LITMIR.BIZ

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The treasure is gone!”

      Ulvhedin felt a stab of disappointment and rage. “That’s impossible!”

      “It must have happened very recently! I was here the day before yesterday to get some ointment for one of the horses and ...”

      Alv’s face grew deathly pale. “Oh my God!”

      Ulvhedin could follow his train of thought. “Ingrid! Is she really still sleeping?”

      Never before had two men managed to get from Linden Avenue to Graastensholm at the speed those two did.

      It was exactly as they had feared. Ingrid was not in her bed. There was no message to be found anywhere, either, but Ingrid’s everyday clothes and some warm travelling clothes and shoes were missing. In the kitchen some of the servant girls were complaining that someone had taken food during the night. And one of the horses had disappeared.

      Ulvhedin, Alv and Berit stood terror-stricken in a moment of despair.

      “I will ride after her!” Ulvhedin said, his face so grim that white furrows were visible.

      “No,” exclaimed Alv. “I will do that myself!”

      “You cannot travel now,” Berit protested in a flat voice. “You know the judge is coming today to help you with the papers. You cannot insult him like that.”

      “But Ulvhedin cannot ride after Ingrid, you must understand that!”

      “Just what do you take me for?” Ulvhedin asked. “I swear by my life that Ingrid will return home. There is no need for you to be worried about that.”

      Alv looked at him and thought about the moment in the courtyard down at Linden Avenue when Ulvhedin’s face had been transformed, and with fierce intensity he had mouthed some soundless words that Alv had interpreted as, “It’s mine!” No, it was not Ingrid he was worried about. But if those two wills were fighting over the same thing, there was no way of knowing what the outcome would be. The cursed among the Ice people were no longer masters of themselves when they came close to the treasure.

      “Let Ulvhedin ride after her,” said Berit, who did not fully understand this. “She followed Dan, didn’t she?”

      “She’s probably lying in wait for him,” Alv said. “She knows exactly what route he’s taking. If only Dan had never mentioned the Valley of the Ice People!”

      Ulvhedin did not respond.

      Alv finally let out a deep sigh. “Well, all right then, ride after them for heaven’s sake! And bring Ingrid back immediately!”

      The giant fell silent. Alv understood.

      “I realize you intend to go north with Dan. But Ingrid must not under any circumstances go with you.”

      “I will certainly try to bring her back home. But I’m not sure whether it will be possible without resorting to violence. You see, she has the treasure now and is equally as afflicted as I am. I would not want to have to force her, it could be very dangerous in that situation – I know from experience!”

      Alv let out a sigh over his own indecisiveness. “If only I could understand how she managed to find the treasure! It is unfathomable. I could have asked all the servants on the farm to search for it and none of them would have managed to find it even if it had been right in front of their very noses.”

      Ulvhedin’s words came out slowly and grudgingly; after all, the girl’s mother, Berit, was listening. “You forget that someone else managed to find the treasure once. It had been just as well hidden back then, but Kolgrim had some help.”

      “Would Sol have ...”

      “Yes, it would seem that one receives help in acquiring the things one really wishes for.”

      Berit groped for her husband’s hand. She had tears in her eyes. The simple farmer’s wife had accepted the tragedy of having a daughter who was cursed very well. She had stood by her family through thick and thin. But she could not be expected to be able to follow these two trains of thought in regard to Sol’s tendency to meddle in things, and the magnetic power that the treasure had on those who were cursed.

      “Ride, Ulvhedin,” Berit said as she dried her tears. “Go and find our little girl for us! Do what you must, and take all the time you need, just bring her back home safely!”

      “I promise you I will,” Ulvhedin answered with deep seriousness. “No matter what happens, wherever we may journey, my first and last thought will be for her safety. Not a single hair on her head will be harmed.”

      “Is it really necessary for you to ride northwards?” Alv asked uneasily.

      “I will of course, first and foremost, do whatever I can to ensure that the girl is safely returned home to you. But I truly doubt that it is possible to talk sensibly to her now.”

      “Should I send for Jon to join you? Then he can bring her home and you can continue on the journey northwards.”

      “My son?” Ulvhedin exclaimed. “I forbid you to do that!”

      “Ingrid is my daughter,” Alv said quietly.

      “I realize what you are saying,” Ulvhedin said in a more conciliatory tone, placing his hands like heavy paws on Alv’s shoulders. “But both of you must trust me! Dan ignited a dangerous flame in my mind. There is only one path for me to follow now, and Ingrid most likely wants to do the same thing as I do, which is to see the Valley of the Ice People. That is all. And if she has the same burning longing for that place as I do then holding her back will not be a good idea.”

      Alv and Berit sensed that it might not be enough just to see the valley, but they could tell from the look on Ulvhedin’s face that they had no choice but to put their trust in this frightening giant, which was not exactly a consolation for them.

      They watched Ulvhedin as he left them with determined steps.

      “I will have to ride after them,” Alv said grimly. “Regardless of whether or not the judge is insulted.”

      “Oh, but Alv, you know perfectly well that it is not just a question of insulting the powers that be. You know how we are forced to toil at Graastensholm in order to avoid the bailiff and the Crown taking the farm away from us. And should we lose Graastensholm, we would also lose Linden Avenue and Elistrand. We no longer have an Alexander Paladin who can put all our financial difficulties in order for us.”

      “We must not lose Elistrand,” Alv mumbled distractedly. “Graastensholm is ours. If we should ever lose it, it would mean that the very soul of the Ice People would be lost as well. But Elistrand is where Ulvhedin lives with his family and Tristan with his. We cannot risk them becoming homeless.”

      “What about writing to Villemo and Dominic and asking them for help?”

      “The hard times that we all are experiencing are putting pressure on them, too. Their son Tengel is working like a slave so that they can keep their own home. They have already begun selling off their valuables, according to Dan. No, I cannot ride off and not meet the judge before I am absolutely certain that we can keep Graastensholm. Only his ordinance can save us now.”

      Alv passed his hand across his eyes and sighed resignedly. “I will have to wait until he has been here, which probably will not be for another few days. But after that I will certainly ride after them. I know perfectly well what they intend to do.”

      “Yes,” Berit decided. “Then you will ride after them, Alv.”

      “I know that Dan has transcribed Kaleb’s account from Mikael’s books. The one that mentions the path to the Valley of the Ice People. Kaleb went there once, I am sure you know.”

      “Yes. Listen! Gertrude’s bird is warning us of rain.”

      They listened to the black woodpecker’s sharp, mournful cry.

      “Or of misfortune.”

      “Of

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