Fragments of your Soul (The Mirror Worlds Book 1) (48 page)

After they had passed through some large vaulted caves, they followed a stony path that led down into a funnel-shaped cavity, like a spiral. It was scary to descend into such a gaping hole, but when the terrain became more and more steep and darkness surrounded them, a series of bright, reddish star lamps suddenly appeared in the darkness in front of them. Arvid realized that it was a staircase, an infinitely long, winding staircase. It led zigzagging down a steep rock wall. To its side, a gigantic, pitch-black cave opened up.

It was an arduous journey. The steps were built for giants, so that Arvid had to jump more than she could walk. After a few hours her knees and ankles hurt, but she gritted her teeth and followed after Naal. Twice they came to small sources with ice-cold, clear water where they could drink and take a short rest, but again Naal remained silent. Once Arvid tried to talk to her about the letter and the mysterious shard, but Naal harshly let her know that she knew nothing about it.

Finally, their path became flatter and the temperatures slightly warmer. From somewhere a loud noise could be heard.

Was this the Black Waters?

Shortly after Arvid saw the river. The stairs had now turned into a graded, bumpy path and led between huge, sharp crags. Diagonally in front of them rushing and roaring water broke out of a dark hole in the rock and plunged far down into the depths. The river was not as big as Arvid had imagined it, but the current was strong and fast.

They followed the river hour after hour. When they finally saw a glint of light in front of them, Arvid could feel every bone in her body. Her legs felt numb, and her arms were hurting because she constantly had to cling somewhere, in order not to slip on the wet, slippery ground.

“There’s Hel’s house.” Naal pointed in the direction of the lights. “It’s not far.”

Arvid nodded, exhausted, as she continued dragging herself over the rocky ground. In the end she had to force herself to make every step, but then they were finally there.

The house was lit by a variety of reddish star lamps and consisted entirely of stone. It had been built into the gap under a huge, overhanging rock. Arvid could only see one window, next to the door, that seemed unnaturally large and was black and unadorned. The dwelling didn’t look too inviting, nevertheless Arvid didn’t hesitate to follow Naal as she walked up to it and knocked vigorously.

Nothing moved.

Naal knocked again, but Hel didn’t seem to be home.

“She must be sitting down at the Black Waters,” said Naal. “I suppose we’ll have to go look for her, won’t we?”

Arvid had to suppress a groan. She felt so tired, but she didn’t want to complain after she had insisted on accompanying Naal.

They walked past the house, and behind it the flat ground ended. A scree fell steeply down toward the rushing water, forcing them to climb between the boulders and sharp-edged stone chips. After a while Arvid noticed that the dark rock had glittering, colored inclusions here and there. They looked like crystals. The closer they got to the water, the more numerous they became.

They had to follow the water a long way downstream, before they finally could make out a hunched figure, who was sitting on the edge of the river and seemed to look into it.

“Hel!” called Naal.

Hel glanced up and raised her hand, but immediately looked down into the depths of the water again.

“Where is my father?” she asked as they reached her. Arvid tried to figure out what Hel was looking at so intently. She couldn’t see anything, although the river was wider here and the current less rapid.

“We don’t know,” Naal answered with a sigh. “Byleist went looking for him. He hasn’t been in Sölunnir in over a week.”

“I understand,” Hel said flatly.

“What’s the meaning of this letter, Hel?” asked Naal. “Why should Loke seek you out so desperately? What is this shard you write about?”

For a while Hel remained silent, but then she said, “I suppose Arvid was able to see through my illusion. I hope you have not told anyone else about the contents of the letter.”

“Just Byleist,” said Naal.

“I’ve found something that my father lost centuries ago. Look.” Hel reached out, pointing to a spot in the river in front of her. The black water was rather low and clear here, but the spray made it hard to see anything.

“I see nothing at all,” said Naal impatiently, but Arvid looked on. A shard, Hel had written. Whether it was a kind of crystal? A piece of jewelry maybe, or a gem?

Then suddenly she discovered something glittery at the bottom of the river. It was tiny. Arvid couldn’t tell why, but she immediately knew that it was what Hel had found.

“I see it,” she said, “but I don’t know what it is. I believe it’s a stone, a small black or brown one… Maybe it’s dark red.”

“Actually it’s a soul gem,” Hel said. “Soon the current will carry it into the depths of the earth, where not even I can follow it. I’ve been watching its way down the river for more than a day and have neither slept nor eaten. This stone is of unimaginable value.”

“Why didn’t you just retrieve it, Hel?” asked Naal blankly. “Instead, you send a messenger to Sölunnir and almost give us a shock. He couldn’t stop repeating how urgent the message was.”

“It was urgent,” Hel said, and raised her head. Her eyes were as empty and dark as ever. “But it’s Loke whose help I need. To even touch this stone could corrupt my mind—and yours as well.”

“My goodness, it’s just a stone!” sighed Naal. “Can it really be so hard to fish a stone out of the water?”

Hel turned back to the water. “You never experienced the influence of a soul gem, Naal,” she said. “Even a pure, homogeneous stone can be a huge burden when there is a discord between the gem and the wearer’s soul. This stone here is of such complex and divided nature that you could just as well try to swallow hot coals.”

Naal was silent. For a while the noise of the river was the only sound that could be heard.

“What about me?” Arvid asked suddenly. “Could I pick up the stone?”

“Hardly,” said Naal and looked her over dismissively. “If not even Hel is able to, why should you?”

Hel, however, turned around to her and looked at her searchingly. Suddenly her eyes were no longer empty, but what Arvid saw confused her so much that she instinctively took a step back. She didn’t know what it was, but the being in front of her was familiar, as if she had known it for a long time. Then the moment was over, and Hel turned back to the water.

“Maybe you could,” she said thoughtfully. “There’s so much that is unknown in your soul… an ever-changing darkness, which I cannot penetrate.” Slowly she let herself sink into a squat. “Perhaps you could,” she repeated softly.

Then suddenly she rose with a hasty jerk. “It drifts off!” she said, alarmed.

They set in motion like a single being.

“It’s over here,” called Hel, while they hastily climbed over rocks and stones, following the sparkle of the soul shard, which was now carried down the Black Waters by the current. Hel, who was accustomed to this environment, got along much faster. Arvid and Naal kept slipping off the rocks or got stuck in crevices. Then at last Hel stopped again and sat down at the waterfront.

“We don’t have much time left,” she said, as Arvid reached her and saw that the stone was stuck in a small bump again. Arvid knew what she meant. It was dark, but she could still see that the water disappeared in a pitch-black, gaping hole, barely one hundred steps from them.

“I’ll get it,” Arvid said firmly.

“It’s risky,” Hel pointed out. “The splinter will affect your thoughts and feelings and may push you to do things you’d never do otherwise. You will have to fully concentrate on safely retrieving the shard.”

“Arvid!” Naal called breathlessly. She had climbed down the last rock and stopped, panting heavily. “You can’t do that,” she said excitedly. “Have you forgotten what you’re wearing on your arm? I won’t let you recklessly put Loke’s life at risk!”

“Recklessly?” Arvid asked, stunned.

“The shard is only dangerous for her mind,” Hel said. “The cold water is the only thing that could threaten her life. She’s not a giant like us.”

“Exactly,” Naal said. “Humans are weak. She will drown.”

“Naal,” Hel said urgently, “in a few hours the shard may be lost and not resurface again for decades.”

“It can’t possibly be that valuable.”

“Believe me, it is.”

Naal said nothing and stared gloomily at the water in front of them.

“My father would have wanted Arvid to try,” Hel added after a while. “You and I cannot carry the stone, but against the water and the cold we can help her.”

“All right,” Naal finally said with a resigned sigh. “It looks like I’ll have to protect the life of my son myself.”

Arvid hurried to get rid of her cloak, coat and her boots. It was cold, but after a moment’s hesitation she also slipped out of her dress. When she got out of the water, she would be grateful for every dry piece of clothing.

“I’ll get into the water with you,” Naal said firmly, as Arvid let herself slide down the slippery stone of the water’s edge, shivering in the cold. Now that she could feel the icy breath of the dark water, her heart began to beat anxiously. This river was even colder than the underground stream in Loke’s house in Jördendheim, and the current dangerously strong. She would have to wade three or four steps out into the water, where she probably was barely able to stand.

“Naal, I need your hand,” she said. “Otherwise the water will simply drag me down when I dive.”

“You mustn’t let her go, Naal,” Hel said urgently. “Under the influence of the stone Arvid might do the most nonsensical things.”

Naal nodded. She climbed down and jumped in the icy water beside Arvid. It barely reached up to her thighs, but would be up to well above Arvid’s waist, already here at the edge.

“Already lost your courage?” asked Naal mockingly when she noticed Arvid’s hesitation.

“No,” Arvid said firmly. Still it took all her willpower to bring herself to finally slide into the water.

It was a feeling as if her skin was stung by a thousand tiny needles. Instinctively she sucked in the air until she thought her lungs would burst soon. With all her might she had to force herself to exhale again, yet she slowly felt herself overcome by a numbing feeling of dizziness. The river tore at her quivering body, but then she felt the firm grip of Naal’s hand around her arm.

“You better hurry,” she said seriously.

Arvid nodded wordlessly, then she went off. It was not easy to move against the current, and the water quickly became deeper. Everything about her body ached from the cold and yet she adamantly put one foot before the other and forced herself farther in the direction of the shard.

Finally, she was right above it. She took another deep breath, firmly clasped Naal’s wrist and then dived down into the freezing cold. Everything was blurry and dark, but the gleaming stone was clearly visible. Arvid knew it would be lost forever if she just tore it loose and couldn’t get hold of it.

But she managed.

Arvid knew she had to defend herself against the effect of the splinter, but it was impossible. As soon as she closed her hand around it, something seemed to take possession of her. The power of the stone was so enticing that Arvid let out a triumphant laugh. She watched as her breath rose up in swirling bubbles, but what did it matter? She was no longer dependent on things like air. She could do anything she wanted.

Suddenly she felt like she was being grabbed by the arm and a moment later violently pulled out of the icy water. A dark, seething anger came over her. Arvid let out an angry scream and yanked her arm free, only to almost get swept away by the current. Enraged, she stared up at the giantess who had dared to tear her off her feet.

“Puny creature!” bellowed Arvid. “Don’t you dare to touch me again, or I will destroy you!”

Naal looked at her in shock and loosened her grip a little. The sight filled Arvid with such satisfaction that her anger subsided and another chuckle escaped her lips. Actually, it was quite funny. Yes, it was kind of amusing to see Naal like that.

“Oh yes, you do well to be afraid,” she said with cheerful mockery. “What choice do you have? Your whole worthless existence depends on my favor.”

In a powerful movement she pulled herself up on the next rock and out of the water. She felt power surging through her. It was absolute. It was of such purity that it was not to be wasted on ordinary and insignificant things. This power was solely intended to push the boundaries of this world in order to raise her life force to a new level.

“Arvid,” she suddenly heard a voice behind her, “please put away the stone.”

Arvid turned around and looked at the black-clad figure behind her. It was Hel. Earlier, she had not noticed how strange she was, but a certain power emanated from her. What kind of power might that be? It was no power that was familiar to her, but what was it?

“What’s wrong with you?” said Arvid. “I can’t see your soul. How come?”

“Put away the stone,” Hel repeated insistently. “You are not yourself. The stone influences you, Arvid. Put it on the ground.”

“Stone?” said Arvid, stunned. She opened her hand and looked down at the shard. It wasn’t much bigger than her fingertip, but it was sharp and pointed. It looked a bit like amber, but if you looked closely, a speckled pattern could be seen, as if it was composed of hundreds of small grains. And this thing should be so special? Of such immense importance that she had thrown herself into the river in her underwear? The thought was so funny that Arvid began to laugh out loud.

“This is unbelievable!” she said with a grin. “Because of this ridiculous stone I stripped almost naked. Have you any idea how great my power is?” She looked over at Naal and Hel and raised her hands. They both looked at each other with blank faces and made no attempt to speak. They looked like cows, standing in a pasture and goggling at passing wanderers. Arvid chuckled, then looked back to the shard on her palm. It was an incredibly ugly thing.