The Rot

by Siri Pettersen

  It had just stopped raining. Her boots splashed against the pavement as she walked. There was hardly anyone around. A couple of cars drove past, their lights dazzling her. One of them whistled. She ran across the road, phone clutched in her hand. Once across, she perched on a window ledge outside a café and dug the chocolate wrapper out of her pocket. Graal’s phone number. Now all she had to do was remember.

  The phone was like a smooth, black stone in her hand. Cracked screen. Only one button. She pressed it and the screen lit up. She remembered the first time she’d seen that happen. How nervous she’d been about touching it. She’d thought it would be hot, but that wasn’t how things worked here. Here light was cold. Dead.

  Something moved on the screen, rippling through the text from left to right, and she remembered. Jay had shown her this.

  Swipe right.

  She touched the screen and dragged her finger across it. A new picture appeared, one crowded with small symbols. Which one was she supposed to tap? She bit her lip. She couldn’t afford to get it wrong. She’d done that before and it had ruined everything.

  She stared at the symbols. One of them looked familiar. A sort of bow on a green background. That was the one, wasn’t it? The one she needed to tap to get the numbers to appear? She had to choose. There was nothing else to be done.

  She poked the symbol. The screen filled with numbers. She didn’t remember which was which, but it didn’t matter. All she needed to do was tap the same number on the screen as on the chocolate wrapper. And then call. What was it Jay had said?

  Green to call. Red to end call.

  Hirka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the screen was black.

  No! Please, not now!

  She touched the screen again and repeated the steps. Swiping with her finger, tapping the green symbol to make the numbers appear. Then she tapped out the numbers from the chocolate wrapper. Carefully. The final number was hard to make out. A circle with a line attached to it. None of the numbers on the phone looked much like it. The closest was a circle with a curved line underneath. It had to be that one. It couldn’t be any of the others. Tap. Done.

  Her finger quivered over the green symbol. If she tapped now, she’d get to talk to Graal. Hear his voice.

  She pressed her finger to the screen and heard a sound. She lifted the phone to her ear. It sounded like a bird. No voice, just trilling. Maybe he was far away, or maybe the phone had to find him first. Maybe he was asleep. After all, Naiell was always sleeping.

  Then a deep voice spoke into her ear. “Yes?”

  It’s him! Seer preserve me!

  Her blood ran cold. All the hairs on her arm stood on end. She opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to speak. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. Then he spoke again.

  “Hirka …”

  She jumped. He sounded disconcertingly close. Her name. In his mouth. And it didn’t sound like a question. He was certain. He’d known she would contact him.

  Because he has Rime.

  She nodded—but then she remembered he couldn’t see her. She had to speak.

  “Let him go,” she blurted out in ymish. Every single word she’d learned in the last six months was gone. Out of reach. All she remembered was her mother tongue.

  She heard him get up. “I’m working on it. Are you alone?” He replied in the same language.

  “No!” she replied, a little too quickly. She heard a door open. Clothes rustle.

  “Are the others asleep? Can anyone hear you?”

  “I have the book,” she said.

  There was silence for a moment. “You want to make a trade … for him?”

  “If you touch him, I’ll kill you!” She squeezed her eyes shut, despairing at how empty the threat sounded. But she meant it. She had something Graal needed, and she had a knife in her boot. If she killed him, it would all be over. She wouldn’t have to run anymore. He wouldn’t be a threat to Ym. A threat to Rime.

  “Funny, he said exactly the same thing about you,” Graal said.

  Hirka could feel the coldness in her smile. She’d seen Rime kill. “I’d be afraid then, if I were you.”

  She regretted it the moment it was out of her mouth. She couldn’t have him thinking Rime was a danger to him. It could cost Rime his life.

  “We can threaten each other to kingdom come when we meet,” Graal said. “First things first, you need to get out without anyone seeing you. Now. Understand?”

  “I’m not an idiot.”

  “Where are you?”

  “We’re in Stockholm.”

  “Do you have the address?”

  She knew the name of the street, but she wasn’t sure she should tell him. What if he found the others as well? But Rime’s life was at stake. And it was a long street, with a lot of buildings. She decided to risk it.

  “Riddargatan.”

  She heard a tapping noise and realized it was his claws against the phone. The realization made her feel more vulnerable, though she wasn’t sure why. It was always the little things that threatened to turn reality on its head. She took a deep breath. Her lungs felt fragile.

  “Perfect,” he said. “Can you find your way to the sea?”

  She got up and sniffed the air. “Yes.”

  Graal directed her along a side street until she could see the water. She wondered where he was, since clearly he could see her, but she didn’t want to ask.

  “Do you see a bridge? With statues on both sides?” he asked.

  “Yes, I see it.”

  “Good. Cross the bridge and go straight ahead until you see the zoo.”

  “The zoo?”

  “It’s called Skansen. You might not be able to read the signs, but I’m guessing you can smell your way there. Stay close and I’ll find you. I’ll be there in two hours.”

  “But—”

  “And get rid of the phone.”

  “It’s Stefan’s, I can’t—”

  “Get rid of it.”

  “No! I want to talk to him!”

  There was silence for a moment. Why was Graal hesitating? All she wanted was a word with Rime. A thousand horrible reasons for the silence immediately sprang to mind.

  He’s dead. He’s hurt. He’s not actually here. He can’t speak.

  “It’s not that simple,” Graal said.

  “I want to talk to him! I’m not giving you anything until I’ve talked to him.”

  “Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.”

  Silence.

  “Graal?”

  Relax, he’ll call you. He said so. He’ll call. With Rime.

  Hirka walked out onto the bridge, putting the city lights behind her, heading toward an unknown darkness. A place where night was allowed to be night. Lamps illuminated the statues. Two on one side of the bridge, and two on the other. They had their backs to her, like they wanted nothing to do with her. She didn’t know who they were supposed to be. A man with a horn. Another with a hammer.

  She stared at the phone. It would ring, and then she’d get to talk to Rime. A droplet of water landed on the screen. She wiped it off, hoping it wouldn’t start raining again. Forgetting to look where she was going, she almost bumped into a sleepy woman in ripped black tights who was dozing against a bin. The woman lifted her head. “This is my spot, girl! Do you want to die?” she slurred.

  Hirka backed away. “Not today,” she heard herself reply. She started to run. Straight ahead, as Graal had told her. Graal. The man who wanted her dead, and who she’d just arranged to meet. Then the smell hit her. Animals. More than she’d come across in a long time. Trees. Life.

  It was dark and she couldn’t see a way in, only high fences and locked gates. What had they done? Gathered all the animals in one place? No wonder she never saw them anywhere else.

  She needed to find a way in, somewhere to wait, to hide. She followed the fence until an opportunity presented itself. A large birch tree. Hirka threw her bag over the fence and
climbed up into the tree. Then she jumped down on the other side. She rolled as she hit the ground, remembering the birch that Father had cut down before he’d told her she was a child of Odin. If only he’d known. It was far worse than that.

  Deep down, she knew she wasn’t supposed to be there. But then, wild animals weren’t supposed to be locked up either, so in a way, they were even. Besides, she was half-animal herself.

  The ground was wet from the rain, but her bag had survived. Patches of snow glowed in the darkness. She found a clump of trees, one of which was actually conjoined trees, but someone had cut one of them down, leaving only a stump. She sat on it and stared at the phone.

  Still nothing.

  He’ll call. I have the book. And I have me. That’s all he needs.

  Hirka pulled the book out of her bag and opened it on her lap. Page after page of circles and lines. Completely random. Not a single word. Perhaps it was some sort of code?

  She leaned back against the tree that had been allowed to live, dug her overfilled waterskin out of her bag, and took a sip. Water dripped down onto the open book. She quickly wiped the page with her sleeve, but it had already absorbed every drop. She lifted her arm, almost afraid to look. The ink was bound to have smudged. That was all she needed, to destroy her only bargaining chip.

  But the ink was still fine. The paper hadn’t even wrinkled. Hirka prodded a transparent patch where one of the drops had landed. It didn’t fall apart, as paper tended to do when it got wet. Now that was odd. Very odd.

  A spark forced its way through the darkness. Curiosity. Hope. She poured more water into her palm and let it trickle over the book. Hirka focused on one of the circles with lines that looked like a simplistic depiction of a sun. The lines were all different lengths. They had been pointing out into nothing, but not anymore. Now one of the lines joined up with another circle. On one of the pages underneath.

  She almost dropped the waterskin in her excitement, accidentally dousing one corner of the book. Water dripped down onto her legs, but the paper was still just as intact, just as strong. The ink wasn’t even running.

  Now it was sink or swim.

  She laid the book on the ground and poured the rest of her water over it. The pages turned transparent, like thin sheets of glass. The drawings were no longer isolated symbols. They were connected. She lifted the book. It was too dark. She couldn’t see. She went over to the streetlight by the fence, folding the soft cover aside and holding the pages up toward the light. Lines that had previously pointed out into nothing now pointed at other circles. A network. Connected rings. Hundreds of them. Thousands.

  The raven rings.

  The realization hit her like lightning. A map. It was a map.

  Of course it was. What had she been drawing ever since she’d come to this world? Maps. What made her helpless here? Not having a map, not knowing where she was or where to go. And if there were an unknown number of gateways to an unknown number of worlds, what would be more valuable than anything else?

  A map.

  Of how many worlds? There had to be hundreds … Hirka closed the book and hugged it to her chest. Her head was spinning. The light seemed to waver. The fence wasn’t standing still anymore.

  Madness. This was madness. Graal didn’t just want Ym. He wanted everything.

  She’d thought she would be trading Rime for a whole world. But it was worse. She would be trading him for every world imaginable.

  THE WOLF

  Hirka had closed the book. A book of lies. It rested on her lap, deceptively simple. Harmless. A black cover with nothing more than two lines on it. False modesty. It was a weapon in disguise.

  She suddenly noticed a familiar smell. Something wild and very much alive. She turned to see two eyes shining at her. White circles in the darkness. A wolf. It stood by a bare tree, staring at her. She knew she ought to get up. Run. But her reflexes had abandoned her. The book in her lap had just shown her eternity. She was being hunted by the rot and waiting for a blindling who wanted to steal her blood. What was a wolf compared to that?

  “I’m not scared of you,” she whispered. “Eat me and you’d be doing the world a favor. I’d rather you had my blood than Graal.”

  The wolf growled, baring its teeth. That only served to warm her heart. The world felt real again.

  “So what do you think I should do? Should I give him what he needs? My blood and the book? Nice present, right? Here you are, now off you go and destroy a world or two! Or hundreds.” She laughed despondently. The wolf took a step closer. Stopped growling. “You’re right,” she said. “I’m being an idiot.”

  She was going to bargain for Rime’s life. For her own. Not to mention Stefan and Naiell’s. But what would she have to bargain with if he already had everything he needed? She had to hide the book.

  Hirka put it back into the plastic bag. “Can you keep a secret?” The wolf licked its chops. She started to dig a hole in the ground with her bare hands. The smell of damp earth overwhelmed her. It had been far too long since she’d been surrounded by the smell of nature. A real forest, not those silly park things. She dug down until she was elbow-deep.

  Suddenly the phone lit up and started vibrating next to her. She gave a start. Pounced on it. Ran a dirty finger across the screen and held it to her ear.

  “Rime?”

  “Rime, can you hear her?” Graal asked.

  Then she heard the voice that she loved above all else.

  “Hirka?”

  Her body went limp. She slumped down in front of the hole in the ground, clutching the phone.

  “Hirka, do as he says. It’s going to be all right. Trust me.” His voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away. Still it burrowed deep inside of her, consuming what little strength she’d thought she had left. Words jostled for space on her tongue, but she couldn’t get any of them out. She wanted to say that she loved him. Hated him. That he was a bloody fool for coming here. He didn’t belong here. He was in danger. And he was putting the world in danger.

  “Rime, you have to get away from him!”

  “I’m not with him. I’m … I don’t know where I am.”

  “Have they given you a phone? Rime?”

  “I let him go.” Graal’s voice again. “Talking is painful for him, and I presume you don’t want to hurt him.”

  Painful?

  An image of Urd drove everything else out of her head. Urd. Kneeling on the ground. Dying. The beak eating its way out of his rotting throat. Blindcraft. Urd, who had spoken to her father. To Graal. How?

  Rime’s voice, deeper and hoarser than before. Rime, who’d never seen a phone. Who was trapped somewhere. Yet she’d still been able to talk to him. The lies from Allegra that had to have come from Ym. But how?

  Hirka felt sick. She tried to stop the threads that were coming together in her mind, but it was no use. They were all leading in the same direction. Weaving an ugly certainty. She was being lied to. This was a lie. It had to be.

  “Stay where you are. Stay out of sight. I’ll be there soon.” Graal sounded almost fond. A morbid contrast to what she’d just come to realize. To all that he was, and all that he would do. She wanted to tell him to rot in Slokna, but her tongue felt too big for her mouth. The phone went quiet again. She couldn’t hold on to it any longer. It fell to the ground.

  Rime has the beak. Urd’s beak.

  She’d lost. Anything she did now would be meaningless. She could trade the book for Rime, but Graal had already made Rime his slave. How much time did he have? How long before his throat smelled of death?

  Hirka hugged her bag, but it was of little comfort. There was nothing to cling to here. She was tumbling through the darkness. A sob forced its way up from her stomach and rippled through her body. Her eyes were stinging and the tears started to flow.

  She grabbed the plastic bag and threw the phone inside, along with the book. She knew why Graal wanted her to get rid of it. Stefan could find it. He’d said so himself.

&n
bsp; That’s how they get you, isn’t it?

  That was her only hope. Everything had gone to Slokna, but at least Stefan could keep Graal from finding the map of the raven rings. She put the bag in the hole and piled the dirt on top. Patted it down hard with her cold hands. Then she just sat there, the knees of her trousers soaked through.

  The wolf came closer. Circled around her, then lay down on the ground. She crawled toward him. Toward the only warmth in this cold place. He let her get closer. Let her curl up next to him.

  She breathed in the smell. Closed her eyes. She was home. She was back in Ym. Everything was wild, wet, and wonderful. Rime was safe, she was safe, and there was no such thing as deadborn.

  Just for a little while.

  While she waited for the end to come.

  BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

  He’s here.

  Hirka had nodded off. Before she even opened her eyes, she knew she was no longer alone. The wolf’s belly moved up and down under her head as he breathed, but that wasn’t what had woken her. It was something else, something more animalistic, and it was close. It was impossible to tell whether it was a smell or just a feeling, but she remembered it from the museum. Graal. Deadborn family.

  The wolf woke up and sprang to his feet. He growled at the darkness, hackles raised, fur sticking out like needles around his neck. Hirka tried to get up as well, but she didn’t make it farther than her knees. Her body felt weak. Sore. Her eyes puffy.

  The map. Rime. The beak. The end of the world.

  She felt disconnected from her emotions, as if she simply couldn’t face them anymore. Or perhaps they’d frozen. It was colder now.

  Graal was here.

  A dark outline in the fog, making his way toward her. Tall, with a long coat. He stopped a short distance away, the wind ruffling his short black hair. At first she’d thought his eyes were closed, but now she could see that they were black. He was pale, with high cheekbones.