Ciara stared at the crowd for a long, long time, but she saw no familiar flash of white hair. Sköll had gone to the Outriders just like he had said, and she needed to stop staring after him like a fool.
The fact that he had thought highly enough of her to give her the vegvisir made her feel even more alone.
Ciara tied the amulet around her neck and, after feeding her dogs and blocking half the street in the process – her hungry team fell upon the meat in their usual frenzy – she supposed she should find the nearest tavern or inn. If Fell had visited Jost recently, or if he was still here, that was where she would hear of it.
It felt wrong, to be chasing death after such a recent brush with it. Her hands had not steadied enough yet, but she hardened her heart.
You're a hunter, this is what you are meant to do.
She had parked the sled by the tavern and was mustering up the nerve to go inside when someone pushed the door open. He was bundled in furs with his hood pulled up, but she would have known that figure anywhere.
"Tonraq!" Relief and delight flooded through her: he hadn't gone back to Nome after all.
His face lit up when he saw her. "Oh, thank the guardians."
"What are you doing here? Taverns aren't your style."
"Looking for you, of course. As soon as I left you and the storm started I wanted to find you again. You could have been trapped in the tundra, or worse."
"So you weren't drinking yourself senseless to forget about my absence?"
"No! I'm completely sober," he insisted. "Have you only just arrived? I was asking for you but no one in there had seen your face."
"Let's go inside. I have a story."
They sat by the fire and drank cups of hot goat's milk while Ciara told Tonraq everything in an undertone. She thought about mentioning the strange feeling that had come over her when she had touched the vegvisir, but it seemed silly to say out loud, and the sensation had not returned since. She decided to put it down to the shock and the cold, and spared no detail telling Tonraq everything else. Except how closely she and Sköll had slept. That was something she preferred to keep to herself.
"Before you pass judgement on me," she added after finishing, "with the bounty hunters, when he – when I – it was self-defence."
"Of course it was." To her relief, Tonraq looked sympathetic. "Oh, Ciara."
"It's fine, though," she said quickly. "I'm fine now. I was just a bit shaken." She hid her hands under the table.
"So, what's the plan? Where do we go from here?"
"We?"
"I'm coming with you."
"But yesterday you said..."
"I know, but I regretted leaving you as soon as you were out of sight. I'm coming no matter what happens, no matter what we have to do. I can see this is something you can't walk away from, so I'm with you. Besides, it beats the daily routine of Nome."
She smiled weakly, unable to express how much this meant to her. "As for the plan, I was going to ask around and see if I could find Fell."
"I'm way ahead of you. People have already been talking about them."
"Them?"
"The Midgarsons."
"There's more than one? Kill me now," she groaned.
"Apparently, that's what I heard. The locals have been talking about a roaming hunting party who keep visiting the village for supplies. Apparently they're camped out somewhere nearby."
"Which direction?"
"North."
Thank the guardians. Ciara had entered from the east, which meant north would take them further from the possible location of the bounty hunters. Hopefully Sköll and his Outriders would be able to sort that problem out.
"It looks like we're heading back into the wild, then."
*
It wasn't long before they discovered sled tracks leading north into woods with wide-spaced trees. They sledded cautiously, as if they were tracking a deer and any wrong move would make the fearful animal flee, and Ciara was struck by how normal everything felt. Just another hunt with Tonraq.
A hunt that would end a human life.
Tonraq stopped his sled. "We have a problem."
"What is it?"
The sled tracks split into two, weaving off in different directions. Ciara cursed, trudged closer and knelt in front of them. They were fresh: the edges of the snow had not yet rounded over in the sun.
"We should leave the sleds here for now and follow them on foot."
"Which tracks?"
"Both. Let's split up."
"I think that's a bad idea."
"Not if we're careful. And besides, if we're found we can just say we're hunting. They won't have anything on us. Make sure your weapons are within easy reach, just in case, and if you do see anyone, turn around and come and find me. I'll do the same."
"All right. Just, please follow your own advice this time? Be careful."
"I'm always careful."
Armed with her bow, an arrow nocked, and with a belt full of axes and knives, Ciara followed the set of tracks which appeared to lead into an older part of the forest. The trees murmured secrets to themselves as she passed, and she silently pleaded with them to not reveal her. Every sense was on edge, attuned to the slightest movement and noise, and even though the area around seemed clear, she placed each foot carefully in the tracks, meaning she wouldn't leave any behind and that her feet would not even crunch the snow.
"Imagine you are part of the natural world," her father had told her once. "You are no more than the breeze which flows between the needles of the pine tree, the pebble dropped into the flowing river without disturbing the current, the tick on the shoulder of a stag. You are as silent as a shadow, and it is only then that the animals will believe they're safe."
A robin landed on a branch, his red breast a brilliant splash of colour, and began singing. Good. Anyone nearby would hear it and believe there was no danger. Ciara tried to let the beautiful notes calm her jangled nerves, as her palms were already slippery with sweat and she had to keep adjusting her grip on her bow. She couldn't mess this up.
She was so focused on the tracks, on staying alert, that she didn't notice the strange scattering of dead leaves until it was too late.
Something tightened around her ankle and the ground disappeared beneath her feet.