Page 164 of Into the Isle

Chapter 46

Ravinica

ARNE LED ME OUT OF Vikingrune Academy through stealthy means. We didn’t exit through the western or southern gates—we went to Mimir Tomes, the store room, and lifted the grate to take the underground tunnels through the mountain.

Arne knew of the tunnels since he was allied with the Lepers Who Leapt.

I was starting to get a greater understanding of Arne’s power at this school. He liaised between a secret society of spurned students, while carrying out his duties in the name of Vikingrune at the same time.

At first blush, he seemed to be an opportunist. Yet only I knew his secret was much more heartfelt: He was protecting his sister by helping the Lepers Who Leapt from getting caught.

That was all I really needed to know. It was an honorable thing to do, one I would never imagine my brother doing for me if the roles were reversed.

Hells, who knows? Maybe I’ll end up becoming a Leper Who Leapt if my powers never show. I could take the the leap into the icy waters and hope a puller like Dieter isn’t fishing out my dead, frozen body on the shore.

At the base of the ladder leading down to the underground labyrinth, the torch I’d left in the sconce months ago was still there. Or it was a new one.

Arne Shaped a couple runes and sparked fire on the torch, lighting it. Then he led us through the tunnel.

The going was slow. I was still in immense pain, hobbling along behind him. He was patient, not hurrying me or trying to get me to move faster. He could notice my grimace and wincing with every step.

Astrid and her friends had certainly bruised some of my bones. My hip hurt on the right side, and it clicked while I walked; my ribs on my left felt closed-in around my heart, like one wrong move would stab through my aorta. A headache was near-constant behind my eyes.

Simply descending the ladder to get on level ground took nearly agonizing minutes, as I had to prepare for each rung in the ladder. Arne stayed at the bottom, arms extended in case I fell, like a patient older sibling.

We shuffled through the quiet tunnel at the same slow pace. My mind kept going back to Magnus, Grim, Dagny, and Randi. “I hope my friends don’t worry too much about me,” I said. “They’ll surely come check on me in Eir Wing, you know.”

“True. As any good friend would.”

“How do you think they’ll react when they don’t find me there, resting like I should be?”

Arne shrugged his bony shoulders. “With any luck, we’ll be back before morning, before they even show up to check on you.”

“Not at the pace I’m going.” I seethed, nearly rolling my ankle with an awkward step.

Arne chuckled. “You’re doing great, little fox. One foot in front of the other—that’s all you need to do.”

His positive affirmations lifted my spirits. I kept my complaining to a minimum as we walked under the damp soil of the tunnel and reached the dryer parts that went uphill and downhill through the mountain.

“I hope the shaman you spoke of can heal some of my wounds. Reset some bones, perhaps.” I grabbed my hip like an old peasant woman, shaking my head. “Tell me more about her, Arne. Take my mind off this incessant march.”

The iceshaper cleared his throat. The torch he held upright flickered in the dark, jagged tunnel, making his bright hair glisten. “Her name is Elayina. She has many names, many titles—shaman, bog seer, witch, healer, prophetess. The woman has been around the Isle longer than either of us has been alive. By a lot.”

I landed on one of the titles, saying, “Why is she called ‘bog seer’?” I supposed I was curious because it was similar to my own “bog-blood” title.

Arne smirked. “I’m sure it has something to do with her living near the swamp.”

I nodded. That checked out.

We made trivial small talk the rest of the way through the tunnels, until we finally reached one of the cave mouths. Arne didn’t need a map to know his way around these corridors, which I took note of.

Outside, morning was beginning to show. It was cloudy in the shadow of the mountain behind us. The walk down the treacherous trail frightened me because of the pain I was in.

Arne held his arm out like a proper chauffeur, and I held onto him to slowly make my way down the rocky slope. “If the guys knew I was doing this in my state, they’d kill me.”

Arne snorted. “Since when do you care what a couple of foolish men think of you? Your life is your own, little fox.”

I glanced at him, not bothering to answer his quip.

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