. Behind him, Skaldi had grabbed the end of the rope between his powerful jaws and was walking backwards, pulling the rope up as he went.

Go closer to the edge. Erann let go and hurried back towards where he’d been placed on the surface by the dragon.

Can you see them? Skaldi called almost immediately, drawing slowly backwards. But he didn’t wait for a reply. Go, they will need you to help them over the edge, but don’t get too close.

Erann drew as close as he dared to the fragile edge. Snow and rocks of ice cascaded down, dislodged by the friction of the rope as Skaldi pulled. ‘Keep going,’ he shouted. ‘We can’t stop now.’ Arrow yelped, but the rope continued to move. The crevasse was too unstable.

Erann’s initial relief and delight that Arrow had understood his instructions faded as he saw Sereh appear through the hole, Arrow doing her best to aid the dragon. Arrow’s teeth tightly gripping the tied furs closest to Sereh’s head, where she was nestled against the sling he’d made, but her face was blue, bruised and sheeted in sweat. Aware she was safe in the sling, he hurried forwards.

‘Careful, if we bump her head, she may never wake.’ Dropping his crutch, crashing to his knees, wincing at the stab of pain along his broken leg, he reached out and ensured her head came free without further injuries, adding his reserves of strength to those of Arrow’s.

Sereh continued to be pulled free by Skaldi, but in her wake, the ground juddered, her weight, added to Erann’s own, too much for the snowy crest. Arrow surged into his arms, and he rolled away, to the side away from Sereh, dragging the wolf-dog with him.

‘Argh,’ he shouted. His splint dug into him and he knew he’d pay for it later, but it was worth it knowing Sereh and Arrow were safe.

Immediately, Arrow struggled out of his grasp and darted to Sereh, even as he lay there listening to the snow fall into the deep crevasse below. He envied the wolf-dog’s speed. He forced himself upright and then realised his crutch had fallen as well.