Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver, Geoff Taylor
Authors: Michelle Paver, Geoff Taylor
Tags: General, Historical, Juvenile Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Prehistory
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Soul-Eater's hand clenched on the head of a mace. Her flesh had the grainy density of granite; her talons were tinged blue, like those of a corpse. Between the fingers bled a fiery glow. The fire-opal.
"His time draws near," said the Masked One.
Terror hooked Renn's heart and jerked it like a fish. "You can't know that for sure."
"Eostra knows all. He cannot escape." One feathered arm reached out and she raked the ruins of the fire. She opened her talons. Ash fine as crumbled bones hissed down onto Torak's unprotected face: filling his mouth, covering his eyes.
"No," said Renn.
"Eostra shall suck the power from his marrow. She shall devour his world-soul and spew what remains into endless night."
"No!"
"From host to host, her souls shall spirit walk down the ages. Eostra shall conquer death. All shall cower before the undying one. Eostra shall live forever!"
"No!" screamed Renn. "No no no no no!"
Men shouted. Dogs barked. The shelter was in an uproar.
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"Renn!" Torak was bending over her. "Wake up!"
She went on screaming. "No! You can't have him!"
The eagle owl glared down at her from the rim of the smoke-hole. Then it spread its wings and lifted into the dark.
"Was it a vision?" said Torak. "Renn? Was it one of your visions?"
"She was real."
"But she wasn't here, in the shelter."
"She was."
They sat with their backs against the peat-pile: Renn rigidly clutching her knees, Torak with one arm around her shoulders. Krukoslik had gone to the Swan Clan shelter to talk with their Leader. Most of the men were outside, calming the dogs. On the other side of the fire, women soothed children and cast fearful glances at Renn.
She'd stopped shaking, but she felt drained, as she always did after a vision. This had been the strongest and the worst ever. Dully, she stared at the glowing embers. No trace of the ash which Eostra had poured over Torak like a death rite.
"Tell me what you saw," he said in a voice so low no one else could hear.
Haltingly, she told him: about Eostra planning to rule the unquiet dead, and become the spirit walker. "She means to eat your world-soul. That's where your power
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lies. She will eat it and--and spit out the rest. Then she'll be the spirit walker. She'll move from body to body. She'll live forever."
"And I'll be dead."
She turned to him. "No. That's the worst of it. You wouldn't die. You'd be Lost."
"Lost? What's that?"
She sucked in her breath. "It's when you lose your world-soul. You're still you--name-soul and clan-soul-- but you've snapped your link with the rest of the world. You're adrift in the dark beyond the stars, in the night that has no end. Eternally alive. Eternally alone."
In the fire, peat smoked and spat.
Torak withdrew his arm and leaned forward so that she couldn't see his face. "When I was sleepwalking, I felt lost in nothingness. You were shaken when I told you. That's why, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"But why did I feel it then?"
"I don't know. Maybe she was trying out a spell. I don't know."
He pushed the hair from his face, and she saw his hand shake. "Can it happen to anyone? Or am I more at risk?"
"I think--you're more at risk. Because you're the spirit walker. And ..." She hesitated. "Because you broke your oath."
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He waited for her to go on.
"When you swore to avenge the Seal Clan boy, you took your oath on your knife, your medicine horn, and your three souls. When you broke that oath, it may have weakened the link between them."
He was silent, staring at the fire.
"But Torak," Renn said fiercely. "All this is only what Eostra wants, not what has to be! We won't let it happen. We can fight it together!"
Torak gave her a look she couldn't read.
Then daylight was flooding the doorway, and Krukoslik was stamping snow off his boots and letting in the dawn.
"It's decided," he said. "We'll take you to the Gorge of the Hidden People, but no farther. You'll have to find your own way
"His time draws near," said the Masked One.
Terror hooked Renn's heart and jerked it like a fish. "You can't know that for sure."
"Eostra knows all. He cannot escape." One feathered arm reached out and she raked the ruins of the fire. She opened her talons. Ash fine as crumbled bones hissed down onto Torak's unprotected face: filling his mouth, covering his eyes.
"No," said Renn.
"Eostra shall suck the power from his marrow. She shall devour his world-soul and spew what remains into endless night."
"No!"
"From host to host, her souls shall spirit walk down the ages. Eostra shall conquer death. All shall cower before the undying one. Eostra shall live forever!"
"No!" screamed Renn. "No no no no no!"
Men shouted. Dogs barked. The shelter was in an uproar.
130
"Renn!" Torak was bending over her. "Wake up!"
She went on screaming. "No! You can't have him!"
The eagle owl glared down at her from the rim of the smoke-hole. Then it spread its wings and lifted into the dark.
"Was it a vision?" said Torak. "Renn? Was it one of your visions?"
"She was real."
"But she wasn't here, in the shelter."
"She was."
They sat with their backs against the peat-pile: Renn rigidly clutching her knees, Torak with one arm around her shoulders. Krukoslik had gone to the Swan Clan shelter to talk with their Leader. Most of the men were outside, calming the dogs. On the other side of the fire, women soothed children and cast fearful glances at Renn.
She'd stopped shaking, but she felt drained, as she always did after a vision. This had been the strongest and the worst ever. Dully, she stared at the glowing embers. No trace of the ash which Eostra had poured over Torak like a death rite.
"Tell me what you saw," he said in a voice so low no one else could hear.
Haltingly, she told him: about Eostra planning to rule the unquiet dead, and become the spirit walker. "She means to eat your world-soul. That's where your power
131
lies. She will eat it and--and spit out the rest. Then she'll be the spirit walker. She'll move from body to body. She'll live forever."
"And I'll be dead."
She turned to him. "No. That's the worst of it. You wouldn't die. You'd be Lost."
"Lost? What's that?"
She sucked in her breath. "It's when you lose your world-soul. You're still you--name-soul and clan-soul-- but you've snapped your link with the rest of the world. You're adrift in the dark beyond the stars, in the night that has no end. Eternally alive. Eternally alone."
In the fire, peat smoked and spat.
Torak withdrew his arm and leaned forward so that she couldn't see his face. "When I was sleepwalking, I felt lost in nothingness. You were shaken when I told you. That's why, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"But why did I feel it then?"
"I don't know. Maybe she was trying out a spell. I don't know."
He pushed the hair from his face, and she saw his hand shake. "Can it happen to anyone? Or am I more at risk?"
"I think--you're more at risk. Because you're the spirit walker. And ..." She hesitated. "Because you broke your oath."
132
He waited for her to go on.
"When you swore to avenge the Seal Clan boy, you took your oath on your knife, your medicine horn, and your three souls. When you broke that oath, it may have weakened the link between them."
He was silent, staring at the fire.
"But Torak," Renn said fiercely. "All this is only what Eostra wants, not what has to be! We won't let it happen. We can fight it together!"
Torak gave her a look she couldn't read.
Then daylight was flooding the doorway, and Krukoslik was stamping snow off his boots and letting in the dawn.
"It's decided," he said. "We'll take you to the Gorge of the Hidden People, but no farther. You'll have to find your own way