Nancy Farmer - The Islands of the Blessed

They had only gotten as far as a small beech wood, a half-day’s journey from town. In the teeming rain they saw a well with a copper cup attached to a chain. “We won’t be needing that for water,” said Thorgil. “All we have to do is look up and open our mouths.”

The beech trees were completely leafless and offered no shelter from the storm. Jack and Thorgil had to huddle next to the well, where an ancient wall, half tumbled down, gave some protection. The ponies stood together with their backs to the wind.

“Maybe we should return to the monastery tomorrow,” said Jack.

“Never! I shall never go back,” Thorgil said. Jack knew there was no point arguing with her yet. By morning she might be miserable enough to change her mind. He put St. Columba’s robe over both of them, and as before, it gave them ample cover. It not only made them feel warmer, but drier. The wool didn’t smell of wet sheep either, but of green leaves and summer.

“I wonder whether I could magic up some kind of shelter,” Jack said, looking at St. Columba’s staff.

“That would be very welcome,” said Thorgil. She might be warmer, but she was still shivering.

Jack held the staff out, trying various commands such as “Walls, arise!” and “House, appear!” but nothing happened. Even to him the words sounded lame. He needed a lorica, and that only came when needed.

I really, really need one now, Jack thought, hoping that someone was listening. The water kept thundering down. Next, he tried to stop the rain, but he had only ever been good at calling it up. “The staff has a mind of its own,” he conceded at last.

“We’ll get through this,” said Thorgil. “I remember once, when I was very small, being stuck on a cliff with Olaf while he was hunting wild sheep. A storm came up and we couldn’t move. The wind was so strong, I thought it was going to blow us over the edge, but Olaf said, ‘Hang on by your fingernails, child. That’s why Northmen never cut them. They’re as good as eagle talons.’ He was so cheerful about it, I lost all fear.”

Jack unwrapped one of the venison pies, and they took turns nibbling it. Darkness fell with no letup in the storm. The ground where they lay was full of stones and a tree root meandered through the middle, but eventually exhaustion brought them sleep.

It was still raining in the morning. “We have to return,” Jack said.

“Never,” said Thorgil flatly.

“I’ve seen these storms go on for a week. Besides, what’s the harm in staying at the monastery until spring? You can stuff wool in your ears if you don’t want to hear Christian prayers.”

“I won’t go back!” cried Thorgil, with more than a little hysteria in her voice.

Jack decided it was better to eat breakfast before pushing the argument further. He unpacked a round of cheese and cut her a chunk with his knife.

“I’m not hungry,” she said.

“You need to eat.” He made the mistake of trying to put the cheese into her mouth, and she struck him. The whole round went spinning into the mud. “What’s the matter with you?” Jack shouted, retrieving the food and holding it out in the rain to clean it.

“I said I wasn’t hungry and I meant it! I want to get moving! I’ll go mad if I sit here and do nothing!”

“Go mad, then.” Jack turned his back on her. He ate slowly while staring at the teeming rain. Even on the high ground where they were, the water sat in pools. It seemed likely that the road ahead was flooded. He heard a slight noise over the relentless storm and turned to see Thorgil crying.

She was trying not to make a sound, but her body shook with sobs and a few gasps escaped her. “Thorgil, I’m so sorry,” cried Jack. He was used to her rages. Crying was much more alarming. He slid over to put his arm around her and found that her skin was hot. “Oh, Thorgil. Oh, no,” he murmured. She had caught flying venom. It had simply taken a while to surface.

When they had arrived at the monastery, the monks and nuns no longer had it, but Ethne was still ill. Thorgil had bent over her when she transferred the rune of protection. The elf lady had breathed on her.

Jack held Thorgil closely. He was aware that she could infect him, but he didn’t care. “You know you’re very sick, don’t you?” he said. There was no point avoiding the truth. Northmen preferred to face a problem head-on.

“I don’t feel good,” Thorgil admitted. “My head aches horribly, and I keep having chills. My eyes are blurry.”

“It might be flying venom.”

“It might. Wulfie said she felt like this.”

They sat for a while longer. “You know that we can’t go to my village now,” said Jack. “We’d carry the disease to them.”

“I know,” she said.

“The only place in the world where we’ll be welcome is the monastery. They’ve already had the disease. They won’t catch it again.” Jack smoothed her wet hair. Even that was too hot.

He helped Thorgil to her feet, and she called the ponies in the way that only the heirs of Hengist knew. They came readily, but he had to help her climb up. “Put your arms around its neck,” Jack advised. “That way you won’t fall off.”

Far too slowly, they began to retrace their journey. The road was cut by streams and sometimes disappeared altogether. Jack had to keep checking landmarks to be sure they were going the right way. Without the sun, he had no sense of direction. Thorgil slipped into a kind of trance as they plodded on. She no longer raised her head and depended on Jack to find the way. Unfortunately, his pony wasn’t at all cooperative. It balked at going down the road and turned around frequently to be sure its companion was following.

Jack had to fight the animal constantly, and it soon became clear that they wouldn’t reach St. Filian’s before dark. He was looking for a place to camp when suddenly the way before them was blocked by a tangle of bare branches. He halted. “Where are we?” said Thorgil in a drowsy voice.

“Almost there,” Jack lied, his heart thudding with fear.

Somehow, while fighting the pony, he’d gotten off the road. He looked back and found the trees completely unfamiliar. He couldn’t remember which way they’d come, and now they were surrounded by the confusing jumble of a hazel wood.

Paths led off in all directions, most of them roofed by branches so low, a horse and rider couldn’t get through. The light was dim and getting dimmer. Jack looked around desperately for some kind of shelter. “Must lie down,” said Thorgil in a muffled voice.

“No!” cried Jack, but she had already slipped to the ground. She landed in a mush of dead leaves, and he dismounted quickly and ran to her. His pony, freed of its burden, wheeled and galloped off through the trees. Thorgil’s pony followed. “No! No!” shouted Jack, waving his arms, but they paid not the slightest attention to him.

“Call them back, Thorgil,” he begged.

“Throat sore,” she whispered. Jack didn’t dare try to track the ponies. He’d get lost, and anyhow, they would obey only the shield maiden. Perhaps in the morning she would have recovered enough to speak. Right now, though, they were in a terrible situation, because the ponies had gone off with the food and supplies. All they had left was what they were wearing and, of course, St. Columba’s robe and staff. Jack never let go of these.

Now is the time for a lorica, implored Jack to whatever powers were listening. But apparently, it wasn’t. “Curse this staff!” he cried, flinging it away. He wrapped himself and Thorgil in the robe, and it not only became large enough for both of them, it insulated them from the ground. Inside, it was warm and dry, so apparently some of the magic was working.