The Islands of the Blessed (21 page)

“Gaaahhhh,”
sighed Schlaup.

“That means he's located Mrs. Tanner,” Skakki said. He handed the giant a flaming torch to light the way. “Go with
good fortune, my brother, and may Heimdall's eyes aid you, young skald,” he said, invoking the Northman god who guarded Asgard.
“Find Tanners!”

Schlaup was off like a hound after a fox. He bounded through darkened streets and across the small gardens many of the townspeople maintained. His feet flattened cabbages, lettuces, and broad beans. Around and through the warren of houses he went, with Jack clinging on desperately and the flames of the torch streaming back.

They passed beyond the edge of town and entered an area of widely spaced hovels. It smelled vile, and Jack realized they had reached the dwellings of those who worked at trades normal folk wouldn't tolerate nearby. The reek of tanneries, the eye-watering tang of chicken manure, the choking fume of smelters were almost unbearable even at this time of night.

Schlaup stopped abruptly and emitted a sigh of pure happiness. He plucked Jack off his neck, shoving the torch into the boy's hands. “She's in there,” he whispered, pointing at a structure surrounded by steaming pits.

Jack shaded his eyes, trying to see what kind of place they'd come to. It seemed to be a wasteland, far from other buildings. The hovel in front of them was slowly collapsing on one side, like a giant beast frozen in the act of lying down. The pits, to go by the stench, were filled with hides soaking in urine. A tannery, then. It wasn't surprising. Mrs. Tanner's husband had followed that craft until he staggered out drunk one night and drowned in one of his own pits.

This dwelling wasn't even as tall as a man. Jack guessed you'd have to crawl through the door to get to bed, though he couldn't glorify that entrance with the word
door.
It was merely a hole with a leather curtain in front of it.

Schlaup didn't bother with the curtain. He peeled back the roof and felt around inside. “Troll-flower,” he warbled, lifting a shrieking Mrs. Tanner in his hands. More screams erupted from the darkness.

“All of you, be quiet!” ordered Jack. He didn't want the neighbors aroused. “Your lives depend on silence. I'll call up demons if you don't behave.”

The screams stopped, and Jack heard muttering and rustling from inside. “It's that wizard,” a voice whispered. All at once the leather curtain fell back and Ymma and Ythla scuttled out.

“Fetch Tanners,”
Jack commanded.

Schlaup scooped them up easily and held all three in a hearty embrace. “Nice,” he cooed.

A man attempted an escape, and Jack held him at bay with the torch. “If you move one inch, I'll tell my friend to bite off your head,” the boy said. The man fell to his knees.

“I didn't know it was stolen,” he blubbered. “My sister showed up and demanded I take her in. She's that pushy, her and her brats. What was I to do? It's not my fault.”

“You didn't know
what
was stolen?” Jack demanded.

“Shut your mouth!” said Mrs. Tanner.

“You shut yours, you hag!” the man retorted. “That bell, sir. Beautiful it was, all red-gold and shining. I should have
known it wasn't a gift as she said. I thought about selling it to the monastery, but Father Severus is merciless. If he knew the bell was hot goods, we'd be flogged within an inch of our lives.”

“I thought you didn't know it was stolen,” Jack said.

“Oh, I didn't! I was only trying to avoid the appearance of evil.” The man rocked back and forth as though praying.

“Where is it?” Jack said.

“In there.” The man gestured at the hovel. “I'll fetch it—”

“I'll
fetch it.”

The man crawled inside and Jack followed him, holding the torch away from anything flammable. “In there, sir. Under that heap of sheepskins.”

Almost gagging from the smell, Jack removed the skins one by one. They hadn't been cured yet, and the odor of rotten meat filled the air. The boy carefully pulled up the last pelt and there, shining in the leaping torchlight, was Fair Lamenting. It bore no stain, though the skins had been coated with blood. It was as pure as when it had been first smelted.

Jack looked for something to wrap the bell in, but nothing was clean, so he used his robe. As he felt within, to still the clapper, his hand met only air. “Where's the clapper?” he said.

“Well, sir.” The man started to back away. “This morning I gave the bell a couple of shakes, just to check its quality you see, and Ymma screamed that it was magic. It would call up a monster—”

“You did what?”
Jack shouted. Schlaup was attracted by
the noise and leaned over the ruined roof to see what was happening.

“Don't let him eat me, sir! I just dinged it a couple of times, and it made the prettiest sound. I felt like an innocent lad again with my whole life ahead of me. But Ymma, she grabbed the bell and yanked its clapper out. Used my pliers. I can get another one, sir. There's metalworkers all over this town—”

“Where's the original?” Jack felt sick. There was no way to make a replacement. No mortal had the skill to craft the beautiful Salmon of Knowledge or open the way between this world and the others.

“Ymma thought it was silver. She took it to a blacksmith, but he said it was only iron.”

“Then what happened?” Jack was beside himself with fury. If it had been the old days when he still possessed his bard's staff, he was sure he could have called up an earthquake.

Ymma was hanging over the roof, clutched tightly in Schlaup's arms. Her sister and mother were wedged beside her. “You'd better tell him,” Mrs. Tanner said.

“Oh, be gone with you,” the girl said rudely. “You're only trying to shift the blame.”

“You pounded it,” her mother snarled.

“You told me to,” Ymma retorted. “She said people would recognize the fish and we should beat it flat. So I did. The blacksmith traded me onions for it.”

Jack felt dizzy with dismay. This was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. That marvelous work of art had
been turned into an ugly lump of iron. Could it still call up the voice of Fair Lamenting? And could he tell it apart from all the other lumps of iron the blacksmith probably had?

Suddenly, he realized this wasn't his only problem.

The bell had been rung.

A couple of dings, Mrs. Tanner's brother had said. It had been enough to make that scoundrel feel innocent. Had it been enough to call the
draugr?
Was she already on her way?

Jack heard a crow call somewhere in the distance. He looked up to see that the rim of the eastern sky had turned blue. “It's almost dawn,” the boy said with a groan. “Schlaup, can you carry all of us? We'll leave the man behind.”

“Sure,” said the giant.

Jack crawled outside and threw the torch away. He felt desperately tired and discouraged. “Put me on your shoulders, my friend, and don't drop any of the Tanners.”

The giant easily balanced his captives while hoisting Jack up. The boy cradled the bell against his stomach and put his arms around Schlaup's forehead.

“What do you think you're doing!” cried Mrs. Tanner. “You can't send us back to those pillaging Northmen!” Jack ignored her.

“I always said he was a nasty wizard,” Ymma said.

“It's not Christian to take revenge,” Ythla added, weeping.

A breeze stirred, wafting away the noisome smell of the tannery. More birds called—sparrows, larks, wrens. “You'll have to hurry, Schlaup,” Jack said wearily.
“Find ship!”

The giant bounded away with the Tanners wailing and
the wind whipping through Jack's hair. They passed a farmer checking his hens, and the man ran away, leaving the cage door open. Schlaup narrowly missed stepping on a drunk sleeping in an alley. Other than that, they encountered no one.

It may not be Christian
, Jack thought when he saw the harbor and Skakki's men waiting to cast off,
but it's very, very satisfying.

“You're right,” the Bard said when they were safely out to sea. “Ringing the bell was the worst possible thing that could have happened.”

“There wasn't time to hunt for the clapper,” Jack said. Moodily, he watched Schlaup. Amidship, where he couldn't capsize the vessel, the giant contentedly fiddled with Mrs. Tanner's braid. Her daughters were draped over the side, as far away as they could go.

“It might not have made a difference,” said the old man. “The artwork was part of the clapper's magic.”

“So what do we do?”

The Bard gazed out at the gray-green sea. The sun had just
risen, and the tops of the waves seemed lighted from within as they peeled away from the prow. “I'm not sure, lad. Those two ‘dings' may have been enough to awaken the
draugr
, but not enough to provide direction. That's very worrying. She may be prowling the village.”

Thorgil brought them some of Pega's special scones and a pot of butter. She spread the butter with her fingers and licked them. “It's not all loss,” the shield maiden said. “My brother has found a wife.” Jack noticed that Mrs. Tanner had reestablished her control of the giant. She had pushed him away, and he was apologizing to her for being an oaf.

“Do you honestly think that's going to be any kind of a marriage?” Jack said.

“It's no worse than what most people have. They say it's better to fight than to be lonely.”

“And you believe that?” Jack asked.

“I shall never marry,” Thorgil said scornfully. “Shield maidens have all the power and status of men. If they wed, they lose it. They can no longer go a-hunting or bring home fine plunder. They are bound to the house, cooking, cleaning, and chasing after smelly brats. There is no honor in such a life.”

The Bard smiled for the first time since their humiliation at the monastery. “In a life as long as mine,” he said, “I've learned that ‘never' is a dangerous word to use. We may yet see you blushing and giggling, Thorgil.”

The shield maiden sprang to her feet as though she'd been stung and stalked off to the stern of the ship. She joined Eric Pretty-Face in a loud discussion about how to gut sheep.

They spent the day resting in the hidden Northman harbor. Jack and Thorgil packed away the Lady of the Lake's gift and wore their old clothes again. Skakki, Egil, Rune, and the Bard conferred, and when evening fell, they called everyone together around a fire. It was a beautiful night, with a clear, starry sky and a warm breeze from the mainland. Pinewood burned fragrantly with many a pop from the pinecones Thorgil tossed in. They feasted on wild boar, goose, salmon, and the brambleberries that grew abundantly near the inlet. Seafarer ate half a salmon by himself, with Thorgil finishing the rest of it.

As was usual with Northmen, they gave themselves wholly to the task at hand. All conversation ceased while they stuffed themselves, but Skakki had limited the number of beer kegs. He needed clear heads later. After a while he stood up and commanded their attention. “You've all heard about the
draugr
and Fair Lamenting,” he began. Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Tanner, and she sniffed contemptuously.

“Dragon Tongue is certain the
draugr
will emerge again,” Skakki went on. “She may already be abroad.” The Northmen glanced nervously at the forest ringing the shore, and Eric the Rash, who was afraid of the dark, moved closer to the fire. “Now we must repay a debt to Dragon Tongue. Some years ago we Northmen set him adrift to die—”

“It was Frith's order. I hold no grudge,” the Bard interrupted, “yet I would not refuse aid from friends.”

“Aid shall be gladly given,” Rune declared.

“Quite right,” said Skakki, “but all should agree before we take this quest.”

What quest?
thought Jack. He hadn't been present at the conference.

“Egil and his crew will return to Bebba's Town,” the young captain continued. “They will help Dragon Tongue sell his wares and buy grain. That should take about a week. Then they will drop him off here before going on to deliver the grain to the village. After which they'll wait here for the rest of us to return from the north.”

“What are we going to do?” said Thorgil.

“Patience, little sister.” Skakki grinned. “You're going to love this. We're taking Dragon Tongue to Notland, to lure the
draugr
back to her tomb.”

“Notland!” exclaimed half a dozen voices.

“Nobody goes there,” said Eric the Rash, fear evident in his voice. “It's all dark and spooky.”

“IT'S FULL OF SEA HAGS,” bellowed Eric Pretty-Face.

“As well as sea ivory, pearls, and gold,” added Rune. A thoughtful silence fell over the gathering.

The Bard rose. “I would not lure you to your deaths, dear friends. I ask only that you set me adrift in a coracle as you did before. Jack and I will enter the realm of the fin folk alone.”

“You're not leaving me behind!” yelled Thorgil. “I'm not cowering on the ship while you risk your lives.”

“Your presence would be most welcome,” the Bard said warmly. “But I must warn you that the fin folk are as trustworthy as moving mist. They're bad friends and worse enemies.
I won't think less of you if you choose to remain with your brothers.”

“I
would think less of me,” the shield maiden said proudly, her face flushed with emotion.

“Very well, my child. Skakki and the others will wait in the open sea for us. If we don't return within seven days, they may take it that we haven't survived and leave.”

There was an uproar as Northmen shouted that they never abandoned comrades, that Odin would spit in their faces if they did such a deed. Even Schlaup, who was feeding slivers of roast goose to Mrs. Tanner, added his mighty voice to the turmoil.