Chapter Ten

Katrin could hardly believe she had finally reached the top of the hill as she gazed out over a large meadow. It rose at a gentle gradient for a few metres before flattening out completely. There were very few trees; instead there was an abundance of long grass and wild flowers which swayed rhythmically in the warm breeze. And in the distance, appearing as a dark silhouette against a darkening sky, was the mountain.

The baby had fallen asleep. Katrin marvelled that the jolting, pulling and stretching hadn’t woken her. Katrin called to her sister in hushed tones.

“I can see the mountain!” she told Meredith, with renewed vigour. “It can’t be far away now. And you should see this meadow... it’s so flat. It shouldn’t be difficult to cross it at all. Meredith, I think... I think we can do this!”

Meredith wearily pulled herself up until she was standing on a mound just below her sister, able to survey their new surroundings. Katrin set the baby down on the grass and managed to hoist herself up over the edge, so that she was facing Meredith. She noticed that her sister’s hands were red and bloody, and her face white with exhaustion.

“Oh, Meredith!” Katrin’s voice had faded to a bare whisper. “You’re going to be alright, Meredith. See the mountain? We’re not far away now. We can do this... you and me.”

“Katrin, I...” said Meredith, but stopped short. Something had caught her attention, something moving in the long grass behind Katrin.

“Meredith, what is it?” Katrin suddenly found her heart beating faster as she saw the look in her sister’s eyes changing. A minute ago they had been dull with exhaustion; now they were tinted with fear.

Meredith kept her eyes fixed on whatever it was that she had seen. Her heart missed a beat as it suddenly leapt out of the grass and became a man clad in animal skins, with a bow and arrow raised over his head. She clapped a hand to her mouth; she was too weak to cry out.

Katrin whirled around. Her heart, too, missed a beat as she beheld the man’s tall figure, his peculiar dress, the evil gleam in his narrow eyes and the arrow poised in the bow, ready to be shot at any given moment. She snatched the baby from where she was lying on the grass and cuddled her close.

“Don’t shoot!” she cried, imploring the man with her eyes. “Please, don’t shoot!”

Meredith laid a weak hand on her sister’s arm. “Sssshhh, Katrin,” she pleaded.

“Who are you?” Katrin demanded, ignoring her sister’s attempt to quieten her.

The man narrowed his eyes even more and began to pull back the string of his bow. But just as he was about to release it, something made him change his mind. He slowly lowered the bow until it was resting on his hip.

The baby was awake now and crying, most likely out of fear, since the atmosphere was heavy with it. The man’s eyes fastened on her small head; his face took on a peculiar expression. He took a step closer to Katrin. The smell of tobacco and animal-skin was overpowering.

With a hand movement that was quicker than lightening, he snatched the child from Katrin’s arms. The baby began to shriek. Katrin felt paralysed. There was nothing she could do. Her head began to spin. The man lifted his head and he, too, let out a shriek, which was entirely different from the baby’s heart-wrenching cries. It sent shivers down the girls’ spines.

The next moment the man was joined by several others, all clad as peculiarly as he was, their bows poised imposingly above their heads. Meredith’s eyes met those of the man nearest to her. He was tall and young, and he had the same coal-black eyes and long, black hair as the others, but there was something different about him. His eyes were gentler, his expression far less threatening. He had a handsome face but not proud; he looked determined, resolute, but not cruel. She stifled a gasp. It was that boy... the same boy who had rescued Katrin from the river. Of this she had no doubt.