Page 38

She noticed the carefully constructed lines below the words, ensuring the scribe kept his writing in an even line. And then her eyes darted to the decorations. Swirling patterns, seemingly contained in circles. She gasped.

‘I’ve seen one of these. Well, Erann found it by falling over it.’ The Librarian looked up from where he was running his hand down the length of the extinguished candle which before had held the blue flame. He followed with his eyes to where her finger pointed at the swirling decoration around the script.

‘Tell me again, who is this Erann? Who is his family? Emma speaks of him in her message to me. She’s most concerned with his disappearance.’ While talking, his voice regained its intensity. She found herself replying without considering her words first.

‘Erann’s the son of Ramon. He was the Jarl of the Eastern Quarter before Rankil had him exiled.’ She thought she’d mentioned that before, yet the intense expression on the Librarian’s face made her doubt it. Had she assumed the Librarian knew Erann’s identity?

‘He has about my rotations. He has a younger brother and sister. His sister’s now Rankil’s wife. I know it infuriates Erann. When I first met him, he was lying frozen almost to death on Vatna Jokull. I’d escaped from Rankil and was making my way to my friends. I hoped they’d shelter me. I’d forgotten I’d be able to find sanctuary here,’ she added as an afterthought. ‘But then, if I’d come here first, I’d never have met Erann or Skaldi. Anyway, Arrow found him. He was disorientated but alive. Looking back it was all very odd. Now I know the truth. Skaldi had sheltered him all night long. It defies explanation.’

‘Wait, go back. You say by the time you met Erann he’d already met Skaldi. Why was he exposed on the glacier then?’

‘No, I didn’t say that,’ she shook her head. ‘Skaldi had found Erann, but Erann hadn’t seen him yet. He was ill with worry from having found the bodies of my friends and surviving a wolf attack. He’d simply stumbled from the steading of the Sweinsons and found himself on the glacier. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings. If it hadn’t been for Skaldi finding him, and scaring the wolves away, Erann wouldn’t be alive now, if he is alive now.’

Her words confused the Librarian even more.

He shook his head. ‘Sereh, can you start at the beginning. When did Erann first meet Skaldi? It seems to me Erann’s been aware of him for some time, or that Skaldi has been aware of Erann.’ She could tell he was trying to rein in his irritation at her muddled words. She took a moment to clear her thoughts before starting again.

‘Erann’s father was Ramon, the jarl of the Eastern Quarter. He was sent into exile eight rotations ago by Rankil and his allies as a means of trial by exile. The family professed Ramon’s innocence, but Rankil had already worked on the Full Council members. They didn’t listen to the protestations of innocence. They decreed that if he survived the seven rotations in exile, that would be proof he was innocent. Honestly, I don’t know how they can expect anyone to survive out there in the middle of the Long Night. It’s bad enough during the Long Day.’ The Librarian sighed as she stumbled off topic again. Meeting his confused eyes, she endeavoured to behave and recount the information he’d asked for.

‘The seven rotations of exile were up at the end of the last Long Night. I know the family were expecting Ramon to reappear and prove his innocence. But he didn’t, and so his sister, Aras, agreed to marry the soon-to-be Jarl Rankil. I don’t know why, because from what I’ve seen, she doesn’t even like him.’

This time, the Librarian’s frustrated sigh was quieter. She glanced at him to see him shaking his head.

‘Sorry, I’ll really try to stop doing that. Anyway, Aras married Rankil, and then his mother became ill during the Long Night. So, Erann decided to seek out Anya, the herb woman, who used to be in their steading when they were still the jarl. She now lives with Rankil. Erann took his mother and brother to his uncle’s, as well as all the animals. Then he set out to journey to Rankil’s steading. Along the way, he came across my friend’s steading, but they’d all died during the Long Night.’ She paused here, thinking of Estrith and all she’d lost. It broke her heart afresh. The Librarian allowed her some time to reflect. After a moment he coughed, and she returned to her task. This time she didn’t apologise.

‘Erann spent the night at their steading, hoping to burn it down the next day, as is fitting. Only, he woke in the night to the sound of wolves. The next day, he found the steading half burnt and many of the wolves dead. Traumatised, he hurried on his way to Rankil’s. Somehow, he became disorientated and ended up on Vatna Jokull where he must have fallen unconscious. I found him. I rescued him and fed him but then he went off without so much as a goodbye, leaving me with his backpack and his father’s journal.’

The Librarian’s eyes closed as he listened to Sereh’s narrative, but at the word journal his eyes sprang open.

‘Do you still have the journal?’ he sounded almost feverish.

‘Erann has it,’ she admitted, watching the Librarian visibly deflate.

‘Never mind. Carry on,’ he requested.

‘From there, Erann went to Rankil’s. Then he went to his steading, and that’s where I found him again. I’d gone there on discovering my friends were dead and on realising I had his journal. We were supposed to come to you, but Erann was distracted when he fell over the marker stone. I told him I’d seen something like it in the cave I sheltered in that first night.’

This time, the Librarian slumped forwards, elbows on his desk, pinching his nose between his fingers as he sought to stay calm. When he spoke, his voice sounded tired and old.

‘What cave, Sereh? You’ve not mentioned this before.’

Her response was defensive. ‘You asked me to tell you about Erann, not me. I was the one who found the cave, or rather Arrow was.’

‘And why were you out that day, Sereh? You haven’t explained that either.’

She squirmed uncomfortably. But Pal was safe, and so, she’d have to admit what had happened. And after all, she was prepared to speak before the Full Council Meeting about it.

‘Rankil’s mistress had a baby before she died. Rankil sent me to expose it. He didn’t want it because it wouldn’t seal his future as the Jarl of the Eastern Quarter. I didn’t want to do it. I never wanted to do it’! Her voice sank so low the Librarian leant towards her to hear.

His look was sympathetic, and it heartened her.

‘So I left the baby to be exposed but even though it was the first day of the Long Day, the sun set too soon. The snow was too deep. Then it started to snow again. Arrow and I were lost. Somehow, amongst the howling winds, sheeting snow, and deepest black of night, Arrow found a cave for us to shelter in. Only at sunrise did I realise it was an odd little place. The walls were an impenetrable black and covered in curving shapes, like on the marker Erann later found. Come to think of it; it must be carved from the same stone as the caves. Do you think it has something to do with the dragons?’ for the first time she realised why the Librarian was so interested. She gazed at him. He offered a smile in encouragement.

‘What else do you want to know? Oh, and you’ll be pleased to hear Skaldi rescued the baby.’

At that, he stood abruptly.

Almost shouting, he thundered, ‘He did what? I can’t believe it. It goes against everything he should be doing. So other than rescuing the baby and Erann, has he done anything else?’