Peaceweaver by Rebecca Barnhouse

Author:Rebecca Barnhouse [Barnhouse, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-375-89848-8
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2012-03-27T04:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

HILD HAD THOUGHT SLEEP WAS ELUSIVE THE PREVIOUS night, but tonight it was impossible. It was colder, the ground was rockier, if that were to be believed, and the woods were alive with strange noises. Far in the distance, a wolf howled and another answered, while closer to camp, branches creaked and nocturnal animals scurried through the underbrush. Hild’s body ached so much from tension and fatigue that the cords in her neck felt like they might snap. Escape plans whirred through her head. She examined one, saw its faults, rejected it, and reached for the next, over and over again, until finally, she fell into a restless sleep.

A figure loomed over her, huge and menacing. It reached toward her and she flinched away. The movement woke her and she lay blinking in the dark, trying to calm her pounding heart.

When she turned her head, she could see a low fire still flickering and, beyond it, one of the Geats, the larger brother, whose name she didn’t know, standing stiffly, staring into the night, his hand on his sword hilt. When she shifted to the other side, she could just barely make out someone—Hadding, she thought—slumped against a tree, a sword resting beside him. She could no longer hear wolves howling, but an unpleasant odor permeated the night air, making her nose twitch.

She closed her eyes again, pushing away the image from her nightmare and replacing it with thoughts of escape. How would she stop the men from following them? Could she scare the horses away and, in the confusion, run? Should she take Fire-eyes with her or leave him behind? No scenario she imagined seemed right.

At least she had been able to tell Unwen. While the two of them were preparing for bed, Hild had said, “You asked me how long the journey would take. I’m not sure, but Thialfi says we’ll have to ford a river in two days. Surely it can’t be far beyond that.”

Unwen said, “Yes, my lady, thank you, my lady,” the way a slave should speak to her mistress. But as she spoke, she met Hild’s eye and gave her a nod so slight that anyone who wasn’t watching for it would have missed it.

Hild pulled the blanket over her face to block out the dank smell and the cold. With two men on guard each night, how would they ever get away? Would daytime be better? She felt trapped in a whirlpool of plans that pulled her deeper and deeper down, as if she had fallen into a black and bottomless bog.

When she opened her eyes again, it was morning. She blinked at the triangles of sky visible through branches. It was the first bright day she’d seen since she’d left home. The air was so frosty that the end of her nose and the fingers of one hand, which had slipped out from under her blanket, were numb, and she could see her breath. She pulled her hand back under the blanket and rubbed it to warm it, feeling how rough her fingers had become.

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