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eyes were still in their nest of rowan leaves.
 Yes, take it, said Torak, lifting Wolf in his arms and laying him gently on a patch
of soft marsh grass.  We need to hide it from the bear right away.
Renn untied the rowan-bark box that held the stone tooth, and tipped in the river
eyes; then she refastened the box, put it back in the pouch, and tied it to her belt.
 He ll be all right now, said Torak, stooping to give the cub s muzzle an
affectionate lick.  We can make a shelter over there in the lee of that slope. Build a
fire, let him rest.
 Not here, said Renn quickly.  We should get back to the Forest. Out on this
windswept fell, she felt exposed, like a caterpillar dangling on a thread.
 Better if we stay here, said Torak. He pointed north towards the scree slope and
the white glitter. That s the fastest way to the Mountain.
Renn s belly tightened.  What? What are you talking about?
 Wolf told me. That s where we ve got to go.
 But - we can t go up there.
 Why not?
 Because that s the ice river!
Torak and Wolf looked at her in surprise, and she found herself facing two pairs of
wolf eyes: one amber, one light grey. It made her feel very left out.
 But Renn, said Torak patiently,  that s the shortest way to the Mountain.
 I don t care! She tried to think up some reason that he d accept.  We ve still got
to find the third piece of the Nanuak, remember?  Coldest of all, the darkest light.
We re not going to find it up there, are we? It ll be cold all right, but there s
nothing up there! Nothing but death, she added to herself.
 You saw the red eye last night, said Torak.  It s getting higher. We ve only got a
few days-
 Aren t you listening? she shouted.  We cannot cross the ice river!
 Yes we can, he replied with terrifying calm.  We ll find a way.
 How? We ve got one waterskin and four arrows between us! Four arrows! And
winter s coming, and you ve only got summer clothes!
He looked at her thoughtfully.  That s not why you don t want to go up there.
She leapt to her feet and stalked off; then marched back again. She said,  My father
died on an ice river just like that one.
The wind hissed sadly over the fells. Torak looked down at Wolf, then back to her.
 It was a snowfall, she said.  He was on the ice river beyond Lake Axehead. Half
an ice cliff came down on him. They only found his body in the spring. Saeunn had
to do a special rite to get his souls together.
 I m sorry, said Torak.  I didn t -
 I m not telling you so that you ll be sorry for me, she cut in.  I m telling you so
that you ll understand. He was a strong, experienced hunter who knew the
mountains - and still the ice river killed him. What hope - what chance - do you
think we d have?
 Be very, very quiet, whispered Renn.  Any sudden noise and it might wake up.
Torak craned his neck at the ice cliffs towering over them. He d seen ice before,
but nothing like this. Not these knife-sharp crags and gaping gullies, these icicles
taller than trees. It was as if a great, overarching wave had been frozen by one
touch of the World Spirit s finger. And yet, when he d caught sight of the cliffs
from the scree slope, they d seemed just a wrinkle in the vast, tumbled river of ice.
After letting Wolf rest for a day by the lake, they d plodded over the marshes and
up the scree, where they d camped in a hollow that had given scant shelter from the
wind. There had been no sign of the bear. Perhaps the masking charm had worked;
or perhaps, as Renn pointed out, the bear was in the west, wreaking havoc among
the clans.
Next morning, they d climbed the flank of the ice river and started north.
It was madness to walk beneath the ice cliffs when at any moment a snowfall might
obliterate them, but they had no choice. The way to the west was blocked by a
torrent of meltwater that had carved a deep blue gully.
It was impossible to move quietly. The snow was crisp, and their boots crunched
loudly. Torak s new reed cape crackled like dead leaves; even his breath sounded
deafening. All around, he heard weird creaks and echoing groans: the ice river
murmuring in its sleep. It didn t sound as if it would take much to waken it.
Strangely, that didn t seem to bother Wolf. He loved the snow: pouncing on it and
tossing lumps of ice high in the air, then skidding to a halt to listen to lemmings
and snowvoles burrowing under the surface.
Now he stopped to sniff at an ice chunk, and patted it with one paw. When it didn t
respond, he went down on his forepaws and asked it to play, whining invitingly.
 Sh! hissed Torak, forgetting to speak wolf.
 Sh! hissed Renn up ahead.
Desperate to quieten Wolf, Torak pretended to spot some distant prey, by standing
very still and staring intently.
Wolf copied him. But when he caught no scent or sound, he twitched his whiskers
and glanced at Torak. Where is it? Where s the prey?
Torak stretched and yawned. No prey.
What? Then why are we hunting?
Just be quiet!
Wolf gave a small, aggrieved whine.
 Come on! whispered Renn.  We ve got to get across before nightfall!
It was freezing in the shadow of the ice cliffs. They d done what they could while
camping by the lake: stuffing their boots with marsh grass, making mittens and
caps from Renn s salmon skin and the rest of the rawhide, and a cape for Torak
from bunches of reeds tied with marsh grass, then slitched with sinew. But it wasn t
nearly enough.
Their supplies were getting low, too: one waterskin and only enough dried salmon
and deer meat for a couple of days. Torak could imagine what Fa would say. A
journey in snow is no game, Torak. If you think it is, you ll end up dead.
He was painfully aware that he didn t actually know much about snow. As Renn
had said with her usual unflinching accuracy,  All I know is that it makes tracking a
lot easier, it s good for snowballs, and if you get caught in a snowstorm you re
supposed to dig yourself a snow cave and wait till it stops. But that s all I know.
The snow deepened, and soon they were wading up to their thighs. Wolf dropped
behind, cleverly letting Torak break the trail so that he could trot in his footsteps.
 I hope he knows the way, said Renn, keeping her voice down.  I ve never been
this far north.
 Has anyone? said Torak.
She raised her eyebrows.  Well, yes. The Ice clans. But they live out on the plains,
not on the ice river.
 The Ice clans?
 The White Foxes. The Ptarmigans. The Narwals. But surely you -
 No, he said wearily,  I don t. I don t even -
Behind him, Wolf gave an urgent grunt.
Torak turned to see the cub leaping for cover beneath an arch of solid ice. He
glanced up.  Look out! he cried, grabbing Renn and yanking her under the arch.
An ear-splitting crack - and they were overwhelmed by roaring whiteness. Ice
thundered around them, smashing into the snow, exploding in lethal shards.
Huddled under the arch, Torak prayed that it wouldn t collapse. If it did; they d be
splattered over the snow like crushed lingonberries&
The ice-fall ended as abruptly as it had begun. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]