chapter|18
They had walked two hours away from the road when Tove couldn’t walk well enough to continue. She was surprised when Erik offered to pick her up and carry her as long as he could manage. It was nearly dawn when his legs started to falter underneath him. The forest was thicker by far where they were than it had been by the road.
He stopped, putting Tove down near a tree. She leaned against it and Erik went to Göll who was watching the woods with cautious eyes. The terrain had turned to large hills and it was no longer a matter of simply walking along flat ground.
“Is there a reason we can’t rest?”
“No.” She answered without pulling her eyes away from the trees. “There should be no problem with a short rest.”
“What about food and water?”
She shrugged. “There is none.”
Erik took a breath, trying to maintain his patience. He’d talked to Tove for the bulk of the trip and that had done little to improve Göll’s mood, it seemed. She hadn’t said anything specific about where they were headed. “Somewhere safe” was all she had managed to offer up. It wasn’t exactly the sort of answer he wanted, but what could he do about it? Starting a fight with her would be pointless. Tove didn’t know the area, so it wasn’t as though they could abandon her either and Erik didn’t want to. Whatever Göll was, she was another sword that would be pointed at any valkyries who showed up.
“Why don’t you tell me anything?”
She kept scanning the woods, letting the question hang in the air.
He wasn’t willing to let it lie. “Seriously, why can’t I know this shit? If you’d said something at the motel, I might have known that I was supposed to stay in the room. And now we’re talking somewhere, who the fuck knows where, and I’m back to the same state. I don’t know shit and maybe I’m walking toward getting my chest split open again.” He slapped at his chest. “Again! Is that how this works? Are you even on my side?”
She spun around when the question hit her ears, her eyes locked to his. His face dropped and the anger fell out of his body when he saw her. She looked like she was holding back the weight of a mountain and that it was killing her.
“You are one of Odin’s chosen.” She choked the words through gritted teeth, her eyes crying out that they weren’t the words she wanted to say. “I have come to guide you to Valhalla.”
Erik frowned for a half second before forcing his face to straighten. He put a hand on her shoulder and the tension fell out of her muscles. The normal stoic air returned around her and she nodded at him.
“I’m sorry.” She said the words casually.
He understood well enough to guess what had happened. “I won’t ask again.”
She turned her eyes back to the woods. He started back toward Tove when she spoke, more softly than he’d ever heard. “Haki Erik Styrsson… thank you.”
He nodded without turning back and sat himself by the tree next to Tove. She looked at him.
“Why did you forgive me?”
Erik laughed for the first time in what felt like forever. “You’re not even going to lead in with anything? Just straight to that?”
She furrowed her brow. “Why are you laughing? I need to know! I’ve wronged you.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “When I was a kid, there was this set of cards. You were supposed to collect them, for a game. They had little pictures and I managed to collect all of them. It was the first thing I ever felt like I’d ever accomplished in my life. My mom…” He paused, not having thought of his mother in longer than he realized. “She…” He shook his head. “She threw them out one summer because she said I was spending too much time with them. They were my whole world and I hated her for it.” He looked at Tove. “She wronged me.” He smiled and looked away. “But there are worse things than being wronged.”
He was quiet for a while. Tove made no attempt to speak, only watched him. He wanted to sleep, even as the sun rose up over them. The day was cool and pleasant and the sound of the wind in the trees was too much.
He was woken up by Tove shaking his shoulders some hours later. It almost startled him how peaceful the world was. Seeing Tove’s face looking down at him only made Erik more confused.
“What happened?”
She stifled a laugh. “You slept.”
He’d oriented himself about the time he asked the question and how he felt a bit stupid. “That doesn’t seem like something I’d do.”
She motioned to the sky. “The sun seems to set earlier here. We should go.”
Erik looked up through the orange and red trees. They’d passed into Fall sometime during the night and he hadn’t been paying attention to the trees when there was enough light out. Thinking back on it he remembered that there were leaves they’d been trudging through in the night but not that morning. He assumed they were just moving across the line into Fall but it was something else.
“Were the trees…”
“Green?”
“Yeah…”
Tove nodded as Erik pulled himself up off the ground. The leaves were starting to fall already. Göll was looking impatient, but she hadn’t bothered to wake him up. He couldn’t imagine a world where she’d spoken to Tove willingly, so he ruled that out.
“Well, let’s pretend I didn’t accidentally fall asleep and get going.”
Göll started walking without the need for any further prompting. Erik fell in behind her and Tove behind him. She was walking steadily, but he couldn’t help feeling that he’d prefer she walked ahead of him just in case. Göll might have complained though so Erik filled the space between them with his body to keep any awkward conversations from forming.
The sun set earlier than Erik had expected. Spring and Summer had been close enough except for their temperature that he hadn’t thought much of it, passing from one to the next. They must have been trekking north through the woods nearly as much as they had over road. It was growing colder during the evening than it had the night before. Night fell and they walked on for nearly another two hours before the trees suddenly cleared, revealing a dimly lit house in the middle of what had been dense forest.
They’d barely stepped a few feet into the clearing when a man came out of the house. He was tall and broad, with a barrel chest and a thick beard. He was too far away to see much more, other than that the man was holding a hammer and a sword which flared with bright white light at its tip.
He walked a few steps out of the small house, holding the sword aloft, pointing its light toward them.
“Who’s come to my home? And at night! If I’m not pleased at your faces, I’ll—” He lowered the sword, cocking his head to the side. “Göll?”
The light dimmed and the man walked toward them. Göll took a step forward. It was the first time Erik had seen her willingly walk toward another person.
“Völundr, I apologize.”
He walked past her, ignoring the valkyrie as casually as if she were a post stuck in the ground. Völundr walked up to Erik and leaned in close to him. The man’s hammer came up under Erik’s chin, pushing his face up.
Völundr said nothing, giving only a minor glance at Tove before turning around. He slapped Göll on the back as he walked by.
“Come on, then. You’ll want to eat my food. Might as well get it over with.”
Völundr walked back to his house and walked through the open door. Erik came up beside Göll with Tove in tow.
“Who is that?”
“A blacksmith.”
She started toward the house and Erik kept pace beside her. He could tell he wouldn’t get much more out of her but it felt strange walking into a man’s house without knowing anything at all about him. They’d been invited at least, which put Erik’s mind at ease a bit.
Tove pulled Erik back and whispered in excited tones. “Did you see? The sword was magic.” She
was practically bouncing.
The house was warm inside, lit with a large fire in a potbelly stove. There were some simple chairs a short distance from the fire. At the far end of the main room, there was a kitchen with a small table that might hold six if people sat close enough. There were a few doors along the far wall that were most likely bedrooms and one at the back. There were other buildings that Erik could just see the outline of when they were in the clearing.
Völundr was at a small wood stove. He pulled a few pans down from the racks above it and placed them on the steel cook top. He set to cooking up some meat and eggs and almost as an afterthought, tossed in some vegetables. It was ten minutes at least before he noticed that they had been awkwardly standing in his main living area and told them to sit. Erik sat at one end of the table, Göll and Tove flanking him leaving the opposite seat open for Völundr.
“What’s your name, boy?”
“Erik.”
Völundr sighed. “The whole name.”
It was a theme Erik had failed to realize the importance of. “Haki Erik Styrsson.”
“Hm, a good name.”
Völundr tossed the food in the pan. It was a visible mess, Erik could tell that even from his seat. It was finished cooking and put onto plates and brought to the table.
“Thanks. For the food.” Erik said it as the plate was placed in front of him.
“Hooo, I like that.” Völundr took his plate and went to the seat they’d left open at the table. His attention turned to Göll. “It’s been some time since you’ve ventured out of your little world, Göll. And now you come along with friends.”
Erik wasn’t intent on waiting to ask whatever he could. “Her little world?”
Völundr dug into his food, heaping a forkful into his mouth. Erik noticed the utensils as he did. They were expertly made, not the awkward things he’d seen through the rest of Helheim.
“Göll is an ale-bearer.” The blacksmith chewed loudly, pointing his fork at Göll. “Something like a thrall among valkyries.” He laughed. “She’s weak and scared, as so many of her status are. But I can’t bring myself to dislike her. She’s unlike her sisters.”
“A thrall? Like a slave?”
Völundr scrunched up his face, waving his fork around. “No, no. Not so much a slave as the least of her kind.”
Göll stared straight down at her plate as Völundr spoke. She was ashamed of every word the man spoke, a fact Völundr noticed.
“And look how it weighs on her.” He laughed. “She does not know her own worth. Ah, it’s pitiable.” He smiled at Erik. “You’ve begun to see it already, haven’t you Haki?”
Erik’s jaw clenched instinctively when Völundr’s gaze focused on him.
Völundr’s smile widened. “Those are good eyes. I wonder if she even bothered to look in them.” He poked at Göll absently with his fork. “Have you, Göll?” She ignored the question and he came back to Erik. “So Haki, how have you found Helheim? Welcoming to your sort, isn’t it?”
There was nothing to be gained in being stiff with a man like Völundr, Erik could tell that much, so he smiled and laughed.
“Too welcoming. Hard to get a moment’s peace, you know?”
Völundr slapped the table. “Isn’t it?! You understand, I can see it. They all want something, whatever it might be. But you can’t give it to them or—”
“Or they’ll lock you in a stone box.”
“Haaahaha!” Völundr roared with laughter, pushing another forkful of food into his mouth. “You’ve met Ásví!”
Erik laughed. “Oh yeah. We met.”
Völundr leaned over the table. “Did she touch it?” He eyed down toward Erik’s crotch. “She does that. She’s a sick one.”
“I thought she was going to!” Erik pointed at him, finally taking a bite of the food Völundr had cooked. It was awful. “This is awful!”
Völundr laughed again, slapping the table repeatedly. “It is! I’m useless as a cook!” He stood up from the table holding a hand out across it. “I’m Völundr. I like you, Erik.”
Erik stood and clapped his hand around Völundr’s forearm. The blacksmith’s grip felt like it could easily snap Erik’s arm. They sat back down and went back to their food.
“Who’s the girl?” Völundr nodded sideways at Tove.
“Tove. She’s the second in my warband.”
“Said with confidence.” He eyed Göll who had at least come as far as looking between them as they talked. “You’re a bold one, Erik. I can’t hate you. In fact, I welcome you to my home. Stay as long as you like, and your warband.” He looked at Tove and smiled. “Oh, but she’s a troublesome one, this girl.” He finished his plate and stood. “Can’t have you sleeping with her. No doubt Göll wants you here for work.” He slapped a hand onto Göll’s shoulder. “Am I wrong?”
Göll spoke, “I have brought him here to train, yes.”
Völundr patted her shoulder and walked off, tossing the plate onto a counter top. “It’s safe here, Erik. So long as you can ignore that small beauty, you’ll have the time you need. I doubt it will be much from the smell of you.”
Erik looked at Tove. She was flushed beet red, staring down at her food. Erik kicked her foot and she yelped, looking over at him then immediately back down to her food.
Völundr came back to the table but didn’t sit down. “I’ve decided on a condition, if you don’t mind.”
Erik leaned back in his chair. “I might mind.”
“I can’t imagine you will, not if I understand you as I hope I do. I’ll have you apprentice for me while you’re here. Even as short a time as you’ll be here, a warchief should understand steel.”
“I can’t argue with that. I’d love to learn.”
“The right answer.” Völundr walked away from the table. “It’s time I slept. You’ll be in my room, Erik. I won’t tell a man when he should sleep, but we’ll wake early. And you’ll be worked hard.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
Völundr waved his hand, pushing open the door to his bedroom. It shut and Erik looked at Göll.
“Are you okay?”
Göll looked at him. “I’m fine. He told no lies about me. They are my own failings.”
“I’ll believe you.” He looked to the other side of the table. “You?”
Tove nodded. “He’s strange, but…” She considered her words for a second. “I’m happy to be here.”
“Great.” Erik stood up. “I guess tomorrow I’m going to get my ass kicked and learn to hammer on metal. Exciting.”
chapter|19
Völundr was snoring loudly and Erik almost mistook the sound of Göll opening the door for another noise from the blacksmith. It was the movement in the bottom of his vision that caused him to sit up. The sight of Göll in her armor wasn’t comforting, especially when only half-seen in a haze of sleep. The only times he’d seen the distinctive gold-trimmed leather in Helheim were not pleasant ones.
He sat up, ready to be attacked but Göll only wordlessly waved for him to follow her. If she’d noticed or cared about the emotion behind his reaction, she hadn’t shown it. Erik dragged himself out of what had passed for a bed, a linen sheet over a stack of cow hides. He hadn’t slept well, but that was something he was beginning to grow accustomed to. Völundr didn’t so much as break the rhythm of his snoring between Göll’s entrance and Erik’s exit from the room. It was hard not to find it annoying that the man slept so well.
Göll was waiting in the main room of the house, standing near the back door. She looked him over.
“You should wash.”
“Now?”
“No. We have too much work and too little time.”
“So you were just saying I smell like shit?”
She turned and opened the door to the yard behind them and walked out of it without answering t
he question.
“Hey!” Erik followed her. “You can’t just…” He gave up, slumping in defeat as he went through the door.
Outside, Göll walked across the yard toward a stone building with several stacks coming out of the roof. Having called Völundr a blacksmith, Erik could imagine what the building was for. The valkyrie disappeared around the side and came back with her hands loaded with swords of varying lengths and shapes. She dropped most of them, letting them clang against each other and fall to the ground. There were two shorter swords left in her hands. It was only when he saw her flip one of the swords over and grab it by the handle that he realized that her own weapon was nowhere around.
“Where’s your fancy one?”
She walked to him, offering the other sword she’d brought with her. “It is a part of me. And useless for our purposes here.”
He started to ask why she’d used it back in the empty lot before realizing that swords were not easily had in the average city back home. He took the offered blade, looking it over. It was dull and looked as though it was made to be. He flailed the sword around a bit in what he imagined was a sort of pattern to test it. Really, he had no clue what it should feel like and likely came off as an idiot, but he could think of nothing else to do.
Göll took her place halfway across the small clearing.
“You have not been here long, but I wish to see if anything has changed.” She let the short sword hang casually by her leg. “I will warn you. I cannot withhold any of my power for your own sake.”
A knot formed in his stomach, but Erik nodded and readied the sword. He did his best to remember how she’d shown him to hold it, but was not convinced he’d gotten it right.
Göll charged. He could see her move, but only barely. It was an improvement, considering he could not feel whatever power helped him to see the others. She only came into sharp focus when she stopped beside him, her sword already angled up to pierce his ribs. He tried to move the sword over to block or to strike her or to do anything at all. It was far too slow and she jabbed the blunt edge of the sword into his ribs. He felt his skin pull before popping past the rounded tip of Göll’s weapon, the metal clacking off of half of his ribs before she pulled it back.
From Death to Valhalla (The Last Einherjar Book 1) Page 16
