A Beast For The Eyes: A Steamy Shifter Romance (A Ravenswood Romance Book 2) (17 page)

Andor finished his drink and slammed his mug down on the map. “We’ll be to Jutland in the morning. Don’t bother me before then.” He retreated to his bed.

Part II

With the morning came a whole new day. The storm had finally passed and then sun shined down on the misty layer coming off the ocean. The waves from the night had completely died down and they were left with still water to complete the journey to Jutland.

Kristoff was the first to wake and he went up to the main deck to rally the crew back to rowing. Today he wore his helmet. It was bronze with a leather trim around the base of two ivory horns coming out from both sides. This was hit battle helmet.

He stood with his back to the crew, looking at the water in front of them. The only thing going through his mind was the attack on Jutland.

Below deck, Finn and Andor woke up and began to dress in their battle gear. Leather armour draped over their tunics and battle helmets similar to the one Kristoff wore.

“Andor?” Finn often spoke in a gravely mumble. He wanted to sound tough and strong like his brothers.

“Little brother?” Andor on the other hand spoke with cynicism dripping from every word.

“Today, when we get to Jutland, will you and Kristoff get along,” he paused, “for mother.”

Andor poured himself a mug of mead, chugged it down in one gulp and said, “for mother.”

The two brothers went up to join Kristoff. Jutland was in sight and the crew was ordered to stop rowing. Their arrival needed to be as silent as possible.

“When we hit shallow water, you are all going to jump off this boat and start the raid. Am I clear?” Kristoff addressed the crew.

“Clear!”

“When I give the word…”

Everyone on the ship stood ready. The crew was armed with clubs and axes while the brothers held swords.

“Ataaaack!” Kristof gave the word. He held out the word and turned it into a battle cry. Andor and Finn joined in shouting. The crew hurled themselves over the side of the ship and stormed the beach. Water splashed everywhere and you could barely even see how many people were running onto the shore.

Andor stopped shouting and took a step forward on the ship. His deep blue eyes squinted. “Something is not right here.”

“No one is fighting back,” Kristoff agreed.

They watched as the crew reached the shore, still hooting and hollering, and then slowly everyone stopped. The men on shore stood still and looked around. Someone called back to the ship, “No one is here!”

“Finn,” Kristoff said, “anchor the ship. We are going on shore.”

Andor grunted at the thought of having to go onto the shore to explore. If there wasn’t going to be a fight, he would rather just move on. He knew that he had to listen to Kristoff though, he promised Finn the day would go smoothly. He stashed his sword in his belt and jumped overboard into the chilly water. Finn tossed the anchor into the water and followed his brothers into the water and onto the beach.

As the three brothers approached the shore the silhouette of a woman appeared from behind one of the buildings. There was a glowing aura surrounding her. The entire crew pulled the weapons out, ready for some sort of attack, but the woman raised her hands.

Andor shoved his way to the front of the crew members and called out, “state your name!”

“My name is Astrid. I am not looking to cause trouble. The people of Jutland got word of an upcoming attack and retreated.”

“Then why are you still here?” Kristoff stood beside Andor.

“Your father sent me to deliver a message.”

Finn stammered, “Are you a ghost?”

“I’m a spirit.” Astrid laughed. “Ghosts return from the afterlife seeking revenge. Spirits return to provide guidance.” She was not close enough to the men that they could get a good look at her. She had sparkling blond hair that constantly flowed as if wind was dancing through it. She was draped in silver silk robes and her skin had a blue-ish tint.

Andor wasn’t buying it. “Well then why didn’t our father come and deliver this message himself?”

“He couldn’t, Andor. He has yet to take identity in the afterlife as a ghost or spirit. His presence there is too young, although I expect he will mature soon enough and be here to guide you.”

Kristoff cut in, “what’s the message then?”

“He wants you three to stay here. Claim this land as your own. Send the crew home to retrieve your mother. This land will be your last gift to her before she joins your father.”

Finn looked to Andor and Kristoff for some sort of reaction. Both brothers had stern looks on their faces that didn’t show what they would decide. “So, what now?” Finn grumbled lowly so just his brothers could hear.

“This could be a set up. If we send the crew back, the civilians could ambush us.”

“How can we -” Kristoff began to speak, but Astrid was gone. He directed his attention to the crew, “who saw where that woman went to?!”

The crew stood there in silence with their mouths ajar. Finally, someone spoke, “Sir, she just...disappeared.”

Everyone looked back and forth to where she was standing and each other. Then she reappeared. “Sorry, your father had another message. He wants you to know that I am trustworthy. The people of Jutland are long gone.”

Finn took a step back. He had been afraid of ghosts his entire life and even though she claimed not to be a ghost, it was still too close for comfort.

“Don’t be scared, Finn.” Astrid stepped toward him and he froze in fear.

Andor stepped between Astrid and his little brother. “Walk with me while Finn and Kristoff decide what to do.” He nodded to Kristoff, letting him know that whatever was decided, he would support.

Part III

Astrid led Andor up the rocky beach to where the tree line began. She sat down and motioned for him to follow suit. Andor looked over his shoulder, making sure his brothers and crew were still in sight. If anything were to happen, he wanted to be prepared for anything that might go wrong. His father had taught him to always be prepared and never get too comfortable when on these journeys.

Andor sat down beside Astrid, but was sure to keep a distance between them.

“You’re afraid.”

Andor furrowed his brow and said, “not afraid, just cautious. If you knew my father you would know he was the same.” He still was not convinced that Astrid was telling the truth.

In the distance he watched Finn and Kristoff in a heated discussion over what to do. He wished that he could hear them, but knew that his presence there would cause Kristoff more frustration.

“Finn is afraid. He doesn’t want to listen to me because he thinks I’m a ghost. He is probably telling Kristoff that you should all leave as soon as possible and never look back.”

Andor nodded.

“Kristoff is trying to be brave. He wants to stay here and make the land his own, but is wary about sending the crew away.”

Andor nodded.

“What about you, Andor? What do you want?”

Andor cleared his throat and move slightly farther away from her. He found it weird that she was able to know what was probably taking place between his brothers. “I think we should stay.”

“And do what with the crew?”

Andor shot her a quizzical look.

“Your father said you would be the deciding factor. That you would be able to provide a medium between Finn and Kristoff.”

Andor stood up and walked back down to the beach, leaving Astrid sitting alone. When he approached he could feel the tension in the air between his brothers and the fear pulsating throughout the crew.

“Finn, take half the crew and go get mother. Kristoff and I will stay here with the rest of the crew and do whatever this Astrid is saying our father wants.”

Kristoff’s entire body tensed and he said through gritted teeth, “I thought you were staying out of this Andor?”

“I was, and nothing was getting done. This is the best plan.”

Finn’s eyes were wide. “I...I don’t think I can man the ship alone.”

“Fine,” Andor said, “You stay, I’ll go.”

“I don’t want to stay here with a ghost!”

“A spirit.” Astrid was standing right next to them and no one had even noticed her arrival.

Finn jumped back.

“I’ll go with Finn. You stay here with a handful of men and get this place ready for mother's arrival.” Kristoff had the final word. Andor suspected that he was just as scared of Astrid as Finn was, but he didn’t want to admit it.

Andor nodded, “see you in a week.”

Finn was the first to retreat toward the ship. He was happy to get away from Astrid. Kristoff motioned down the middle of the crew standing on the beach. “You all are coming with me, the rest are staying with Andor.” He turned and walked toward the ship. The men he called fell in line behind him and few others went with them, they feared staying on this beach.

Part IV

“Do you think something bad is going to happen to Andor?” Finn grumbled under his breath to his older brother as he rowed the ship. With less crew members aboard, the brothers had to do some of the manual labor.

“Don’t worry about Andor. He can take care of himself. Set your mind on retrieving our mother.”

“But, Kristoff, we left him with a ghost!”

“She gave no reason to suspect her of violence. End of story. Just row.”

Finn nodded. If Kristoff said the discussion was over, then Finn wasn’t going to push his limits. He looking ahead at the open sea and rowed in sync with the rest of the crew.

The goal was to get back home in three days time, a whole day faster than the journey would normally take. The crew was not happy about the extra effort that would have to be put into rowing the ship, but what Kristoff said went with no argument.

Everyone’s head was dripping with sweat as the afternoon sun beat down upon them. For once, Finn was thankful for the frigid air. Usually he stood beside his brothers shivering, but trying to tough it out. He decided that the crew had the better job, because they were able to stay warm.

When the sun began to set, a few men left their benches and retreated to the covered area on the deck. Kristoff noticed this and his face immediately turned deep red with frustration. He rose from his seat and stomped over the men who had left their seats.

“What do you think you are doing?” He was fuming.

“Sir, the sun is setting. This is when we stop.”

“You stop when I tell you to stop. Get back to those benches and row on.”

One of the men opened their mouths to argue, but Kristoff put his hand up to stop him and pointed back to the benches. The men all stood up like dogs with their tails between their legs and trudged back to the benches to begin rowing again.

Finn and Kristoff rowed on with them. There were murmurs of frustration throughout the crew, but the brothers kept their eyes ahead and did not engage.

“How long are we going to row for?” Finn whispered.

“Until I’m tired.”

The men continued rowing late into the night. Kristoff had every intention of getting back to their mother as fast as possible and then back to Andor.

Part V

Andor stood ankle deep in water watching the horizon. The ship had gone out of his sight a while ago, but he watched anyone. The crew stood huddled behind him, waiting for orders. Astrid stood just behind them, giving Andor the appropriate space she assumed he needed at this time.

The crew began to whisper that they were probably left on this beach to die. They didn’t think Finn and Kristoff would ever return. Andor heard everything and grew frustrated. The men seemed to have no faith in him at all.

He turned around to face them. Taking his eyes off the horizon for the first time since his brothers sailed away without him. “Get to work!” he barked.

“We have no tools or resources. How are we going to fix this place up?”

Andor did not know the answer, but he didn’t want to admit that he was at a loss. Instead he shouted, “figure it out!” and waved his hands at them to dismiss them. The men all walked up the beach toward to tree line.

“I can get you the tools you need.” Astrid walked up beside Andor and reached out to touch his arm, trying to comfort him.

Andor squirmed out of her reach and nodded. Without a word Astrid disappeared into thin air. The whole situation made his stomach do loops. Part of this was terrifying, he was alone with a strange woman and a handful of crew members. The other part was exciting, he was alone with a beautiful woman and was in charge of a handful of crew members, following his father’s wishes.

With one last glance at the sun setting on the horizon, he walked up to where the crew members were gathered. They were wandering around searching the ground for anything to use to enhance the houses in the village.

“Tools will be here soon.”

The men all turned to Andor and he could see the fear in their eyes. He felt more calm now than he did down by the water. He took a deep breath and with every bit of energy in him he said, “everything will be fine.”

It was out of character for Andor to be the one to reassure the crew, usually that was something Kristoff did. As the oldest brother, he was a natural born leader. It was something Andor always resented about him, but no he had the chance to show that he was capable of being a successful leader as well.

Astrid reappeared and place a pile of mallets, ropes, and other resources in front of the men.

“What are you all waiting for, get to work. My mother will be here in a week and this place needs to be looking its best.”

The men all reached down and took something from the pile and then dispersed about the village to work on the houses, paths, and landscape.

“Walk with me.” Astrid reached for his hand, but Andor again pulled away. She walked toward the ocean and Andor followed.

“What’s the plan here?” Andor felt that he had no time for formalities. He wanted to do whatever it was his father was supposedly asking.

“All work no play is bad for the soul, Andor. Your men are all working, you need to relax a bit or else you may join me and your father in the afterlife before you’re ready.”