Gunnar approached him carefully, and said, “Hail, Man of the spirit world. What has called you from your rest?” Though Gunnar did not fear any ghost, it was only prudent to be respectful of the dead.
Tomas brushed the hair from Gwenn’s face, and stroked her cheek briefly before rising to his feet. She did not stir, but she smiled in her sleep, as though his touch had soothed her pain somehow.
Gunnar asked again, “What do you want with us?”
Tomas did not reply. His presence in the physical world was marginal at best and he had no strength to waste with talk. He floated slowly back to the stern, and took up a position next to the steering oar, then stood silently, grim-faced, studying the river ahead for obstacles. The wind picked up, and the boat glided gracefully through the water with
