Chapter 2
Ishild rolls around in her bed, cuddling up tight with the furs she used as blankets. The fire in her fireplace died out, leaving only glowing embers. The cold creeps through the creaks of the windows and Ishild cuddles up even tighter.
All through the remainder of the night, Ishild thought of the creature she saw; she could not get those eyes out of her head.
Just then, she was aroused by a bell, and Ishild realizes that it was the alarm bell. She quickly dresses and hurries out of the house, her father was close behind her.
"My sheep! All my sheep!" a farmer cries out on the steps of the gathering hall.
"Easy lad, what's happened?" Adalhard asks the farmer and he leads everyone to the barn where many sheep were roaming around.
"Oh my heavens, look!" someone exclaims and points to a splatter of blood on the ground. Ishild follows the blood trail and discovers the tangled carcass of a ewe.
"What kind of animal would do this?" the farmer asks, "I blotted the doors tight last night."
Ishild looks at the wooden doors and discovers some claw marks. She counts four marks and looks down on the ground. There was no foot prints, which Ishild thought it was unusual.
"Look!" someone shouts and Ishild and the others look at hoof-prints in the snow. "Those are cloven, the Devil's been through here!" a woman shrieks.
"Nonsense, those look too small, probably a deer," a man replies.
"We should scout around, see if we had any wolves come through here," Adalhard said to his guards.
An idea comes to Ishild's mind; she wanted to find the creature she saw last night. She knew that finding the creature would satisfy her and maybe the village.
She returns to her home to pack some food, prepares her bow and arrows, and goes to collect Willahelm. Ishild, with her horse, watch the men go, and wait for the opportunity to go on her own.
"Where are you going child?" a feminine voice said from behind her. Ishild turns to see Oda, the local storyteller. She looked wise and curious. The old woman had aged gracefully than the other old folk in the village.
"I...uh...I thought I join the men from the rear," Ishild replies, but Oda pats her shoulder.
"You saw something last night and you wish to pursue it," the old woman said and Ishild looks at her with surprise, but she nods.
"I think it was the creature you mentioned in one of you stories," she said and Oda's face brightens.
"Is that so? Well, I will not keep you waiting from your quest," the old woman replies and Ishild looks at her.
"Oda, aren't you going to stop me?" she asks, but Oda shakes her head.
"I believe this creature will not cause you trouble, but you must keep your wits up, there is one foul beast who wishes to stray you away from your quest," Oda warns the young woman.
"What?" Ishild asks, "What kind of a beast?"
"A dark soul, no light in it. It knows no love," Oda replies and that was all she said.
Ishild watches the old storyteller turn and leave. She then gets on Willahelm and urges him to go. Ishild, however, did feel troubled by Oda's words.
Ishild returns to the forest where she found the blood and hoof-prints last night. She locates more hoof-prints leading deep into the woods and she has Willahelm follow them.
Ishild and Willahelm trek through the forest, following the hoof-prints. To Ishild, these prints were too big to be a goat or even a deer and her heart pounds with every step.
Then she hears something ahead of her, rushing water. Ishild stops Willahelm when she sees a river ahead of her and she walks toward the edge. The water was moving fast under the thin sheet of ice.
The hoof-prints had stopped and Ishild had no idea where the creature could've gone. "Do you think it jumped?" she asks Willahelm, who snorts. "I don't see any on the ice," she adds.
Then, Willahelm's ears perk up and he begins to neigh. Ishild tries to calm him, but she knew what was going on inside the horse's head, he was sensing something close by.
Ishild dares to look behind her and sees a couple of dark figures with glinting eyes. Ishild recognizes the shapes, they were wolves and she knew what it meant. Winter was a desperate time for all animals to find food and wolves were no exception.
Ishild urges Willahelm to a gallop, she had to get out of the forest and quick. She has Willahelm follow the river as it might lead her to safety. The horse gallops at top speed, but the wolves were catching up to them.
Ishild lightens the load by letting loose the food sack, but she kept her bow and arrows. The wolves stopped for a brief moment to look at the sack, but they resumed their pursuit.
The horse kept on running, but Ishild urges him to stop. They came upon a waterfall and Ishild had no idea what to do. She had to save Willahelm, but she knew he would run fast enough without her on his back.
She gets off of him and slaps his behind. Willahelm goes into a sprint and was gone. Ishild takes her bow and draws an arrow when she saw the first wolf.
She fires and hits it in the shoulder. It whimpers, but it does not stop the others from walking towards Ishild while growling. She draws more arrows and fires them. More wolves were hit, but they keep on coming.
Ishild then realizes that she was out of arrows and she swings her bow at the wolves. They back away, but suddenly, one jumps at Ishild. She is hit hard by the wolf, but then, she realizes that she was falling.
Both Ishild and the wolf hit the cold water hard and the woman surfaces. She didn't see the wolf and she struggles to reach the shore, but then, a strong current takes her down.
She was caught in the rapids and she was spiraling out of control. "HELP!" Ishild cries out before she is taken under by the current.
She surfaces, again, but she sees a boulder up ahead and struggles to move. It was too late and Ishild hits the rock hard, knocking the wind out of her. Ishild became dizzy and the rapids slow down and became still.
Ishild bobs through the water, she was losing consciousness. She looks up at the gray sky, the cold was paralyzing her body, and her limbs had lost function.
Just then, she hears a splash and grunting noises, but Ishild's vision becomes black before she gets a look at her rescuer.
The being takes the unconscious woman in its arms and returns to shore. It moves the hood of its cloak, revealing a hairy, human face that looked demonic.
It then holds Ishild tight, keeping her warm, and they disappear into the woods as it begins to snow.
From the author: Uh-oh, what's going to happen to Ishild? Find out next time!