by Derek, Julia
I was impressed against my will. The man was more clever than I had expected and certainly bolder, given his nervous looks. With his counter offer, he had managed to save his family’s honor, while at the same time avoiding to provoke me. He and his brothers had gotten the gist of the matter all right: They were not sure about my reasons, but whatever these were, they had understood that I would want to, in addition to indemnify Orvar, set him free, too. They knew there would be extra silver offered for the freedom of Orvar and his family, but by putting the matter the way the brother had done, they appeared to be the ones in charge instead of me. It was a devious move. I would remember this man for the future. I looked over at him and gave him the slightest nod of approval before I spoke, “That I could agree with. 300 silver coins to repair the injury done to your family and for the slave family to be mine. It is good enough for me.”
The Law Speaker looked from the brothers to me and then back to the brothers again. Then he said, “So I gather that we have a settlement then. Leif will deliver the 300 silver coins to the Sigfrid family, and Orvar is no longer considered a criminal. His family is to be picked up by Leif as soon as the silver is handed over. And naturally, Orvar will go to Leif. Wherever he is.” People couldn’t care less any longer whether Orvar had been with me all along now.
With that, the old Law Speaker rapped the gavel and the gathering was closed.
Egin and I had barely stepped outside the Assembly building when Erik stopped me. I hadn’t seen my freckle-faced friend since the day that he betrayed me at the retrial. And, given the choice, I would rather not see him ever again.
“Leif, I had no choice but to testify against you,” he said, his round shoulders slumped like those of an old, defeated man. “Loke refused to lend me the silver I asked for. The only way he’d give it to us was if I testified in his favor.” Erik sighed, his whole body heaving. “Without it, my family would have to become tenant farmers. We could never bear that. You must understand that. We had no choice.”
I contemplated Erik for a moment. Then I said, “Everyone has a choice. And you made your decision. Now you have to stick with it. Do not approach me again. I cannot promise that I will remain as calm as I am today the next time.” I turned to Egin. “Let’s go.”
39
Later that day, Hilda and I sat on a bench just outside the mead house in Valstad, enjoying the beautiful May evening. We had gone to the port to eat, and afterward we decided to take a walk. Now we were having some bjorr while watching the sun sink slowly toward the thick row of firs. The sunset was accompanied by a bird twittering a simple tune.
“I saw Berit the Seeress earlier,” Hilda said and had a sip of her bjorr.
“That foolish old woman?” I said and couldn’t help but smile. “What silliness did she have to tell today?”
“She said that your father has forgiven you. His spirit visited her in a dream the other night.”
I stared at Hilda. “What did you just say?”
“That your father has forgiven you.”
“But what is there to forgive?” I had no choice but to appear ignorant. I hadn’t told anyone how upset and embarrassed I was about forgetting to pray for my father, in addition to not making peace with him when I had the chance. I didn’t know if I wanted anyone else to know. So how could Hilda, not to mention Berit the Seeress, know of it?
Hilda smiled. Then she put her hand on mine and squeezed it lightly. “You tell me. Because there is something, isn’t there? Something that is bothering you. I could see it in your face during the burial. All night long.”
The mild breeze that had caressed my skin every now and then this evening suddenly felt cold and my throat tightened up. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. My distress must have been evident, for Hilda said, “It’s fine, Leif. We can talk about it some other time. If you want to.”
Before I got a chance to reply, feet met gravel, approaching us. I turned my head away from Hilda and discovered Thora standing in front of us. She stared at me, her face drawn. “Leif, I must speak to you,” she said. “Can I?”
The tightness in my throat was instantly gone and I no longer felt cold. “Nothing is stopping you from speaking, Thora. I am right here.”
Thora gave Hilda a tense glance. “I must speak to you alone.”
“Hilda and I have no secrets. You can—”
Hilda got to her feet. “I think I need some more bjorr. Excuse me.” Without waiting for an answer from either me or Thora, Hilda had turned around and disappeared inside the darkness of the mead house behind us.
“Well,” I said tightly. “Speak then.”
Thora sank down to her knees, her long blue silk dress smearing against the dirty ground on which the bench I sat on stood. She grabbed my hand and began to cry. I didn’t know what to do but stare at her as the tears streamed down her white cheeks. When she at last composed herself, she said, her voice weak, “Oh, Leif, I have made such a mistake! You must forgive me. I was blinded by everything that Ragnar promised me, blinded by all the jewels and beautiful gowns he showered me with, blinded by all the pretty words that came out of his mouth each time he saw me. You must understand that it was not easy for me to withstand everything that he had to offer a simple girl like me. I would have been a fool to say no to it all! You would do the same in my position. By Odin, anybody would! How could I resist? How could I resist!”
I withdrew my hand from Thora’s grip and contemplated her calmly. “I suppose you could not. Why, only you and the gods know. But don’t tell me that I would do the same in your position, Thora. I would never have turned my back on you like you did on me.”
New tears sprang up in those large cornflower eyes and Thora reached for my hand again. I placed both of my hands behind my back. Never again did I want to feel her hands against my skin. Like a child, she buried her face in my lap instead. Reluctantly, I let her be until she had composed herself anew. She raised her head and looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Oh, Leif, what am I going to do? What am I going to do! You must help me. I am all alone now!”
“You are not alone, Thora. You can go back and live with your mother and uncle. I am sure they will take you back. Or you can go find your husband out in the woods and live with him. If he is still alive.”
The tears dried on Thora’s face and her features hardened. “How can you be so cruel, Leif? How can you suggest that I go do the work of a lowly maid on my uncle’s farm? Or that I shall live in the woods for the rest of my life? I used to be your wife! Doesn’t that count for something?”
Void of all emotion, I looked at the crying spectacle kneeling in front of me. “What do you want from me, Thora?”
“Take me back. Take me back!”
“I cannot take you back, Thora. I don’t love you anymore. I love Hilda.”
Thora’s eyes filled with contempt. “That little… How can you choose someone so… so ordinary over some beautiful like me! Remember all those nights we shared, rem—”
I held up a hand to make her stop. I had had enough. Then I stood up.
“You should leave now, Thora. Go back to the barn where you belong. We have nothing more to say to each other.”
Thora’s eyes widened, then she collapsed into a hulking heap on the ground. Stepping over her, I entered the mead house so I could join Hilda.
The following day Hilda and I were told that Thora had drowned herself in the oblong lake beneath out farm. She had attached a rope with a heavy stone to her neck and plunged from the cliff that shot out over the water, in just the same spot where she and I had admired the star-sprinkled night so many months ago.
Two and a half weeks after my father’s funeral feast had ended, very early in the morning just as the sun cast its first tentative rays on Earth, I took a walk around our family’s premises, premises formerly known as the Jarlabanke estate. It was an unusually windy day. I had walked all the way to the edge of the forest, far away from the main entrance of the stone wall that surrounde
d the vast Jarlabanke fortress, and turned around so that I could get a better view of what had become my family’s as of only yesterday. The jagged wall was three men high, enabling me to see only the two-story high main dwelling with its tall gable roof decorated with wooden eagles at the ends. The wall that hid all the other houses stretched so wide that I had to turn my head from one side to the other to take it all in.
I could hardly believe that all this property belonged to us now.
I wished my father was standing next to me so that we could enjoy this view together, for I knew he would have appreciated it even more than I did. The Blackhairs had arrived at last. Well, I could content myself with that he at least could see it from Valhalla… I was sure that he had ended up there despite that he didn’t die in battle. A man like my father deserved a place among the bravest of men. He did his best with what he had, and that should count for something in the eyes of the gods. I only wished that I had gotten the opportunity to tell him so myself.
It wasn’t until I decided to go back to my new home that I saw the wolf that had suddenly appeared and was walking right toward me. I caught my breath. It was huger than any wolf I had ever seen, the size of a small horse. How had it gotten so close to me without me noticing? It kept walking toward me, its icy blue eyes looking straight into my own. The hunger in its stare was unmistakable. It must be out looking for prey…
I stiffened from fear and automatically reached for the knife in my boot. It wasn’t there. Then I remembered that I was wearing a new pair that Hilda had given me yesterday. I had forgotten to move my knife.
I threw a glance at the main entrance of the stone fence and quickly concluded that the wolf would catch up with me long before I had reached it did I try to outrun it. Calling the sentinels stationed there was useless; it was doubtful they would reach me in time to kill the wolf. And who knew how long it would take before they heard me and realized the danger I was in anyway? If they would hear me. The wind blowing in my face as I looked at the fortress would carry my voice in the wrong direction, perhaps drown it out completely.
I would have to fight this huge wolf that was only steps away now with my bare hands.
Maybe, I thought frantically, if I don’t move but remain still like a statue, the beast won’t feel the need to attack me. Maybe, if I avoided looking it in the eye, it would just continue past me and return to wherever it had come from… I closed my eyes. Of course, I had yet to know a friendly wolf. I braced myself for what I knew would be a painfully uneven battle. No matter how good I was at grappling, lunging, and punching, my fighting skills were nothing compared to the strength and viciousness of a hungry wolf with long fangs and sharp claws. Strangely, it didn’t feel as bad as I had thought to realize that my death was likely imminent, happening despite everything that I had been through the last year. I had done well for myself and my family at last. They could be proud, knowing that I would end up in Valhalla together with every other brave man. I was no longer scared of anything, not even a huge, starved wolf about to attack me. I would face it and my destiny like a man, eye to eye. Terrifying as it was, I wouldn’t shy away from it like I had done with my father. Not this time.
I opened my eyes, expecting to see the animal lunge at my throat. But I couldn’t see it anywhere. Where did it go? Then I felt something big and firm rub against my leg. Looking down, I saw the beast rubbing its strong body against me as it walked past me. Turning its head and glancing up at me, its eyes were no longer an icy blue but a blackish brown. Even the shape of them seemed to have changed. Instead of being round they were now of a… much narrower shape. Walking past me again, it rubbed itself against me one more time. Then it continued toward the woods where Nils and I had been waiting for Hilda to talk to Bjorn Jarlabanke several weeks ago.
I watched it until it had disappeared completely behind the firs. Then I smiled, feeling better than I had in a long time, and went to look for Hilda.
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Prologue
Diego Martinez walked through Central Park after midnight, and once more he got the sense that someone was following him. He had felt this way pretty much since he walked on the block outside Café Lola, the high-end restaurant that he managed. But tossing a glance over his shoulder, all he could see was a couple holding hands walking over a small bridge in the opposite direction. Few people were out tonight despite that it was an unusually warm fall night, almost sixty degrees still. He shook his head. This was ridiculous; no one was following him! Why would anyone do such a thing? He wasn’t exactly the ideal rape victim with his broad shoulders and wiry, strong male body. Even so, he picked up his pace a little.
He thought about how happy his wife would be when he told her about the unexpected bonus he’d be getting at the end of the year; with her staying home with their two small kids, they could use it. They both preferred to live frugally, however, so that the kids could be raised by their mother until both were old enough to enter kindergarten. Then Kate would start to work part-time and they could spend more. Living in Manhattan was very expensive.
The thought of two-year-old Anna and Luis, who was about to turn four, put a smile on Diego’s lips. He was so lucky, having a beautiful, sweet wife, two healthy, smart kids and a job that paid well and that he loved most of the time. When the kids were much older, he and Kate might start their own restaurant just like his parents had done back in Texas. The smile grew wider. That would be something. He gave a light sigh of pleasure. Who would have thought he would get to be so happy? When he was a young teenager, he had had other plans for his future. Thankfully, those didn’t pan out. He couldn’t believe he had once even considered staying a member of the Latin Devils for life. If he had, chances were he would be dead now.
He forced himself to stop thinking about his time as a gang member. That was a long time ago now. Sins of the past. Sins that needed to stay in the past. He hadn’t even shared them with his wife for fear of her rejecting him. She hated gangs and shady people. Even though he had never done anything truly bad, certainly never killed anyone or hurt anyone badly like so many of his fellow gangbangers had done, he still felt guilty about the crimes he had been part of. It was still bad. As wonderful as Kate was, he didn’t think she would ever understand why he had chosen to be part of the Latin Devils. Maybe if it had been his only choice it would be different. But the fact of the matter was that no one had forced him to become a gang member; no, he had done it on a foolish dare as a thirteen-year-old boy.
Of course, he had paid dearly for that mistake. He almost died getting out of the gang.
He was halfway through the park now. The full moon had disappeared behind a gathering of light gray clouds, casting his surroundings in darkness despite lots of streetlights along the road he was on. Again, he got that niggling sense that someone was walking behind him, following him. He turned his head to check if he could see anyone, but no one was there. All he could see were lots of bushes and trees at the edges of the road.
Looking ahead, he half jogged up the hill. He should get out of the park. Even though he was sure he was only imagining that someone was after him, it was safer. In the last year, there had been a few assaults occurring in the park; he had read about them in the news. He shouldn’t push his luck. He had too many people who depended on him.
Content with his decision, he made a left turn at the top of the hill. All he needed to do was walk through a short tunnel beneath a cluster of trees, and then he would be near an exit to the street.
It was when he was halfway through the tunnel that he
realized that he had been wrong; someone had been after him all along and now he or she was right behind him. But it was too late. The big, sharp thing that punctured his lung in the back made it impossible for him to scream for help. All he could do was try to get away. He stumbled out of the tunnel, into the shadows of the trees, but he didn’t get far until he felt another stab from behind. He turned around to try to defend himself, see who was attacking him so viciously. But he couldn’t see the person’s face; it was covered by a black ski mask. He noted this only vaguely as his attacker kept plunging the knife into him, cutting the hands he had raised to block it. The pain was excruciating.
He soon collapsed on the ground, too weak to defend himself effectively, and all he felt was pain as the stabs rained over his body. Pain, so much pain.
Chapter 1
The day of Diego’s funeral was not quite as unbearable as Kate Martinez had envisioned it to be. Yes, she was still numb with grief and missed her husband so much it hurt. She still couldn’t understand what their two small children had done to deserve such a cruel fate, growing up fatherless. Why Diego himself had deserved what had happened to him. It was all so very unfair. She and Diego were both so young, they had only been married four years. Because of the monster who had stabbed him to death, she was now a single mother without a job.
Despite wanting to crumble into a heap, Kate managed to stand up straight as the black casket disappeared into the big hole in the ground. She wiped at the warm tears that kept streaming down her face without interruption and threw the bouquet of red roses into the grave at last. For some reason, she hadn’t been able to let go of it until now. The flowers landed in the middle of all the others piling high on top of the gleaming casket, creating a potpourri of bright color.
