After the Fall (Raud Grima Book 2)

by Sophia Martin

  “Erna and Embla were twins,” Ivarr pondered. He met my eyes. “You think they’re Gerdir’s daughters.”

  I nodded. “Somehow Erna escaped this—this curse. But not Embla. She got it, only not so bad as some of us. Maybe on account of her Da, who knows? Or living in the temple, though if it drove Amma to leave it, the curse was bad enough for her though she was a vigjadis.”

  “We think she was a vigjadis,” Ivarr said. “Maybe she wasn’t. I was thinking she was because I figured she was Gerdir’s mother. But maybe she gave her daughter to the temple when she got the glowing eyes and everything.”

  My fingers dug into my hair. “It’s all a mess,” I said. “We’ve no way to be sure of anything, except maybe this, and maybe that, and it’s likely this, and likely that. Amma’d never tell me the truth of it, of that I’m sure.”

  “Which leaves us with only one option,” Ivarr said.

  I looked at him.

  “We’ve got to get you back to the temple. If the high vigjadis can help you, it’s worth it, plus you can talk to Gerdir and Erna and get some real answers.”

  I put my face in my hands again and tried to think. All through this talk I’d managed to put the planes out of my mind, but now that I was feeling frustrated again, the worry was coming back round. An invasion was coming, of that I was fair certain. If I went back to Freyja’s Temple, I’d try to escape into its safety to get help and some answers, but what safety could there be with Leika-Konungdis on her way? Would she carry on the campaign of her husband, propping up Tyr and punishing anyone who worshipped the other Gods? She’d send her army against Freyja’s Temple first chance she got, if so. And what of my family? They weren’t no safer’n before I seen Amma’s eyes glow. I might feel wrathful towards Amma now that I’d some idea of the secrets she’d been keeping, but it made no difference on how I felt towards Rokja.

  “I can’t,” I said at last.

  “Why not?”

  “On account of Rokja,” I told him.

  He gave me a puzzled look.

  I shrugged, feeling helpless. “There’ll be an invasion, I’ve no doubt in my mind. I’ve got to get Rokja outta Helésey, and I’ve no idea how to do it, but that’s got to come first, don’t you know. And Mum, too, and Kisla and Vig. Luka’s Chains, and Hardane, as well, if he weren’t killed in the bombings.” I’d have as soon left Amma behind, I was that angry with her, though I knew if I succeeded in finding them a way out, she’d go with the rest and I’d say nothing to stop that.

  Ivarr considered the problem, touching his fingertips to his lips. “How long do you think we have before the invasion?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.” Then I realized I knew someone who might. I stood up. “We’ve got to speak to Styrlakker.”

  Ivarr frowned with a gentle nod, and took my hand. “We will,” he said. “But how about for now we eat something and get some sleep?”

  I blinked down at him, the touch of his hand around mine right warm in the cold night. He pulled a little, and I felt my legs give a bit, so’s in a moment I was sitting down where I’d been before. Ivarr let my hand go, and I felt its loss. He brung out something in wax paper and set about unwrapping it. After a moment he revealed a few pieces of hard black bread, handing me one. I took it and begun chewing it, for I realized I was fair hungry. We’d eaten soup some hours since, but we’d not had more’n half a bowl each.

  Neither one of us said owt as we ate. It took some time, for the bread was hard as wood. I was grateful to have it, though, thinking back to how I’d near fainted in Kona Ótryggr’s shanty. When the bread was all gone, Ivarr turned to me.

  “It’s cold,” he said, though making statements regarding what’s obvious weren’t normally his habit. I must’ve stared at him, dumb as a cow. “Maybe we should lie close together,” he said, his face stiff like he expected a slap.

  I gave him a nod instead, and without another word I shuffled over and lay down next to him. He hesitated and lay behind, wrapping himself around me, his arm over my middle. The warmth of him at my back was more comfort’n anything I’ve ever known, hence or since.

  ~~~

  When I woke the next day, Ivarr weren’t sleeping, though he’d not moved. I turned to look at him, and he smiled at me. Everything he done for me since he scared me in the alley come rushing back, and for a moment, I thought of kissing him.

  “I think it’s about eight o’clock,” he said.

  Which was such an ordinary thing to say, I remembered that we were friends and that he never wanted me that way, so I let it go. I’d never had a friend who’d do so much for me before, never asking nowt in return. If it was anyone but Ivarr, I’d not trust him at all for it.

  When I started to get up, though, he took my hand and run his thumb over the backs of my fingers. It sent a shiver through me the like of which I’d never known. I wanted nowt more’n to lie back down beside him, but I’d not let it happen, even if he had changed his mind. I’d do nowt what might ruin our friendship. So I smiled at him and pulled away gentle-like, standing and stretching.

  “We best move along,” I said, looking out at nothing in particular.

  Ivarr said nowt for a moment, then, “You’re right. We don’t know how long we have.”

  So off we went, though my body still yearned to stop and lay back down with him. I took care not to touch him again, even by accident, and my mind was a mess of thoughts at war with each other.

  We’d not gone very far from the entrance we took to Mosstown the night before, which meant it took no time at all reaching Styrlakker’s compound. I’d been absent from my post the day before and I expected I’d be in some trouble, but when we got there everyone was busy, rushing about and at work at something or other. One toady named Arn was stacking rifles. I seen Red ordering about some younger folk who was assembling more guns—Styrlakker must’ve got hold of some parts somewhere. I never seen Twist, but Randvé, one of the few other women what worked for Styrlakker, was sharpening daggers and knifes on an old-style stone wheel.

  I glanced at Ivarr, who gave me back a serious look. Seemed we’d little time, indeed.

  “I’ll go talk to Styrlakker,” I said, for I’d a hope he might help with moving my family, though I don’t know why I thought so, now. Ivarr nodded and stayed where he was. Ivarr’d never met Styrlakker, and this weren’t the time for introductions, don’t you know.

  I knew the two toadies outside Styrlakker’s shanty, and they gave me a look but made no move to stop me, so I went in.

  Styrlakker was talking to a toady I’d seen but didn’t know, and Twist was waiting off to one side. I gave Twist a nod, which he returned.

  “There,” Styrlakker told the first toady, pointing to something on the table. A map, I’ve no doubt. “And make sure Kafli don’t try to hoard weapons,” he added.

  “Right,” said the toady, and left.

  “I’ll have yours here,” Styrlakker said, immediately turning his attention to Twist and pointing to the map. “You’ll have them move whatever they can to make a barrier, right?”

  Twist nodded.

  “With some luck we’ll have thinned them out a fair bit so’s them what reach you won’t be so many,” Styrlakker said. “But you’d best put a man here and here, up in them buildings what ain’t in pieces at the end of the street, mind. Give them the best rifles you get. I won’t have enough machineguns to spare, you understand.”

  “Of course. The first line must have them.”

  “Right. It pains me to think some’ll go to Ekkill’s or Atli’s or one of the other’s, but there it is. You understand.”

  Twist nodded again.

  Ekkill’s or Atli’s? So there was to be an alliance, then? I clenched my teeth on the news.

  “Good then,” Styrlakker said. “You work them well as you can, and then fall back. There.” He pointed on the map.

  “Understood,” Twist said, and left.

  Styrlakker turned his eyes on me then. “Well, so much for
making you my guard,” he said.

  I chewed on my lips for a bit, then sighed. “I’m sorry about that,” I said. “I had a bit of trouble.”

  Styrlakker raised his eyebrows. “Sure, I suppose you might,” he said, and I might have thought he sneered but his tone was matter-of-fact. I’d not forgotten Styrlakker seemed to know more about my family and my curse than anyone other’n Amma herself and the women at the temple. A little curl of rage begun winding its way up from where it slept as I thought of how he might have aided me and chose not to.

  Still, letting loose on Styrlakker wouldn’t help anyone, least of all myself or my family, so I hurried on. “How long ’fore the invasion?”

  Styrlakker frowned. “We can’t be sure, but Gaddi’s got a ship out what sent a boat to port some hours ago, and they figure we’ve maybe a day.”

  “Tomorrow morning, then?”

  “Best as we can tell. Was there something else you needed, Ginna Alvör? I’ve quite a lot to do.”

  I clutched my hands together, wishing I had something, anything, to offer Styrlakker, for I knew he had ships, what with all the planning he’d been doing to try to take control of the city. All I had was my body and my curse; I knew Styrlakker’d no use for the former.

  “I’ll fight for you. You know I can kill—well, a ripping lot of them.”

  Styrlakker frowned at me. “I’d some notion you planned to do that anyway.”

  “I won’t,” I said, lifting my chin. “But for your help.”

  “My help?”

  “Right. I’ve my family to think of.”

  Styrlakker glowered, his heavy brows drawing down over his eyes. “Your family.”

  “Sure enough. If you put them on a boat, send them far from here, I’ll fight for you.”

  He pressed a meaty finger to his temple as though he’d just got a foul headache. “Ginna, I can’t spare a man to captain a boat. And I don’t suppose anyone in your family would know how to sail one, would they?”

  I felt tears prick my eyes at that, for my Da come to mind. I fair smelled the scent of him, tobacco and mead, and a bit of warmth that was his scent alone. “No,” I said.

  “Then we’ve no deal,” he said, and gave a nod at the door.

  I left, feeling my shoulders slump with the defeat.

  ~~~

  I went back to where I’d left Ivarr with little sense of what went on about me. I weren’t sure what do to; I’d no hope of avoiding the battle for I was fair certain the rage would come whether I liked it or not, and it seemed right likely Styrlakker knew that as well, more’s the pity. He’d called my bluff. It was one thing to gamble and lose your money or some such, but this loss meant I’d no way to move my family. The konungdis was coming, the city would be at war, and the planes would bomb everything to a bloody heap. Nowhere in Helésey was safe.

  Ivarr weren’t where I left him, and I was too worried about the invasion and my family to think much of it. I set about trying to find him and made my way out of the compound, when soon enough I heard his voice, just a turn or two down the tunnels. I moved a bit faster, but then I heard another voice and I slowed. Though I made no conscious choice to spy, I recognized the other voice was Gaddi’s, and since he was my last hope for a ship it seemed wise to approach careful-like.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ivarr said. He sounded fair angry.

  Gaddi made a scoffing noise, and I crouched down close to the turn as I dared. “You know that food-broker had a soft spot for her as well. I heard the big duffer thought he’d marry her. But he never said a word about it, did he? Even he had more sense’n you.”

  I felt the hair on my head creep, and my skin went cold. He weren’t talking about me. He never meant Gram, did he?

  “Look, no one’s talking about marrying anyone,” Ivarr said. “I asked you if you could put her family on a ship. It’s not exactly the same thing.”

  My breath left me and my legs melted so’s instead of crouching I sat on the ground like a sack of flour. I leaned my head against the wall and tried to make sense of what I’d just heard. Ivarr had asked for passage for my family and Gaddi accused him of having a soft spot, by the sound of it. That weren’t so bad, but what Gaddi’d said about Gram was a cutter, and what Ivarr said about marrying me—well, I’d known he had no interest in me that way, and who would want to marry a whore like me anyhow? You didn’t have to be a merchant’s son to be above that. And since when had I thought to marry Ivarr Dúsi? Why did it matter that he’d never want to?

  But for some reason it did matter and I was fair troubled, so when I managed to find my feet again and rounded the corner, I weren’t really myself, wouldn’t you know. The two of them stiffened when they seen me and you could tell they wondered how much I heard. I couldn’t look at Ivarr, but fixed my eyes instead on Gaddi.

  “What’ll it take?” I asked. He just stared at me, dumb as a cow. “To buy passage for my family. What’ve I got that you want?”

  His eyes turned up at the corners and he looked me up and down. He might as well’ve licked his lips.

  “I’ll give you as many tumbles as you like,” I said. I heard Ivarr suck in his breath, but still I’d not look at him.

  “There’s no amount of tumbles you could give,” Gaddi said with a big grin. “But I’ve another idea.”

  “Ginna,” Ivarr said. “Don’t listen to him. We’ll figure out another way.”

  “What do you want?” I asked Gaddi.

  “Ginna, don’t do this,” Ivarr said.

  Gaddi was still looking at me, appraising. “Sell yourself to me,” he said after a moment.

  I frowned. “Like a slave?”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Ivarr said to Gaddi. “Slavery’s been illegal since Godring the Just!”

  “I see no konungers here to send me to Grumflein,” Gaddi said, his eyes never leaving me.

  “Ginna, don’t do this!”

  “Passage for my family? Somewhere safe? Somewhere far from Helésey, and the rest of the war?” I said.

  “I’ve got a nice boat, bit bigger’n your typical fishing schooner. Only takes two to sail her,” Gaddi said, his eyes alight. I’d no sense for whether his joy was in thinking of his ship, or in knowing he’d hooked me. “I could send them down to the southern lands, if you like. Far from Ódalnord and the konungdis and all the fighting. Safe as hens in a house.”

  “You don’t have to do this,” Ivarr said to me, though I still weren’t looking at him. “It’s slavery, Ginna. You’d belong to him. You’re giving up your freedom!”

  “What’s to keep me from running from you once I know they’re safe?” I said to Gaddi.

  “Well, I’ll give some special instructions to the two I send along, won’t I? Make sure your family stays safe, and such, and should I send word…”

  “You can’t agree to this,” Ivarr said. He’d caught hold of my sleeve. “You’ll never be free of him. He’ll hold your family’s safety over your head for as long as you live!”

  Which might not be so very long, considering what was coming. What chance’d I have, once I seen the soldiers invading and the wrath took over? They’d cut me down soon as I’d taken out a few of their own and I knew it. Gaddi reckoned he’d won himself a slave, but he’d have nowt but a corpse in a day or so.

  I gave him a nod. “Agreed. I’m yours, as soon as I’ve proof my family’s in the ship and away. That’s my Amma, my Mum, my sister Kisla and her man, and my little sister Rokja.” I spared a regretful thought for Hardane and Vig, but as neither was never to be found in the Undergrunnsby no more, I’d no hope of Gaddi’s folk finding them.

  Gaddi returned my nod and we shook on it.

  Ivarr threw up his hands and spun away, stumbling to the wall, where he leaned a hand against it and slumped like someone wounded.

  “I’ll send for you to show you the deal’s done,” Gaddi said, letting go of my hand. “Now I’ve got too much to do to waste any more time here. See you soon, G
inna.”

  Gaddi disappeared into the tunnels and I turned and looked at Ivarr. He stayed where he was, only the slight movement of his breath betraying that he’d not become a statue. I took in the sight of his back for a moment more, then turned away to go back to Styrlakker’s camp. I might as well do my job now, for I’d not much time left, and no mistake. I’d done all I could for Rokja and the others. Maybe I could kill some of Leika’s forces ’fore they killed me. It was all I had left.

  ~~~

  I’d been handing out guns for over three hours when Gaddi turned up, grinning like the cat what got the canary.

  “Come with me,” he said, as if I weren’t up to my eyes in rifles and staring down a line of fifty more recruits wanting arms.

  “I can’t, Gaddi.”

  “You must,” he answered. “This pertains to our agreement, don’t you know.”

  “Give us a hand, then.”

  So Gaddi fell in beside me. We gave out fifty guns, and before another wave of men and women could come in their wake Gaddi chucked me on the shoulder and was off. I hurried behind him, for my heart was tight with the worry I held for Kisla, Rokja and Mum—and Amma, too, if I’m being honest, though that was all muddled with the anger still. I wondered about Vig and Hardane. Had either survived the bombing? Would either survive the invasion?

  “Hurry up, we’ve a ways to go,” Gaddi shot back at me as he took a southbound tunnel. I picked up my pace, trying not to think about my brothers anymore, or Rokja or Mum or Ivarr, who was never far from my thoughts since I left him staring at the wall.

  As it happened, Gaddi weren’t telling tales—we did have a ways to go, and ’fore long I’d put it together we were most likely headed for the Torc, or what was left of it. When we climbed up out of the tunnels and took one of the only remaining spokes what connect the Torc to the city, I knew for sure. The Torc’s an oddity, or so I gather from what I’ve read of great cities and such what lie on islands. Under Greuta the Builder—she was always a favorite of mine, on account of her being one of the few dróttnings in our history, a real queen, not just a konungdis—they build the Torc, an unfinished ring what circles most of the island, with an opening on the southeast side. The ring’s like a road or a bridge covered in with a thick glass ceiling. It was built wide enough and tall enough for full-sized buildings and cars—well, carriages at the time—to move through a central street. From the sky, it looks like a wheel, with spokes wide as city streets leading to the city proper, and most ships what come to Helésey ’fore the fall had to dock on the Torc. Only royals and favorites could sail through the opening to the docks of the island itself. Before the city fell the Torc was home to a ripping huge market, and plenty of the nobles went there for that but also for some hidden clubs what catered to the tastes Eiflar the Heretic had outlawed. But the Torc never escaped the bombings when the Rising happened, so it was just as ruined as the city, wouldn’t you know. Worse, truth be told, as it weren’t built on solid land to begin with.