The Bewitched Box Set

by W. J. May

  Balin guided Isla to a rock that was tucked beneath a rowan tree.

  "We have not traveled far enough."

  Despite her protests, Isla allowed the man to ease her downward. Air heaved in her lungs as she sat. Her breath turned into a wheeze.

  "We have journeyed nearly a league. The Shadow could not have dispatched slayers so quickly."

  "Nei, Balin. Within a heartbeat he would have sent them through the shadowwalk to ambush us. We must move fast and cover our tracks. The frozen Wettersea should obscure our crossing. Then we can gain the concealment of Kolmården forest. Perhaps we will lose them."

  The sky tinged pink with the fall of the sun. The temperature plunged. A meadow, blanketed with hard-packed snow, stretched behind them. They had stayed to the riverbed where rowans and whitebeams sprung up to provide cover, but the leaf-bare branches—shriveled berries still clinging for a last bit of life—extended little shelter.

  "Stay here. I will check the perimeter and hide our passing."

  Isla nodded. She bent over at the middle, hanging her head. She inhaled in short huffs, a hollow whistle sounding in her chest.

  Astrid fought with the idea of comforting her mother, while Balin hurried out of view. Her mother had not spoken to her since they abandoned their home. The young woman feared any action on her part would further incite her mother's anger and cause her more distress.

  "Time has come." Isla broke their standoff, motioning for Astrid to come forward. She searched her mother's face, but Isla kept her gaze downward. Her mother slipped the algiz rune stone from her pouch—Isla had retrieved it when they found Astrid in the walk—and handed the stone to her daughter.

  "You must set the ward."

  Astrid removed her mitten and reached for the stone. As her fingers touched it, the cool, slickness of the rock sent shivers up her arm, punctuating her skin with goose bumps. Astrid snatched her fingers back. She motioned toward her mother, imploring Isla to sing the ward first.

  "I will show you one last time, but then it falls on you alone."

  Isla inhaled, but her chest constricted. Her mother fought back a spasm of coughs. When the attack receded, she cleared her throat and sang, but her voice rattled and the melody expired, dissolving in the chill of evening. She tried again, this time completing the tune, but the rune stone lay dormant in her palm—neither a glow nor a blanket of protection sprang forth.

  "She answers me nei more." Isla's voice fell. "The Mother is but a whisper in my heart now, beckoning me home."

  Astrid stared at the hunched figure of her mother. The chill in the air burned her eyes. She blinked to moisten them, wishing the sight before her would pass—that strength would fill her mother's limbs and a gleam would return to her skin.

  When Isla did not stir, Astrid snatched the stone from her mother's hand. She squeezed the rock, forcing her mind to focus.

  Algiz. I know the word, why can I not speak it?

  Astrid's fist shook. The muscles in her neck strained to push out the word.

  Algiz! Algiz!

  Unlike the dream, her voice stayed trapped inside her head, and the knot tightened in her throat.

  Please! If there is a spark of goodness inside me, please let it forth!

  The rock remained lifeless—a cold dot in her palm.

  Then Isla's hand wrapped over her own, guiding her fingers shut over the rune stone. Isla pulled her daughter down to kneel on the ground before her.

  "You are my ljos, my light." Her mother's tone rang with tenderness.

  She used the old tongue, a language Astrid had forgotten because her mother had stopped speaking it when she was a babe. Isla tilted her daughter's chin up to meet her gaze.

  "If only you saw what I see in you. Your power. Your beauty. You are a magnificent creature filled with love and light."

  I am darkness. I brought the Shadow, and a part of me wanted nothing more than to descend into him.

  Astrid sought to bow her head, but her mother used what little strength she had left to keep her daughter's face upright. A speck of Isla's old spark beamed in her amber eyes.

  "There, deep inside," she said as she placed her hand over Astrid's chest, "your song resides. As you hear the Mother's song, yours will come forth in harmony with hers."

  The pound of booted feet crunched over snow. Balin appeared in the distance. The man rumbled to their side, his face red from exertion.

  "Six armed men on our trail. I hid our tracks as best as I could, but the snow is unforgiving. They are close on our heels. We must move."

  "I go nei further, Balin."

  "I will carry you, my heart."

  "The result will be the same either way. Take Astrid and go. I can detain them if they stop to question me."

  Balin's eyes widened at her statement. Wetness formed in the corners.

  "I will not leave you!"

  "If you love me as you say, you will keep my child safe," Isla countered as she gestured toward Astrid.

  Balin hesitated then grabbed hold of Astrid's mantle, pulling her upright.

  The young woman jerked out of his grasp. She violently shook her head, protesting Isla's decision.

  "You will learn the ward. I believe in you, my ljos. You will learn it, and you will seek the young man who holds your destiny, and you will be a glorious beacon for all who await your coming."

  Astrid's insides numbed at her mother's words.

  "Do you remember where Hallad is? Travel austr, towards the rising sun, across the Wettersea. The lake will be frozen allowing you passage into the Kolmården forest. Once you reach the forest, use the sudr rim of the Skagg Mountains to navigate by daylight and the lode-star by night."

  Astrid nodded.

  I know the map you taught me Mamma, but I also know where he resides through the shadowwalk.

  "Good. You must learn to set the ward before you seek him, or you risk his life as well. Do you understand?"

  You have given me everything, and I have destroyed you.

  "The Mother's breast will welcome me and I can put these aches to rest within the comfort of her arms, but I will always be there, calling to you, singing to you. If you listen, you will hear me."

  Her mother broke into a quiet lullaby.

  "Sleep, sleep, little one sleep. He rustles his wings and gruffly sings..."

  Isla's tune trailed from a whisper then died off into nothingness, but the melody continued to thrum inside Astrid. The young women bowed her head, turned from her mother, and strode away. Balin tried to follow, but Astrid twisted around and pushed him back, gesturing for the warrior to stay by her mother's side.

  "Honor your mother, and respect her will."

  You will stay and protect her as she has done for me!

  Astrid pushed Balin's chest, sending him backwards again. He stumbled to regain his footing.

  The slick sound of metal leaving scabbard sounded as Astrid jerked her sword from her side. She whirled the weapon, settling the point directly in front of Balin's nose.

  You will not leave her.

  "Stop this," said Isla.

  Astrid lunged, forcing Balin to jump out of her way. She drove at him again, until Balin released his own blade and met her attack. Their swords clanked in the air.

  "Astrid, desist! Our trackers will hear you!"

  The young woman refused to give in. She thrust again, determined this would be a fight she would win.

  "Enough! Astrid! Enough! He can stay with me, child, as long as you flee without pause."

  Satisfied, Astrid lowered her arm and stowed her sword.

  Balin reached for her mantle, pulling her near, but words failed him.

  Astrid patted the warrior on his shoulder in response, but could not bear to look at him. She turned and darted headlong down the riverbank—her heart heavy with her mother's failed song.

  * * *

  Chapter 5

  The riverbed spilled into the edge of the Wettersea. Astrid wrangled a straight branch from a nearby rowan th
en proceeded to use the stick to beat the ice, testing its stability. She placed her foot on the frozen bridge, the mossy rocks of the shore visible beneath the thin layer of ice. Her blood pulsed like drums in her ears.

  Within moments, the clash of metal against metal clanked in the distance. Astrid stopped, leaning over, her heart surging.

  Balin stands nei chance against six.

  She straightened and listened. The frantic pace of combat increased, the blows quickening.

  If I go back, I risk all my mother has fought to achieve.

  Balin's banter echoed through the distance as he sparred with the slayers, grunting as he returned their attacks.

  Astrid's mind emptied of all reasoning; she dropped her supply pack and turned back to the battle. She grabbed the hilt of her sword as her legs propelled her forward. When the cool, slick iron met her palm, her instincts took over: her worry, her logic, her indecision, gone. All that was left was silence and action.

  The sun sunk over the horizon as the soft light of twilight washed over the land. Astrid scampered down the riverbed and spotted the melee in the distance. Her mother remained on the rock, behind her warrior, bent with exhaustion. Six men, all armored, made a semi-circle around the two. Balin returned their lunges and slashes, but one broke through, catching him across his leg, tearing open his trousers, and ripping his flesh.

  At the sight of Balin's blood, Astrid’s pace surged. She lightened her step and ran, her feet silent as they hit the ground. She measured her breath, making it inaudible as air filled her lungs. Sliding her sword from its sheath, she circled around the attackers and slid in behind them. With one fluid movement she slashed the back of one man’s neck and caught another's sword arm, disarming him. His steel flew a hundred paces in the air, sailing over the top of her mother’s and Balin’s heads to land in the riverbed. Two more assailants swung around at the cries of their comrades while the other two remained engaged with Balin. All six warriors possessed an otherworldly quality in both their slenderness and the tone of their skin, which was pale, but without the reddish tinge of a Scandian.

  "Where did she come from?" yelled one.

  "I don't know, but she has the taint of the Mother on her, like the woman."

  "Nei! She carries a sword. One with the touch cannot bear a weapon," observed a third.

  The unarmed man pointed at the man writhing on the ground, his neck slashed and oozing blood.

  "She did him a good measure of harm."

  "She's the one our master wants. Leave her unharmed!"

  "Unharmed?" asked the first. "How do you suggest we do that?"

  "The man on the left," said Balin as he dodged and parried, "he is slow with both his block and his wits. The one on the right takes ill care of his equipment, as shown by the nicks running the length of his blade."

  Astrid nodded, taking the lead. She delivered a series of lightning speed blows to the slow-witted man, unarming him within a breath. Then she whacked at the second man's blade. He returned her blows; his blade slipping through her guard, running the length of her stomach. She reeled back, momentarily, but remained unharmed. In the fury of combat she had forgotten she wore armor. Balin's gift left her untouched. She lunged, and hacked at man's blade again and again until the poorly maintained weapon snapped in half.

  "Shut up!" yelled one of the attackers, thrusting at Balin.

  Balin continued, "Now this one here, he's full of anger and hatred. Number two over there steps too close into my guard for his longer sword."

  He allowed the angry man to come at him, simply blocking him until the strength in the man's arms failed. Balin delivered his sword through the man's chest, sending him to the frozen ground. The last remaining soldier dropped his sword and bolted, along with the others, dragging their injured with them.

  The young woman scrambled to her mother, kneeling down in front of her. Isla placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder and smiled. Astrid's blood quickened at her mother's approval, but a frown quickly pulled her mother's lips downward.

  "You disobeyed me, daughter."

  Astrid deflated, but her mother's grip remained on her shoulder.

  "Perhaps I've misjudged you, Astrid. Maybe it's your determination to face a fight when all the odds are against you that will save us from the Shadow."

  Balin slapped Astrid across the back, adding, "You did well. You followed your instinct and directed the flow of the fight. I am thankful I wasn't at the end of your blade."

  Astrid stood and grinned at Balin. He grabbed each of her shoulders in his meaty hands as if he wanted to hug her, but didn't know how.

  "We have time to seek cover before they regroup or send reinforcements. The village of Ramsby is not far from here. I can tend to my wound and find us shelter," Balin announced.

  Astrid shook her head, pulling out of Balin's grip.

  "The danger has passed for now, surely—"

  Astrid continued to protest, backing up. She stowed her blade.

  "Nei, Balin, she is right. Astrid remains a danger to all until she learns to sing the ward. We must tend to your wound and stop the bleeding before your own life falters. Besides, I am unable to protect her anymore."

  Astrid bent down and kissed her mother's forehead, smoothing her hair from her face.

  I love you Mamma, she wanted to say, but no words would come.

  Instead, she turned to stalk off, but Balin caught her by her sleeve.

  "If I can get your mother back to Alvenheim, where she can hear the song of the Mother, she may heal."

  Astrid searched Balin's face. The grizzled man beamed at his thought.

  "I've never tried before because I knew we must protect you, and she refused me, but now..."

  The young woman smiled; hope lit inside her for the first time in her life.

  "I promise you, Astrid, on my honor and on my life. I will find a way into the realm of the alves or I will die trying. Your mother will not leave this world without a fight."

  Tears burned at the edges of Astrid's eyes. She forced herself to keep them in check.

  Thank you, Balin. Thank you for loving my mother so much.

  Balin released her and Astrid turned quickly, in order to hide her emotions, leaving her mother and Balin, once and for all.

  ––––––––

  * * *

  Chapter 6

  Three nights had passed, and still Astrid did not risk sleep. Her limbs bowed like green wood, wobbling with each step. Forcing her feet to obey her command, she trudged onward. The lower rim of the Skagg Mountains sprawled above the treetops. Astrid used their white peaks to guide her journey toward Hallad.

  If I do not sleep soon, I will faint from exhaustion, yet I cannot sleep without the ward, nor can I seek the young man.

  Thoughts of Balin's task attacked, but she pressed them back, not wanting to consider the consequences if he failed. The stillness unnerved her, reminding her that she was truly alone. Though she had dreamed of life without isolation, she never thought the price for freedom would be the loss of her mother.

  Nightfall threatened as she continued deeper into the towering timbers. A reddish-pink blaze seized what remained of the overcast sky. Her nerves bunched her muscles. Her inhalations resounded in her ears. The entire forest around her quieted, but her intuition cautioned her.

  I am being followed.

  Astrid steadied herself, holding her breath in her lungs. She shifted her gaze, searching side to side. Shadows threw long stretches of the woods into darkness. She felt eyes upon her, watching her from behind.

  She removed her pack from her back, and assembled a makeshift tent from raw hides stowed within her belongings. She slipped inside the structure, but quickly exited out the back under the cover of an evergreen.

  Working her way through the woodland, she stalked amongst the pine without a snap of a twig to betray her. When she neared their position, she leaped out, drawing her blade, landing on the trail behind her pursuers.

  Two ov
ersized wolves—one silver, one black—spun around with their hackles raised. Astrid flinched. She had assumed her trackers were human; the sight of the predators alarmed her.

  Growls rumbled from the throats of both the creatures. Their lips pulled back to reveal sharp white teeth. The black hunched his shoulders into a crouch, ready to spring. Astrid leveled her sword to the height of their heads, slowly backing up.

  Astrid's heart banged against her chest. Her perception of time slowed. The black wolf hunkered down to leap, but he stopped abruptly, tucking his tail.

  A sensation caught the back of her neck. A warm, intense breath covered her. It wet her hair, penetrating to her scalp. Steam rolled around the side of her head, spreading into the night air in front of her.

  Both wolves cowed, slinking backwards.

  Slowly, she turned to face the beast behind her. Its palmate antlers stretched twice her height; its brown eyes stared at her, unblinking. The moose's massive, muscled body quivered with raw energy. The beast was an anomaly, both in size and the fact that its antlers remained long after winter had settled across the land. Astrid's head thundered with the sound of her thumping heart until all she perceived was the pulse of her own blood pumping.

  Another heartbeat joined hers. Astrid realized the beast's life force pulsed along with hers, and together they formed a rhythm, a song. She stared at the beast, and recognized the deep, rich color of earth in the moose's gaze. For an instant, she shared a common bond with the beast, an unbreakable tie.

  Then with a snort, the animal turned and lumbered back through the trees. Astrid watched, unable to move, listening to the heart song that played within her being. She swung around to search for the wolves, but they had vanished.

  Astrid returned to her campsite, built a fire, sought the warmth of her tent, and settled down under her fur-lined mantle.

  Sleep will take me soon, and I must face the Shadow without the ward for protection.

  ***

  The gray shifting landscape materialized around Astrid. She caught sight of white trousers next to her. She rolled onto her back. The ebony-haired man kneeled by her side, his cloudy eyes staring down upon her. Longing played in the shadows of his gaze, while a startling smile graced his lips. His beauty set her heart hammering.