I push myself up and another raven lands heavily on my shoulder. ‘Naudiz!’ it calls. The bird explodes into the sky, then wheels through the air and joins the attack.

I have to try again. Remembering how it felt when my ancestors chanted, I take a deep breath and feel my feet become rooted to the earth. My legs tremble as I reach into the deepest part of me, willing the energy to surge up my spine and into my chest. When I can’t hold it any longer, I open my mouth.

‘Nau-dizzz!’

The deep sound resonates through my body and shakes the branches of the tree. I sound the word again. This time even louder. The third time I vibrate the rune’s name, a mass of silver threads appears in the air. I stare at the draugr and focus my energy on it. The threads attach themselves to one another to form a net. I will them forward and they wrap around the creature, encasing its upper body.

The draugr howls. It staggers but stays upright, its arms bound to its sides. I take the axe from the snow. Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I prepare to strike.

A single, clean blow.

I look down and notice a black shape struggling in the net. The draugr’s fingers are clasped around the raven’s neck – it must have grabbed the bird before the threads closed around it. The other raven desperately pecks at the silver cage, trying to release it.

If I kill the draugr now, one of the birds may die.

I lower the axe, then carefully use the blade to slice open the threads. They ping back as if made of metal, and the raven bursts out. I start to say the rune again, but the draugr rips the net wide and smacks me across the face. I stumble back, tasting blood.

Fear rises to my chest but I push it back down. It’s no good running. I need to fight it – but I need an advantage, some way to outsmart it.

The ravens fly into the branches of the tree, which gives me an idea. I chase after the birds, the draugr close behind. As I get near, I see the tree is covered with dozens of ravens, sitting on its branches like dark assassins.

I point towards the creature and scream, ‘Kill it!’

Raucous caws fill the air as they explode upward and then dive, black wings shattering the sky. I look back and the draugr’s head, arms and legs are covered in the birds. It throws them off and staggers forward, but more come down. Razor-sharp beaks stab at its eyes. Claws rip chunks of its skin and hair. The attack is frenzied and relentless.