A-Viking (Betrayed by Faith Book 3)

by Paul C. Middleton

  Pacing and breathing slowly helped him drain his remaining anger at the entire situation. He had been thrust into this. As Griffin took slow deep breaths, all the remaining Norskrinjar were cowed. None of them had encountered such authority or power in a person's mere voice. Only Nin recognized what Griffin had accidentally stumbled into. She was impressed, as there were only four or five of the Travelers she could think of that could have achieved what Griffin had.

  Once Griffin had his anger under control,he turned and spoke to the remaining Norskrinjar. “Who left amongst you can speak for all?” he asked. They looked around, assessing who was senior amongst them. Finally, a woman quietly spoke up. She had a scared, worn-looking face, despite its lack of wrinkles. She was on the short side for a Norskrinjar and wore her blond hair in a complicated braid that reached below her shoulder blades.

  “I am the senior remaining of this group, Sir," she answered with trepidation.

  Griffin turned and said, “I offer terms to all of you. Apart from this piece of shit.” He nudged the unconscious Norskrinjar at his feet. “I will allow you to be Battle Thralls under my command until you prove yourselves worthy of higher rank. This one," he said contemptuously, "is only worthy of slavery by your own codes."

  Nin sighed in relief. She had been afraid, given his heritage with Athena, that he might overreact and order them to kill the one who had injured Joy. It was well within his rights, as attacking an already defeated foe was a serious sign of cowardice. Even if she tried to interfere in the heat of battle, it was dishonorable and carried a potential death sentence under the code Nin had explained to Griffin.

  The blonde woman who had asserted her seniority looked at the others. They had been all oath-sworn to the King. His personal Elite. That this man held such disdain for them had shaken them all. It was evident on their faces they had never expected to be held in such contempt by a foe. Yet Griffin had shown that he and his few allies were far superior to them in any combat. She heard the gasping from the man that Nin had speared in the chest. “My Lord,” she begged, “Please let me aid my injured companion. It would not be right for even a mere Thrall to die because his wounds in honorable battle were unattended.” Griffin nodded his assent, and the woman found herself able to move freely again.

  Brianna had made herself busy while all this was going on. She had removed a first aid kit from one of the Norskrinjar vehicles and taken it to Nin, who used it to treat Joy's wounds. The senior Norskrinjar rushed over to grab it. When neither Nin nor Brianna objected she quickly took it, and moved over to the injured man, administering aid to her fallen comrade.

  Campsite, Middle of Nowhere, Montana, March 29th

  The battle had not gone as anyone had expected or hoped. Griffin and his allies sat by the injured Joy. Nin assured them that she would live and that there may be a way for her to recover her hand. Or at least regrow it. The Norskrinjar were clustered around their unconscious and injured comrades. Sara and her four associates were kneeling still. Griffin hadn't felt it worth effort, time or delay to let them up, considering their leader had been a power-hungry idiot. He doubted any of them had significant skills, at least not anywhere near the skills at treating the injured than Nin and the helpful Norskrinjar woman had. They were too clever by half, like villains in movies who give the whole plan to the hero before their neglect gives him a chance to escape. Melodramatic, bumbling fools was how he saw them.

  Griffin glanced around and shook himself. Surveying the area, he realized that they needed to cover the evidence of the skirmish.This was a public camping area, and it was entirely possible that others would turn up wanting to camp here. If they saw the blood, the weapons, the severed hand, the unconscious and injured people, then some form of law enforcement would surely be called. That was the last thing any of them needed at this time.

  Getting to his feet, he shouted, "All right, anyone not involved in helping the injured needs to get tents set up. We need to get everyone who is injured or unconscious under cover of some kind. None of us can afford the risk of having the human authorities stumble upon this."

  With that, his compulsion on the Sisterhood members was released. He glanced at them, but they were already moving towards their vehicles and complying with his direction. Except for Sara. She collapsed to the ground, muttering incoherently at the world around her. It was almost as if his authority over her had broken her mind. Griffin was supremely unconcerned about this, as none of this would have happened without her interference.

  The Norskrinjar moved quickly and efficiently to follow his demand. Brianna and Griffin moved to Agnar’s vehicle to remove their packs. Looking around, they found a slightly raised area of the campsite and set up the tents. The Sisterhood set up their tents a distance away.

  Within half an hour there was a slightly segmented campsite set up. The Sisterhood had camped further into the woods, and the others had carefully carried Sara into one of their tents, which were modern in design. The Norskrinjar had A-frame tents with woolen inner layers and canvas outer sheeting. They had set them in a horseshoe-shaped area with Griffin and his group’s tents at the open end.

  They were taking his authority over them seriously. Nin had explained that if they were defeated in an honorable challenge, they would accept his authority. Until the campsite had been completed, Griffin had been unsure if it were truly the case. Seeing how they deliberately set their camp up in a subservient position to his, it was obvious that her opinion had been correct. Griffin still couldn't understand how they could transfer their loyalty so quickly. It seemed to him there had to be more to it than their societal beliefs.

  That was a significant relief to Griffin. He had been concerned that they might feel no obligation to him. One reason there were so few Godsborn, relative to the potential numbers, was that the different Conclaves often killed anyone they defeated in a conflict, at least according to Nin. Griffin knew they may need every fighter possible to survive the tsunami on the horizon for all the Godsborn.

  Griffin was surprised when the blonde woman who had declared herself senior amongst the conscious and uninjured Norskrinjar approached his tent. He had assumed she would stay with the most injured Norskrinjar. He stood as she approached, and she went to one knee before him. Griffin looked at Nin, rather confused. She turned to the blonde woman and said, "There is no need for obeisance. You have agreed to fight by his side, and like any good leader, Griffin feels that the more respect between himself and his fighters, the better. Stand up and treat him as you would any commander worthy of respect, and he will not fault you."

  The woman looked at Griffin who nodded firmly at Nin's comments. "And all this would go easier if I knew your name,” he added. “We have several issues to deal with because of this foolishness. I do not feel confident in taking our target with what, eleven, or at most, thirteen combat-effective troopers." He noticed her face take on a pained expression. Griffin raised his hand to forestall either an injudicious comment or self-recrimination. "Not your fault. Your leader's fault, but it is still a problem we have to deal with. We need at least twenty more people fit for combat and a couple dozen people with vehicles so we can take the intelligence we might capture there. Any ideas?"

  She opened her mouth as if to say something immediately, and then remembered he'd asked her name. "I am Helka." Then she was lost in thought, thinking up possible solutions to the problem they now had. What Sara and Agnar had done severely restricted Griffin's options in finding people to help.

  Griffin waited patiently for her to think through the problem. He had encountered the personality type before, and they always seemed to jump from one issue to another in their thoughts. However, they were often very good at analysis. Also, she may well know things going on that he did not understand or about which he had an incomplete knowledge. Helka tried looking at the problem from every angle. Most of the leaders in charge of detaining the Sisterhood leadership were not only senior to her but followed a general disrespect of women that was
, unfortunately, common in the Norskrinjar.

  Despite her skill and accomplishments as a warrior, she would never reach a position of senior command. She had heard from her grandmother it hadn't always been this way. Before the current king, at the very least women who were competent warriors were held in great esteem. Women were respected for the children they provided the Conclave, and the only way to be held in contempt was to have no skill at war and be barren.

  The current King, though, had absorbed the prevailing normal human opinion of the time he was raised. Women were somehow worth less than men to him. She could not imagine Agnar reacting the same way as Griffin if she had been injured in a similar manner. One of his men, certainly, but not for a ‘mere’ woman. Even if she could out-fight Agnar and any other single person under his command.

  That gave her an opening, however small, as the leader of one teams confining the Sisterhood leadership had often voiced his concern at the direction of the Norskrinjar under the current Odinson. Her friend also felt that all women should be treated with respect. There was also great concern that their society’s secretive nature would be uncovered by the general populace if they did not remediate their attitudes towards women and soon. The last thing they needed was to be perceived as a cult. That would bring the eyes of too many normals onto them. They were already viewed in a somewhat suspicious light because of how they educated their children.

  If she could convince him that this Griffin was a far superior leader to the current Odinson, despite or even because of his past, then that would bring in five more Norskrinjar and anyone their captives could contact. She thought through the other options. She knew of one location where Agnar's Norskrinjar were holding their captives. They were under orders to keep them alive, and so were unlikely to kill them in the event of an attack, although that was still a risk. From what she had seen, Griffin alone could probably take out all five of them in short order. She decided it would be better to place both options before him, from what his partner, this Nin, had said.

  "Jarl Griffin, after some thought I have concluded that there are two courses of action that seem optimum. I have my own opinion on them, but I feel it best to place them both before you without those opinions, as your loyal follower. Both solutions have their flaws.”

  “The first solution is that I contact someone I feel may be sympathetic to joining you, who is also responsible for the containment of several Sisterhood leaders. Seeing as you've defeated in combat his leader and the forces he brought to capture you, he can justify joining you by our own societal rules. However, there is always a risk he may not. My belief is that he will, but that is only my belief. I can give you no assurances.”

  “I also overheard Agnar give the location of where some captives are being held. We could assault that site, as we have not been ordered to hold them at all costs. I doubt that the Sisterhood leaders would be harmed, but I cannot guarantee that. I am happy to follow your lead on either plan and will ensure those junior to me follow your orders." Griffin was surprised at how easily she seemed to have switched her allegiances. It was not something he'd encountered in over a century.

  Clan-based societies would often switch allegiance to a stronger leader when they proved themselves, so it was not unheard of either. Her diffidence to the leader also showed that the Norskrinjar were, despite their leader’s title of King, a clan-based society. It gave him a headache to think of the potential problems that could cause in the future.

  The Sisterhood was organized on a consensual cooperative basis with no authoritative leader. Its cellular structure would create friction and difficulties in any possible alliance with the Norskrinjar. One group wouldn't understand how the other operated the way they did.

  But this was what he had to work with. He had no choice, he would have to find a way. That was a problem for the future. Shaking himself, he asked her, "I would prefer a non-violent solution.How would you rate your chances of convincing the person you mentioned that it is not just in his best interests to transfer his allegiance to us, but also, ultimately, in the best interests of all Godsborn?"

  A flash of surprise and confusion crossed Helka’s face. He was trained and skilled in the arts of war. Why was he so ambivalent towards violence? Looking at him she answered, “I would rate it as having a good chance of success. Many of the Norskrinjar are ambivalent towards your father's rule. Many feel he is making decisions without considering the best interests of the Norskrinjar. If what you say is true, and conflict from the Order is inevitable, then all I need do is convince him of that. To do so, I will need to understand why you feel that this conflict is inevitable.”

  Griffin grimaced and shook himself then explained carefully, “I was in the Order more than two centuries. I know how they were trained to operate and what they were taught to believe. We never killed pregnant women. Even the individual I know who did it would not have crossed that line without direct orders. Something new is going on. Something dangerous for all the Godsborn, probably all the Magi.”

  Helka snorted. "Why should we care what happens to the Magi? They aren't like us. They aren't descended from the Gods."

  Griffin glared at her, "Why should we care? What makes us better simply because of who or what we are descended from? Nothing. They are a group that faces the same persecution as we do. That is why we should care. If all this goes out into the open, all of us will be targeted - Magi, Godsborn, probably many of the pagan groups. Hell, probably anyone who doesn't fit one group or another's definition of normal. We need to care. Without caring about all this, what makes us any better than the Order? We need to be better than the Order. We need to be better than individual Conclaves have proven themselves."

  Helka looked troubled by what he had told her. She hadn't thought of it that way before. She could see what he was saying. It went against the grain to think along the lines that Griffin was asking. The Norskrinjar had always believed they were superior, not only to ordinary humans and the Magi but also to the other Conclaves. It would take her time to grapple with the problem he had put before her, but she could still act in the manner he was asking, even if she wasn't sure he was right. It wouldn't cost her anything, and he'd asked her, not ordered her. It was a good feeling.

  From in the corner of the tent Nin spoke up, “Although both your plans carry risks, there may be a way to conduct both without excessive danger in either." She looked at Griffin who, thinking he understood at least part of what she was saying, nodded to her to continue. "Would it not help you, if Griffin could talk to your friend face-to-face? Arrange a meeting, rather than trying to convince him alone? As for retrieving those held at the other location, well, all that would require is me and a driver with a vehicle large enough to hold those we rescue."

  Helka looked confused at Nin's comment. She'd seen her fight but was not convinced that she could take out all four guards if something went wrong, like if one of the four Norskrinjar guarding took them hostage, threatened to kill them. However, when she saw Griffin slowly nodding what Nin was saying her curiosity overcame her. “Are you sure you could kill them all quickly enough they would not be able to take a hostage?” she asked them.

  Nin smiled.

  Griffin looked Helka straight in the eye and said, “Nin doesn't plan on hurting those guarding the prisoners. As long as there is no Norskrinjar in the same room as the prisoners, she can convince them nothing is happening through her abilities. She won't even need to speak a word. The stickiest portion of the operation will be, at a guess, getting them into the vehicle." He raised an eyebrow at Nin, who nodded at him. "I can't say I’m happy with the plan," he grumbled, “but it seems to be the best we can come up with.” His eyes slowly slid off Nin and back to Helka. “How long will it take you to arrange a meeting with this friend of yours?"

  Thinking about it for a minute, Helka said, “All I know is he's somewhere between Montana and New York. It really depends on how close he is to us and how far he wants to travel. He will want to hide t
he site where he is holding the Sisterhood hostages to make it harder for us to pin down his location.”

  Griffin looked straight in her eyes and ordered, “Well then, it’s your plan. Get moving. The sooner, the better. I wanted to hit the Order's administrative site today, but that's no longer possible. The sooner we can take it, the better."

  Nin left to look for a driver. Brianna was hovering near Joy, having used her abilities to put her to sleep. Nin had mentioned something about regrowing the hand, but when no-one had understood what she was talking about, she’d left it at that. It suggested to Griffin that there was more to the travelers she had mentioned than just the ability to draw on the planes.

  Diner, Middle of Nowhere, Montana, March 29th

  When they finally arrived at the meeting with Elrick, it quickly became evident by his demeanor that curiosity had prompted him to meet them. After all, Griffin had been one of the boogie men who parents had threatened their children with for nearly two centuries. Don't mess around with your abilities in public lest the Order sends Griffin after you.

  The Norskrinjar had no records of anyone who had attracted enough attention for Griffin to be sent after them escaping. On their trip to meet Elrick, Griffin assured Helka that wasn't quite true. At least a dozen people over two centuries had escaped him, but even then they had eventually been brought to ground by the Order.

  If the Order saw someone as a serious enough threat to send him, they would not stop until that person was dead. They would keep looking until they found the target, and they would kill that unfortunate person.

  They sat down at the table, ironically enough in the same roadside diner that Sara and Agnar had met Griffin earlier that day. Then they had felt they were walking into a trap. Now they hoped they would find allies.