Aoife put her head on her knees and sobbed. “I-I… I’m sorry.”
Tormod punched the door behind him and turned his back on her.
Tormod had no idea whether he blamed Aoife for the problem or not. He pulled open the door, unsurprised to find his cousins waiting there.
“Well?” Ulf asked, coming into the room and staring at Aoife. “What does she know?”
“My wife says that she knows nothing.”
Ulf scoffed.
“I will go and see for myself,” said Tormod. “And then I will decide who is to blame.”
“Let me come,” Aoife said.
“But…”
“You should bring her,” Arne said from the doorway. “She knows more about the plants and animals here than any of us.”
Ulf whirled around. “And what if she is the cause?”
Arne shook his head and rolled his eyes. “She is not the cause, Ulf.”
“I have done nothing!” Aoife said, pushing herself unsteadily to her feet. “You blame me and accuse me and yet refuse to believe me when I speak the truth.”
“Aoife…” Tormod began.
“No! I dreamed of the animals; I don’t know why. Can you control your dreams? I have done nothing wrong. Why won’t you believe me?”
“I believe you.” Arne’s voice made them both jump.
“Leave us,” hissed Tormod. “This is between me and my wife.”
“No, it is not. This affects us all,” Ulf said.
“Aoife has knowledge none of the rest of us yet have and I, for one, am not willing to ignore that just because of your pride,” Arneinterjected. “If you don’t wish Aoife to go, then I will take her. We will leave as soon as you are able.”
Taken aback, Tormod faced his wife. “I believe what you have told me,” he said after a moment. Her head shot up and he saw the surprise on her face. “But I don’t believe you have told me everything. Tell me the truth. All of it.”
She pursed her lips and shook her head.
“Why can you not tell me the truth?”
“I am afraid.”
“Afraid of what? Me? I will not harm you for telling me the truth.”
“Can you promise that?” Aoife asked. “Can Ulf?”
Tormod frowned. “Yes.”
Ulf’s expression remained blank.
She almost smiled, then the fear returned. “You don’t know what the truth is yet.”
There was silence for a long moment. He could see it in her eyes, in the way her mouth started to move, there was more to be said.
“I know nothing about why the animals are sick,” she said.
