Lord of the Runes (31 page)

“Wait her out. Where else can she go?” Magnus spoke low and the men moved away from her.

Estrid looked down as part of the cliff behind her crumbled and fell into the fjord. She glanced over the edge and a crack opened up in front of her.

“Estrid, come away from there.” Leif's voice shook. “It's not safe.”

Pieces of rock fell away and she almost lost her balance. “Nothing left.” Then she looked at Eirik and gave him a beautiful smile. “Remember when you read my runes, you said that I must leap into the void? You were right.”

He set Asa down on her feet and went toward Estrid. “I meant only that you must try a new life. You have a good future, Estrid. You have to trust us.”

Cracks spread out beneath her feet. She shook her head and closed her eyes with a calm smile. “No. I must leap. The void awaits.”

Leif and Eirik lunged for her, but the cliff gave way and she plunged down. Asa rushed forward, but Eirik grabbed her and held her back.

“It's too dangerous. There are only rocks below there. You don't need to see her like that.”

One of Magnus's men peered over the edge. He backed away, shaking his head. Eirik picked Asa up and said to Magnus, “I'll send someone to get her. I need to take Asa to my mother.”

She rested her head on his shoulder as he walked. Her chest was tight and hot tears floated behind her eyes. Estrid and she hadn't been close for many years, but they had played together as children. She would try to remember those times, and not what Estrid had become.

“Why did she hate us so much?” She lifted her head and regarded Eirik. “We all have losses, and people come and go throughout our lives, but it was too much for her.”

“I don't know,” he said. “Something went wrong inside her mind.”

“In spite of all that, perhaps she, alone of all of us, truly saw my dragon spirit. I hope her animal spirit, whatever it is, guides her now to the afterlife. Perhaps she can be at peace there as she never could here.”

“I hope so.”

He carried her into the longhouse. The fire hadn't had a chance to do much damage, so they had set up a place to tend to the wounded there.

“Mother, please see to this wound.” He set Asa on a pile of furs.

The beautiful older woman smiled as she came over to them, embraced Eirik, and knelt beside her. “You're the shieldmaiden who freed us.”

“She's also my betrothed. Mother, this is Asa Sigrundsdottir. This is my mother, the rune mistress, Lifa.”

Lifa raised her brows. “You must have spent an interesting winter, Eirik. I'll look forward to hearing about it. Welcome, child. I'm so pleased to meet you. Now, let's look at this wound.”

Her touch was gentle as she cleaned the cut. “This needs stitches, but it will be fine in a few days. I'll have an ointment brought for it. Silvi?”

The young woman with the white-blond hair came to them. “Please meet my daughter, Silvi,” Lifa said. “Silvi, this is Asa, Eirik's betrothed. She was wounded in battle.”

“I'll bring the salve and some bandages to use after you stitch her.” She turned her silver gaze to Asa. “Great power walks with you. We welcome you here.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, but glanced at Eirik. He just shook his head.

“I don't need to see anyone. I'm fine.” Magnus's deep voice rolled through the longhouse. “All I need to do is soak in the fjord to wash the blood off.”

“You're getting your head looked at.” Leif shoved him into the room. “That's a bad gash.”

Asa sat up. Magnus was hurt? “Leif, what happened?” She tried to stand, but Eirik held her down. “Let me see my brother.”

“I don't need anything,” Magnus said, his voice rising. “Just get me some water. I can tend to myself.”

Eirik grinned at Leif. “Brother and sister. They're more alike than I thought.”

“Silvi.” Lifa tilted her head toward Magnus. “Please see to him.”

“Of course.” She lowered her head and walked to the brothers.

Leif was trying to get Magnus to sit down. Silvi put her hand on his arm and he stopped fighting. Magnus looked at her and sank down onto the bench, his eyes wide. She drew back his long dark hair, checking the cut on his scalp. He stayed still, watching her.

Drops of his blood fell onto the floor and Silvi studied them, her color high. Then she parted his hair again.

“Dark as midnight, with a touch of the sun.” Her words were as soft as her hands as she washed his wound.

“What did you say?” He reached up and brushed his fingers over her hand.

She took her hand out from under his and rinsed out the cloth. “It is nothing.” She dabbed at his wound again. “But it might be everything.”

Asa smiled. Magnus might have won the battle, but he was losing his heart. He just didn't know it yet. She lay back, trying not to flinch as Lifa stitched her wound. She had taken her fate into her own hands, with Eirik's love to strengthen her. With one stroke she had freed herself, physically and emotionally, from Hakon and from her past.

Eirik walked among the wounded men, speaking with them, encouraging them. Rorik and Leif joined him beside Magnus and they discussed bringing the ships around to Haardvik. They would need the supplies and food they'd brought. There was so much work to do now to heal the damage to the village and the warriors.

They'd all come together in an alliance, making them stronger, just as she and Eirik would bring the families together. Her breath caught. He said they would marry only if he could find the sword he'd dropped into the fjord and thereby accept his title. It was the only way he felt he would be worthy of her.

If he couldn't retrieve it, and it was lost forever, what would become of their future together?

* * *

The wind off the fjord was chilled. He would be far colder soon enough.

Eirik glanced back at Asa where she stood with her brothers and his family. She'd wanted to stand with him at the edge of the cliff, but he wouldn't allow it. The place where Estrid had fallen was some distance away, but it still wasn't safe.

He wore only a thin linen shirt and cloth trousers so he wouldn't be weighed down when they became wet. The current was strong and he would have to dive a bit to one side of where he thought he had lost the sword.

Asa smiled at him, but her mouth trembled and there was fear in her eyes that she would never show to anyone else. She stood, stoic and proud, as any shieldmaiden would. She'd never dishonor him by doubting him.

He returned her smile and faced the water. Many times, before he was grown, he had dived off this cliff on dares. This time, he had to keep swimming downward to find the bottom and the sword. Taking several deep breaths, he raised his arms and pushed off.

The water and the cold hit him like a shield wall, as he plunged down, stroking hard. The current tried to carry him away. He fought it until he found the bottom. He felt along, kicking up silt and sand. Pausing, he looked beyond where he was, away from the disturbed area. A glimmer caught his eye.

He swam toward it and the fog of sand followed him, carried by the current. He couldn't see anything and his lungs were on fire. Reaching through the billowing silt, he swept his hand along the bottom. If he didn't swim for the surface now, he wouldn't have enough air to reach it. His head grew light and his arms stiffened in the frigid waters. He had only another moment to sweep his hands across the bottom.

There. His fingers hit a hard object. He grabbed it and pushed off from the bottom, aiming for the light. Upward he stroked with only his free arm, his lungs screaming for air until he burst into the sun.

Sucking in a large breath, he looked up. A crowd stood on the edge of the cliff, in spite of the danger. Asa, her brothers, Rorik, Lifa, and Silvi all peered down at him, along with many of the warriors. He swept his arm up, brandishing the sword, and they cheered, laughing and hugging.

The sunlight hit its gold-inlaid cross guard, and though the blade was darkened from its time in the water, it was still magnificent. Lifa had told him last night that his father had used it to fight with instead of his own sword because they'd kept it close to him while he lay dying, before the outcasts attacked. He would be able to grasp it before he breathed his last so he would go to Valhalla. When the battle with Hakon began, he'd left his deathbed to fight. It was the closest sword he'd had at hand.

A longship drew up to him. The men took the sword from him and hauled him over the side, then doused him with bucket after bucket of warm water until he stopped shivering. He wrapped himself in a fur they gave him as they rowed onto the shore and beached the ship.

The weight of the responsibilities the gods gave him as jarl cloaked his shoulders as he grabbed the sword and ran up the path. Everyone met him at the top. His warriors clapped him on the back, his mother hugged him, and even Silvi gave him a quick embrace.

Asa stood with her brothers, watching him. Everything else around him faded. He walked to her and stopped in front of her. She smiled up at him, her eyes no longer filled with fear, but with love.

He touched her face with his fingertips. “When I first saw you, I was so cold and delirious, I thought you were my love. I was right. While I'll never forget Sela and my son, the gods have blessed me with a second chance at love.”

Asa put her hand over his. “And they blessed me with a second chance at life. I feared for you. Not that you wouldn't survive, but that you wouldn't find the sword and thereby not feel worthy of me. But you're a
vikingr
warrior, and that is good enough for any woman.”

“Before I left here last fall, Silvi told me I would find the sword, but not for the reason I thought. She said I'd give it up within days of regaining it. I couldn't understand that. I wanted to find it so I could claim my title. But it turns out she was right. I did it today for a very different reason.”

She frowned. “What other reason could there be?”

He touched her hair. “It is our wedding tradition among the people of the north for the man to give his bride the sword of his fathers to hold in keeping for their oldest son. There have been a lot of graves robbed because of this.”

Everyone around them laughed.

“The sword I needed lay in the fjord, not in a grave. The only way I could honor you in this manner was to find it. I didn't seek it for myself or for my title. I sought it for you, so that I could give it to you at our wedding. And now that I have earned the right, I ask you to be my wife. I didn't ask you before, but now I come to you as a jarl, as a warrior, and as the man who loves you. I want you to rule beside me, fight beside me, and be beside me all the rest of our days.”

“I would be proud to be your wife.” She put her arms around his neck in spite of how wet he was. He kissed her and the men banged their swords on their sheaths. The women cheered, and their families crowded around them, laughing.

Eirik stood amidst the celebration, looking out over his people, his village. A massive fleet of warships lay just offshore, symbolizing the union of their families. He held Star Slayer in his hand and, just as he would never let it go again, so he would never lose what he had won back.

No one would threaten Asa again. Estrid was gone, Hakon was slain, and men who had swept the area looking for any hidden outcasts had found Hjellmar's body in the woods. Hakon and Estrid had cut his throat, as though they had tried to sacrifice him to the gods. Now everyone could live in peace.

Nuallen stood behind Lifa, apart from them but still near to her. Eirik set Asa under his sword arm and motioned the thrall over to them. Nuallen stood before them, his head high, but his eyes on the ground.

“Nuallen, you protected my mother and sister with your life this past winter. You also risked your own life to find and bring back my warriors to join us in freeing Haardvik. You killed any patrols you found so the outcasts thought spirits were taking them. I understand that, because of their fear, many of the men deserted as soon as the weather allowed it, as well. When the ones who remained wouldn't come into the woods any longer, that cleared the way for us to position ourselves around the village and make a strong attack. I thank you for all this.”

Nuallen inclined his head. “It was the mistress who told the tales they believed.”

“But it was you who implemented her plan. In gratitude, I grant you your freedom. As of this time, you are a free man, equal to any here.”

As the people shouted their approval, Nuallen raised his head and looked Eirik in the eye. “I thank you, Jarl Eirik.”

“It's our law that I offer you support, advice, and legal protection. I must provide food, clothes, and a place for you to live. It's traditional for a freed slave to be adopted into a family, but I think you're a bit old for that.”

Everyone, including Nuallen, laughed.

“This night, as is customary, we'll hold a feast in your honor. You'll serve me for the last time, according to tradition. Though in this case, you will serve my mother. Then, I'll provide you with a way to return to your homeland, if that is what you wish.”

He hesitated. “I thank you for your offer, Jarl. One day I do wish to return home, for I must let those I left behind know I'm alive. But, for now, I offer myself in service as one of your warriors. Between the attack last fall and this one, you have lost many good men. I'll stay and help you rebuild Haardvik and fight at your side. I have grown close to those here and they were good to me all this time. I also have other reasons for why I wish to remain.” He glanced at Lifa.

She stared at him, her eyes widening, and blushed.