by Fabio
When his confused warriors ignored him and continued their escape, and the horrendous wailing of the demons grew closer, a very disgusted Wolfgard could only heave himself to his feet and flee with the others ...
In the distance, watching the retreat with his kinsmen, Viktor again laughed. Chalk up another inventive maneuver to his diabolical wife.
Then a frown drifted in. Wolfgard was very determined to defeat him and his people. As the weeks and months passed, it would require more and more ingenuity to keep Reyna, their unborn child, and his people safe.
The next morning Wolfgard's spy visited him. "Your stepdaughter is breeding," the informant summarily announced.
Wolfgard's face twisted in rage. Damn Reyna and her whoreson husband! Viktor the Valiant had already made Wolfgard a laughingstock among his men, especially by making debacles of his latest attacks. Some of his men had already defected to Viktor's camp, and others now believed that their enemy was truly in possession of supernatural powers. This latest feat on Viktor's part would only hasten Wolfgard's downfall.
"How know ye this?" he demanded of the spy.
The entire village knows, after King Viktor announced to his kinsmen that his wife is with child. You should see the two of them together, all smiles and kisses as they roam the village with their eleven canines, I have even heard that the Ravisher is now helping King Viktor plan his battle strategies."
'The damned little traitor! So she has allowed Viktor to tame her?"
"Yea. Entirely. She is now almost as docile as a lamb."
From the doorway, Leif called out, "What shall "we do, jarl? Once the Ravisher delivers a son to King Viktor, you will be honor-bound to end the feud."
"She has disgraced me!" Wolfgard raved. "And I will kill her with my bare hands. Yea—'tis the only solution. My stepdaughter will die ere she bears my enemy a child!"
THIRTY-FIVE
SUMMER PASSED, AND THEN CAME WINTER. WOLFGARD CONTINUED to attack, and Viktor repelled his enemy with a combination of strategy and skill. Several more of Wolfgard's warriors, developing an awesome respect of Viktor's mastery, or hearing of the fantastical stories he still wove nightly, defected to his camp.
Much of the winter passed in idyllic fashion for Viktor and Reyna. On days when the sun all but disappeared, and nights that seemed to stretch on forever, they languished by the fire, playing with their eleven animals. Sometimes late at night, when fierce ice storms did not threaten, they bundled up tight and stood outside beneath the eaves of the longhouse, watching the dazzling splendor of the northern lights electrify the midnight skies.
As winter receded, Reyna's stomach grew great with their child. Viktor often worried about her delivering their baby here in the past, without modern doctors or hospitals. But when he fretted over the dangers to her, he would always remember his dream—his vision of the two of them with their son, bringing peace to Vanaheim.
Spring came, and the snow and ice caps began to melt. Seals once again frolicked in the fjord; geese, plovers, and guillemots sailed overhead in the clear blue sky. One morning the entire ice fox family, including six grown pups, departed for the tundra, all eight still ensconced in thick white winter coats. Standing in the doorway of the longhouse, Reyna and Viktor lovingly bade their pets farewell.
On another fine spring morning the couple received a shock. They were eating breakfast in the dining chamber when Orm and Rollo ushered in three captives at sword point. Viktor noted that all of the strangers were fair, and were dressed in dark wool tunics and leather leggings. The tallest man appeared quite young; he was blond, his curly locks encircling a finely etched, aristocratic face.
"We caught these spies down by the fjord," announced Rollo with contempt. "Wolfgard has likely sent them to slay you and our lady, jarl."
Meanwhile, Reyna was staring at the newcomers with an expression of puzzlement. "These are not my stepfather's warriors," she informed Rollo. "I have never seen these men before."
"That is not true," said the tall newcomer, staring intently at Reyna. "You saw me many years ago in Loire, my lady. I am your brother Alain."
Reyna shot to her feet, her features white. Viktor, fearing she might faint, jumped up to grab her arm and steady her.
Reyna stared in shock at the thin blond man, noting his slight resemblance to herself, especially in the angular shape of his face and the deep hue of his brown eyes. "But this cannot be! My brother Alain is dead! Wolfgard condemned him to die of exposure because of a slight deformity—"
"Call off your sentries, milady, and I will show you that deformity," the man interrupted calmly.
Reyna glanced at Viktor, and he in turn nodded to Rollo and Orm, who sheathed their swords and stepped back. The man who called himself Alain went over to Reyna and pulled off his soft leather boot.
She stared in awe at the six toes on his right foot. "'Tis true! You are my brother Alain!"
He smiled. "Oui, my sister."
With a cry of joy, she fell into his arms. "Alain! Alain! I was convinced you were dead! I am so glad to see you, my brother.'
"As I am overjoyed to see you, my sister."
After an emotional moment, the two moved apart, Reyna wiping away tears of joy and looking her brother over carefully, as if she expected him to disappear again at any moment. As Alain pulled his boot back on, Viktor stepped forward, wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, and smiled at their guest.
"Welcome to Vanaheim, Alain. I must apologize that my men did not recognize you. Can we all sit down and become acquainted? I'm afraid Reyna has had quite a shock, and as you can see, she's in a rather delicate condition right now."
At Viktor's words, the young man stared at his host with cool suspicion, then turned back to Reyna. "This is your husband?"
"Yea. He is Viktor the Valiant."
Alain's mouth twisted into a sneer. "This Viking got you with child?"
Reyna and Viktor exchanged a glance of bewilderment at the venom in Alain's tone.
"Let us all sit down," Viktor repeated firmly and patiently. He nodded to Orm. "See that our guest's kinsmen are found lodging and food."
"Yea, jarl."
Rollo and Orm escorted the other two men from the chamber, and Alain sat down with the couple at the table.
Smiling, Reyna handed Alain a tankard of buttermilk. "My brother, I cannot begin to describe my joy in seeing you again. Verily, I thought I never would."
"Ouit I only narrowly escaped death back in Loire."
"You must tell me how you came to live," Reyna urged.
Alain's brown eyes darkened with bitterness. "After Wolfgard abandoned me as an infant and sailed off with you and my mother, some peasants found me in the countryside and rescued me. They were a simple couple—farmers with only a small plot of land to work—but they were good people. They raised me until I was fourteen summers old and could assume my rightful place as Prince of Loire."
"You are now prince?" Reyna asked, her eyes alight with awe.
"Yea. I live in our parents' old castle"—again he leveled a distrustful glance at Viktor—"which the Vikings ransacked when they killed our father and took you and our mother captive. Now I have restored the castle to its former glory, and I yearn to bring you back there, where you belong, my sister."
Reyna's expression remained enchanted. "But—you must tell me how you managed to find me!"
"Ah, yes. Through our half brother, Ragar. He gave me directions to find you here in Vanaheim."
"You have seen Ragar?" she cried, reaching out to clutch Alain's hand in her excitement. "Then his voyage was successful?"
"Out, Ragar is now living in Loire and has married a lovely young French woman, Mignon." Alain smiled and squeezed his sister's hand. "All of us want you to return there—and live away from these Vikings in their godless, cold country."
At the obvious insult to Viktor, another awkward glance was exchanged between husband and wife. Then Reyna said gently, "Alain, I am deeply thrilled to see you again, and touched
by your devotion to me. But I am married to a Viking now. We are to have a child, and I love him."
Alain clenched his jaw. "You love one of the very pagans who was responsible for our mother's death?" At Reyna's confused look, he said, "Ragar told me all about what happened to you and our mother here in the North Country, after Wolfgard kidnapped you."
Passionately, Reyna replied, "Then my half brother told you 'twas Wolfgard who broke our mother's spirit and drove her to her grave. My husband took no part in Wolfgard's infamy, and he is in no way responsible for our mother's fate. Indeed, my husband now holds Wolfgard enemy, and thus will avenge the wrongs done to our family."
Alain laughed scornfully. "Your husband avenges us by making bargains with our enemy over your own fate—and gloating that he will tame you?"
Reyna went pale. "Ragar told you that?"
"Out"
As Viktor would have spoken out to defend his wife, Reyna held up a hand. To Alain, she said firmly, "My husband made his bargain only to bring peace to all of Vanaheira."
Alain swung his scornful gaze toward Viktor. "If you believe that, sister, then it is no wonder your husband has succeeded in making you his pawn."
At Alain's barbed comment, Reyna gasped, and Viktor at last intervened. "Alain, given all you have suffered, I can understand your bitterness. You are also most welcome to remain here in our home as our guest. However, I will not have you addressing my wife in this contemptuous manner Is that clear?"
Alain glowered at Viktor.
Reyna gazed plaintively at her brother. "Alain, we are your family here, and most grateful to have you among us. But verily, my husband has spoken the truth. I will not be ridiculed in this manner. And if you are to remain here, I must insist that you treat my husband with respect as well."
Alain jerked his head in a grudging nod, but his eyes smoldered with defiance.
Brother and sister continued to talk as everyone finished breakfast. Largely left out of the conversation, Viktor sat patiently.
Although he felt thrilled for his wife's sake that Alain had appeared, he could not help but feel threatened, especially considering Alain's hostile attitude. Still, when Reyna asked Viktor if he would mind if she and her brother went for a walk alone, he could not object, since he knew they still had so much to catch up on. But the uneasy feeling about Alain's arrival continued to dog him ...
Outside in the village, Reyna and Alain held hands and chatted as they followed a path up toward the tundra. At first they spoke of the years they had spent apart—Alain's childhood with peasants back in Loire, Reyna's youth with Wolfgard and her mother, first in Iceland, then on Vanaheim.
"Ragar tells me our mother died soon after the clan moved to Vanaheim," Alain said.
"Yea," Reyna replied sadly. "I wish I could take you to see her grave. Unfortunately, 'tis in the village of our enemy, Wolfgard. All my life I have longed to kill him for the cruel way he treated her."
"Mayhap I can slay the whoreson now that I am here," Alain said proudly.
She stared at him in alarm. "Please, you and your two kinsmen must not take on this battle."
He frowned, then nodded. "I will not let the task stay me from my main purpose here, which is to return you to your people in Loire. But if the opportunity arises to slay the bastard, I will make use of it."
Reyna regarded him with regret. "Is your heart so filled with hatred, my brother?"
He laughed incredulously. "And yours is not?'
"Not like it used to be."
He waved her off. "You are a woman, and with child. Your softer attitude is understandable. I only hope there is time to take you to Loire before the baby arrives."
Reyna bit her lip. "That is unlikely, since I feel the child will come very soon. And verily, I cannot leave my husband."
"But he is Viking!"
"Do you so despise all Vikings?"
"Out"
Reyna drew a heavy breath. "I did once myself," she admitted. "But Viktor is different He has mellowed my heart. What we have is special ... He is special."
Alain raised an eyebrow. "In what respect?"
Reyna's smile was filled with love. "My husband is a rainbow warrior. Last spring, he died in battle against Wolfgard's company and was launched to Valhalla. From there he lived another life, and then returned to us from the dead."
"Bah!" Alain made a gesture of contempt. "That is pagan nonsense. No doubt Viktor only feigned death to fool you and his people, and to manipulate you to his purposes."
"Nay—'tis true!" Reyna insisted. "My husband really died. From Valhalla he embarked on another life in a tenth world called Futuregard, and there he learned many wondrous things. You should hear his stories ... And he is a Christian now."
"Would a Christian make a devil's bargain as your husband did with your enemy?" Alain scoffed.
"You do not understand—"
Alain swung about to confront her. "What is not to understand, my sister? Did not Viktor the Valiant vow he would tame you and get a son on you, in exchange for Wolfgard's ending the feud?"
"Yea, that is true.'
"And did he not then kidnap you and make you his captive?"
"Yea."
Alain gestured angrily. "How can you swear fealty to a man who so abused you?"
"Viktor never abused me," she retorted.
"Hah! Your belly is now thick with his seed—so he has used you well for his purpose, I would say."
Reyna spoke through gritted teeth. "My husband never forced himself on me. He treated me with respect/'
"He forced you into marriage, did he not?"
"Nay. I offered myself to appease his warriors, who would have slaughtered Ragar and Harald."
"Still, he took advantage of what you offered."
Reyna struggled to maintain her patience. "Viktor loves me, and is convinced we belong together, that our union will bring a greater peace to all of Vanaheim—"
"And your baby becomes his device for winning this peace? What if his ploy fails? Will there not be great danger to you and the child? From what Ragar has told me, I would reckon Wolfgard despises you by now."
"Yea, he does," Reyna conceded unhappily. "He has tried many times to slay me."
"And yet you are eager to stay with this Viking who exposes you to such danger?" Alain raved. "If you were a truly good mother, you would take your child away to safety, Reyna."
"Now you are not being fair," she accused hotly.
"I want what is best for you and your child. How can that be anything but fair?"
For a moment Reyna frowned fiercely, lost in thought. Was she being the best possible mother? Was she placing her child's life in peril by remaining here on Vanaheim? "You are right that there is still much danger here. But Viktor is convinced that the child's coming will end the feud with Wolfgard—"
'Then your husband is a fool. Mayhap he does want to bring an accord to Vanaheim, but at a terrible cost to you, my sister. As for this Wolfgard ... Vikings and peace are about as compatible as fire and ice, methinks. You would be so much safer and happier in Loire. You and the child could live in luxury, supported by our tenants, enjoy the fruits of our fields and drink wines fermented from our own vineyards. Our entire family could be together again."
Reyna felt a strong tug on her heartstrings at the lovely images Alain had spun. It was indeed tempting, the thought of leaving this land of turbulence and war and taking her baby to live safely and prosperously in Loire.
"Ragar is happy there?" she asked wistfully.
Alain smiled. "Most. He and his wife are expecting their first child ere winter."
"I am pleased for them." She sighed heavily. "But I cannot leave my husband."
'Then bring Viktor as well," Alain offered in exasperation.
Reyna twisted her fingers together. After a moment, she pinned Alain with a challenging glance. "If I can convince Viktor to come with us to Loire, will you promise to accept him? He really is a good man."
Alain hesitated. "
Verily, I will try. For your sake."
Brother and sister continued walking in silence. Reyna felt delighted to be reunited with Alain, but saddened by the depth of his bitterness. She realized that seeing Alain was like looking at an image of her own former self. His unforgiving attitude demonstrated to her how much she had changed, how Viktor's love had filled her heart and left no room for hatred and revenge.
Still, Alain had raised a valid point. Why bring up her child in Vanaheim, with its many dangers, when they could all live in peace in Loire—and her entire family could be together, Viktor included?
She must speak with her husband.
That night Viktor stood in the bedchamber watching Reyna on the bed. With the coming of milder spring nights and the burgeoning of Reyna's stomach, they had again banned the wolves from the room at night, although Thor, Hati, and Geri frequently came in to visit during the day.
Viktor saw Reyna's hand move to her belly. "Is he moving?' he asked tenderly.
She smiled. "How can you tell?"
"By looking at your face. First a little frown creases your brow, as if you are concentrating intently. Then your eyes fill with wonder and your hand moves to your stomach."
"You know me so well."
"I should by now."
She jumped slightly, then giggled. "Come feel your son. He is really clobbering me now."
"Oh, is he?"
Viktor went to the bed, lay down beside Reyna, placed his hand on her belly, and felt the subtle fluttering against his palm. A proud grin lit his face. "He's going to be a real handful, I'm betting. Is he keeping you awake at night?"
"No." She wrinkled her nose at him. "But wanting you is."
He kissed her pouting lips. "Reyna, I've already explained that to you. You are too close to term. We can't risk harming the baby, or possibly getting germs in your birth canal."
Her eyes widened. "What means 'germs'?"
He grinned. "Just trust me, darling. We want to avoid the little gremlins right now. All right?"
She sighed deeply and nestled against him.
He stroked her back. "It's been an exciting day for you, hasn't it? Alain appearing, when all these years you thought he was dead."
