Ceadda hesitated, and Njord pulled at him, and the six men still alive pulled away. They looked at me, long and hard, trying to see a way to save the day, but there was none. I waved at them, and they ran for the woods and I prayed they would see their home. I turned to look at the old man. He was looking at the Saxons run. ‘They fought well, and deserve to leave. But you are my daughter’s man?’ He looked at Hild, who was getting to her feet in the field. ‘She told me a most spectacular tale.’
‘What did she say?’ I asked.
‘She said you tried to join Agin, my son and hoped to kill me next year,’ he chuckled and looked down at me. ‘Hild failed me years past. This is her way to come back home. Saxa merits her that. But she said you are important. They are here for you, no?’
‘They are,’ I said hollowly. ‘What will you do?’ I asked and cursed because there was nothing to be done. There were only fifty Svearna, and there was an army of two hundred men approaching.
‘You love her?’ he asked with a thin smile.
‘Yes,’ I answered.
He smiled wistfully. ‘A pity. Young love. So rash. So quick. I was like you. My wife died of a cough six winters ago.’
‘I am sorry, but I do not wish to lose her,’ I told him warily, eyeing Hughnot’s army forming up and marching for us. We were in a sturdy line, but there was no hope. ‘Should we retreat up the hill?’
‘No,’ he said dryly. ‘We’ll stay here.’
He was a believer in the gods. Perhaps he thought the gods might spare him and us. I saw Hrolf’s eyes as he stared at me and wondered how much bad luck could one man have in a single day. There would be no gods sparing us then.
Aldbert appeared. He walked behind Gislin, and my eyes followed him. He had a guilty look on his face.
Gislin spoke to him. ‘This is Hulderic’s son?’
‘Yes, he is,’ Aldbert said huskily.
‘I sent you there as a child to keep an eye on their family. Now a member of that family is here. They will ask for him; I know,’ the Lord of Snowlake said. ‘Is there a reason he should be spared, son? Hild said he wanted me dead. Plotted to kill me, even.’
‘Yes,’ he answered with fear. ‘There is a reason.’
I stared at Aldbert in shock. ‘What?’ I asked softly. ‘What does he mean? And what reason?’
Aldbert looked sheepish. He fidgeted and flushed and walked to me. I resisted the impulse to kill him, as he pulled me to the side and spoke to me in hushed tones. ‘It’s a long story. And I am your friend. I always was. I betrayed you to Ludovicus, and I left them a sign they missed. I sneaked out to find your father from Wolf Hole. I’m sure he is out there as well. Hild had gone to fetch men, and hoped to take Saxa while you slept. I ran into Eadwine. He found me and I lied to them about the hall, didn’t I? Trust me, I didn’t want to hurt you.’
‘Why?’ I asked, wanting to understand. ‘Why all these lies?’
‘I didn’t want you to come here. Ever. The Bear? Remember? Your family? This is the other family. Our family. The family of those gods who cursed Woden’s first men. But while your family tries to bury the curse, my father wants to set the Bear free, and you have been doing well at it. They wish for you to rampage across Midgard, and he set me in your hall to see what I might find. To see if there was anyone in your family who might show signs of this madness.’ He was swallowing. ‘Then there was that night I tried to fool you. That was real. It was a warning. A goddess or a god warned you. Me. And you didn’t heed. The Bear wouldn’t.’
I stared at him and felt the need to push him away like an asp. ‘You have spied on us?’
‘He has not,’ Gislin said dryly, having listened. ‘He fell in love with your family. But he is here to save you. Are you saying Maroboodus is the Bear?’ His voice betrayed disbelief.
Aldbert shook with indecision but finally nodded. ‘He is,’ he answered. ‘The god spoke to me.’
The lord’s face twitched. He looked shocked, and then his brow filled with sweat. Finally, he turned to Aldbert who bowed before him. ‘You are not lying, are you? Signs and gods, eh? Finally? Finally, we might have one of the unlucky ones?’
‘Perhaps,’ Aldbert said sadly.
‘In that case, we will see. We’ll ask the spirits, and gods rage, if you lie,’ Gislin said. ‘You have betrayed and failed us before.’
‘I am sorry, lord.’
‘You came here to save him,’ the man said, smiling thinly. ‘But he’ll not enjoy it. Take him.’ I turned, but I was too tired to fight, and fell as three men pulled me down. I heard Saxa screaming, but they were not trying to hurt me, as they tied me up expertly, and stood me up roughly.
‘Your Grandfather Hulderic,’ Gislin said. ‘Has he spoken to you of Woden’s Curse?’
‘The prophecy, yes, but—’
His eyes glowed with intensity. ‘Then know we work to see it come true. The god that cursed Woden is jealous, and my family come from the breed of this other god. And now you shall serve his will. Aldbert did fail, but only because he loved you. Oh, the irony.’
‘I will not help—’
‘You will,’ he smiled. ‘I see your greed, you are relentless. I feel and taste it. You’ll stay with me now, and I shall think on how to employ your curse if you are the one. Gods are watching, and I had better not fail.’
‘Saxa is mine, and I shall live with her, and heed no prophecies,’ I told him bitterly. ‘But these Goths shall kill us if you don’t—’
He laughed bitterly. ‘You will not get Saxa,’ he said and walked forward to face the Black Goths. ‘And they’ll not get you.’
Hughnot greeted Gislin. He sat on his horse, slouched, tired, and eyed me. He pointed a finger at Saxa. ‘I tried to save your daughter. The Saxons would have sold her to our lord, but I attempted to snatch her from my brother Friednot. I had a plan. This man betrayed us.’ He nodded towards me.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Gislin said, cocking his head at him.
Hughnot went on. ‘Doesn’t it? But I expect our alliance, nonetheless. The Boat-Lord still wishes for it.’
The Boat-Lord? Was he working for the Boat-Lord? ‘You—‘ I began, but a Svea slapped me.
Hughnot looked at me and shrugged. ‘I grew tired, Maroboodus, of Friednot. I made a deal with our old master. I’d give him back the Ring and the Sword, and I’d return to his rule. That Friednot died, was just a bonus. I’d prayed for it for so long, that when it finally happened, I was so surprised. Perhaps I helped it along a bit as well, eh? That Friednot learnt of the deal between Gislin here and the Boat-Lord was unfortunate, and how he snatched your Saxa from the Saxons, was a cursed nuiseance. But it’s all fixed now. The Black Goths shall rule the coast under Boat-Lord’s banner.’
‘And what of your banner flying over faraway lands?’ I yelled at him. ‘Liar! Maggot!’
Hughnot shifted in his saddle, angry. ‘Hrolf will take her to the Boat-Lord,’ he said. ‘And I’ll hang you.’
‘No,’ Gislin said simply.
‘No?’ Hrolf asked with anger. ‘Why not?’
‘Your Boat-Lord still needs us to conquer the coast. You and him alone? No, you might not make it. We will ally, and do what we planned. Saxa goes with you.’
‘No!’ I screamed.
Gislin ignored me. ‘And I am in a happy, generous mood, lord Hughnot, since you delivered to me something I had not expected. Something we have sought for ages. We will help you in your wars to make yourself a Thiuda of a great nation, we will reap the profits of such wars and greed, and you shall be thanked.’
Hughnot grunted. Then he pointed a finger at me and my belly filled with ice-cold fear. ‘And that something is him? Why?’
‘I shall not speak of it,’ Gislin said quietly. ‘It doesn’t concern you.’
Hrolf bellowed. ‘That traitor? Him. I want him. He lied to us, he betrayed us. He made a fool of Hughnot, Father, our lord and I will have his head sent to his father Hulderic.’
‘No, lord,’ said Gislin and I
looked balefully at the traitor Aldbert, who had apparently both betrayed and saved me. Gislin would not let me go quickly. Not ever, in fact. ‘He has his uses here. He shall be mine, not unlike a tamed bear—’
‘He is not to be tamed,’ Hrolf grunted. ‘He is a wild pig. Stick and reward will not teach him, and he’ll escape! He’ll come after Saxa.’
‘She is my wife, you dung-chewing weakling,’ I yelled. ‘We are married. Properly married.’
Hrolf’s eyes flew open, and he stammered, as his men looked at him snidely.
Hughnot sighed. ‘See, he is dangerous.’
‘We have ways of taming such as he, my lord, we do have them, never worry,’ Gislin said and smiled at me. ‘We will take him to my haunt, deep down the hill and there he shall change into a tool for my god. He will eat a heart, and man flesh and such a fare will change a man. Trust me, lord.’
Hughnot glowered, not happy with the decision of Gislin. He evidently considered ordering a butchery, but took a deep breath, knowing the Svearna, especially Gislin, would be needed in taking care of the Goths of the coasts. Then he nodded. Gislin whistled and men rode out of the village. They were leading Saxa forward on a horse, and the happy girl I had known briefly was cold and sorrowful again. Hughnot sat up in his saddle. ‘You have just been divorced, woman. We shall take you to meet the Boat-Lord. He might or might not marry you. Or perhaps he will marry you to a chosen warrior. He will guard you.’ He nodded at Hrolf, who glowered at her, unhappy and I prayed to gods she would not suffer at his hands for my words. But she would, of course. ‘Send me a thousand men when we begin, Gislin, and you shall gain lands and fame and sit in my Thing as an ally. You will always be welcome in the Spear Hall, my home.’
‘It sounds proper, rich, and what I desire, oh great Goth,’ Gislin said smoothly.
Hughnot turned his horse around and his army rode away. I stared after Saxa but she did not turn, until at the very end, and her cool, cold composure cracked and as she turned to look at me, her eyes filled with tears and fear and I struggled against my guards. I felt a blow on my back, then another and fell down amidst Svea feet. I crawled but Gislin stopped me from doing so as he placed a foot on my neck.
‘Take this Bear to Himnhall, the Dark Below. Get him to a cage and see to his wounds. I shall need a sacrifice to give to the gods as we prepare. We’ll make sure he is what we think he is. Then we shall seek guidance. Gods will whisper lies, but I know spirits that shall aid us in helping the Dark Walker escape his prison. Let the Ragnarok come. At least we have finally found the strand, the beginning of the end. Finally.’
Ragnarok. End of the world. I spat on his foot, and he wiped it on my face.
His eyes looked across the field. ‘The champions are alive,’ Gislin said. ‘Some of them. Go and find which ones and bring them along. They will make fitting feed for us, won’t they? We shall sacrifice one for our answers. The higher, the better.’
Men agreed with grunts and moved to obey. Some grasped me and pulled me along. I saw them knocking over Goths, killing many wounded ones and then they carried Maino and Eadwine out of the piles of wounded, both alive still.
They blindfolded me and after a long walk in a moist, cold place that was underground, they locked me in a cage and ripped off the hood.
I was not alone. Maino and Eadwine were in the same cage.
BOOK 4: DRAGON’S TAIL
‘We have her. We will have Gislin’s Svea. We have the ring. The sword. You go home, and wait. The end will come soon enough.’
Hrolf to Maroboodus.
CHAPTER 15
I stared at my two fellow prisoners balefully, but they were in no condition to pick up our fight. Eadwine was not well at all, it was clear. He was throwing up in the corner, his hair matted with blood, and Maino was holding his side, face down on the wooden floor, breathing harshly, though he would occasionally look at me, mouthing curses. The Svear had retreated from the cages. I looked around to see a natural cavern of some sort, with sputtering torches, and shingles set on alcoves, and shadowed faces looked at us from many points in the cavern. They were not human, but stone or faces carved hideously from mud.
I banged my head on the bars.
Saxa was gone. Aldbert had tried to help me, and he’d suffer for it.
And Hughnot? A traitor. Filthy traitor, worse than I was.
I banged my head on the bars again, this time so hard I winced and Maino looked up. ‘You shit,’ he whispered. ‘Can you at least suffer silently?’
‘No, you murderous pig-faced maniac,’ I countered, and didn’t really care if he’d be riled up. I’d welcome it, in fact.
He grimaced at me, in no condition to throttle me then and there. ‘Coming from the killer of Ludovicus and Gasto, that is thick as reindeer stew. You’ve doomed us all,’ he panted, ‘and yet you still live. Gods must have something worse than this in store for you, eh?’
‘Shut up,’ I spat. ‘It’s been a long two days. I’ll slit your belly later. I’ve lost a wife, and you would do well to keep your trap shut. I’m past fearing you, cousin.’
The astonishment on his face made him look like a child caught stealing mead from a cellar. Then the child disappeared and the animal took its place and he sat up, cursing, hoping to get up, and I stretched my legs, readying myself to fight. Some Svear moved in the shadows, nervous and alert.
Eadwine got up with a groan, grabbed Maino’s shoulder and shook his head. Maino fought the grip, but the powerful warrior kept him still. I stared maliciously at the fool, spite shining on my face. ‘Lord,’ Eadwine said sternly. ‘We need to work together. We are all sitting in the same pool of piss, our fates tied together. We will settle our scores later, if we can.’
‘We aren’t going anywhere,’ Maino hissed, ‘so might as well do that now.’
‘Perhaps this time you won’t end up on your face or under a horse?’ I coaxed him. ‘Hughnot would laugh, he would, seeing you sputter and make a fool of yourself.’
‘He would smile when I rip your throat out and spit down your neck,’ he growled. ‘To imagine you have managed to betray every Goth on the coast? Impossible. But at least you ended up trapped in the end. If you ever step out of here, Maroboodus, you’ll have to travel far if you ever want to find people who utter your name without a curse. I’ll rest a bit, and then I’ll—’
‘I doubt they will let you touch me,’ I told him as a pair of hulking Svear came forth with long spears and a hook attached to a spear shaft. ‘They look like they know their business.’
‘Why did they lock us up in the same cage anyway?’ Eadwine grumbled as he let go of Maino carefully.
‘Probably for the entertainment,’ I said and spat out of the cage. The Svear grinned as Maino slouched and leaned on the bars, while glowering at me.
‘I’ll find a better time and place, then,’ he said sullenly.
‘Is your father out there?’ I asked. ‘Or did he get lost? Went home?’
Eadwine answered for Maino, trying to keep his voice from dripping with accusation. ‘Lord Bero led the main force. We ran off without leave. Gods only know if Hughnot surprised and killed him. We heard nothing of the sort as we chased you, and surely some would have seen it, but if he is alive, he is in danger.’
‘That would make me the lord of the gau,’ Maino said smugly and both Eadwine and I looked at him dubiously.
‘It would make you a shitty lord prisoner whose gau is defended by my father, and …’ I began and clamped my mouth shut. I had spied a shadow deeper than the rest, and it had moved. It had been squatting there, right next to the cage, listening, and I frowned at it. ‘They put us here so they can learn of us. Who we are. If you are important.’ My eyes didn’t leave the shadow and then a small man rose to his feet and walked to where there was light and guards. He pointed a finger at Maino, who blanched visibly at the unwanted attention and a guard scampered off. ‘I guess we just told them you are important indeed.’
The man came forward and squatted
near our cage. His hair was ragged, a sweaty thing of grease, his bones shone beneath his skin and he looked like a sick, strange man, or a corpse.
‘What are you, I wonder?’ Maino said arrogantly. ‘An animal or a man?’
‘I’m called Whisper,’ he said, and indeed his voice was one, a soft whisper like a distant wind ruffling trees on a hillside. ‘I’m vitka of the Dark One.’
I snorted. ‘Is this about the Woden’s curse again?’
Whisper nodded vigorously. ‘It’s all about it, boy,’ he said, his voice slightly excited. ‘All our lives are tied to it. Yours too.’
Maino moved from the bars to sit at the center. He grabbed a pebble and tossed it at the man. ‘I don’t give a damn about your curses and I don’t care for your face. What will you do to us?’
‘We’ll see if Aldbert is right,’ Whisper said to me, ignoring Maino. ‘Gislin thinks he is, he felt the stirrings of the dark one when he saw you, and so we’ll ask the gods if they agree with Aldbert. We will sacrifice and find the truth. I’m good at truth-finding. Like Aldbert, I see things. I’m no charlatan like Hild.’
I shook my head. ‘I will not be convinced by strange tricks. Your Aldbert tried it already.’
‘Your Aldbert,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘He told us. The twigs and the skull? You saw these things already? And a rotten hull?’
I felt my jaw tighten. ‘There are skulls, twigs, and rotten boats all over the land.’
‘Yes,’ he laughed. ‘But you believe him. I see it. Aldbert is your friend indeed. Tried to help you, but you didn’t want that, did you? He tried to hide you from us, but no, you came after all. Poor fool failed left and right. He was sent to you as a boy. A talented one, he was, like Gislin. Like me. Saxa and Agin never had the gift, but Gislin and his father before him have sent men and women to serve and live near your family, here and in the islands. In times past, there have been others like you, other Bears and we have tried to get our hands on them before. We always failed. But we try, and Aldbert was sent, but he was too young. He turned Goth. Now? He is here. Gislin’s not happy, but you are here, and that balances things.’
Maroboodus: A Novel of Germania (The Goth Chronicles Book 1) Page 27
