“No one ever has returned from the darkness!” asserted Hallr. The lumberjack’s eyes gazed indifferently at the men in the hall.
Eadweard entered the room unnoticed. A couple of torches were lit at the far corners of the hall, throwing languid shadows onto the ground and the walls. His father was striding back and forth, a fury in leather and furs, and his austere face was wrinkled with grief. His mother stood near him sobbing. She was a sturdy woman, fair and cheerful, but now looked like a wretched stranger. His stomach lurched. He looked around for his brothers and sister. When he woke up and found their beds empty, he thought that they might be in the hall, from where the noises were coming, so he headed straight for it. He did not expect to find his parents in the presence of the lumberjack, the mason, and the two watchmen. And that was when he realized that something was going on here. Something unexpected. Something terrible.
His gaze stopped at the far corner of the hall. Under ...