‘Thank you,’ I said, making an effort. Winterfalls was still a fair distance away, judging by what we’d seen from up on the pass. I’d best keep my wretched tongue under control until we got there and sorted ourselves out. ‘When might I expect to see you again? It’s good to be warned if one’s about to drown. But I’m hoping you won’t make a habit of visiting in the middle of the night.’

‘When there is a need, you will see me,’ Conmael said.

‘My need or yours?’

He smiled. ‘Let us see how this unfolds. I bid you farewell. Travel safely.’ And just like that, he and his friends were gone.

The basket did indeed hold fresh bread and a round of cheese, as well as a flask of mead. The bags contained a change of clothing for me, and – somewhat surprisingly – another for Grim. There was also a knife, and, of course, the blankets.

‘Very nice,’ observed Grim, holding up a generously sized woollen tunic in a fetching shade of blue. ‘Doesn’t feel right to put them on, though. Or eat the food. You know those stories? Fey food that sets a geis on you, fey garments that burn your skin all away. That fellow, that friend of yours, I wouldn’t trust him an inch. Whatever he’s up to, it’s no good.’

‘He did save my life.’

‘All the same.’

‘Well, if you want to stay in those wet things and nibble on the last dried-up mushroom for breakfast, fine with me. I’m going to risk the geis and the poisoned clothing spell. I’ve eaten Conmael’s food and worn his gifts before, and I still seem to be all right. Turn your back, Grim.’

‘He wouldn’t hurt you,’ Grim muttered as I stripped off the damp clothes and wriggled into the dry ones. But when it was his turn he put on the trousers and shirt and tunic and wrapped the warm cloak around himself, and everything fit as if made especially for him. That turned him very quiet. We shared the food without talking, saving some for the journey. It was only as we settled to sleep – it was not yet dawn – that Grim said, ‘I don’t like owing that fellow anything at all. He’ll want payment one way or another. His kind always do.’

But I was snuggled in my blanket on the dry grass, warm and comfortable, and I fell asleep before I could answer.

8 Grim

8

~GRIM~