The Ice People 43 - A Glimpse of Tenderness. Margit Sandemo

saw him standing still while his lips moved as though he was speaking to someone. But it couldn’t have been the boy, because he seemed so deeply unconscious that they actually feared the worst.

      Then the man tied the rope around the boy and signalled to them to start pulling. And then they got to work. There was nothing to scare them off now.

      “What kind of a maniac was that who came and cut the line?” asked one as he was hauling on the rope.

      “He must have been crazy,” said another.

      “A lot of strange things seem to happen here,” said a third. “And whatever happened to that girl? The one who was ugly as a troll? And who sent us here? I don’t understand any of this!”

      “There’s something sinister brewing here.”

      The doctor and the sheriff remained silent. They waited with great anticipation as the boy and his peculiar rescuer were pulled up.

      The sound of an ambulance siren could be heard coming from the road.

      “I ordered it,” said the doctor.

      “And I’ve sent a search party down to look for the man who fell into the river,” said the sheriff. “But I think this might be more urgent right now.”

      “Yes, of course.”

      The load was lifted up terribly slowly, until one of the men was able to reach Rune’s hand. “It was like grabbing hold of wood,” he said afterwards.

      After that they focused all their attention on the little boy. The ambulance staff came running down with a stretcher upon which Gabriel was laid, and the procession quickly made its way to the main road.

      “We should thank ...” began the sheriff. “But where did he go?”

      The mysterious rescuer was nowhere to be seen.

      Morahan began to cough. He had to stop: his lungs were making a wheezing sound and there was blood in his mouth.

      Tova looked at him in dismay. “They’re coming! What are we to do?”’

      “Run!” whispered Morahan hoarsely.

      “Over my dead body!” she gasped. “Here! Between these rocks!”

      “You too.”

      She hesitated. There wasn’t really room for both of them. “Yes! But keep quiet then, don’t cough!”

      That was easier said than done.

      At the very last minute they managed to squeeze themselves between some boulders and just had to hope they weren’t too visible. Morahan tried to hold back his coughing attack and Tova helped him by covering his mouth with her hand. When she saw the blood trickling through her fingers she grew cold with fear.

      Their pursuers came rushing out of the forest. They hurried past them, taking the most obvious route into a gorge, and then they were gone. Tova couldn’t imagine how they hadn’t been able to catch sight of her and Morahan, but then she realized that their hiding-place wasn’t all that visible after all.

      Aha, she thought. Someone had positioned themselves between them and their pursuers, blocking whatever view there may have been of them.

      “Thank you,” she murmured. “Thank you, whoever you are.”

      She could hear Halkatla’s cheerful laughter. So she was still with them. Great!

      “But they’ll probably come back,” she whispered to Morahan. “What will we do then?”

      She didn’t get any response. Morahan had lost consciousness.

      Maybe it’s for the best, Tova thought. He’ll avoid having to experience all this torment.

      She took a moment to look at his disease-ravaged face and liked it. “Damn!” she thought. “Damn it!”

      She could safely leave him there, they would probably leave him alone. But she would have to go.

      But she remained where she was.

      There were voices approaching; the men were returning.

      I’m in deep water now, she thought. And Marco, my guardian, isn’t here.

      “Do something, Halkatla!” she muttered. “You are in contact with spirits and demons. We’re in a real crisis now.”

      “It’s already been done,” answered Halkatla softly.

      A strong wind blew through the forest. There was the sound of loud thunder. A whirlwind raged along, sweeping up sticks and straw, picking up loose objects and rocks along the way and tearing through the trees.

      The pursuers screamed: “That confounded tornado has returned! The one that took our friends! Hurry! Find shelter!”

      Tova could tell from the shouts of horror that arose that they hadn’t managed to get away.

      “Thank you, storm demons!” she shouted, “And thank you, Halkatla!”

      “My pleasure,” answered the roguish woman’s voice.

      The forest grew quiet. Morahan moved slightly and moaned a little but didn’t wake up. Tova took out her handkerchief and wiped the blood from her hands and his face. “Poor man,” she whispered. “Poor man, you don’t deserve this. You look so ... kind.”

      No, not kind, that sounded so neutral. Sympathetic? Yes, that was better.

      And then she heard footsteps.

      Yet another pursuer? She automatically threw herself to the ground.

      “Tova?” said a creaking voice.

      “Rune!” she shouted with joy as she flew up to greet him. “Oh, Rune, Rune, thank you so much!”

      She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.

      “It wasn’t me,” he smiled shyly. Then he grew serious again, “Was it ... the storm demons again?”

      “Yes.”

      He looked very concerned. “They have done tremendous work today. But they have defied Tengel the Evil’s plans too many times now. He has begun to notice them.”

      “I thought he had been destroyed?”

      “Far from it. He is in Linden Avenue now.”

      “What?”

      “Others are taking care of that. We must concentrate on what’s going on right here and now.”

      Tova was speechless for a moment. Then she said meekly, “But he can’t harm the storm demons, can he?”

      “There is the Great Abyss, every demon’s greatest fear.”

      Tova shuddered. “But does it really ... exist?”

      “It has already managed to swallow Ellen.”

      “What?”

      “It’s true, I’m afraid.”

      Tova started to moan in despair. “We have to save her!”

      “Where? We don’t even know where it is. And the Great Abyss means annihilation, Tova, don’t forget that!”

      “Oh, Ellen!” Tova groaned.

      A subdued storm passed above them.

      “Thank you, Typhoon!” Rune shouted. “Thank you all, storm demons! But beware! He is after you!”

      They responded with an overly confident, hollow laugh and then they were gone.

      “Rune, I feel paralysed,” whispered Tova.

      “And you don’t even know the half of it. Tengel the Evil hit us hard. Harder than we had anticipated. But we have to see if we can move on from here. I can see that that man is suffering.”