The Viking's Consort

by Quinn Loftis

  “What the hell does that have to do with us? Why is Calder even worrying with this?” the man with the crossbow growled. “Magnus was supposed to come back, which he failed to do. We were supposed to end up with one of those oracles, and I think the jarl was even considering taking the one Gisele cut as his woman. How in the gods’ name did Gisele even get one of the English princesses after they escaped?”

  “She’s a witch,” double sword answered. “She can probably do whatever the hell she wants.”

  “Then why didn’t she capture the older one who actually has powers?” the first guard challenged.

  “How in the gods am I supposed to know?” double sword snarled. “All I know is sailing to Clan Hakon for some damn book is a mistake.”

  “Has anyone pointed this out to Calder?” crossbow asked.

  “Are you going to question the jarl?” double sword countered. “And what if that witch gets angry and decides to call down lightning on us? I’ll rest easier when we get the witch her book and get her the hell away from our clan.”

  No one responded. Seeming to take that as the end of their little gathering, the three dispersed and returned to patrolling.

  I sat with my back against the tree. Holy Valkyrie, Dayna wasn’t even here. I rubbed both my hands down my face, feeling exhaustion from lack of sleep catch up with me. How was I going to find out where this witch was holding my Dayna?

  “Let’s stick with the original plan,” Clay said. “We go to Clan Thornag. Maybe there, we can find out where this Gisele woman is.”

  I wanted to growl at Odin—ask the gods why he wasn’t being more helpful in my plight to help an innocent girl—but then it would be pointless. The gods didn’t care about us, not really. I learned that a long time ago.

  Twenty minutes later, I was re-thinking my dismissal of Odin when new guards showed up to take over.

  “Thank the gods,” I muttered hesitantly. As soon as the others started to leave, Clay and I were up and moving. The man wielding the crossbow was closest to us, so he had the honor, unknowingly, of leading us to their clan.

  Though I knew we were moving quietly, it still seemed like we sounded like a herd of animals coming through the forest. Every now and then, we’d have to duck behind a tree because crossbow would glance behind him. I didn’t think he heard us, but I thought he felt his eyes on us. I knew that feeling all too well. It was annoying as shite not to be able to figure out who was watching.

  When we finally reached the clan village, the place was quiet. Everyone was tucked away in bed, except for a few of their nightly guards. Calder was paranoid—or smart—to have so many guards about. Then again, if I were associated with a dark witch, I’d want a lot of eyeballs on the surrounding forest, too.

  We continued walking in the shadows, silently taking notice of any places that would make good hiding spots. When we’d made it nearly halfway around the village, I paused when I heard a familiar voice.

  “I need you to tell her it’s going to be four days until we’re able to leave, not three.”

  Calder, I thought, recognizing his deep rumble.

  “And why do I have to do this at night, in the dark?” a second voice responded.

  “Because she needs to know as quickly as possible. She will be angry enough at the delay—waiting to tell her until the last minute will only incur more of her wrath,” Calder explained. “Besides, she fancies you.”

  “Do not remind me. I made a mistake with that one. I should have never gotten into her bed.”

  “She wasn’t any good?” Calder asked.

  “I didn’t say that.” The man’s eyes took on a faraway look for a second. He grinned goofily, but then shook his head quickly. “I said it was a mistake. It was like getting in bed with a black widow. She could have killed me in the blink of an eye. Still could.”

  Calder chuckled. “But she won’t. Just give her what she wants, and you’ll be safe from the halls of Valhalla.”

  “By the gods, if I didn’t think you were a worthy jarl, I would slit your throat for the things you make me do,” the other man practically growled.

  “You’d miss me too much to kill me,” Calder said, sounding a little too much like Magnus for my liking.

  “Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. I’m going.”

  Clay and I backed up as we heard the man’s footsteps coming our way. We let the darkness of the trees cover us until he passed, then we began to trail him. Even though it was nice the moon was so bright, it also meant we had to be careful to stay far enough away the shadows would cover us.

  When we’d been walking for close to an hour, I was ready to just grab the other warrior from behind and demand he tell us where the bloody witch was and then slit his throat. But I knew Torben wouldn’t want me to kill someone unless I absolutely had too. Actually, Torben was going to be enraged I’d come on my own, so it might not matter who I killed because he was most likely going to kill me anyway.

  Finally, we came to the end of the path. I could see nothing but a wall of trees and tangled brush. Just when I thought the man must’ve made a wrong turn somewhere in the dark, he approached the foliage and stared at intently. We could hear him muttering curses. “Damn stupid bushes.” Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for. With a groan and a grunt, he shoved himself through a small crack in the brush. One moment, he was there. The next, he’d disappeared through the dense undergrowth.

  We crept up to the wall of foliage. If I hadn’t seen the man disappear through the brush, I’d never have found the tiny passage through the vegetation. It was a tight squeeze made even more difficult because I still had to remain quiet rather than shoving violently through the branches, but Clay and I eventually made it through the tiny gap. Across a clearing, I saw a light and smelled the smoke from a fire. A small cottage came into view. The closer we got to the cottage, the faster my heart pounded. If what those men on the beach said was true, then Dayna was alive and in that cottage.

  I was practically shaking with the need to burst inside and snatch her up, to see for myself that she was okay. And then to kill the damn witch with my bare hands.

  “Calm down.” Clay’s voice and his hand on my shoulder pulled me from my violent thoughts. I frowned at him. Sighing, he shook his head. “You were growling like a bloody wolf.”

  “Oh, sorry,” I muttered, though I wasn’t. At the moment, I didn’t really care if we were found out. I just wanted to get to Dayna.

  We found a spot behind some trees that allowed us to see the front door. The man Calder sent stood there with his head tilted up at the sky, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world but at the witch’s lair.

  He finally knocked, then took a step backward and fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to another. Nothing happened. The man continued to move about anxiously. It appeared as if he were going to knock once more, but he lowered his hand. I thought he was on the verge of bolting toward the woods when the door finally opened. The woman who answered wasn’t what I expected. Even though I’d heard the guards talking about her beauty, I still pictured her in my mind as haggard and old, hunched over with grey hair and scraggly teeth. I hadn’t encountered many witches in my day, but I expected the evil living inside her to have tainted the outside as well. But she wasn’t any of those things. She was tall and willowy with long red hair and milky pale skin.

  When she lifted those pouty lips into a smile, the beauty was gone, her face transformed into one of pure predatory evil. Apparently, even a pretty exterior couldn’t hide the rot inside her.

  “To what do I owe you the honor of my company?” Gisele asked. Her voice was sultry. It might have been sexy if I hadn’t heard the hiss of a viper in it.

  “I need to talk to you,” the warrior said. “Calder asked me to deliver a message.”

  The smirk dropped from Gisele’s face, and she folded her arms in front of her. Her eyes narrowed like a hawk spotting its prey. “I hope for your sake it’s a good message.” />
  I could almost hear the man swallow. His back suddenly became ramrod straight. He cursed under his breath, then seemed to come to some sort of decision. “Listen, he’s trying to get everything ready in the time frame you requested, but there are other things to take care of besides getting ready to go take on another clan. He said we will be delayed one extra day in leaving.”

  Gisele looked as if she was going to spew fire out of her mouth. The warrior must have sensed it as well because he took another step back.

  “I believe it’s time I took a stroll down to see Calder again. He’s apparently forgotten our last conversation.”

  “He remembers fine, but he has to think about the clan’s welfare, too. We’re trying to prepare for winter, which is just around the corner. We can’t just stop everything because you want us to,” the man said, his voice growing more frustrated.

  She stared at him for several heartbeats before saying, “Don’t move. I will be right back.” And then she slammed the door in his face.

  Less than five minutes later, she stepped out of the cottage wearing a long, black cloak. “Let’s go see your jarl so he can explain to me exactly why he needs an extra day, then I can explain to him why that isn’t going to happen.”

  Sighing, the Thornag warrior tossed his hands up in an ‘I give up’ gesture. He seemed tired and worn. His face held creases that someone as young as he shouldn’t have, as though the life had been sucked out of him, leaving his skin with extra room to sag.

  We watched as the two walked in the direction of the foliage barrier. We’d moved far enough over that the brush covered us. I started to shift, but froze when I heard the witch’s voice.

  “Wait,” she snapped.

  She turned and stared directly at the spot where we were hiding. I had no idea how she could’ve seen us, concealed in the darkness as we were, but when she squinted her eyes and started to take a step in our direction, my heart leaped in my chest.

  “It’s getting late. Calder won’t be up all night,” the man said, weariness evident in his voice.

  Gisele hesitated a moment longer before saying, “Of course, let’s go.” They continued toward the foliage wall. Instead of pushing through it as we’d done, Gisele stopped and muttered a few words. The dense brush parted, leaving them a clear path through which to walk.

  Clay and I stayed still, watching until the forest wall closed back together behind them. We remained quiet and hidden for at least fifteen minutes.

  “They’re gone,” I whispered unnecessarily. Clay nodded.

  The need to run to the cottage, to check on Dayna, was overwhelming. Was she really merely a few yards away, waiting within that dilapidated, overgrown hut? Without thought of whether someone else was inside guarding Dayna, or whether the witch had placed some kind of magical defenses upon the house, I got up and began jogging toward it.

  “I’m going in,” I said over my shoulder. In a few strides, I stood at the door. Without knocking or saying a word, I clasped the door handle and pulled it open. To my surprise, it swung easily. I was even more surprised when I heard singing coming from within. My breath caught in my throat. It was Dayna’s voice. I peered inside, searching the small room until I saw her. She stood from a crouch behind a table.

  “Dayna,” I breathed. She didn’t seem to hear me. She was holding a rat in her hands and…uh…singing to it? I expected her to be on the floor, maybe chained to the wall. I expected her hands and feet to be bound. I expected her to be unconscious, perhaps. I didn’t expect her to be singing to a rodent as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Dayna,” I said, loudly this time, and took a step toward her.

  She yelped and jumped into the air, almost losing her grip on the rat. It clawed and scrambled, trying to get away, but she held on tightly. “Why are you sneaking up on me?” she yelled.

  “Dayna,” I said again, taking another step toward her. I wanted to run to her. I wanted to lift her in my arms and hold her tightly to my body. I wanted to check every inch of her to ensure she was unharmed. But I saw no recognition in her eyes. There was nothing to indicate she remembered me at all…or that she…loved me. What had happened? Where was the feisty, flirty girl the was stolen from me? This wasn’t Dayna. Someone else was peering out at me from Dayna’s eyes.

  “What? Why do you keep saying my name?

  “I’m Brant,” I said. “Do you remember me?”

  “Of course I remember you. Someone your size is hard to forget. Why wouldn’t I remember you?” she asked, frowning fiercely as if I was the one who had lost their mind.

  I realized the witch had done something to my beloved’s mind, addled her brains somehow. A terrible spell, no doubt. “You’re talking to a rat,” I pointed out as if that would explain my question.

  “Yes, so what?”

  “Why are you talking to a rat?”

  Dayna glared daggers at me. “She’s my best friend. It would be very rude to ignore her.”

  What in Odin’s army was she talking about? Her best friend? A rat. Seriously? “I thought Allete was your best friend.”

  She paused and turned her head, a quizzical expression passing her face. “Allete?” She almost whispered the name.

  “Yes, All—” I began.

  “Hi, Captain Clay,” Dayna said, looking past me. Her lips turned up in a smile.

  Why does he get a smile? I wondered. My mouth was probably hanging open. I couldn’t believe this was the same Dayna who’d threatened to run me through with a hidden dagger so many times.

  “Hello, Princess,” he said, his voice becoming much more formal than I’d heard it in days. “We’ve come to take you home.”

  Dayna’s smile immediately dropped, and her eyes turned suspicious. “Why on earth would you do that? This is my favorite place to be in the entire world.”

  Clay stepped up beside me. I felt his questioning stare, but I didn’t take my eyes off my girl. This wasn’t the rescue I’d envisioned.

  “I think it is important to remember that if people are staring at you like you have gone mad, it’s probably because you have.”

  * * *

  ~Dayna Auvray

  It takes everything inside of me not to throw Assy aside and jump into Brant’s arms. I couldn’t believe he was actually here. How’d he get here? Where’d he come from? Was Allete here? I immediately dismissed that question because if Allete had been here, she would have been squawking like a pissed-off mother hen telling me to drop the rat and get outside. So, no, there was no way Allete was here.

  “They said they’re here to rescue you. Perhaps you should go with them,” Assy suggested, and I peered down at her.

  “Why on earth would I do that?” I whispered through gritted teeth.

  “Because whether you like it here or not, you don’t belong here. You belong with your family,” the rat answered.

  I had to give it to Assy—she was quite the sentimental rat. I hadn’t known that rats had any sort of emotional depth. I thought they just searched for cheese, pooped in cupboards, and made holes in places they shouldn’t. Showed what I knew about the animal kingdom.

  “Dayna,” Brant’s deep, smooth voice rumbled. “Why in the hell would you think this place,” he motioned to the room, “is your favorite place in the world? I thought your favorite place in the world was wherever Allete was.”

  Oh, wow. He was coming out with cannons blasting. Bringing out the sister argument right at the start, which, I had to admit, was a very compelling one.

  “It’s compelling because it’s true,” Assy said.

  “How do you know it’s true?” I muttered. “You’ve only known me a couple of weeks.”

  “You dream about her,” Assy said, her voice gentle. “You dream about the man called Brant, as well,” she said, her voice even softer.

  Scanning Brant’s body, I said, “Well, look at him. Who wouldn’t dream about him? He is a huge Adonis, all broody and handsome.”

  “Is she talking to the
rat?” Clay asked. He wasn’t asking me, so I didn’t respond.

  “I think so,” Brant answered, sounding slightly amused. “Does your friend have a name?” he asked me. “We can bring the rat with us. You don’t have to leave it behind.”

  I tried hard not to make a sarcastic comment. “Yes, she has a name. I certainly don’t walk around calling her rat all day.” Failed.

  “Are you going to tell us what it is?” Brant asked.

  I quirked an eyebrow. Just a minute ago, he pointed out I was talking to a rat and his voice made it clear he thought that was about the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. So why was he suddenly interested in her?

  “Her name is Asinine, but I call her Assy for short,” I explained.

  I heard coughing. When I studied the two men, I could see they were fighting back laughter. That was rude. My friend’s name wasn’t funny.

  “But it is ridiculous,” Assy said.

  Ignoring her, I walked over to her cage. After I gently sat her inside, I shut the door. I ignored his statement about taking Assy if I left with them because I simply could not leave…for some reason. Oh yeah, because this was my favorite place to be. Then I turned back to face the two men. “Why do you suddenly want to know about Assy?” I asked.

  Brant shrugged. “She seems important to you. You’re important to me, so that makes her special. Not to mention, we came all this way to get you. If you don’t want to go with us, I want to at least spend some time with you. I’ve missed you. I’ve been sick with worry over what could be happening to you.”

  I simply stared at him. His words were sincere, but I still felt like there was some secret motivation behind them.

  Before Gisele had left, the last words out of her mouth had been ‘be suspicious of everyone and remember you don’t want to leave. This is your favorite place, and you will fight to remain here.’

  Was I suspicious of Brant because Gisele told me to be? Or because I truly had a reason to be?