Fragments of your Soul (The Mirror Worlds Book 1) (6 page)

Perhaps it was this fear that made Arvid feel the soothing darkness inside her again. It was reassuring to surrender to it.

From that day on Arvid began to speak Jördish with Falla, although half of it sounded completely wrong and she often had to improvise with two- or three-word sentences. Falla reacted with surprise but mostly seemed to understand her without any problems. Only now and then she repeated what had been said to correct Arvid’s mistakes, which proved to be of great help.

When Thoke came home, he was no less surprised at Arvid’s sudden decision, but after some back and forth relented to also change the language.

“You’re fast,” he said. “It only took me a few months myself, if I remember correctly. But you’ve only been here for three weeks.”

“Yes, it’s strange,” said Arvid. In fact, she was surprised about her own progress herself. She had never actually had a special talent for languages.

“I don’t think that’s ever been studied, but… small children learn languages incredibly fast. Your new body could be reconditioned the same way.”

In the evenings Thoke often took her with him and showed Arvid more of Black Castle. She noticed that people almost exclusively had light hair. She saw all sorts of shades, from almost white blond to beige to a fiery red. There were exceptions, but these were so rare that they stood out of the crowd like a goldfish in a pond with trout. Arvid herself was a part of this minority with her dark brown hair, and curious glances often followed her.

Thoke showed her the town hall, a large building made of solid stone, which greatly differed from the surrounding wooden houses. She learned that this type was only seen in this area since the merger of the surrounding countries.

Inside there was a large circular hall. The walls were covered with large wooden panels on which notices were hung. Arvid was still unable to read the runes, but Thoke explained to her that they were news of general interest, or official communications from Asgard. There were no newspapers, so the people came here and read the placards to find out what was going on in the country.

“The building of Vero-Maghen looks almost the same,” Thoke said while Arvid looked at the imposing, colorfully painted dome above the hall, “but it’s much bigger. One day I’ll show you, but unfortunately it’s quite a bit outside of town, near the coast.”

“That will be a problem in these shoes,” Arvid said.

“I know. I wish I could buy you decent shoes, but unfortunately that’s very expensive. Money is tight, now that you’re staying with us.”

“Oh,” said Arvid, affected. “I’m sorry, I… If I can do something, then…”

“No, no,” Thoke parried hastily. “Don’t be sorry. Asgard will send Falla an indemnity. Falla’s son is a wealthy runesmith from the capital; he also pays for my studies. If he knew that you’re staying with us, he would have helped us, but it takes days for a letter to arrive in the capital.”

Arvid was suddenly pushed aside by a man who made his way to a small group of people. Slightly irritated, she turned around and saw that everyone was staring at an eye-catching poster with a red border. It was obvious that it was not one of the official notice boards, because it was very different in size and appearance.

“That must be extremely fascinating,” Arvid said.

Thoke slightly pulled her to one side, as more people approached. “A poster from the ‘Brotherhood of the Seeing’, as they call themselves,” he said. His face had darkened. “Utter nonsense. The City Guard constantly removes the posters, but new ones keep appearing.”

“What are they writing?” asked Arvid. The bystanders’ faces looked worried, almost fearful. Some talked in an excited tone.

“Oh, all kinds of things,” he sighed. “They are trying to scare people. Almost everything Asgard announces in the official notice boards is almost immediately followed by a negative interpretation of the brotherhood—supposedly with additional information Asgard keeps a secret from people.”

“And is it true?”

Thoke chuckled. “Hardly,” he said. “They spread lies in order to put the gods in a bad light. A few weeks ago a small village was attacked by demons. The brotherhood promptly stated that it was the fault of some gods who had carried out some experiments nearby.” Thoke rolled his eyes. “Nothing but lies; besides, it’s outrageous. Just how can people be so ungrateful?”

Arvid did not say anything. She had learned that Thoke and Falla’s reactions could be boisterous whenever someone dared say something negative about the gods. Nevertheless, Arvid could not resist a touch of malicious joy at the thought that these stories probably clouded the noble and infallible image of the gods a lot of people seemed to have. She hadn’t overcome her grudge against Asgard, which was not able to bring her back into the Light World. The “Brotherhood of the Seeing” claimed the gods had experimented with ominous spells. Arvid wasn’t so sure it was all lies. Had it not been something very similar that brought her here?

Later that evening they sat down at a lake surrounded by a wall, located at the southern end of the town. In the tall grass on the shore gleamed occasionally with lightning bugs. Here and there you could see the outlines of greenish fish in the water.

“Why do the demons attack people anyway?” said Arvid. “From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem as if they behave like wild animals, just trying to hunt down their prey.”

“No,” Thoke said, “they are not just trying to find prey. Some say that they’re simply evil. They like to kill, especially people. Just like the devil, you know?”

“I don’t believe in the devil,” said Arvid. “Besides… Isn’t the devil someone who works with cunning plans? He leads people into temptation and lures them into their own destruction, without having to get his hands dirty.”

“Maybe,” Thoke conceded. “I don’t know much about the demons. Actually, no one does. Everyone knows, however, that they are attracted by the world transitions.”

“Really?” said Arvid.

“Like moths to a flame. And they make them aggressive. Therefore the City Guard moves out as soon as a transition is spotted.”

“The circle of protection seemed to work quite well.”

“If they are particularly incited or hungry, they still break it,” Thoke said gloomily. “Then they simply bear with the pain. The City Guard has enough to do, believe me. That’s why it enjoys such a good reputation. People have a strong need for security.”

“And for light,” muttered Arvid.

“Yes,” Thoke said with a fleeting smile. “Those who can afford it move to the Temple City. There they get plenty of both.”

“What’s that, the Temple City?” said Arvid.

“Oh, that’s… the city around Asgard,” Thoke replied. “When Asgard was founded, it attracted a lot of people, because they felt protected by the gods. Over time Asgard turned into a pure city of gods, like an island surrounded by a new settlement. Today the outer city is called Temple City, because people have built countless temples in honor of the gods. They say there are over forty different ones.”

“Are there so many gods?” asked Arvid. She threw a stone into the black water, and the greenish glowing fish scattered.

“Even more,” Thoke answered. “I don’t know how many there are at the moment, but I think about two hundred. Not all are equally powerful. Usually their power grows with their age. And most gods get very old.”

“How old is very old?”

“Hard to say. It’s very different, but… Odin is over six hundred years old.”

“What?” Arvid said incredulously. “You mean… Odin is still alive?”

“Yes, of course,” Thoke said, obviously amused by Arvid’s reaction. “But he is the oldest of them all. It’s uncertain for how much longer he will live. His body is weakened by age. He rarely leaves Asgard.”

The thought was incredible. If Odin was so old and time passed more slowly here, he almost could have witnessed the construction of the Great Pyramids in the Light World, had he been there at that time.

Considering that the gods had previously traveled between the worlds regularly, it became clear that many of the crazy-sounding stories from the mythology of Arvid’s world possibly contained more truth than she had thought. Since she arrived here, Arvid had often wished she had read more of those stories in the Light World. They had never been something that had interested her, and except Odin and Thor, she didn’t seem to know any of the gods, even if some of the names Thoke mentioned seemed vaguely familiar.

“How old are you, Thoke?” said Arvid, who suddenly realized that she never asked him. She had always assumed that he was about twenty, but after what she had just heard, this assumption could prove to be completely wrong.

Thoke did not reply immediately, but after some hesitation he said, “I’m not sure how to answer that. When I left the Light World, I was twenty-three.”

Arvid nodded slowly. “So you’re thirty-six…” she murmured thoughtfully.

“If you just add up the years, yes,” he said with a slight smile. “But I never really know whether this makes sense.”

“Hmm. How old do… normal people get?”

“That’s very different. Most live for something around one hundred and fifty to three hundred years.”

“It’s a long time,” Arvid said, impressed. “Do you think this is also true for you?”

“You mean for us? I think so. After all, only our souls are from the Light World.”

Arvid looked thoughtfully out onto the dark lake. The brilliant schools of fish had approached again and swam around with quiet, smooth motions. Where the water surface was glassy, the radiant light of the stars, which again were clearly visible after two cloudy days with light snowfall, reflected. She was not sure whether she liked the thought of such a long life.

“Never mind,” she said lightly. “I won’t stay in the Shadow World for long anyway.”

When they came back to Falla’s house, the old woman opened the door for them, even before they had reached it. She looked very upset.

“Gjell was here,” she said. “He waited for nearly three hours, but then he left again.”

“Did the letter arrive?” asked Thoke and stormed past her into the house, closely followed by Arvid.

“On the table,” Falla said.

Even Arvid felt her heart began to pound rapidly. She had waited so long for this day, but now seeing the letter on the table in front of her filled her with a certain uneasiness. It was a nondescript white envelope, which was sealed with red sealing wax.

Thoke took the letter, looked at it and then handed it to Arvid. “It’s for you,” he said simply.

Arvid took the envelope, then turned it in her hands hesitantly. “But I can’t even read it,” she said helplessly, holding the letter out to Thoke again.

A faint smile began to spread on Thoke’s face. “The seal,” he said. “It bears your name. I’m not allowed to break it.”

Arvid tensely looked at the red seal, which bore a number of illegible runes. She took a deep breath, then she broke it and opened the envelope with trembling hands. Inside she found a multi-folded sheet of paper, but as she had already expected the letter had been written in runes she could not read.

“I don’t understand a single word,” she said, and handed the paper to Thoke. After a moment he took it and scanned the text. Falla stepped closer, too, and looked down at the letter. Soon she started to furrow her brow.

“What does it say?” Arvid asked impatiently, but already by Thoke’s look she could tell that it wasn’t what he had expected. He looked puzzled and perhaps a little worried.

“Should I… just read it aloud?” he asked. “Or should I translate it?”

“Isn’t it written in Jördish?”

“Yes, it is,” replied Thoke. “But the formulations are quite odd. I’m not sure if you’ll understand it.”

“No matter. Just read it for me. I’ll understand the most important things.”

Thoke did. He was right about the formulations being complicated and strange, and it was not easy to grasp the contexts. Still, apart from the details, Arvid understood the main message.

First there was a formal-sounding salutation, then a long summary sheet with the day and the time of her arrival and some of the information Gjell had written down, together with a list of so-called fate symbols, which did not seem to make the slightest sense. It was assured that the Council of the Gods had thoroughly studied and discussed Arvid’s arrival and the related circumstances, and stated that she would, as stipulated in the Codex of Asgard, receive the appropriate support. Falla was awarded one hundred and thirty silver coins as compensation, and Arvid was instructed to report to Horalf, son of Gert, on the third day of the first week of the Month of Gray Cold. There she would receive food, a place to sleep and other necessities, in exchange for appropriate work. The letter was signed by Noldir, son of Noldir, on behalf of Asgard.

When Thoke had finished reading, they stood there in silence. Arvid was unsure what to make of it. Although the letter didn’t contain anything bad, it didn’t say anything that would have helped her either.

“What does that mean, Thoke?” Falla said finally. Arvid didn’t quite understand what she was alluding to.

Thoke dropped the letter on the table and sank into a chair. “I don’t know,” he said. “There must be a reason.”

“What’s wrong?” Arvid asked impatiently and sat down also. “What is so extraordinary?”

“The money, dear,” Falla said.

“One hundred and thirty silver coins are an incredible amount of money,” said Thoke. “We could buy food and wood for a quarter year, for all of us.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Arvid asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Thoke said, thoughtfully turning the letter in his hands. “But it makes no sense to pay such an exaggerated compensation. And why should you move to a farm, so far out in the countryside? There’s not even a village nearby.”

Slowly, a queasy feeling spread throughout Arvid. Did Thoke just tell her that she was to live in a secluded farm in the countryside, cut off from cities and people, without any opportunity to visit him?

“Do you think I’ll be able to study there?” said Arvid. “Learning to read and having access to books?”

“I don’t know,” Thoke said without looking at her.

“What if I refuse?” said Arvid, because right now she had a great desire to do just that. A secluded farmhouse wasn’t the kind of place she belonged. She was still determined to find a way home, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to thwart this plan, not even Asgard. If she had poleax someone to reach this goal, then she would do so without hesitation.

“Impossible,” Falla said firmly. “You can’t defy Asgard’s instructions. The gods send you to Horalf for a reason. They believe it is the best for you. You would do well to trust them.”

“Why should I?” asked Arvid. “They don’t know me; how would they know what’s best for me?”

“Falla’s right,” Thoke said. “Opposing Asgard’s wishes wouldn’t be very wise. One should not anger the gods. And where would you go? You can’t stay with us forever.”

“Thoke, I want to return to my world,” said Arvid urgently. “Do you think I’ll ever get any closer to my goal if I stay somewhere on a farm milking cows?”

Thoke sighed. “Everyone has to work to live, even if we have other plans and desires.”

“I’m not saying I don’t want to work. But there must be another way, so I can learn to read at the same time, maybe get access to a library or can talk to… scholars! How else should I ever find out more about the world transitions?”