Ravens' Will by Terry Graves

Author:Terry Graves [Graves, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

They spent the whole day in the cabin, Runa dozing off from time to time then regaining consciousness, and Sigrún tending to her. Her body burnt with fever, so she put cold cloths on her forehead and prepared soup. Runa had a bump on her head from hitting it against the rocks but the burns on her arm were the ones that hurt the most.

“I have to take care of this, or it will get infected,” said Sigrún. She took a bag from her rucksack containing dried leaves and small vials with oils and other liquids. She mixed some of them and prepared an ointment that she applied over her skin.

“Why does it hurt so bad? It was just blood.”

“Sometimes troll blood burns like fire. Not always, just sometimes. One never knows.” Sigrún spread the ointment and bandaged her arm. For a moment it seemed that she was going to leave her to rest, but she added: “I’ve seen the rune.”

“So?” Runa shrugged. She was referring to her birthmark, a reddish stain on her left shoulder blade in the shape of the prescience rune. Nobody had seen it for quite a long time. None of her friends knew about it. “I was born with it. That’s why my parents called me Runa.”

“Your body is sacred, it is under the gods’ protection.”

Runa would have laughed, but she didn’t; the joke was on her, after all. She knew the meaning of the rune, a straight line that divided into three, like the foot of a bird. It was not only one of the symbols used for divination, but for protection, the kind of rune you paint on your shield or under the bed of your sickly child. But that had not stopped the dogs tearing her flesh apart, so perhaps the gods had carved it wrong.

“It’s nothing. A birthmark with a whimsical shape.”

But Sigrún did not give up. She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re a seeress, as I suspected.”

“I definitely am not,” Runa said with care, uncomfortable with all the scrutiny. She ensconced herself on the tangle of blankets and clothes. “Besides, rune magic doesn’t work anymore.”

“But stone-heart magic does,” Sigrún replied. “You’ve never been in contact with it before. Now, if you were to use it, you could see the future in your dreams.”

“Even if you were right, I wouldn’t do it. Nothing good comes from knowing one’s destiny, especially if you can’t do anything to change it.”

“No one has ever said truer words,” said Sigrún. “But there’s more to it than you know. I will explain it to you, in due time. For now, you need to rest.”

She intended to go back to the other side of the room, but Runa grabbed her wrist and forced her to stay. She had something to ask. “Does my birthmark mean that you cannot harm me?”

“I’m not sure what you’re implying with that question.”

“You know it quite well.”

Runa did not want to say it out loud, for it was too terrible a thought.

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