There was only silence.

  She turned and looked back over her shoulder. The fog was so thick now that if she walked another few metres, the cabin would be swallowed.

  One by one her friends had left the cabin – and none of them had returned.

  And now she was out here. Alone.

  She couldn’t lose sight of the cabin. She wanted to get back inside, lock the door. She’d light the fire, get it roaring – use the smoke as a signal to lead her friends back to her.

  She pulled down her trousers and squatted awkwardly, her ankle unable to bear much weight. From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a shadow moving in the distance.

  Her skin chilled as she felt a shifting, dark energy close by. She heard a whisper of wind. She resettled her trousers hurriedly.

  Through the fog, a shape emerged. It was too low to be human. She felt a scream stifled in her throat.

  She began to move, rushing and hobbling towards the cabin, using the broom for support. Pain shot through her ankle.

  She burst into the cabin, heart thumping.

  The door swung closed behind her, and she bolted the lock with a loud clang. Then she stood there, palms pressed against the wooden door, panting.

  A few moments passed – the silence of the cabin holding her in its spell so that all she could hear was the rise and fall of her own breath.

  Then a cool, prickling sensation travelled across the back of her neck, spreading down her spine. For a moment, she held her breath, listening.

  But the sound of an exhale, then inhale, continued.

  Maggie turned.

  Sitting in her seat beside the window was Vilhelm.

  73

  JONI

  Joni stumbled on, exhausted. She was shivering hard, her teeth chattering with cold.

  When she raised her head, she saw a solid structure emerging in the distance. At first, she thought it was just another boulder, large and square, but as the fog billowed, she made out the shape of the DNT cabin.

  She imagined Liz was already inside, telling the others about what she’d done. She pictured Maggie’s shock. Helena’s outrage. They would band together, arms around Liz, protecting her.

  There were a thousand things Joni needed to say to Liz – and they all began with the word sorry. The worst truth was that Joni’s mistake didn’t only affect Liz, and her marriage, but it would affect her children, too. The twins would feel the shockwaves because it would linger in the fabric of their home – and that would haunt Joni.

  She wanted to turn, leave, but some deep instinct told her that alone she’d never make it off the mountain alive. She needed water, food, but mostly, she needed them.

  As she sat there, sheltered in the lee of a boulder, she had to decide whether to keep walking or face them.

  All Joni knew was, without her friends, she had nothing.

  74

  LIZ

  The knowledge settled, slow and cool: Vilhelm was Austin’s father, and he was running things.

  It all made a terrible sort of sense. She began piecing it together, remembering Vilhelm sitting in the lodge on that first day when she’d walked in – not just a local watching the comings and goings of lodge life, but watching Leif. He’d been in the reception office, talking with Austin, his expression tense and preoccupied when he emerged.

  She thought of Vilhelm warning them off Blafjell then, later still in the woods, trying to encourage them to turn back.

  ‘Vilhelm’s got a brother in Antwerp,’ Leif said. ‘He’s been running an operation there for years. Vilhelm covers the transport into Norway, with Austin’s help. That’s why they bought Bjørn’s boat. They wanted an established fishing outfit so that it didn’t look suspicious – and needed Bjørn out of the way so that the bay was theirs.’

  Erik stood mute, his thumb knuckle kneading his chin.

  ‘I never wanted anything to do with the cocaine, I promise,’ Leif said. ‘But they won’t let me walk.’

  ‘If you’ve got nothing to do with the cocaine,’ Liz said, ‘why force me to climb down after it?’

  Leif turned and met her gaze. ‘Vilhelm radioed to say a kilo of cocaine had been taken by your group. He said I had to find it … before he found you.’

  She saw the slow swallow of his throat and slight flare of his nostrils. Leif was afraid.

  ‘Are Austin and Vilhelm out here, looking for us?’ Liz asked.

  ‘Not Austin – he’s still on the boat making another delivery up the coast.’

  ‘But Vilhelm?’ Liz prompted.

  Slowly, Leif nodded. His gaze lifted, scanning the mountain. ‘He’s out there.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Helena said, hands rising to her mouth. ‘Maggie’s at the cabin. Alone.’

  75

  MAGGIE

  Maggie faced Vilhelm. The cabin was dim and airless. The faint scent of ash lingered, along with the smell of something animal brought in on his clothes.

  Vilhelm was sitting with his arms folded across his chest, plaid shirt buttoned to his neck. He watched her with interest, the faintest smile on thin lips.

  Maggie could feel the tick of her pulse in her throat. Even before he spoke, she understood. She could see his backpack at his feet – knew that it was bags of cocaine that caused it to strain at the buckles.

  He unfolded his arms, setting his wide, filthy hands on his thighs. The wooden chair complained as he leaned forward. ‘I told you to turn back,’ Vilhelm said, tone disappointed. ‘But you didn’t listen.’

  Her muscles stiffened.

  ‘I even warned you about Blafjell.’

  ‘Thin places … elementals …’ she whispered. ‘A lie.’

  A cold smile. ‘Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn’t hurt for people to be unsure about what they see up here.’

  All the time he had been playing them …

  ‘But you ignored my warnings. You got involved in something you shouldn’t.’ He shook his head, sighing a cold tsk. He pushed to his feet, unfolding the full height of him. ‘Just like Karin did.’

  Her blood ran cool.

  ‘Now you and your friends have left a mess for me to clean up.’

  Her scalp prickled. ‘I don’t have the cocaine. It’s gone.’

  He adjusted the peak of his cap. ‘Now, that is a problem.’

  76

  HELENA

  ‘I left Maggie in the cabin alone. Told her to lock the doors,’ Helena said.

  Liz’s face was ashen. ‘Joni’s out on the trail, too.’

  Turning to Leif, who had a radio clipped to the front of his pack, Helena said, ‘You need to radio in. Call for help.’

  Leif paused from undoing his harness. ‘No.’

  Helena baulked. ‘Our friends are in danger!’

  Erik’s brow dipped. ‘Leif? Give them the radio.’

  ‘I cannot.’

  ‘This is crazy!’ Helena snapped. There was no time for bullshit – they needed to get back to Maggie and Joni. She snatched the radio from Leif’s pack.

  ‘Hey!’ Leif lunged for it – but his climbing harness was still attached to the belay, and held him back. ‘Give that to me!’ he said, fighting to undo his harness.

  Helena knew she needed to act fast. ‘Liz!’ she called. ‘Run!’

  Liz was on her feet in a flash.

  ‘Stop!’ Leif yelled after them.

  Gripping the radio tightly, Helena’s feet pounded the stony ground as she raced alongside Liz.

  The cabin couldn’t be far. If they could just get inside – lock the door – then they could figure out how to use the radio. Call for help.

  Muscles burning, breath ragged, Helena drove herself forwards, trying to keep pace with Liz. Behind them, she could hear Leif’s footsteps covering the ground at speed. She chanced a backwards glance.

  He was coming!

  ‘Hurry!’ Liz yelled, grabbing Helena by the hand – and pulling her to keep up.

  ‘Stop!’ Leif yelled.

  Fear ripped through her body, heart pounding wildly.

  He was gaining on them! She caught the ragged draw of his breath.

  Then she felt it: fingers against the collar of her jacket. They scraped – missed.

  She took a step, and another, and then his hand reached again, this time gripping tight to the scruff of her jacket, yanking her backwards.

  She tossed the radio to Liz. ‘Run!’ she yelled.

  Liz caught the radio – and continued to run.

  Leif looked as if he were going to give chase – but then changed his strategy. In a single movement, he manoeuvred his right arm around Helena’s throat and, with his left hand, pulled a knife from his pocket.

  Cold terror gripped her. ‘Liz!’

  Liz glanced back and – seeing the scene – stumbled to a stop, her face blanching.

  Leif held Helena pinned to him, knife at her throat.

  ‘Give me the radio,’ Leif demanded of Liz.

  ‘Don’t!’ Helena cried. ‘Call mountain rescue! Get help.’

  ‘Quiet!’ Leif yelled, pressing the knife lightly to her throat so she could feel its cool blade.

  Erik crashed forward, reaching them now. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the knife. He yelled something in Norwegian, face tight with shock.

  Leif ignored him. ‘Give me the radio, Liz. Then I’ll let her go.’

  Liz stared back, blinking.

  ‘Leif, this isn’t you!’ Erik protested, incredulous. ‘What are you doing? Just let them use the radio.’

  Helena could feel the heat of Leif’s body against hers, the weight of muscle and contained energy. ‘Mountain rescue won’t send help,’ Leif said breathlessly, his mouth hot at her ear. ‘This thing – it is far bigger than you think.’

  Erik’s brow furrowed. ‘What do you mean?’ He pulled off his orange beanie, running an agitated hand over his scalp, before resettling the hat.

  Helena sensed a quiver in Leif’s hand as he held the knife to her skin: he was afraid.

  Leif said, ‘You call on that radio and you’ll be put through to Knut – the rescue coordinator. He’s in on it.’

  Erik shook his head. ‘What?’

  ‘Knut’s been working with Vilhelm for years. They used to move cocaine across the border from Sweden, but land patrols tightened. So now they use the sea – and the caves. It was only meant to be for a couple of drops – out of season when hikers weren’t on the trail – but now they’re scaling things up. If you radio in, Knut won’t send a rescue team: he’ll give your location to Vilhelm. Or the others. I don’t know how far this thing stretches, or who we can trust.’

  Helena could still feel the knife at her throat – the blade resting against the delicate gold chain of her horseshoe necklace.

  Liz said, ‘Then I won’t radio Knut. I’ll call someone else.’

  ‘It’s not a satellite phone. It’s a mountain rescue radio. There is no one else.’

  Liz glanced at the radio in her shaking hand, uncertain.

  Leif shook his head. ‘You should never have gone into the cave, taken their cocaine!’

  ‘The cave,’ Erik said, head snapping up. ‘Cocaine wasn’t the only thing in there. So was this.’ He pulled something from his pocket. Karin’s bracelet glittered as he held it up.

  Leif stared at the bracelet, blinking.

  Erik must have registered something in his brother’s expression, as he said, ‘Wait – you already knew?’

  ‘No … I … well, I …’ Leif stammered.

  ‘You’re lying!’ Erik said, lunging towards Leif.

  Leif took a small step back, dragging Helena with him, the knife pressing sharply against her neck.

  Liz was glancing warily between the brothers, reading the escalating tension. Perhaps to keep Leif talking, she addressed him, saying, ‘We’re the ones who found Karin’s bracelet in the cave. Did she know about the cocaine, too?’

  ‘Yes. Karin found the cocaine,’ he said, voice hoarse. ‘Vilhelm realised – and went after her. Followed her up to Blafjell.’

  Like us, Helena thought darkly. It must have been Vilhelm they’d seen going into the cave when they were ascending Blafjell.

  ‘He found Karin out by the pinnacle. She’d taken off her pack and was sitting up there.’ He paused. ‘There’s the river below. Vilhelm knew that.’

  Erik’s face turned pale. ‘So her body would not be found.’

  Leif nodded slowly.

  ‘Did he push her?’

  Helena heard Leif swallow.

  Silence. And then: ‘Ja.’

  Erik’s hands shot to the back of his skull. His fingertips turned white with the pressure. He was gripping so hard, the skin stretched around his mountain tattoo, distorting it into broken peaks.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Leif said.

  Erik’s head was shaking from side to side, energy burning off him. ‘But … but those German hikers. They reported that they’d seen a woman out here – on the ledge below the pinnacle. They ran to the lodge, told you and others about what they’d seen. And you … you went out looking for her.’

  ‘I didn’t know it was Karin. Not when I went out searching.’

  ‘You said you hiked to the pinnacle. Looked at the spot where they described seeing someone. You … you said the German hikers must have made a mistake. That it was just tarpaulin trapped between the rocks. That from a distance it could have looked like a woman.’ His voice sounded small, vulnerable – a younger brother wanting to believe in his older brother. ‘That’s what you told me.’

  A heavy, anguished silence ripped between them.

  Erik was blinking rapidly. ‘But it wasn’t a mistake, was it? It was Karin!’

  Leif dragged in a breath. ‘Yes. It was Karin. When she fell, her body caught on a ledge. I abseiled down to her – but she was dead, Erik. It was too great a fall to survive.’

  Erik was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘You didn’t tell me …’

  ‘I couldn’t …’

  ‘Why not?’ Erik demanded.

  ‘While I was down there, Knut radioed.’

  There was a quake in Leif’s tone and Helena could feel his grip slackening. Keep talking, she thought.

  Leif went on. ‘Knut said that the rescue team were an hour away – and when they arrived, they mustn’t find Karin’s body.’

  Erik turned completely still. He was staring at Leif, eyes narrowing. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘They would have killed me. Killed Mum! Come after you!’ Leif’s breathing was rapid, shallow.

  Helena felt the pressure on her throat release further. His hand holding the knife lowered.

  She waited a beat, then took a small, careful step to the side. She glanced back at Leif, but his attention was squarely on Erik. ‘She was dead, Erik! She was already dead!’ He gulped.

  ‘What did you do?’ Erik repeated more loudly, taking a step closer.

  ‘I … I had no choice …’ Leif said, holding up his palms. He let the knife drop from them, falling to the ground.

  Erik grabbed Leif by the shoulders. ‘What did you do?’ he screamed into his face. He was shaking Leif now, as if trying to dislodge the answer.

  Leif stumbled backwards, falling to the ground, Erik landing hard on top of him. ‘I’m sorry …’

  ‘Tell me!’ Erik yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the discarded knife in the dirt. He grabbed it, holding it above Leif. ‘What did you do to Karin!’ he seethed between gritted teeth.

  Lying in the dirt, tears leaked from Leif’s eyes. He didn’t try to fight.

  Erik brought the knife blade slowly down, pressing the tip against Leif’s chest, directly above his heart.

  Leif dragged in a breath. He held Erik’s gaze as he finally admitted, ‘I … I pushed her body over the edge!’

  Teeth bared, Erik let out a wild animal sound of despair and rage.

  His hand holding the knife was shaking. ‘Everyone thought you were the hero, going out there, searching for Karin. But you pushed her! You let everyone blame me for Karin’s disappearance. The whole village. Everyone thinks I killed her!’ His head was shaking rapidly from side to side. ‘And you – my own brother – let them!’

  Erik raised the knife.

  Leif looked at Erik, then the knife, which was hovering above his heart. He swallowed. ‘Do it,’ he said, voice low, trembling.

  Erik, mouth twisted into a howl of pain, plunged the knife downward.

  Leif’s eyes widened.

  Erik slammed the blade deep into the earth, an inch from Leif’s neck.

  Slowly, Leif blinked.

  No one spoke. The breeze curled around them, puffs of cold mist swirling and dispersing.

  Erik dragged himself off his brother. He crawled towards a boulder and sat slumped against it, legs drawn towards his chest.

  Leif pushed himself up to sitting. He was gulping in air, his face wet with tears. ‘Erik, please … I’m so sorry.’ His features had turned slack, as if the weight of what he’d done pulled them down, his face crumbling. ‘I wanted to tell you … It has been killing me. I’m sorry for everything.’ Leif crawled towards Erik, clamping his hands around Erik’s head, pulling him close until their foreheads were touching. He held him firmly, looking his brother in the eye. ‘I’m sorry, Erik. I will make this right.’

  There was nothing but silence from Erik.

  Helena glanced at Liz.

  They both understood: they needed to get back to the others.

  Together, they turned and ran.

  77

  MAGGIE

  Vilhelm watched Maggie, a thin smile on his lips.

  ‘Let’s take a walk.’

  Fear sliced through her, rooting her to the spot. Her pulse roared in her ears. No way of running. All she had was her voice. ‘No.’

  With a sigh, Vilhelm moved a hand to his waistband and withdrew a gun. He pointed it at her almost wearily, as if it saddened him that it had come to this. ‘I said, walk.’

  Maggie stared at the gun, blinking. This can’t be happening.

  Vilhelm raised the gun until it was level with her forehead.

  She let out a whimpering sound, instinctively lifting her hands.