Pleased with the success of his plan, he began to flesh out the sculpture with more snow, followed by deluges of instantly freezing water.
Many hours’ work left him aching muscles, a sheen of sweat under his clothes and a colossal grundar sculpture made of ice and snow. The firelight made it sparkle – when the sun touched it, it would be incredible. Menders dragged himself into the house and checked on Katrin.
She was sound asleep in her bed, her arms around a stuffed walrus toy that had been a Winterfest gift from Franz. He made sure the fire was burning well, kissed her and whispered, “Everything is all right, sleep well, Little Princess.” Then he went thankfully to Eiren’s room, stripped in front of the warm stove and washed with the hot water she had left simmering. When dry and suitably warmed, Menders crawled beneath the bed covers. Eiren murmured and snuggled against him. He fell asleep almost immediately.
The next night he repeated the process, first taking time to set several telltale traps that would make noise if anything approached. He didn’t want wolves or a real grundar, for that matter, creeping up on him. Such animals did not fear fire and also had notoriously bad tempers. The first night he hadn’t bothered, but the idea of making one ice sculpture had expanded in his mind. He had a grand plan.
That night yielded another enormous grundar. He had a system now and the work went faster. If the weather held and he didn’t collapse from lack of sleep, Katrin’s birthday would be full of wonder.
Crawling into bed, shivering, he woke Eiren, who wrapped herself around him.
“You’re so cold!” she exclaimed. “Your poor hands! What on Eirdon are you doing out there all night long?”
“Something wonderful. Don’t make me tell, you’ll see in a few days.”
“If you don’t freeze first. Here, get closer. If you’re going to go gallivanting around in the snow in the middle of the night, at least wear double socks. Poor darling.”
He was creating an enormous boar the next night when one of the telltales rattled, then clanged and Franz’s voice rang out.
“Who the hells put a string full of saw blades across there!” Menders disappeared into the trees as several members of Menders’ Men hissed at Franz to shut up. He ghosted up behind Franz and said, “May I help you?”
Franz jumped and shrieked, turning around so fast he fell over the telltale again. Once extracted from the snow, he stood there glowering.
“What in hells are you doing out here all night long?” he asked.
“Swimming and chasing women. What the hells does it look like?” Menders pointed to the two huge ice grundar, which were even more spectacular after melting slightly in the daytime, then refreezing at night. Menders had flung buckets of water over them nightly and they were now something out of a fairy tale, glistening and sparkling in the firelight.
Menders’ Men came out of the shadows and stood there staring, openmouthed.
“You made these?” Haakel asked.
“No, they followed me home. Of course I made them. They’re for Katrin’s birthday.”
“You’ve been out here most of three nights in the cold doing this?”
Menders didn’t even bother to answer, just went back to his boar. Within seconds he had an audience. They didn’t ask many questions, but studied what he’d done.
“Can we make some?” Haakel asked.
“Saplings there, snow all over the place, melt down snow and ice in the bucket. But get your own buckets, that one’s mine.” He hauled two ends of saplings together and lashed them firmly with twine.
There was a general exodus in the direction of the shed and house. Soon they were back, carting tools, more ladders, buckets and several jugs of cider that they set to warm by the fire, a box of metal cups and a basket of food. They set to work with a will, sawing, lashing, staking and packing snow on several structures that, after some hours, became a borag, a langur, a horse and a leaping fish. Menders watched with satisfaction as a cheerful Kaymar helped Ifor Trantz build a giant wolf with icicles for teeth and red firestone gems for eyes. Winterfest had brought his troubled cousin the comfort he needed in the form of Ifor’s devotion. It was good - and droll - to see warmth-loving Kaymar braving the bitter cold to work beside his new bonded.
Menders’ project was much easier with company and help, and a small idea snowballed into a huge one. Each night, the men of The Shadows trekked into the snowy woods, spending hours hauling and sawing saplings, building frames and packing them with snow. A system had been developed and they were turning out several animals a night, ranging them throughout the woods in a breathtaking display.
Lucen joined them after tromping out one night with a shotgun to see just who was making such noise. He constructed an archway in the form of a huge heart as the entrance to the world of ice animals. The crown jewel of the collection was a thirty foot giraffe. It towered above the frozen menagerie and turned out fine after Menders insisted that someone go refer to a book on animals, for it became obvious that the Men had conflicting ideas as to what a giraffe looked like. The real things were a very long way away on the grassy sunlit plains of Surytam. No-one at The Shadows had ever laid eyes on one.
Exhausted on the night before Katrin’s birthday, the sculptors flung the final buckets of water over their creations, cleared up all the tools and spent considerable time erasing their footprints and shoveling snow over the trampled areas around the animals.
A couple of hours later, at sunrise, Menders was up again, wanting to wake Katrin before everyone else rose. He always spent a little time alone with her on her birthday, before the rest of the household began to celebrate.
She woke quickly, looking rosy and excited. Menders felt bleary and weary but the bright expectant look on her face helped erase the ache in his bones.
“Happy birthday, Little Princess,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Something wonderful happened in the night. Get dressed and come outside to see.”
They crept down the stairs and out of the house without a sound.
“What is it?” she asked has he led her away from the house.
“It’s something that only happens for special birthdays,” he said. “You have to be quiet or they’ll run away.”
He could tell she was about to burst with questions. He led her onward into the woods, which were glistening with the first light of the sun.
She stopped short in amazement when she saw Lucen’s heart archway, glowing gold and sparkling like a million diamonds. Menders urged her on.
“Once you walk under that magical archway, they won’t be able to run away and they’ll be here with us the rest of the winter,” he whispered. She took his hand, her bright blue eyes crackling with curiosity. They stepped under the archway.
The huge grundar were first, towering high above her, brilliant colors glistening from their depths. Great antlers thrust up against the sky, transparent in places, dripping with long pointed icicles. Behind them stood colossal boars, their tusks winking in the sunlight.
Menders leaned against a tree, delighting in Katrin’s wonder as she moved from one enormous sculpture to the next. She gazed up at a giant manquar in awe, slowly reaching up to touch one of its long, sharp claws. The wolf and his mad red eyes made her shrink back a little at first, but then she patted its frosty muzzle. She finally came to the giraffe, and turned back to Menders, her eyes huge.
“Where did they come from?”
“They come from The Light At The Top Of The World,” he said. “From farther north than the Thrun live, from a place where it is always winter and there is always ice and snow. These animals are born from the breath of the first winter wind and they live, even though they are made from snow and ice. They blow down on the wind, circling Eirdon until they find a place where they feel the people are worthy. Then they come to the ground to play. If just the right person walks under the magical archway to their kingdom, they freeze in place, just like this, and make their home there for the rest of the winter.”
&nb
sp; “Can they move around?” she asked, turning to stare at the animals again.
“Only when it’s dark and there is no-one looking.”
She walked farther into the woods, finding farlins, the borag, horses, fantastical birds and fish, a greenback whale and more wolves. Menders could feel every muscle in his body aching, but it was worth it, just for the look in her eyes. She came running back to him, arms outstretched, He caught her up and spun her around.
“Did you make the magic happen?” she asked, hugging him and then bending back so she could look into his face.
“I might have had something to do with it,” he grinned. “I’m a wizard, you know.”
“No, you’re the Dark Knight and you can do anything!”
He felt a lump in his throat. She’d listened to scores of stories about the Princess and the Dark Knight, but had never mentioned seeing a connection. It touched him to know that she understood.
“I had a word with the winter wind as to where those animals should come,” he said. “What do you think?”
“They’re beautiful. And they’re so big! Will everyone be able to see them, or just you and me?”
“The magic is for everyone, but you’re the very first person to see them, my Little Princess.”
They tramped back to the house where Eiren stood in the door as they came up the steps, smiling, bending to give Katrin a kiss. Menders slipped past them to where Franz was grinning like a bear with a fresh beehive.
“I kept everyone back so you could take her out there alone,” he said softly. “How did she like it?”
“It was… I’ll remember it when I’m very old,” Menders said rapidly, not wanting to let his emotions get away from him. Franz gripped his forearm for a moment and then turned to wish Katrin a happy birthday. The congratulations began, while she told everyone about the magical animals that had come to live in the woods. A mad exodus followed as people went to see. Cook came back with tears in her eyes. She hugged Menders then kissed his cheek.
“What you dear men will do for that child warms my heart.” Breakfast was an especially lavish affair.
Later, Menders strolled through the acres of sculpted animals with Eiren, enjoying for the second time a dear one’s delight. She was amazed.
“Tell me you didn’t do all of this,” she gasped, staring up at the giraffe.
“I never could have. The fellows all came out the third night and helped. We were out here for six nights building them.”
“I’ll have to bring the school children and my family here,” Eiren breathed, looking up at the giraffe. “They’d think I’d gone winter-mad if they didn’t see this with their own eyes.”
“Bring anyone you like,” Menders smiled. “But give me a night’s sleep first.”
She smiled up at him and touched his face.
“Remarkable man,” she whispered.
(30)
Puzzles With No Solutions
Katrin and Hemmett burst out of the woods and leapt onto the big rock by the river. It was a fine, sunny morning and they had managed to give Haakel the slip.
“Nobody following us,” Hemmett panted, looking down the path.
“Nobody spying on us!” Katrin said jubilantly.
With summer come again, Katrin had become restless about being watched. It wasn’t that she wanted to do anything that was wrong – she didn’t. She just wanted to be like the Spaltz children, who ran down to the river on their own and played for hours unattended.
“Still don’t see Haakel,” Hemmett said more calmly now. “He thinks we went on into the woodlot, I’ll bet. Faw!” He looked very pleased for a moment. Then his smile began to fade.
“Willow, there’s going to be a row from Menders for this,” he said dubiously. “There was enough trouble last autumn when you ran away from Kaymar.”
“We’ll say we were just playing and didn’t know we’d left Haakel behind,” Katrin answered coolly.
“You’re getting to be the worst liar,” Hemmett sighed. “Menders would never fall for that anyway. Let’s go back.”
“Not after all that running. I thought you wanted to get away from them too. Are you really afraid of a little trouble?”
“I’m supposed to take care of you,” Hemmett said, grabbing for her hand. “We’re going back to the house.”
“No!” Katrin jerked her hand from his grasp. She ran to the edge of the rock and looked out over the river. Hemmett followed her, trying to catch her hand.
They froze in place, staring at Kaymar swimming in the river, fifteen feet below. As they watched, he turned on his back to float, saw them and began treading water, flinging his long blond hair out of his face with a splash.
“Who is with you children?” he called.
“Haakel,” Katrin responded quickly.
Kaymar’s blue eyes drilled into hers.
“Tell him to come up by you and speak with me,” he said quietly. Katrin gulped and tried to answer, then looked away.
“He isn’t with us,” Hemmett blurted. Katrin looked up at him and saw his face was bright red.
“I thought so. You come down here on the beach. If you run off, believe me, I will catch you,” Kaymar said coldly, starting to swim toward the shore.
They looked at each other and Katrin felt real fear. Hemmett took her hand and helped her off the rock.
Kaymar was close to shore. “Turn around, Katrin,” he said briskly. She did and she could hear him hoisting himself out of the water onto the rocks. Hemmett gasped softly. Katrin turned around at the sound.
She heard her own sharp intake of breath as she stared at Kaymar’s bare back as he stepped into his trousers.
It was crosshatched with terrible scars. Some of them were huge, the size of a big man’s hand. Others looked so deep that she expected to see Kaymar’s bones.
Kaymar had heard her and turned as he finished buttoning up.
His chest and belly were as bad as his back. In places the scars were so thick they looked as if they had been plowed into his skin. The insides of his arms were corded with even more scars, deeply crosshatched. Some looked very new, red lines on top of older, silvery scars.
“Did you…” Katrin began. Kaymar cut her off.
“I told you to turn your back. Obviously you’re not doing what you’re told today.” He jerked his shirt on and buttoned it swiftly. Then he was right in front of them, his hands gripping their shoulders.
“I know whose idea it was to run away from Haakel,” he said, his nose only inches from Katrin’s. “You’ve gotten altogether above yourself, Your Highness. Now, I have been in Erdahn for a week, working for Menders and meeting with your mother, the Queen. I had to come back on the train and just got in. I’ve been ages getting here and I was really looking forward to having a swim and a rest – and now I have to walk you two back to the house. That’s the end of my rest day, isn’t it?”
“We can walk back on our own,” Hemmett offered in a very small voice. Katrin couldn’t have said a word with Kaymar’s blazing blue eyes right in front of her.
“You’ve shown that you’re not to be trusted.” He turned away to pull on his socks and shoes, then picked up a small satchel he’d obviously left nearby. Katrin felt terrible. Kaymar looked very tired. She knew that he hated the long train ride because the noise made it impossible for him to sleep.
“Let’s go.” He gestured for them to walk ahead of him. Katrin turned and stumbled toward the path. Hemmett reached out and took her hand. She held on tightly, suddenly afraid of what they would face at the house.
As they emerged from the woods, they could see Men moving briskly about, obviously looking for them. Menders was on the front steps, sending people in different directions. Katrin could see Haakel. He was pale, looked sick and was pointing toward the place where she and Hemmett had given him the slip.
Ifor was standing by Menders, looking out over the lawns. As they walked closer, he saw them.
“Kip has them,” he said. He ra
n down the steps and over to Kaymar, giving Katrin and Hemmett an angry look. “Kip, you look terrible.”
“Many thanks,” Kaymar said sharply. “I stopped on my way from the halt to have a swim and rest a bit. The damned train was held over for hours, I’ve been on it the better part of three days. They came running up to the river, so what could I do?”
“Come on in the house,” Ifor said gently. “We’ll get you comfortable.” He put an arm around Kaymar’s shoulders. “You children go on.”
Katrin clung tightly to Hemmett’s hand as they walked reluctantly toward the steps. She could see Menders watching them. His face was white with anger. They were in for it – but she couldn’t stop thinking of those terrible scars on Kaymar’s body.
“Bumpy, what happened to Kaymar? I saw him cut his arm once but how could he cut his back?”
“Don’t know. Oh Willow, why the hells do you always want to run away?”
“Both of you, go to your rooms,” Menders said fiercely when they got to the bottom of the steps. “Don’t leave them until I’ve spoken to you.”
They walked numbly up to the door. Katrin could feel Menders’ eyes on them every inch of the way. Hemmett released her hand at his suite and went in. She could hear him sniffling and sniffled herself as she went on toward her own room.
***
Katrin tapped softly on the door to the new suite Kaymar and Ifor shared. She almost hoped they couldn’t hear her.
Menders had given her a terrible lecture. He had been furious and took her to apologize to Haakel. Then he had sent her up here to apologize to Kaymar – alone.
Haakel had been kind and accepted her apology right away, though he told her that if she ran away from him again, he would no longer be her guard. He had been very grave as he told her this and Katrin had wanted to cry.
But Haakel was easy to apologize to. He was jolly. Kaymar wasn’t.
Weaving Man: Book One of The Prophecy Series Page 36