Journey through Ash and Smoke by Kate Messner

Author:Kate Messner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2016-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

She whirled to find Ranger and Funi. “Come! We must tell Asa and Mother.”

Helga walked as quickly as she could without sloshing all the water from the pail. When she neared the longhouse, she could hear her mother’s cries through the turf walls. Helga took a deep breath and went inside.

Asa looked up. “She is struggling. Wet a clean cloth for her forehead to cool her.”

Helga did that while she described to Asa what she’d seen. “The very earth is spitting fire,” she said, “and the ground is still rumbling.”

Funi wandered off to sniff some bones in the refuse pile, but Ranger stayed close to Helga’s side. He didn’t like this trembling under his paws. It felt like the earth might tear open and swallow them all.

Asa left Helga’s mother for a moment to look out the door. When she returned, her voice was urgent. “Your father must come home at once,” she told Helga. “Your uncle will have to ride to the Althing and find him. Take Rosta to your uncle’s farm and tell him that —”

“I can go myself,” Helga said. She wanted to help her mother. She wanted the baby to be born safely. “I heard Father talking with Mother about the way he would go. I can ride it in less than a day.”

“You mustn’t go alone,” Mother murmured. But she could barely keep her eyes open.

Asa looked at Helga and hesitated. “It would be faster …”

“Much faster. What if I ride all the way to my uncle’s farm and no one is home?” Helga reached for her woolen sack. She took out the eggs and filled the bag with dried fish and mutton, grain, and a bladder for drinking. She would leave before there could be more discussion.

When Helga finished packing, she returned to her mother’s bench. Asa was striking jasper and flint together to light a fish-oil lamp. The first sparks flew from the stone and disappeared, but then the twisted strands of cotton grass caught fire. The flame flickered on Mother’s pale face, and she opened her eyes.

“I won’t be gone long, Mother,” Helga whispered. “Then Father will be here for you, too.”

Her mother nodded weakly and reached out a hand. Helga squeezed it, then turned to go. She lifted her woolen bag over her shoulder, scooped Funi up from the rubbish pile, and tucked him into a sling against her overdress. Ranger followed her to the door.

“Wait! The wind will be cold in the mountains. Take your father’s heavier cloak.” Asa wrapped the too-big cloak around Helga’s shoulders, then bit her lip. “It makes you look so small,” Asa said quietly. “You should wait until morning, at least.”

“The days are long now, and the nights short. I won’t have to travel far in darkness. And the sooner I go, the sooner I can return with Father,” Helga said, and headed out the door.

She wished she felt as brave as her words.

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