The Boy in the Dark

by June Wilson

  “Okay, Moll. It’s not like I deliberately kept things from you, you know. But like I told Toby, I made a promise. And you’re the one that always tells me never to break a promise.”

  Will’s face was all innocence. He was sharp, Josh had to give him that. Sharp and kind of annoying for a ten year old. “Too late for that now mate,” he said. “We need to know what’s going on. So spill.”

  Will blew out his cheeks. “Right then. It were ages ago – maybe round Easter? I was playing down by the canal – now don’t look like that Moll, I was being careful – when this bloke came up to me. He had a fishing rod but he hadn’t caught much. He asked me if the river would be any better and I told him course it would, if he knew where to go. So I showed him and we got talking. He said his name was Henry something or other and he asked me why I was out on my own and didn’t I have friends my own age?”

  “Oh Will,” Molly admonished. “What have I told you about talking to strangers? They can’t be trusted.”

  “It’s all right Moll! I could tell he wasn’t a bad ‘un. He said he knew another boy who was quite lonely and would I like to meet him. I wasn’t that bothered, to be honest, but he said it would make the other boy really happy, so I thought, well, there’s no harm in that.

  “So off we went, to this clearing in the woods. I’d never been there before, and I know those woods really well. But you would have liked it Moll – it was full of bluebells and daffodils and all them other flowers you like. And through the trees, I could see this little house. There was smoke coming from the chimney and a woman sat on a seat outside.” He paused for a minute and screwed up his face. “In fact, now I think about it, she looked a bit like Martha. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t worried, you know, about her or Henry. Anyway, she got up when she saw me and shouted something. The door opened and this boy came out. He came running down the path and when he saw me he just stopped and stared.

  “An’ I stared too - I couldn’t believe it! He looked just like me, I mean, exactly the same. Maybe his hair was a bit longer, but that was all. And the other thing was, I could hear what he was thinking – plain as if he’d opened his mouth and said the words!” He shook his head and grinned. “It was like magic, Moll. Proper magic.”

  Josh could tell that Molly was having a hard time taking Will seriously. He wouldn’t have believed the story himself, if he didn’t know that this kind of weird stuff was exactly what happened where anything to do with Middengard was concerned.

  “Right, so you made this new friend and then what? Kept sneaking off to the woods I suppose? All those times you told me you were playing with Kit?”

  Josh knew that Kit was the boy that drowned. At the mention of his name, Will’s face clouded.

  “Yeah, I did. And then Kit got angry, because I wouldn’t take him with me. He kept on and on at me, so I told him I had another friend and we didn’t want him - it was right mean of me, I know it was. That’s why he followed me and then he got himself in the canal.” Will’s lip trembled.

  “It wasn’t your fault – I’ve told you that.” Molly squeezed his hand. “You agree with me don’t you Josh?”

  “Absolutely. Whoever’s to blame, it certainly isn’t you.” Josh had kind of assumed Madame Varia had drowned the boy, but maybe that wasn’t the case. This Henry character was sounding a more likely candidate.

  “Anyway, I stopped going to the woods after that,” Will said. “Because I felt so bad, on account of Kit. So Henry came looking for me at the mill – a couple of weeks ago it was. I remember, because that’s the first time I saw her.” Will’s face darkened.

  “Who? Madame Varia?” Josh asked.

  “No – the one that looks like our ‘ma. She was hanging round the mill gates the same afternoon Henry came. She waited till he’d gone and then she came up to me. I thought she was lost or something, but she took my arm and stared at me right close. Is it you? She said, like she was going to cry. She kept saying it over and over again and her fingers were digging into me. I didn’t know what she was on about and I thought the others might see and laugh at me. So I tried to get away but she put her hand on my head like this…” Will put the flat of his hand against his forehead and pressed hard. “And after that, she just screamed and disappeared. I was really scared.”

  “And did you see her again?”

  Will shook his head. “Not until last night.” He stared at his hands, fidgeting. “I’m that sorry, Moll. It was like I couldn’t help myself. I went to bed when Mary told me, honest. But then I heard someone singing, out in the street. It was such a lovely song, not like anything I’d heard before. So I opened the window and there she was – that lady again. She was down in the street and looking up at me. I had to go. I just had to.

  “So I went with her to the abbey. She held my hand all the way and kept telling me how special I was, and how I was going to help her find her boy, and how mothers shouldn’t be kept from their children. And it made me think of ‘ma, and how much I missed her, and she was so sad that I wanted to help her, really I did.

  “But then this other woman came – the one that looks like a witch – and she was right horrible. They had a big argument and the witch shut me up in this dark place, in the abbey somewhere. I shouted and shouted but no one heard me and I wished I’d never gone with the lady. I thought I’d never see you again, or this house neither. But then you came and found me and I promise you Moll, I’ll never run off again. Never, never.”

  Will let out a sob and gave Molly a violent hug. Josh was trying to think of something to say because his throat had tightened and there was no way he was going to start crying too.

  “It’s okay Will, I won’t let anyone bad get you ever again,” Molly said. “Not that Madame Varia and not that Henry neither. I don’t trust him, luring you off like that, boy or no boy.”

  “I think that’s very wise,” Martha said, startling all three of them. She’d appeared in the doorway and Josh had the impression she’d been standing there for quite some time. “I’ve been a fool,” she said, “but there’s plenty of time to make amends.”

  What was she on about? As far as Josh was concerned, Martha was the only one of them that had done anything really useful – like getting rid of the creepy medium, for starters.

  “I know who Henry is,” the Guardian went on. “And I need to tell Alice.”

  MIDDENGARD

  Chapter 24

  Ellie didn’t like to admit it, but Helaine’s appearance had completely confounded her. She’d been certain that the Lady was in league with Mimir and was on some vengeful quest of her own. Yet the ethereal creature that had come to warn her had filled her with nothing but sadness. And if Tom and Stanor were in danger, she would owe the Lady a great debt.

  She quickened her pace. It was the hour before dawn. Skellstor lay in semi-darkness and was eerily quiet. There was no one in sight, save for the Guards posted along the outer walls. Regil hadn’t yet slackened the watch and Ellie was grateful for it: whatever Mimir was planning, Skellstor was well defended.

  Her priority now was finding Tom – and Stanor for that matter. They could have gone to relieve Hatha she supposed, but there was no point speculating. Regil would know their whereabouts. She should have gone to see him as soon as she arrived, instead of allowing herself the luxury of sleep. And now she was about to wake him at a totally uncivilized hour – a small sacrifice, given what was potentially at stake.

  She rushed up the tower steps two at a time. A Guard was slumped in a chair outside the Ealdor’s chambers, snoring loudly. She shook him roughly by the shoulder and he snapped awake, blinking in confusion.

  “Lady Eleanor! May Freya forgive me.” The Guard staggered to his feet and saluted.

  “I’m not here to reprimand you,” she said. The man looked haggard. He’d probably been on duty for hours. “Go to the kitchens and get some breakfast. I have private business with Lord Regil.”

  The Guard ran off, red in the face. She was about to rap on the d
oor when it swung open.

  “Ah – Eleanor. I’ve been waiting for you.” Regil was fully dressed in official robes. His hair and beard were as smartly trimmed as ever, but his eyes were red-rimmed and his cheeks were hollowed out.

  “My Lord.” She gave a shallow bow. Regil deserved the proper observances, even from her and even in this situation. “I’m sorry to disturb you at this early hour, but the matter is urgent.”

  He waved away her apology and she followed him into the room he used as a library. A number of scrolls, yellow with age, were spread across the table. Regil busied himself stoking the fire, but she could contain her impatience no longer.

  “Regil – forgive my bluntness – but where’s Tom? I expected to find him in our quarters.”

  “Shall we sit?” he said, taking a seat at the table.

  She did as she was instructed, her unease growing. “And I need to see Stanor as well,” she pressed. “Is he here?”

  Regil took up one of the scrolls, glanced at it then put it down again. “I’ve been re-reading the ancient texts – the ones we have here, at least. It’s heavy going. My mind clearly isn’t as agile as it used to be.”

  Ellie felt her temper flaring. Her question had been simple enough – why wouldn’t he answer it?

  “Regil - please. I’m not here to discuss texts, ancient or otherwise.”

  He gave her a weary smile. “You think I’m avoiding your question – and maybe I am. The simple truth is, I don’t know where Tom is. Or Stanor. They were taken the day before last.”

  The room suddenly felt very chill, even though the fire was burning fiercely in the grate. If Tom had already gone missing, or was in any kind of danger, she would have felt it. Should have felt it, she corrected. What was happening to her?

  “What do you mean – taken? Who by?”

  “We don’t know. They went to Glassmere – Stanor received word that his old housekeeper was ill. It was a fine day so Tom went with him. I saw no harm in it – a break from city duties for both of them.”

  Ellie shivered. Glassmere – this did not bode well.

  “I was a fool,” Regil went on, his voice suddenly bitter. “The two best commanders in living memory, riding unaccompanied across open plains, six months after the greatest battle of our time. There are number of parties who could benefit from their capture, our former council member among them.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with the battle or with Magnus,” she snapped. “As I think you know. We’ve been blindsided Regil. Elok tried to warn us, but it’s too late now.” Her anger vanished as suddenly as it came and she buried her face in her hands. She will not rest until she has taken all your family. Too late! Now she knew what Helaine’s words meant.

  “I know who’s taken them,” she said when she could trust herself to speak. “And we will not speak her name.” Ellie didn’t think of herself as superstitious, but she would limit Mimir’s power any way she could. She would keep the Goddess in the shadows, for with knowledge came fear. Such knowledge must not spread through the streets of Skellstor.

  “Then it is Gods we face, not men,” the Ealdor said, his face ashen.

  “But even Gods have weaknesses. And we must do all that we can to find them.”

  *

  Orla had been recalled to Hel’s cavern. The messenger had said it was urgent and she reached the cavern with a heavy heart. Her Sight had doubled in strength in the last day alone, as the Queene had told her it would. Soon she would see more of the past and of the future than the Anhaga, possibly more than the Norns themselves. A gift or a curse? Orla didn’t yet know.

  Hel was alone, pacing. Her appearance had changed: one side of her face was young and fair-skinned, the other dark and wrinkled. And she was fully clothed as a Hilderinc warrior, with a shining silver breastplate and a sword at her waist.

  “At last! You dare to keep me waiting?” The Goddess had a wild but nervous look about her. She fingered the hilt of her sword and checked the shadows, before lowering her voice.

  “She’s angry. She’s demanded more souls, but it’s a full week until the next Day of Judgment.”

  Orla made no comment. She had seen how Mimir would escape the maze and the knowledge revolted her. The Goddess was feeding on the souls of murdered children, their innocence releasing her bonds link by link. The chains still held but it was only a matter of time before they broke entirely. Then the dark Goddess would be unleashed on all the worlds.

  “You would be foolish to risk another Judgment,” she said cautiously. “Freya would be displeased.”

  “Don’t talk to me about Freya!” Hel spat. “Much she cares for my plight. Why should I dwell in this miserable place whilst she basks in the glory of Mount Odin?”

  Orla made no answer. There was a small part of her that felt sorry for Hel. The Goddess had a deep longing for life, for the feel of the sun and the wind and the rain, and Freya had denied her. How could she blame Hel for the very things she wanted herself?

  “Of course it wouldn’t be necessary if Varia had done the job she was supposed to,” Hel muttered. “I knew the woman wasn’t to be trusted. Humans – they’re as weak as water. All of them.”

  “Varia?” Despite her increasing Sight, Orla hadn’t heard the name before.

  Hel smiled nastily. “You Hilderinc call them Guardians - humans with more abilities than they should have. Some have the Sight; some have unseemly strength - some can even travel between worlds, if the Gods allow it. Varia is such a one. She was burned a witch five hundred years ago and has been lurking in my halls ever since. That is, until Mimir got hold of her.”

  “Why did Mimir need her?”

  “To remind Helaine where her loyalties lie. The Lady has a soft heart, especially where children are concerned. And that doesn’t suit Mimir, as you well know.” Hel looked at her closely, her eyes narrowed. “You’re curious about Varia aren’t you? Why? Because she’s seen your precious friends?”

  Orla flinched. She must mean Alice and Toby and maybe even Josh as well. She had only caught glimpses of them in the human world, the picture as yet murky.

  Hel saw her expression and laughed. “Don’t worry, little priestess. The wretched woman’s waiting for me by the river’s edge. If you want to know what’s been happening in the human world, you may as well come with me.”

  *

  Ellie hastened to Isolde’s cave. If she were to have any chance of finding Tom and Stanor she would need the old woman’s help. She had left Regil with Elok and a message had been sent to Gawain. The knowledge of scholars was going to be as important as the bravery of soldiers in the fight against Mimir.

  “Back again so soon?” Isolde was exactly where Ellie had left her, less than a day before – consulting her books of lore and distilling herbs. For someone who had seen the horror of Mimir’s rising, she looked remarkably calm.

  “I had a visitation,” Ellie said. The cave was warm and smelt of mint and comfrey. For a moment she envied the solace it brought the old woman.

  “I suspected as much.” Isolde poured a steaming liquid into a glass jar and stared at it intently. “Wolf’s bane. It has many uses, you know.”

  Isolde was deflecting, which meant she had bad news of her own. But Ellie didn’t have time to come at things the long way round.

  “Helaine came to warn me, as you probably know. And I had the most terrible dream about Tom. And now he’s missing – Stanor too. What do you know about it?”

  Isolde shook the glass jar. The liquid changed colour, from pale yellow to amber. “Good, it’s transmuted. We’ll have need of that later.” Satisfied, she placed the jar in a row of identical vessels and took a seat next to Ellie. “What I know is that your husband is more than capable of taking care of himself. Remember his lineage and take heart.”

  “And Stanor?” Ellie knew the old woman was fond of the Lord Commander. She hoped Isolde was as confident about his survival as she was about Tom’s.

  Isolde passed her hand over her fa
ce. “Stanor has faced many enemies in his time. But Freya calls us all, in the end.”

  Ellie stared at her in horror. “You’re not saying you’ve seen his death?”

  “Perhaps only as much as I’ve seen yours.” Isolde patted her hand. Her skin felt dry as paper. “Only one out of many possible futures my dear.”

  Ellie wasn’t sure that was a comfort. But even the potential loss of her oldest friend wasn’t her greatest concern.

  “Helaine warned me that Mimir would not rest until she had taken all my family. All of them Isolde. I need to know if anything’s happened to Alice.”

  Isolde sighed. “You know that’s difficult. The Pool rarely shows me the human world. And to see a time that has already passed…” She shook her head. “It’s beyond my reach. I’m sorry.”

  Ellie nodded, her hopes dashed. Of course there was a chance Isolde was lying to save her undue anguish, but she didn’t think so.

  “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think she’s in danger - at least not yet. Mimir needs her,” Isolde said, holding Ellie’s gaze.

  Ellie’s heart skipped a beat. “Because of the Stone?”

  “The Stone, yes. And also because of who she is.” The old woman got to her feet, one hand to her back. “Enough! You must rest and so must I. The future of Middengard won’t be settled by our speculations. If Helaine has broken free of Mimir, there may be hope yet. Stay vigilant – she may provide you with another warning.”

  Ellie knew that was as much reassurance as she was going to get. She made her way back to Skellstor and Regil. She would help prepare Skellstor’s defenses and tomorrow she would ride out in search of Tom. She would rather meet her enemy face on than wait in a corner like a whipped cur. In the end, it was all she could do.

  *

  The river was a murky brown and wider than Orla remembered. Blackened trees rose from the shallows, their leafless branches pointing Hel-wards like ghostly fingers. A lone figure stood on the stony shore, wrapped in a black cloak.

  “Come to gloat Hel?” the woman said as they approached. Orla saw she was of middle age, with swarthy skin and heavily lidded eyes. A massive ruby hung from a golden chain round her neck.