Margit Sandemo - The Ice People 46 - The Black Water

Sensitive as she was, Tova picked up his frame of mind and whispered a touched little thank you.

Gabriel stood between Nataniel and Marco. That was where he felt safe.

They knew that those outside were keeping a close eye on them. They knew that Tengel the Evil was bound to be quite close to them, somewhere on the moor down below. But they had no idea how they should proceed.

They just had to wait.

Then they lifted their heads and looked at each other.

They had heard flapping, as of leather wings.

“They’re flying low,” Tova murmured.

“They’re certainly brave,” said Nataniel.

“Don’t look up,” Marco warned. “Their arrival has caused a lot of agitation among our guards.”

They could hear nervous, whispering sounds from above their hiding place.

Suddenly, all five cowered against the cliff, pressing themselves against it with their backs towards the opening of the crypt. Because at that moment something heavy crashed down, something that Gabriel thought was Tula’s demons. Then he heard them rising into the sky again, while piercing screams came from those that stood around the opening.

Stone dust whirled around Nataniel and his friends. The demons were gone, and the five hoped that they had escaped in one piece.

But around the crypt, the frightening, tall, pale creatures in black reacted furiously. The very next moment, the heavy stone slab was back in place. The five chosen ones stood in paralysing darkness, buried alive under a block of stone they would never be able to lift from below. They couldn’t even reach it.

Chapter 2

When they had collected themselves, Nataniel said, matter-of-fact: “We certainly can’t get out that way.” His blue aura began to shine again.

“Switch on your torches,” Gabriel urged them.

“Yes, yes, little genius,” smiled Marco, and the five strong searchlights were switched on again.

“What did they send down to us?” Tova wanted to know, and she went closer cautiously and walked around the thing that had fallen from the sky.

They saw a couple of huge horns, and a whole lot of things they recognized very well.

Nataniel was delighted. “The Ice People’s treasure. Now it will be put to its proper use.”

“Yes, and here we have Targenor’s sword,” exclaimed Marco, and lifted it. He looked very impressive, standing there holding it. It was a huge sword.

Unknown artisans had forged it eons ago. It had been given to Tan-ghil by the Source of Evil ...

Or ...

“What do we know about this sword?” said Tova pensively. “If Tan-ghil was given it by the source, there must be an element of evil in it. Would it be a good idea for us to use it?”

Marco smiled. “Now you’re going to hear the story of Targenor’s sword. Its history was never told in the Demon’s Mountain, because Rune didn’t know it properly. But I was curious when we were all gathered in the great halls, and that was when I asked Targenor. It turned out that he didn’t know its true origins either. Because its history hadn’t been told. The only thing we knew was that Tan-ghil had told Dida that the sword was given to him by the source, that it had tremendous power and that Targenor was to have it so that it could protect Tan-ghil on their journey.”

“That’s true,” said Nataniel, “and that’s all we know.”

“But Targenor and I wanted to know the rest,” said Marco with a gentle smile. “So while everybody was partying in the Demon’s Mountain, Targenor and I managed to establish a connection with Taran-gai’s four spirits in a secret hall in the mountain. Tula helped us choose it.”

“Did the spirits come again?” asked Tova, in a voice full of incredulity. “They were so reserved the first time!”

“They came,” said Marco. “They aren’t as uninterested as they pretend to be. I know very well that they have nobody left who believes in them. So they were pleased to come. They told us that Tan-ghil had not received the sword from the Source of Evil at all. He had stolen it. When he came out of the grottos, ragged and totally exhausted, he had the cheek to enter the nearest grotto, which was that of the Western Wind. This was on the Mountain of the Four Winds of course, where the grotto of evil lay to the north, and that of the clear water to the south. Anyway, he stumbled into the western grotto, and there was the sword. It stood by the entrance and greeted him, shining in his eyes. Dishonest as he was, he stole it. The spirits told us that it had been left there by somebody who had come to try to reach the source of the clear water. But he hadn’t been sufficiently pure-hearted and had been killed on the way. He had not been permitted to take his fine sword into the Grotto of Purity, so he placed it in one of the others. It had stood there ever since, until Tan-ghil came. The spirits told me that it was forged in times immemorial. It hasn’t anything to do with evil or goodness. Instead, I suppose it’s a symbol of valour and strength. It also possesses a secret power or force, which neither Tan-ghil nor Targenor had the chance to find out anything about.”

“Well, that sounds promising,” said Ian. “And Targenor wanted us to have it now?”

“Yes, but I don’t know why.”

Nataniel had squatted down by the treasure.

“I would like to know why on earth we got that vision in our heads.”

“Wasn’t it Heike who just contacted you telepathically?”

“Yes,” replied Nataniel. “About ... the mountain ridge above Graastensholm.”

“Are we to believe that there’s a link there? Between Heike breaking through into the grey world and this wall?”

Tova shuddered. “Ugh. I don’t want the grey people to come up!”

“Are they the ones who are outside guarding us?” asked Gabriel breathlessly.

“No, not at all,” said Marco. “The creatures outside are the same as the ones as we saw on the moor. Tall, dressed in black.”

Nataniel had been lost in his own thoughts. “I think you’re right that there’s a connection, Marco. Between the glade in the mountain ridge and this wall. We can only enter here through magic.”

“But Heike and Vinga spent several weeks preparing themselves,” Tova protested. “We haven’t got time for that!”

“No. Let’s consider carefully what we saw, and then choose the most important things from our train of thoughts.”

Everybody in the crypt fell silent. In order to save their batteries, they switched off their torches. But Nataniel’s aura shone anyway, even if it gave the others a pale bluish glow.

Tova was stubborn. “Nataniel, I’m serious about this. I have no wish to meet the grey people. They’ve never done the Ice People any good.”

Marco replied instead of Nataniel. “We’ve no idea what’s hidden behind this wall.”

“No,” said Nataniel. “We don’t know for sure that the grey people live behind it.”

“Then why did we receive all these things?” hissed Tova. “And why is Heike reminding you of his experiment that time?”

Nataniel was tired. “I don’t know. All I know is that we haven’t got time to argue with one another. And how else would you get out of this death trap, Tova?”

She looked around. “No, you certainly have a point there,” she muttered.

Gabriel felt a bit lonely in his corner, so he took a few steps towards the others. He stumbled on something and fell forward.

The others immediately switched on their torches.

“The horns,” said Ian. “You tripped on them, Gabriel. Are you all right?”

The boy put his hand on one knee and rubbed the other. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m not hurt. But do you know, one of the horns is loose.”

“Is it really?” said Nataniel. “That must have happened during the fall.”