Chapter 22
After banking down the fire in Solvi's fireplace, we went back out into the night.
The moon had left the sky, and the sculptures dotted around the clearing were no more than formless shadows against the grayish-black of the forest beyond. We circled the cottage and crossed the dried remains of the kitchen garden, then pressed on to the far side of the clearing where the little forest path resumed.
The path started climbing almost at once, up and around one hill after another. The trees were denser here, their branches intertwined just over our heads as if we were inside a living tunnel. But even though everything was pressed close around us, the soundscape had opened up wide. My steps on the needle-strewn ground were the appropriate volume, but other sounds around us were amp
