It sniffed him, opened its jaws and let out a great roar, then exploded away from him and went crashing into the undergrowth, disappearing into the twilight.

Only Olin was still standing, a handful of others groaning as they tried to rise. Olin ran to Drem and helped him back to his feet, put his sword back in his hand.

‘I’m all right,’ Drem said to his da’s worried look.

I should be dead. It didn’t kill me.

Drem shared a look with his da and they followed the bear, moving quickly, not quite a run, the sounds of it crashing ahead making it easy for them to track the beast.

The noise of the bear slowly faded, despite Drem and Olin picking up their pace, a sense of despair settling in Drem’s chest. Eventually Olin stopped, twilight thick about him.

‘We’ll not catch it in a sprint,’ his da said. ‘And anyway, it doesn’t have Fritha, you saw. It might have dropped or discarded her somewhere in the forest. Best thing to do is retrace its steps. And then . . .’

We’ll find Fritha’s dead body in the snow and forest litter, Drem thought morosely.

‘She may have escaped the bear of her own accord,’ Olin said. ‘She may still live.’ Drem could tell that his da didn’t believe that, though. And neither did he.

Drem nodded, admitting defeat, the forest silent about them now, draped with shadow, snow still falling, though he could feel it more than see it, twilight masking the world in grey. A voice in the distance, a horn call, faint and far.

‘Ulf and Hildith, regrouping. Might be better to camp out here as a group than try and walk home,’ Olin said.

‘I think you’re right and it’s time to leave, Da,’ Drem said, ‘in the dark, where we won’t be missed. Fritha must be dead, though I dearly wish she were not.’

Olin looked at him.

‘Only if you’re sure, son. She means much to you; we’ll stay and search until you’re ready.’

Drem nodded, then froze, cocking his head to one side.

A sound, to their right, deep in the undergrowth. His da heard it, too, both of them staring, alert. And slowly something formed in the shadows, the darkness deepening, a shifting of muscle and bulk, a low rumbling growl.

‘RUN!’ Olin yelled, shoving Drem back the way they had come as the undergrowth exploded outwards, snapping and shattering in a burst of snow and leaves, a deafening roar blasting them, filling Drem’s head as he stumbled to the ground. He glimpsed his da setting his feet, lifting his blade, heard the crash and growl of the bear as it surged from the shadows.

It came back. How did it flank us so quietly?