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

nowhere with her, Per Olav Winger’s face became twisted and from his gaping mouth a grey-green cloud of vapour came tumbling towards her. Benedikte retreated; it felt as though her body was burning from the unbearable stench and her lungs couldn’t get any air. Without resistance, she collapsed on the floor.

      Per Olav Winger went on into the house to find the others. But they had already left Linden Avenue. When he discovered that he rushed to the next house of the Ice People, fuming with rage.

      Someone helped Benedikte up. Heike. Her protector.

      “We let it happen,” he said, smiling at her tenderly. “Because Tengel the Evil has made life more difficult for himself. We need you here with us, where your capabilities will be put to proper use: you with your ability to read the history of objects and look into hidden things.”

      “But he is after the others! They must be saved!”

      “We’re already taking action to eliminate that danger.”

      All at once she noticed that there were others in the room. Tengel the Good was there, and Sol. And Shira. She greeted them, overwhelmed with joy, and they welcomed her into their midst.

      “As you can see, not many of us are here,” said Tengel the Good. “All the others are busy saving their protegés from our evil ancestor. I can’t say out loud where they are being taken, but you know already, don’t you?”

      Yes, Benedikte knew. In the greatest secrecy, the children were being taken to the Demon’s Mountain. Thank goodness! They would be safe with Tula!

      She happened to look down at herself and discovered that she was no longer wearing her dignified old lady’s dress. Instead she was dressed like the others, in a simple, light tunic. And her hands. All the brown spots and swollen veins that had come with age had disappeared.

      “Yes, you are young again, Benedikte,” said Sol, smiling. “And you are wonderfully sweet and womanly. Touchingly feminine, as you have always been.”

      “Thank you,” she said, surprised. “I always saw myself as big and clumsy and mannish.”

      “Then you weren’t seeing correctly,” Sol maintained. “You can have a big body and still be very feminine.”

      “Yes,” said Benedikte, somewhat faintly, but inwardly she sighed with happiness. If only Sander had been with her!

      But strangely she didn’t miss him so much. She realized what a great sense of community there was in the group of spirits.

      “I’m ready to get to work,” she said.

      Just as she had said that, Ingrid joined them. She looked very concerned.

      “Mari is refusing to hand the children over, and I can’t find a way to persuade her.”

      “Then take them by force,” said Tengel the Good.

      “That’s already been done with the four youngest. But Christel is in love with a boy and doesn’t want to go to the Demon’s Mountain.”

      “I knew they would give us problems,” said Sol with gritted teeth. “Mari and Christel have never really belonged to us. And is it Inu who is responsible for Christel?”

      “Yes, he has received assistance from Tula. But both mother and daughter refuse to believe there is any danger. They don’t believe that Tengel the Evil has been set free.”

      “I’ll see to it,” Sol hissed and left in a raging funnel of air, making the tablerunners fly about.

      But she arrived too late. Christel was dead and could never be brought back to life. Mari sat holding her in her arms, screaming out her sorrow.

      The battle had claimed another victim.

      Tengel the Evil summoned his second-in-command, the so-called Number One.

      “Has the task been completed?”

      “I got the girl. The one called Ellen. She has been eliminated. But he was too strong.”

      “Nataniel? What do you mean, too strong?”

      “I don’t know. He can’t possibly be an ordinary human.”

      “So your men only managed to get hold of one young woman. What kind of fools are you?”

      “They have powerful helpers.”

      “Rubbish! I have helpers that are much more powerful. What kind of helpers?”

      “Storm demons. They are everywhere and are upsetting our plans.”

      “I’ve heard about them. They are bothersome. And ungrateful, those pathetic creatures. They had the audacity to refuse to serve me! Send them to the same place where you sent the girl! Ellen, I mean.”

      “As you wish, Master.”

      Tengel the Evil ended the telepathic conversation. He was satisfied with his first officer. The best he could have chosen!

      But now he was annoyed. All the children except one had disappeared, and were hiding in an unknown place, he didn’t understand where. Well, he’d just have to take revenge! He would start on a small scale, one in every house ...

      At Linden Avenue he had already managed to do away with the worst of them, Benedikte. Wonderful! Now it was on to the Voldens ...

      The only one he encountered there was Hanne, Vetle’s French-born wife. Though she wasn’t one of the Ice People she could still be used as an example to frighten the others.

      He did away with her very quickly, didn’t even bother to hide who he was. Although she had been warned, Hanne merely saw a man wearing sunglasses and was unable to defend herself. Since she and Vetle now lived in Jonathan’s house, the others there managed to slip away.

      He didn’t bother with Joakim and Karine. His men were already pursuing their son, Gabriel, and they would soon catch him.

      But he loathed Nataniel’s parents for having a son like that. His victim was Abel Gard, who tried to drive Tengel the Evil back by holding a Bible in his hand and pronouncing forceful biblical words. He might just as well have waved with a handkerchief. Abel fell to the ground, an innocent victim in this terrible battle.

      Rikard and Vinnie managed to escape. Tengel the Evil focused all his concentration on their disobedient daughter, Tova, instead. He would grab her with the greatest glee!

      And at Skogsrud he had already taken Ellen, just as he had taken Christel at Mari’s and Ole Jørgen’s.

      Ellen, Benedikte, Hanne, Abel, Christel ... that little warning would have to do ... at least for now.

      He didn’t seem to think highly of women, Tengel the Evil. Four of the victims were women.

      He was very satisfied with the day’s outcome. But he couldn’t feel entirely safe until they were all eliminated. Now he wanted to go north. He, too, wanted to find the place where he had hidden the water of evil, but for different reasons. He wanted to drink from it in order to regain his full power.

      Besides, he thought those who were trying to get ahead of him were getting a little too close for comfort.

      And now the story will leave everybody else for a moment and concentrate on Tova and her companions.

      Because she was the one who would now have to transport the clear water to the Valley of the Ice People. Ellen had disappeared, Nataniel and Gabriel lay helplessly bedridden in Lillehammer Hospital and Marco was fighting his way up the deep gorge of the Gudbrandsdals River while battling Tengel the Evil’s huge bats, which hurled themselves at him from the slopes.

      Chapter 2

      Morahan was back on his feet. But he was dizzy and fatigued, he explained, and not really of much use at the moment. Tova consoled him by saying that neither was she. He looked perplexedly at the two new escorts who had joined them.

      “This is Rune,”