Free Troll Bridge by Jane Yolen Page B

dark, because after a bit he began to distinguish actual shapes against the general flat, depthless black. He tripped over the first—a humped-up tree root.
    â€œOooof!” he grunted. He hauled himself to his feet and stumbled on, aware that if he weren’t more careful, he’d be … troll dessert.
    Suddenly a shadow loomed in front of him and his feet tangled in it. He reached out to stop himself from falling again, only to discover the thing was furry, some sort of animal. Flinging himself to one side, he tumbled to the ground.
    â€œOddi? I be growing angry.” Botvi had turned the corner of the house, too, and Jakob could hear her footsteps coming nearer. “Be stopping your foolery this instant.”
    Jakob started to scramble to his feet, but froze when he heard a low growl right in front of him. He squinted into the dark. A set of bright white, almost phosphorescent, fangs gleamed inches from his face.
    â€œUm,” he gulped. “Nice doggy?” he pleaded in a whisper while pushing himself backward on his belly. Toward the troll! Reconsidering quickly, he kicked forward, only to be brought up short by another growl. And the teeth.
    Isn’t this a pretty pickle, he thought, then in a hysterical afterthought he wondered if trolls ate pickles with their meals.
    But the teeth disappeared. Or rather the creature that owned the teeth closed its mouth. Shook its dog-sized head. Dog? he thought before noticing it had a longer, pointier nose than a dog. And as he stared at it, the animal very clearly shook its head at him.
    It’s a fox, he thought. Then, No, it’s the fox . The one from the bridge. The one that got us into this mess to begin with! At that, his hysteria rose again, like a vampire from a coffin, because he just remembered that mess was a soldier’s word for dinner.
    The fox bared its teeth again, but for some reason, Jakob was sure that this time it was more of a grin than a threat. Then with a short bark, the fox dashed past him.
    Sic ’er! Jakob thought as the fox headed toward Botvi.
    â€œBah!” she cried almost immediately, throwing something in his direction. “Away with you, ill-omened creature. I be thinking you be Oddi.”
    The fox ran off yipping, and Jakob stayed frozen on his belly, praying the he was somehow hidden from sight. Evidently Botvi was only as smart as a troll, and she turned and walked back the way she’d come, her bass drum footsteps quickly fading. “I be wasting my time chasing after foxes,” he heard her say, “when my dear son be lost.”
    Jakob suddenly thought about his own mother and what she’d say when the smashed car was found. If it was found. Nothing, he reminded himself, can be counted on if there are trolls in the world. He would have cried—for his own mother, for his father, for his brothers … but he didn’t have time. He only allowed himself a deep sigh of relief and a whisper. “Thanks, fox.” He heard an answering yip.
    â€œNow,” he said under his breath, “how do I find my brothers?”

10
    Jakob
    Jakob took a chance and stood up. He could see nothing. The dark in this place was deeper than anything he’d ever experienced. No moon or stars overhead, which was odd, as the sky seemed cloudless.
    He turned around slowly.
    No light shining through troll house windows or open doors.
    Nothing. Nothing but the deep dark and … He banged the flat of his hand dramatically against his forehead. Of course!
    â€œNo light through windows,” he whispered to himself, “because if they forget to close the shutters and morning comes, the sunlight could accidentally turn them to stone.” But that realization got him nowhere fast. And fast was what was needed if his brothers were to be rescued. Aenmarr could now be at his second wife’s house, in the larder, taking Erik or Galen off the hook and using one of the big knives