Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (40 page)

Kendra moved up beside me. "I'm beat. Can we stop for a while?"

"Thought you'd never ask." I went down on my knees like a camel and then rested on my butt. "I'm starved. What do we have left?"

She plunked down beside me, then opened her fanny pack. "One granola bar and a handful of almonds. The almonds are old."

"I don't care." I held out my hand. "I could eat a horse."

Actually, I wouldn't have minded eating Damned Horse, but he was probably all the way back to Gareth's camp by now. Gareth, who would be wondering what the heck had happened to us with our horses returning alone. That is,
if
he were still alive to care.

I didn't want to think about that.

"So…do you think Gareth will come searching when our horses return without us?"

"Maybe. We should stay right here in the open where they can find us."

Kendra stretched out in the long grass "I'm glad you're here with me, Row. I'd be scared without you."

"Nothing to worry about. I've been in worse jams than this."

Dusk had drifted into night.

I was thankful the bugs weren't too bad. Better here than in the forest.

The stone in the bracelet pulsated. Why was it glowing again?

My wrist ached beneath the bracelet.

"The ground is hard," Kendra complained.

"I'm so tired, I hardly care," I said, yawning and massaging my wrist. "What I really want is a long sleep in the nearest warm bed."

There was a bright flash of light.

Kendra screamed.

Then the world exploded around me.

Chapter 39

Birds chirped. That was the first sound I heard. I opened my eyes. It appeared to be just before dawn. I was warm and comfortable, lying on my side in a soft but completely unknown bed. Furs covered me. There was a goblet and a dagger on the table beside me.

Where the heck was I?

An interior stone wall stood directly in front of me. Light filtered in through a long narrow window meant for defense by bow and arrow.

So this was a fortress?

I squeezed my eyes and recalled the last thing I could—wishing for the nearest warm bed. I guess
this
was it.

Holy hell, the bracelet! I had rubbed the stone and it had thrown me into the very position I had asked for.

But where was Kendra?

A strange sound came from somewhere close by. I shot up to sitting position and looked to my right.

"Yikes!" I said, scrambling to get out of the bed. "Who are you?"

A man lay on the bed beside me, and what a man. He was very tall, with white-blond hair to the shoulders, and his cheekbones were unusually high. His facial hair was confined to a mustache and goatee. There were lines on his face. I put his age around forty.

When he sat up, I saw that his eyes were a pale gray, very light, and his skin was pale. His teeth were good and he seemed quite clean. He was smiling the sort of smile a greedy child has on Christmas morning.

"A gift from Odin," he said, his eyes widening. "Bless the Gods, I will give sacrifice to their honor today." His accent was thick and foreign.

I grabbed for my dress, which was at the end of the bed. How in blazes had that come off in the night?

"Oh no." I groaned. "Not you too." Bloody hell, I couldn't go anywhere in this world without an armed escort.

"How did you come to be here?" he asked.

If he didn't know the answer then we couldn't have…

"You are a gift. Which of the Gods should I thank?"

A gift? Oh Crikey. How could I answer that one?

"Um…I think there might be some mistake here. Wrong bed. You know, that sort of thing." It sounded lame even to me, but the truth was even more unbelievable.

The man snorted. "The Gods don't make mistakes! You are a sweet gift for a lonely warrior. Bless the Gods. Who sent you? Freya or Sjofn?"

I swallowed hard. "What we have here is a classic misunderstanding. The Gods made a mistake. I simply got sent to the wrong bed. Sorry. Wasn't my fault. Honest."

He frowned. "You were meant for another? I don't believe it. They would take you back if t'were the case. Go then! Leave me now if the Gods command it."

Apparently, they didn't.

He grinned. "You see, my sweet one. You are a gift. Look at you. Every curve just made to set me afire. Come closer."

I backed away. "Can we maybe negotiate something? I wasn't planning to be here." And there didn't seem to be any way I could get out.

"Think not to escape. My men guard the door."

The blasted man was reading my mind.

"However you came to be in my bed, it was meant. You are here and you will need my protection. Take your chance with my men or cleave to me, Lady. Your choice."

I pulled the dress around my hips, tucked it at the waist and rose to my feet. My hand reached for the heavy goblet from the bedside table. "Stay back."

His mouth curved into a strange smile. He swung from the opposite side of the bed and rose to his feet. Damn. He wasn't wearing any clothes.

I gulped and went red in the face. "Don't come any closer."

"I must work for you? So be it. Do your worst, fair Lady."

I threw the goblet at his head. He caught it with one hand in a lightning move and tossed it on the floor. How had he done that?

His smile held. "Be reasonable, woman. You land in my bed and you do not expect me to take advantage of the situation? Am I made of stone?"

"It was a mistake. I was as surprised as you are."

The man moved to the great wooden door and closed it. He stood there blocking the only exit. I made a quick move back to the side-table and lost my dress in the process, but came up with the dagger in my hand.

"Stay back," I said again. "I'll use this."

I would, too. I was sick and tired of having no control over my own destiny.

"Well done," he said. His eyes went bright as he gazed upon my body and he made a lazy move to the center of the room. "You might get in one swipe. But my arms are long. Do not think you can overcome me. The male is always built stronger to overwhelm the female for breeding."

"So this is about breeding?"

I moved sideways to the middle of the room. We were almost circling each other , like two combatants.

"Not always." His arms were out, ready to move. "This is, I think, about power. And pleasure." He licked his lips. "You are a very beautiful woman."

For a brief moment we stared at each other across the room.

Then I felt fury.

Hadn't I learned anything in my weeks in Land's End? Two could play at this game. I was learning how to control men through sex. Give them a taste and make it good—damn good. They would fight to come back for more. I would control this man and make him my slave if that's what it took.

I smiled. There were two ways to do this—play the victim or run the show.

His eyes were brilliant and I felt the power burn in me. I stamped my foot on the floor and threw the dagger into the corner where it bounced off one wall and rebounded off another.

"Okay, big boy. Hit me with your best shot. Let's see what you can do." I fairly spit the words.

He hesitated a second in disbelief. "You are mad."

I laughed, a good old-fashioned hysterical cackle. "I'm good and mad. Sick and tired of being pushed around. First Gareth does this ridiculous rescue thing and then mucks it all up when he gets within sight of a battle. Then I end up riding for hours and hours in the middle of nowhere, scared to pieces." Oh yeah, I was on a roll. "I haven't slept well for days, my clothes are in tatters, I'm pregnant and hungry as—”

"You are with child?"

"Yes."

"Norland's?"

I hesitated. Then I nodded. "Yes, Norland's." Instinct told me it was the right thing to say. It might even be true. I hoped it was true.

The tall man straightened. "I would not hurt an unborn child."

I stared in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right?"

Sex doesn't hurt a fetus. But I wasn't about to mention it now.

"I would never take such a chance. A child in Land's End? And a son of Norland? Do you not realize the significance?"

I did, but who was to know this barbarian would have any code of chivalry?

"Well, this is awkward," I said. "What do we do now?"

He scrunched his face. "Why would the Gods send me a gift if I cannot use you?"

Oh brother.
I thought fast. "Perhaps it is some sort of test? Or maybe they needed you to protect me?"

The big man frowned, then nodded. "It is a test. So be it. I shall protect you well. And your child when he is born."

"It could be a girl."

He nodded again, only this time with a smile. "That would be even more preferable." He stretched, raised his arms above his head as far as he could. His whole body arched in response. "Come let me hold you. It has been so long since I have held a woman." He pointed to the bed.

I hesitated a moment, then shrugged. It seemed harmless. We had one bed to share and a need to keep warm.

I moved self-consciously over to one side of the bed and sat down on the covers. The big man did the same and then reached over for me. I nestled my back into his chest to make us like two spoons in a drawer. It seemed safer when I couldn't see him. I heard him sigh deeply into my hair.

What a beautiful moment. This strange man holding me so sweetly, caressing me but not forcing anything else. I cannot explain the sensation of being held by a powerful man who swears to guard you and your child. It was almost fatherly, his warmth against mine, the strong male scent.

After a while I rolled over to face him. "Who are you? What is your name?"

"I am Lars."

"My name is Rowena."

"I know who you are. I saw your cousin take down Sargon the King."

"You were there?" I had not seen him, but that was not surprising. The impromptu battle had been a horror.

"I am allied with Norland." He rolled on his back and looked off in the distance.

"You are Gareth's ally?"

"Norland puts great stock in you, calling in his allies to raise an army. I wanted to know why."

"Gareth would kill you if he found out you tried to…bed me."

"Are you going to tell him?"

I shook my head.

"I thought not. Nor shall I. Besides, Norland needs me. My men like a battle, but even so, I wanted to know why I should risk their lives. I have a dilemma. Two, in fact." He put his hands behind his head. "I should return you to Norland, for that is what allies do. And I value his allegiance. It would not serve me well to go against the huge army he has raised."

This confirmed what I had been told. The troops from the several ships landing in the north were allied with Gareth. The north was stronger than any of Thane's advisors had anticipated.

"But I have another choice. Your cousin has approached me."

I sucked in air. "Cedric?"

Lars nodded. "He wants to make a deal for you and form a new allegiance in the bargain. It is tempting."

Ice invaded my blood. "And you want to hear my appraisal of what that could mean."

He turned to me and frowned. "How interesting. Why do you think that?"

Oh heck, this old-world chauvinism again. I'd over-anticipated.

"Sargon always sought my advice re battle strategy," I said. "I studied the great historians in school, Tacitus and others. The Greeks and Persians. He called me Minerva."

His eyes flared. "And your cousin? Does he so name you?"

I smiled at the memory in spite of myself. "No. He calls me Valkyrie."

"Why ever that?"

"Because I ride like a man."

"That I would like to see," he said with a chuckle. "And I shall. I have your pretty little filly with the strange saddle in my stables."

"Lightning is here? How very strange…" Then it hit me. "Oh, I get it. Gareth planned to make a stop here before moving on to Norland."

Lars nodded.

"Lightning was a gift from Gareth," I told him. "The saddle is my own design."

He stared at me in appraisal. "How things become clear. Anyone can measure your looks, but Norland kept this part of you a secret. It explains the King's regard. He could never suffer a fool. Yes, Lady, tell me your ideas about where I should place my allegiance. You have my ear."

I sat up. "I'm cold. Do you mind if I pull this up?" I reached for the fur rug bed cover.

A knock sounded at the door.

Lars growled a command.

A pause. Another voice answered and he sat up. This time he yelled several words in that weird, guttural language I couldn't understand.