“She has something that belongs to me!”
The saddlebag. The one she had been stroking so affectionately all the way there.
“Has Ingrid stolen something? Well, then, I ...”
Dan was just about to say that if that were the case he no longer felt obliged to protect her, but there was no need for him to say it and he never got a chance to, either.
Not a sound had come from Ingrid’s hiding place. Nevertheless, Ulvhedin suddenly turned his attention in her direction and the next instant he bolted in among the trees.
Ingrid let out a screech and jumped to her feet. She flew like a whirlwind with the raging Ulvhedin at her heels.
“Stop! Stop!” Dan screamed, but no one was listening. Frightened by their wild recklessness Dan ran after them. They were, after all, of the same flesh and blood, those two. Members of the Ice People were not supposed to fight one another!
They had emerged in an open meadow when Ulvhedin caught up with Ingrid. She turned round and tried to strike him with her saddlebag.
“It’s mine, you know that perfectly well!” Ulvhedin hissed like a snake as he tried to grab hold of Ingrid.
“I was the one who found it!” screamed Ingrid. “Sol gave it to me.”
Sol? Dan was horrified. Had young Ingrid completely lost her mind?
Ulvhedin was still now. He held Ingrid’s wrists in an iron grip. “Sol? What sort of rubbish is that?”
“But it’s true! I asked her for help and she showed me the way!”
“How? What did she do?”
“She came to me. And led the way to Linden Avenue.
“Did you see her?”
“Not up close. She just glided on in front of me. Then she pointed to the hiding place and was gone.”
Ingrid spoke in staccato gasps as she fought for breath after her wild escape.
“You’re lying,” Ulvhedin said in a menacing tone. “Linden Avenue is always locked.”
“Yes, but I know where the key is.”
Ulvhedin came back to life. “Nevertheless, the treasure is mine. You have no right ...”
“Let me go! I need it.”
The treasure? Shivers ran down Dan’s spine.
“Now this has got to stop!” he shouted.
They both turned to him.
“Don’t you dare interfere in this. You are the cause of all this misery and now you had better stay out of it,” Ulvhedin growled.
“Me?” Dan exclaimed, offended, but no one was listening because Ingrid and Ulvhedin continued to fight over the saddlebag. Ingrid was like a wild cat, hitting and scratching and biting. They rolled around on the ground, both equally enraged.
Then Ulvhedin got the upper hand, naturally; Ingrid was forced to lie still for a moment, but she began to murmur some words.
Ulvhedin let out a cry, doubled up in pain and let go of Ingrid. The next second she was on her feet, running away at full speed.
“You are using magic, you witch!” Ulvhedin howled. “Well, then, I’ll just have to pay you back in kind!”
He got up and stood completely still. And then Dan was given a demonstration of Ulvhedin’s skill in witchcraft. Before Dan’s very eyes, Ulvhedin grew into a gigantic block of ice, surrounded by freezing vapours. He bowed his head and chanted something Dan couldn’t make out. Ingrid stopped abruptly, turned and stared at Ulvhedin as if she had been hypnotized. And that was exactly what had happened. Dan watched as Ingrid literally froze, helpless and frightened senseless.
Ulvhedin lifted the spell and turned back into his usual self again. He was walking over to collect the saddlebag, which had fallen from Ingrid’s hands, when Dan shouted, “That’s enough! Would you be so kind as to behave like normal people? This is my expedition, my journey, which you have latched on to because of a vague longing to see the Valley of the Ice People. What will you do once you get there? You don’t even know yourselves!”
Ulvhedin showed his teeth in a quick snarl. “I do. But Ingrid has no idea what she is looking for. You, Dan, have a mad notion that you are going to find Tengel the Evil’s grave. How do you intend to do that without us? An ordinary mortal like you!”
“Now, now,” Dan said in a warning tone of voice. “Let’s not bring up immortality. No one believes in that.”
Ulvhedin came closer. “You are a courageous lad and I admire you for that. You’re right, we are the ones who pushed our way in. Let’s all three declare a truce and help one another from now on.”
“That’s easy for you to say, now that you have the treasure!” Ingrid hissed. “I was the one who had it first.”
“Now you listen to me, you little witch,” Ulvhedin said, in a friendly way. “If you had not got in ahead of me, I would have been given that treasure by your father. He and I went down to Linden Avenue this morning because he wanted me to have the treasure. It’s mine, if you recall.”
“Oh,” Ingrid said guiltily. “Does Father know anything about this?”
“Of course, what did you expect? Do you now understand how much pain you have inflicted on your parents? I have orders to make sure you return home. Immediately!”
“No!” gasped Ingrid. “I was supposed to be helping Dan collect plants!”
Ulvhedin smiled sceptically.
Ingrid took heart again. “You know what, you big beast? You and I are in the same boat. I promise to behave properly if you do too. As long as I can join you. And if I can’t ... then God help all of you!”
What in the world is it that draws them so strongly to it, so much so that it practically transforms them? Dan wondered fearfully.
“I don’t think I want you to join me,” he said.
“Yes you do!” Ulvhedin and Ingrid cried out in unison.
“We can help one another,” Ulvhedin said. “I know where many of the plants grow from my lonely days in the mountains. Ingrid is a capable girl. And you? If you have any intention of travelling to the Valley of the Ice People you will have to take us with you or things could go very wrong for you.”
“And they won’t go wrong for you?”
“Yes. But at least we are able to foresee the dangers. You are not.”
Dan hesitated.
“You may be right. But what about Ingrid’s parents? And Elisa? I don’t think others should have to suffer on account of our madness.”
“Elisa has the utmost confidence in me. And I gave Alv and Berit my word that I would bring Ingrid back home in one piece. They understand just as well as I do that that cannot possibly happen right away.”
“Well, then, shall we try?” Dan asked. He could almost feel the sighs of relief that came from the other two. “But on one condition.”
“And what is that?”
“That I am the one who will be in charge of that saddlebag.”
The other two both opened their mouths to protest. Then they looked at one another and burst out laughing. Dan also smiled.
“That’s a deal,” Ulvhedin said, and Ingrid nodded. “But do you dare, Dan?”
Dan gave them a serious look. “I know that the treasure turns you into wild beasts. But I also know that members of the Ice People have a high sense of morality. Can we