Jack sat on the frozen ground. Annie, Teddy, andKathleen sat nearby. They were all too shocked tospeak. The night was quiet. Overhead the full moonshined brightly, and a few cold stars twinkled in theclear sky.
Finally Annie broke the silence. "I wonder what hedid to Merlin and Morgan," she said.
"I wonder where you will find his eye," said Teddy.
"I wonder how we'll carry it around," said Jack.
43"And I wonder if the wolves are near," saidKathleen. She stood up and looked around, pullingher cloak tightly around her.
"Well, does anyone remember the Ice Wizard'srhyme?" said Teddy.
"Yes," said Kathleen. She repeated the rhymeperfectly by heart:
Take my sleighAnd find your wayTo the House of the NornsIn the curve of the bay.
Pay them whateverThey tell you to payAnd bring back my eyeBy break of day.
"What are Norns?" asked Jack.
"I have read about the Norns in Morgan's books,"said Teddy. "They are known as the Sisters of Fate.
They spend their days weaving great tapestries. Theirweaving determines the fate of all who live in theLand-Behind-the-Clouds."44"So the Norns have his eye?" said Jack. "That's whohe meant when he said he 'traded with the Fates'?""It would seem so," said Teddy.
"He said we should take his sleigh to find them,"said Annie. "Where's his sleigh?""Look," said Kathleen, pointing. "'Tis there.""Oh, wow," said Annie.
Not far away, a strange-looking silver sleigh glidedsilently from behind a snowbank. The sleigh lookedlike a small sailing ship with shiny runners. No onewas steering it, and no horses or reindeer werepulling it. From its mast, a white sail drooped in thestill air.
As the sleigh slid to a stop, an eerie howl shatteredthe calm of the windless night.
"Wolves!" cried Teddy. "Let us make haste!"Kathleen grabbed his arm. "Do not run," she said.
"If we run, they will chase us.""Yes, of course," said Teddy. "They must not seethat we are afraid."45Another howl shattered the air. "Run!" cried Teddy.
They all charged across the snow to the sleigh andscrambled into it. Jack and Kathleen stood at thefront, and Annie and Teddy stood at the back.
"There they are!" cried Teddy, pointing. "The whitewolves of the night!"Jack turned and saw two large white wolvesdashing across the plain in the moonlight. As thewolves ran toward the sleigh, their big paws scatteredsnow around them.
"Go, go, go!" Jack cried, clutching the front of thesleigh.
But the sleigh didn't move. And the wolves keptcoming. "How can we make it go?" cried Jack.
"Use the wind-string!" said Teddy.
Jack pulled the knotted string the wizard had givenhim out of his pocket. "Use it howl" he shouted.
"Untie a knot!" said Teddy.
46Jack pulled off his gloves. His fingers weretrembling as he tried to untie one of the knots. This iscrazy! he thought. How can untying a knot in a stringhelp us? But soon he managed to loosen one of theknots.
A cold breeze began blowing from behind thesleigh. It ruffled the sail overhead.
"Untie another!" shouted Teddy. "Hurry!"Jack quickly untied a second knot. The breeze grewstronger, and the sail filled out a bit more. Thesleigh's shiny runners began sliding across the snow.
"Yay!" called Annie. "It works!"'Yes, but not nearly swiftly enough!" said Teddy.
Jack looked back. The two white wolves had almostcaught up with them. They were yelping and runningbehind the sleigh. Their mouths were open, showingtheir sharp teeth.
Jack quickly untied a third knot. A cold windblasted the sail. It opened with a snap, and the sleighshot forward!
"Stand fast!" cried Teddy.
Jack, Annie, and Kathleen held tightly to the sidesof the sleigh to keep from falling out. Teddy grabbedthe rudder and steered them over the snow, awayfrom the ice palace.
The wizard's sleigh zoomed across the frozenground, leaving the white wolves in its wake. Theiryelping noises grew fainter and fainter, until theycould be heard no more.
The wind kept pushing the silver sleigh over the iceand snow. The runners made swish-swish sounds asthey slid over the moonlit plain. The square sailbillowed in the wind, like the sail of a Viking ship.
With the wolves far behind, the ride was really fun,but cold.
"How did you know untying knots would make thewind blow?" Jack asked Teddy.
"'Tis an ancient magic," said Teddy. "I have read ofwind-strings but had never seen one.""It's a good thing you read so much," said Annie.
"Oh, look!" said Kathleen. "Hares and foxes!""Where?" said Annie.
"There!" Kathleen pointed into the dark distance.
"Playing in the snow! And listen! Whistling swans-overhead,behind that cloud.""Wow," said Annie.
Jack was amazed by Kathleen's power to see andhear so many things. As before, the moonlit landscapeseemed completely empty to him.
"Where are you steering us?" Annie asked Teddy.
"I have no idea!" said Teddy, laughing.
"We're supposed to go to a curve of a bay to findthe Norns," said Annie.
"Then turn left and follow the swans!" saidKathleen, pointing across the snowy plain. "They areflying toward the sea!"Teddy swerved the sleigh to the left. For a while,they bounced up and down over the snow. Then theride grew smoother.
"We are on sea ice now!" said Kathleen. "Seals arebeneath! I see their breathing holes! Perhaps weshould stop.""Indeed!" said Teddy as they whizzed along. "Buthow?""Try tying a knot!" said Annie.
"Excellent idea!" said Teddy. "Jack?"Jack yanked off his gloves. With cold, shakyfingers, he tied a knot in the string. The windlessened a bit. The sleigh began to slow down.
He tied another. The sail started to droop. "Hooray!"said Annie.
Jack tied a third knot and the wind completely diedaway. The sleigh glided to a stop.
"Well done!" said Teddy.
"Thanks," said Jack. He tucked the string back in hispocket and looked around. "I wonder if this is wherethe Norns live.""I will ask," said Kathleen.
As A; who? thought Jack.
Kathleen climbed out of the sleigh. She walked overthe sea ice, studying it closely. Then she stoppedabove a small hole.
Kathleen knelt down and spoke softly in selkielanguage. Then she put her ear close to the hole in theice and listened.
A moment later, she stood up. "The seal told me thecurve of the bay lies just beyond those sea rocks," shesaid, pointing. "That is where we will find the Norns."53"Great," said Annie.
Jack, Annie, Teddy, and Kathleen crunched over thefrozen sea under the bright moon. They walkedthrough a narrow passage between the sea rocks.
When they stepped out from the passage, theystopped.
"There 'tis," said Teddy.
About fifty yards away was a large, snowy whitemound. Smoke was coming from a chimney on top ofthe mound. Lantern light flickered from a small,round window.
"I know you must bargain for the Ice Wizard's eyealone," said Teddy. "But I would at least like to take apeek at the Norns."He moved quietly to the window and peered intothe house. The others joined him. They saw a largefire burning on a hearth. In its rosy glow, threestrange creatures were weaving at a big loom. Jackcaught his breath. Their appearance was shocking.
The three Sisters of Fate were as skinny asskeletons. They all had straggly hair, long noses, andhuge, bulging eyes. Their crooked, bony fingersfluttered over a large tapestry.
Around the room other tapestries were stacked tothe ceiling.
"They look like witches in a fairy tale," whisperedAnnie.
"Aye, but they are not witches," said Teddy. "Everycloth they weave is the history of a life.""Wow," said Annie.
"Well, good luck," said Teddy. "Kathleen and I willwait out here while you go inside and ask for thewizard's eye."Suddenly a terrible howl pierced the silence.
"Yikes!" said Annie.
"The wolves!" said Kathleen.
Teddy hurried to the door and threw it open.
"Everyone inside!" he said.
And all four of them scrambled into the House ofthe Norns. |