by Farah Cook
“Illusions? How will we know what’s real or not?”
“Gut feeling and intuition is all you’ll need, and the strength to fight the deadliest beast inside the Forbidden Areas. The territories are cursed.”
We hurry forward, climbing through thick foliage. The body of the forest is heavy and dense, with green and gray soil that is light like ashes. The swirling winding path changes, dips and climbs, leading us to a steep hilltop. There is a beautiful meadow, round and blooming. The edge of the hill feels like a sharp round crown of towers.
Side by side, Frederick and I stand and gaze at the astounding view – dangerously deceptive, the sun has cast a mischievous spell of delight. He takes my hand into his. The feeling is new and overwhelming. He did risk his life for me. Surely, I must be under his spell as my heartbeat whispers his name?
“You know what we have to do to cross this field?” I shake my head and gaze at him, longing to dive into those summer-blue eyes. “We’d have to cross an ocean of death.”
I want to tell Frederick that with him by my side, I’d cross any death-defying ocean or jungle, and climb any mountain higher than Eldor. But I bite the words back on my tongue. A sense of pride holds me back, and I never did like talking about my emotions, though I feel them more than ever and it makes me feel alive.
“Together we can do this,” I say. “We’ve made it past the snowy mountains of Galdhøpig in the North division. These woods—”
“They change, Nora,” Frederick’s dark-blue eyes widen. “As soon as we cross this field, there’s no knowing what will happen.”
“What happened to you here?”
“Everything you can possibly imagine. Deception of the worst kind by ancient mystical creatures who haunt this forest and protect the gates to the forbidden City of Vikings.”
I’ve only known of the nøkken who lived in the lake in the East. A nøkken is an evil and mysterious water creature, which can be found in fresh waters and lakes and sometimes deep black ponds. It is a dark monster that keeps its eyes just above the surface, watching out for its prey. Some say the nøkken is a shapeshifter and a beautiful, young man, tricking women into jumping into the water, and then drowning them.
But in these woods, we don’t just have to look out for nøkken. Kraken, the giant octopus that doesn’t live in the sea, but on land, taking the form of anything that’s green. Draugen, an army of ghosts that lives inside hollow mountain caves. Mares, which will enter your dreams and turn them into nightmares. Huldras – half troll and half human. They live under moist ground and swallow masses of land. We’re entering the Forbidden Areas, and nothing is what it seems. If Frederick is right, we’ll have to defend ourselves against every possible ancient creature in these woods that confront us – giants, trolls, fairies and other monsters.
The sun on the hilltop is getting dim, and dark clouds begin to gather. The autumn haze shifts the wind and builds a layer of mist that buries a clear vision to the border that leads us straight into the deadliest zone in the Forbidden Areas. East of the hilltop, hedges, deep valleys and mountains. Beyond, the veiled horizon draws a distant image of a land we want to reach.
“There’s no point in setting out at this time, we’ll fall to our death at night time. Let’s set up camp here, and start the crossing at dawn,” says Frederick.
“Frederick?” he glares at me. “You being here with me, what does it all mean?”
“I don’t know, Nora, but I hope your dad has the answers to your questions.” Something I thought was lost in Frederick has been revived. His ghostly pale skin, and hollow dark eyes. His anger and resentment appear to have vanished. He reminds me of the boy I met in Dock Harbor again. Perhaps he’s escaped his dad’s spell?
“So, do I, Frederick,” I say and curl my lips upward. Smiling is not my forte and to some extent the emotions I carry are becoming a heavy burden. He grabs my hand, but I let go and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “We should set up camp over there.”
We head into the heart of the forest, where the ground feels steep. The slippery and muddy slopes of the hill push us down under the trees like a shoreline of mountain cliffs facing the ocean.
We set up camp on the green edge and watch out for anything that could be hiding as night falls like a black curtain above us. Sinister whispers blow in the wind, and something may be lurking around us. The crackling sound of logs on the fire fills the void between us as twilight turns to night. I see the last of the green ledge we have to cross in the hills that lie beyond the Shadow Forest.
The night is black as coal and fills the sky. The cold autumn breeze brushes over me, and when I look at Frederick he’s prepared me a warm drink. I curl up in front of the fire, and sip it slowly. Before I know it, I fall into a deep sleep.
When I wake, I find myself in a blazing hot desert. Dim-sighted, I grab hold of the burning sand underneath my fingers. There’s no sight of Frederick. When I shout his name, the wind only blows back laughter.
“Nora…” the wind whispers my name so it rings in my ears, and a faint impression of an evil creature straddles my chest. She gapes at me, opens her downturned mouth and screams. With one strike, I crouch and roll into a ball. Her scarlet eyes haunt me. I reach for my sword, but it’s not by my side.
“Nora?” I hear Frederick say my name. “Nora?” He looks even more gorgeous than my memory of him. His ocean-blue eyes are shining and his tanned skin glowing. His blond curls sit in perfect order giving a clear view to his warm face. This is not Frederick.
This goblin can only be a mare – an intelligent creature that has entered my thoughts and mind to detect the emotions I carry in my dreams. She must have taken Frederick’s shape to lure me. Caught in my own nightmare, there’s one escape. Frederick has to wake me up.
“Frederick!” I scream his name, but it bounces back.
“I’m here, Nora. I’m here,” The mare reaches out for me. Arms stretching far with the wind.
“Frederick?” For a moment, we stand observing one another and although I know it is not him, the temptation to fall into his arms is seducing me beyond my control. I walk toward Frederick, and soon my sword is back in my hand. I swing it, hitting nothing but air. An abhorrent laughter fills the air, and my urge to kill is unstoppable. Could I kill Frederick? Yes, I could.
“What are you going to do now, Nora?” The mare screams into my face, her sharp yellow fangs cutting into my flesh. I scream, my lungs empty. Shaken, I begin to fall down the sand dunes into a mouth of blazing lava.
“NORA!” Frederick shakes me hard, and when I get to my feet I am speechless. I can’t find anything to say. He looks at me, while the sweat clings to my skin. “Are you okay?”
Suddenly, there are so many things running at high speed through my mind. One part of me just wants to hold him and squeeze him. He is enchanting in real life. The other part of me, the stubborn part, is filled with anger and questions. I know myself almost the way I know him.
“I had a terrible dream,” I say. “It felt so real – the mare caught me.”
“Does that surprise you? In a place like this,” he says in a low voice. Frederick’s expression changes.
“No,” I say, “I shouldn’t have slept so deep.” Frederick frowns and tilts his head.
“What is it, Nora? What’s on your mind?” My eyes wander to greet the dark land hidden underneath the hilltop.
“In my dream, I wanted to kill you,” I say. “The mare was the most beautiful version of you, I knew it wasn’t you, and still…”
“Of course, it wasn’t me,” he says his voice filled with warm emotion. The kind that makes me want to melt into his arms and drop my anger. But then I remember he gave me a warm drink and immediately after drinking it I passed out. He was awake all this time, and still he let me sleep. Some part of me wants to believe he’s with me on this perilous journey to protect me, and another part of me still believes he will deceive me. I never said I needed protection. I can look after myself.
&nbs
p; “Why did you come after me?” I ask. “You made it very clear to me what side you are on. Coming here like this contradicts everything you said. It’s confusing and I don’t know if I can trust you. I don’t know if you’ve cast a spell on me, are tricking me or even manipulating me. What will happen if I trust you?”
He doesn’t say a word and gives me a firm stare, the kind that tells me I should not ask such silly questions.
“After everything we’ve been through it’s still so hard for you to trust me?”
He pulls a pained expression. “Why can’t you just believe that I care for you. I would never hurt you or deceive you. Did I ever?”
“You’re asking me this while we’re trespassing in the Forbidden Areas,” I say and tighten my lips. “No, you have not, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t. Coming here like this after me… You’re after the map and the weapons for all I know.”
“You disappoint me, Nora,” he says. “You know I admire you. You are courageous and there’s a quiet depth about you. It’s like you carry a rich inner secret world, full of intriguing thoughts and feelings, and your intense dynamic intuitive nature puts you in close touch with your body, in ways that give you a special edge. You used to fascinate me, but that’s all changed because you’re just too scared to show me your true vulnerable self. You hide behind your tough mask and think you’ll make it on your own.”
“That’s right, Frederick, I will.”
“Then I’ll see you out there, Nora Hunt.”
“You bet, Frederick Dahl,” I say prissily. He turns and walks away, while I just stand there, my arms crossed over my chest. The pain in my dumb heart increases and feels like a sharp knife cutting through my flesh. I am all alone in this forsaken forest where everything is a danger to my life, and while perhaps my only hope of survival has slipped away.
I trudge down the path that brought me to the hill, and steadily it curves to the far right, leading me astray. When I round the bend, the road descends fast, and I follow it down to the valley. Frederick is nowhere in sight. I’m starting to blame myself for the stubbornness I carry. It’ll always nag at me, the trust. Sometimes I find myself drawn to him for reasons unknown, could it be a spell?
At other times, I see nothing except an enemy for whom I cage my feelings. If this is love, it is being held captive, and under a spell, not necessarily coming from Frederick, but from myself. I am a prisoner of my own mind, and this has brought me to my lowest ebb.
As I reach the valley, a lake crosses my way filled with stones. It’s wide, but not deep. It’s the only thing standing between me and the Forbidden Areas. I take off my boots and in the distant woods I hear the snapping of twigs and see something. It’s a huldras.
23
THE COLD WATER brushes my bare feet as I cross the quiet lake, carefully stepping on the slippery stones. When I reach the other side, it’s suddenly warm, with the sun right above my head and the sky as clear as the valley. The huldras’s shadow is narrow, and as she turns her long tail stays firmly raised above the ground and the visible bones in her spine roll downward.
I step out of the lake and into the deep folds in the ground covered in brambles. I remove the leaves and squat to examine the surface, which could be a trail leading somewhere. Tracks from a carriage that went past this road, I am certain of it, and maybe I should follow this trail.
The sinking road begins to turn wetter. I follow the path to the green way, walking the distance to where I saw the huldras, but she’s nowhere to be seen. The forest is disguised in thick leafy bushes. Trees become deeper and darker with each step.
Suddenly the sounds of waves crash in my ears. We are nowhere near an ocean, but the bashing of water against the shore is getting louder. I begin to sway from side to side, losing my footing. The wind prickles the nape of my neck and the bright daylight turns to pitch black. I follow the dark passageway, my breathing ragged, and when I glance over my shoulder the huldras is right behind me grinning at me with black eyes.
I run, but can’t escape the stalking gait of the troll woman. She’s just behind me, lumbering as her laughter turns into vile screams. I stumble and land in a mud pit, trapped and unable to escape the vile troll, with sharp teeth jutting from her mouth and furtive eyes glistening with lust to kill.
I cross my sword in front of my chest, my hand slightly shaking. She has disappeared again but the earthy smell of her floats in the air. I walk up the road ahead of me, dragging myself out of the sticky mud. No hollows of the woods or hazy mist and fog, but a raging ocean breaking into the forest.
The waves grow larger, smashing violently against the trees. My stomach ties itself in knots and I begin to feel sick as the ground underneath me turns to liquid. The water smashes against me and I find myself in an ocean storm surrounded by a kraken, the giant octopus. He lunges one of his eight long limbs protruding from his globe-shaped body. Two rows of suckers line his tentacles and he grabs hold of my waist, my breath is captured and my senses unable to move.
The waves rock me back and forth, and I wiggle my upper body to free my arms. My sword flies into my palm and I cut the limb of the kraken that holds me and fall into the water, deep swallows pulling me down.
“WAKE UP, NORA!” I hear myself shout. My eyes see nothing but the darkness of the sea. Water begins to fill my lungs and my body sinks deeper and deeper. I scream, but the sound muffles under the water as my body begins to sink. Strong arms pull me back up to the surface, it’s Frederick. He’s hauled me into a boat.
“Come on, we need to get to the other side,” he shouts. My body is shaking violently. A lot of water is in the boat and it begins to sink rapidly into the sea. I slip, landing on my stomach. Frederick is rowing the boat as fast as he can. I lift my upper body, pressing my shaky palms down.
I don’t catch what is going on around me. I just know that we have to get to the other side fast. Frederick beckons for me to follow as he jumps into the water. I watch as he swims to reach the shoreline, safely hauling his body in. I drop my frail body into the sea, but I already know that I’m not going to make it.
I hear Frederick shout, “No!”, as my arms sink next to my side in the water. Frederick’s horrified expression freezes as the sea pulls me into its mouth.
I see light from above and forcefully I pull myself up to the surface, gasping for air. The wind is too strong and is trying to keep me under. I begin to swim fast with rhythmic strokes that propel my body forward, keeping my breath synchronized, while I slide through the fast-moving waters. I reach a bay and throw myself onto the muddy edge. I hear some voices and see light.
His hands take hold of mine and my eyes shut momentarily. When they open again it’s dark and damp. I’m on my stomach coughing out water from my lungs.
“Frederick?” My eyes open vaguely, searching his face. I see shadows, and begin to drag myself in their direction. Suddenly I feel something heavy hit against my head. I fall over and everything goes black. I wake up at some point with a sore head, my hands tied behind me against a wooden pillar in a warm wrecked cave, with lingering beams.
“Help, Frederick, are you there?” I only hear my own echo play back. I have to get loose somehow. I wiggle my hands to loosen the ropes against my wrists. I try to hold my hands apart, loosening the other side and pulling and twisting. My wrists feel sore and are burning, but I keep rotating one part of my hand, which eventually comes loose.
I slip it out and untie the other hand and feel my wrists scorching. I look around. I am somewhere in the dry wilderness and catch a glimpse of the sandstorm outside.
Wild animals roam among the sand dunes and rocky dry desert. A pack of aardwolves run through the dry mountains, half-hidden in a flurry of the sand blizzard. The harsh landscape is barren and hard with rocky plateaus. I begin to examine my surroundings closer outside the cave, when an animal suddenly attacks me. I slide down a sloping hill and grapple with the wild animal.
In one move, I take its neck and twist it. It falls down, ye
lping. It is not safe outside the cave, and without any understanding of my whereabouts I know my chances of survival are slim. The fact I’ve gotten this far is a miracle.
I go back into the cave and start climbing up the wall while I examine the surroundings. I see a large temple-like building on the other side of the wall, but I can’t make my way toward it without knocking a few of the loose bricks down.
I begin to kick hard against a wobbly spot and the wall trembles. When I see through to the other side I make my way through the wall, falling into the dusty cave.
I get up and walk toward the temple, which is lined with rotten corpses and skeletons. I am not the first one who has been here. Suddenly the ground beneath me rumbles and I fall down a shaft that lands me into a cave of some sort – or it might be a trap.
I crawl through a narrow passage filled with the bloody, smelly remains of animals. Ahead of me is a small water passage. I wade quickly through and see a wooden door ahead of me. I kick it, so it opens and the water falls through the track.
As the soil beneath me becomes dry I continue to stride rapidly toward a pavilion where I see various artifact treasures – precious stones and several rare sculptures. I notice an altar which I slide open. It contains a rare book similar to the one Hildebrand gave me. Could this be the real edition? I take it, and as I do so I hear voices and gunshots firing in my direction.
I make a quick escape and run further into the passage, but I lose my footing and slip down a tunnel. I hold onto the book, as I continue to slide through a rough pathway. I scrape through the dust and mold and see light toward the end. I crawl outside and discover a magnificent building that is half ruined. In the middle of it all a familiar face takes shape.