Children by Bjørn Larssen

Author:Bjørn Larssen [Larssen, Bjørn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bjørn Larssen

“The road is there,” panted Maya. “What happened to all those trees?!”

Troll and I. “What happened with that dagger?”

“Good Gods, we were so lucky. I put a spell into the crystal a long time ago, because the weather was awful, so the crystal would deflect rain and hail. Then I got imprisoned in a room where magic didn’t work…” She stumbled and I helped her stay on her feet. “I forgot about it.”

“So, it’s an invisible shield for…weather?”

“Exactly.”

“And knives?” I asked, stepping onto the road.

The sky above us was orange. I was used to wood cracking as it burned, now it was just a guttural growl, the fire and the wind and the trees’ screams combining into a deep roar. A few animals shot out of the woods, immediately disappearing behind us. Birds cried. Outbursts of fire shot between the trees, the sky blood red rather than orange. I gawked, my mouth open, knowing that if we stayed here I’d never see anything anymore, still unable to move. My eyes were burning. Maya, clinging to my arm, made a mistake. We should have gone to the harbour—

Zing-zip-a sharp, short sound, a scream quickly muffled by someone’s hand. Maya let go of me and ran down the road, already on her knees before I started moving.

“Well,” said Hillevi cheerfully, “fuck me sideways if the witch didn’t get me. How did you see me?”

“I didn’t,” said Maya.

“See, Magni? I told you about witches. I shot at her and the arrow hit me. You think that’s normal?”

“Aah,” I said. “She has an invisible magical shield that throws weapons back at you. And rain.”

“I haven’t done anything,” said Maya. “You shot yourself.”

Hillevi laughed, strangely jolly for someone with an arrow sticking out of her buttock. “A witch once told me… I was on the run and she took me in. An old woman. She taught me about herbs, I made various potions for her, poisons. She taught me how to hide in plain sight. It wasn’t until she said that she’d teach me to read the future from fire that I realised who she was. I asked her how to never die. ‘Everyone dies,’ she said. How would I die then, I asked…”

A sharp intake of breath. Maya’s.

“A witch would kill me,” Hillevi said, almost triumphantly. “That was what she said. So, I stabbed her dead, before she had a chance. She didn’t see that coming in her fire. I took the poisons, the herbs, everything of value. Ohhh, this feels so good.”

“Good?” I asked in disbelief. The dry heat of the fire was different from that of a sun, sucking out moisture from my skin rather than making me sweat. I shot a nervous glance towards the protesting trees. “Let’s get you back to the shore. Herjólf… he’ll know how to take this out.”

“Don’t bother. This is the black arrow I made just for witches. First, it feels like nothing happened, to confuse the witch…” Hillevi groaned, as if in pleasure. “It feels good, you know? Until the muscles start to tighten.

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