North Wind Tales by Bonnie Turner

Author:Bonnie Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: friendships, boys adventure, inuits, auroras, fear of dark, eskimos, arctic adventure, arctic canada, dogsleds, land of the midnight sun
Publisher: Bonnie Turner

CHAPTER 10

THE TRAIL RAN DOWNHILL into a valley. Jean-Paul knew the sledding would be much easier. Sasha barked excitedly as she picked up speed. She had run this same trail many times and knew the way to Aklavik.

The descent into the valley was over in no time. The trail leveled out again, and Sasha’s “second wind” kept her running. A shadow loomed suddenly in the distance. Sasha broke from the trail and ran directly toward it. At first, Jean-Paul wasn’t sure what it was. But as they came closer, he knew. He fought the husky and the sled, trying to steer them back onto the trail.

“No, Sasha, no!”

Lise sat up. “What’s the matter?”

But Jean-Paul’s mind was on the thing that lay ahead, and he seemed not to hear. “No, Sasha!” he screamed.

Then Lise saw it. “Oh! An igloo! We must stop!”

Jean-Paul was frantic. His stubborn husky was taking them directly to the haunted igloo. Old fears rose up inside of him. Tears of anger gushed down his face, perhaps to freeze there forever. “Not that one, Ma! Please, not that igloo!”

He tried once more to turn the sled, but Sasha came to a complete stop a few feet from the igloo. She turned to Jean-Paul and wagged her tail. She barked loudly and danced around in the snow. She had done her part to make up for lost time.

Lise tried to stand. “Oh, lovely Sasha! Jean-Paul, help me.”

But Jean-Paul was frozen to the spot. He did not hear as he stared through his tears at the igloo. It was larger now, more like a small hill, from all the drifted snow. Someone had built a new entrance.

“Jean-Paul ... help me…”

Jean-Paul shook his head to clear his mind. He looked with dismay at his mother. His voice shook when he spoke.

“You can’t g go in there!”

“Nonsense!” Blond hair stuck out in all directions around his mother’s face. Her eyes were feverish and wild. “It’s the answer to my prayers!”

“It’s the haunted igloo!” Jean-Paul screamed.

Lise tugged the parka closer to her throat. “There’s no such thing, Jean-Paul! I need to get inside, at once!”

“But there are torngark in there!” he whimpered. “And wolf spirits!”

Lise found her balance and stepped up to Jean-Paul. She grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and looked into his terrified face. “Listen to me, Jean-Paul! You must forget evil spirits! The baby’s coming! This is no time for foolishness!”

Jean-Paul’s heart lunged into his throat. “No, Ma, no!”

“You must help me!” She gave him a little shake. “Jean-Paul, you absolutely must! I’m counting on you!”

“I can’t! Don’t ask me to. I can’t!”

Lise shook him again, then dropped her hands. “Very well. I’ll go in there alone. And you may stand here and cry all you want!”

Jean-Paul was ashamed of himself. He brushed at his tears with the back of his hand. Sasha had brought them to this place for a reason. He knew that if the baby was coming, there was no time to get to the village. His

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