by Fabio
"Yea," she replied feelingly, " 'twas like a miracle. His arrival has been one of the greatest surprises and pleasures of my life."
"Have the two of you caught up on everything now? I noticed you had your heads together throughout dinner, too."
"There is much to discuss."
When she fell silent, Viktor asked, "Reyna, what is troubling you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on. As I said, I know you. And there is something on your mind right now."
She stared up at him solemnly. "You are right. Alain wants us to come live with him in Loire."
Viktor groaned. "Reyna, our destiny lies here."
"How know you that?" she asked, her expression torn.
"Remember the dream, darling? You, me, the baby ... and peace coming to Vanaheim."
"I see no peace!" she flared petulantly. "Wolfgard still attacks us. And our baby could soon be in peril."
He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. "You are forgetting that when our son is born, Wolfgard will be required to honor his word and make peace.'
She shook her head with terrible fatalism. "I think you are a fool, my husband, if you believe Wolfgard possesses any honor at all."
"Reyna, I know what is best for us. I saw it in my vision. You are simply going to have to trust me. Peace will come."
"But why must we fight this battle?" she asked in anguish. "Why can we not go to Loire, where all of my family can be together at last?"
He reached out to stroke her cheek, his expression troubled. "Reyna, this is our home. This is where our future lies. I cannot abandon my people. As for you ... I know you love your brother, but you wouldn't want to leave me to go to Loire, would you?"
She flashed him a quick, reassuring smile. "Nay, my husband. I love you more, and my place is with you."
"Oh, Reyna."
Viktor clutched her close. Reyna clung to her husband, but her heart remained troubled.
THIRTY-SIX
JUST AFTER DAWN A WEEK LATER, ALAIN OF LOIRE STOOD AT the bow of the small ship he and his kinsmen had sailed to Vanaheim from their native land- Behind him, his retainers, Gilles and Barde, were busy navigating the vessel up the rushing fjord toward Wolfgard's wharf. The early spring day was chill, with a biting wind pulling at Alain's clothing and snapping at the ship's square sail.
Alain was still exulting in his victory at finding his sister after a seventeen-year separation. But he knew his mission here on Vanaheim was far from complete. During the past days, he had continued to become acquainted with Reyna, and had tried his best to convince her to return with him to Loire—so far, without success. Although Alain had held open his invitation to Reyna's husband as well, privately he recognized that Viktor was the true stumbling block to his purpose—and he dearly hoped that ultimately he could persuade his sister simply to abandon the hated Viking. Outwardly, Alain treated Viktor with courtesy, not wanting to alienate Reyna; inwardly, he felt for the jarl nothing but contempt, lumping him with the other godless barbarians who had overrun Loire shortly after his birth and split apart his family.
Now Alain feared that time would run out before he had accomplished his goal. Just yesterday he had noticed that the baby had dropped low in his sister's belly, which meant she might deliver her child any day now. Surely the young woman would feel an even stronger bond toward her husband once the child was born.
For these reasons, Alain had decided he would visit the jarl of the rival tribe, Wolfgard, to see if Reyna's enemy could be persuaded to join in his cause. In choosing this rash act, Alain feared for his own life, but he had decided the possible benefits outweighed the risk, for he had much to gain if his interview with the rival chieftain was successful. Alain also had a message from Ragar to deliver to Wolfgard, and he was planning to use his possession of the missive as leverage to help ensure his own safety.
He tensed as the ship bumped against Wolfgard's wharf. Before his kinsmen could even hop out to moor the vessel, three sentries charged toward them with swords drawn.
"Who goes there?" demanded the first burly fellow.
"I am Alain, Prince of Loire," Alain replied with bravado. "We come in peace, and would see your jarl, Wolfgard. I bring a message from his son, Ragar, who now lives among our people."
At this announcement, the guards consulted among themselves; then the first man nodded. "Throw us your mooring rope, Alain of Loire, and surrender your arms. We will escort you to the longhouse of our jarl, and he will decide what is to be done with you."
Alain and his men handed over the rope and their weapons, and the three were escorted at sword point to Wolfgard's longhouse. As soon as the small group entered the smoky central chamber of the abode, Alain recognized Wolfgard from Ragar's descriptions; the chieftain sat next to the open fire, chewing on a leg of mutton, his stubbly chin and dark gannent streaked with grease. The jarl glanced up with suspicion as the captives were ushered inside.
"Who are these intruders?" he questioned the head guard. "Spies from Viktor's camp?"
"Nay, jarl," the sentry answered. He nodded toward Alain. 'This one says he brings a message from your son."
Wolfgard glared at the lad. "Who are you?"
Alain smiled cruelly. "Do you not know, old man?"
Wolfgard hurled down the bone and surged to his feet. He studied carefully the tall, thin young man who had just dared to insult him. He found something about the boy vaguely familiar—and equally irritating.
"Spile me with your tongue again, lad, and I will cut it out!"
Alain revealed no trepidation. "Tis not within you to kill me, old man. You tried once, and failed miserably."
"What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Let me remove my boot and you will see."
Wolfgard hesitated, scowling at him.
"Let us slay him, jarl," implored one of the guards. "He clearly speaks with the tongue of madness."
But Wolfgard held up a hand, "Nay, my curiosity is piqued." He nodded to Alain. "Remove your boot, then."
Alain did so, and a couple of the warriors gasped as they viewed his foot with the extra digit.
Alain stared contemptuously at Wolfgard, who had grown pale while viewing the six-toed foot "Do you recognize me now, old man?"
"You are Reyna's brother? he asked incredulously.
"Oui, I am Alain of Loire," the young man replied proudly. I was the helpless infant you left to die in the countryside of my native land. But your infamy could not defeat me, old man. I am here now as living proof."
"Verily, I can see that," Wolfgard snapped. "What is it you want from me? You say you have a message from my son?"
"Out" Alain took a moment to pull his boot back on, then removed from his neck a leather loop with a wooden talisman attached. "Ragar sends you this as proof that I speak for him—and that he is alive."
"Let me have that!" Wolfgard ordered, extending a gnarled hand.
Alain stepped forward, and Wolfgard snatched the necklace from his fingers.
"This belongs to my son, all right," the jarl muttered. " Tis the talisman of Odin I gave him two summers past." He glanced sharply at Alain. "Where is my son? And what message does he send?"
Alain hesitated, his eyes gleaming shrewdly. "If I give over the message, will you promise safe passage from your village for me and my kinsmen?"
"Why should I honor your request?" Wolfgard scoffed.
"Mayhap so I can convey your own message to your son," Alain countered.
Wolfgard tossed the talisman back at Alain. "You are a poisonous viper, but I will agree to your terms. Now state my son's message."
Alain smiled. "Ragar sends his love. He said to tell you he is very happy in Loire. He has married a young woman, and they are expecting a child. He asks your forgiveness for leaving Vanaheim. He wants you to know he never possessed the heart of a warrior, and he begs your forgiveness for having disappointed you."
Wolfgard received the news in stony silence, though his hands, c
lenched in fists at his sides, trembled.
"Do you have a response?" Alain asked.
"Yea." Wolfgard's voice came out hoarse with rage. "Tell my craven son to return to Vanaheim ere winter—else he is no longer my son."
"I will convey the message," Alain answered. Glancing at the others in the room, he raised an eyebrow at Wolfgard. "May we speak for a moment alone, old man?"
Wolfgard considered the request with a scowl, then jerked his head in the affirmative. "Yea, but call me an old man again, puny whoreson, and you will leave this village carrying your own head."
Alain smiled slightly, "'Tis understood."
Wolfgard motioned curtly to his guards. 'Take our visitor's kinsmen to be guarded in the next chamber. I will speak with this one alone," He scowled at Alain until the others had left the room, then commanded gruffly, "State your business."
Alain regarded the enemy chieftain icily. "First, E would see my mother's grave before I leave this village."
Wolfgard shrugged. "Tis no concern of mine what you do," He studied the boy with disdain. "Verily, you rather resemble your mother—and most especially, your sister. Even the demeanors match. You have seen the Ravisher since your arrival here?"
"The Ravisher?"
"Reyna."
Alain nodded. "Oui, I have spent much time with my sister. And you must know she is great with child—the child of your enemy, Viktor the Valiant."
Wolfgard's gray eyes sparkled with outrage. "Yea, I know! The wench has turned traitor to me, allowing Viktor to tame her!"
"From what Ragar tells me of your pact with Viktor the Valiant, once my sister delivers to Viktor a son, you will be honor-bound to end the feud, will you not?"
Wolfgard charged on the lad, waving a fist in his face. "Why do you rub salt in my wounds? Yea, I shall shortly lose face horribly, thanks to your blackhearted, treasonous sister!"
Alain smiled. "Patience, my comrade. Mayhap I can help you keep from losing face."
Wolfgard's features twisted in a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "What do you propose?"
"I am saying there may be a way to thwart Viktor in his scheme. Mayhap we can help each other."
Wolfgard snorted. "And why would you help me—and betray your own sister?"
"I will cast my lot with you because I hate all Vikings," Alain sneered. "Besides, 'tis Viktor I will betray, not ray sister."
"But you propose conspiring with another Viking," Wolfgard pointed out shrewdly.
"Only because 'twill save my sister from living her life on this godless island with a pagan husband," Alain retorted. He looked Wolfgard over with scorn. "For you, I feel no esteem. Indeed, I hold you responsible for my mother's death."
"Ah—so your malice is out in the open," Wolfgard muttered. "I like knowing the mind of my enemy. Yet I still doubt your motives. Hating me as you do, why would you join my cause?"
"Because I am willing to do whatever is necessary to get Reyna away from Vanaheim!" Alain cried.
"And why should I help you accomplish your goal when I despise your sister as much as you surely hate me?"
"Because if I can convince Reyna to leave her husband before the baby is born, then you will never have to admit defeat to Viktor."
Wolfgard scratched his bearded jaw and considered the boy's argument for long moments. "Tis true. What do you want from me?"
"Your promise that you will not attack my sister—or me— until I can get us both away from this island. And your word that once we are gone, you will never pursue any of us— including Ragar—to Loire."
"Bah! You are demanding that I give up my son?" Wolfgard's tone was thunderous.
"He will not truly be your son unless he returns to you willingly."
"You will allow him to? "
"Out. Once Reyna and I arrive in Loire, I will deliver to Ragar your message. If he chooses to return to Vanaheim, I will not try to stay him."
"But you expect me to allow my traitor stepdaughter to escape unscathed? Why should I cooperate?"
"Because then the thorn in your side will be gone forever," Alain argued. "Reyna's baby will be born away from Vanaheim—and you will not lose the pact you made with Viktor. Afterward, for all I care"—Alain paused to shrug, then finished in a cold, cruel tone—"you can kill the Viking bastard who put his seed inside my sister."
Wolfgard regarded him with an inquisitive scowl, "You seem to take joy at the prospect of Viktor the Valiant's death."
Alain's words were hoarse with bitterness. "Oui Great joy."
Wolfgard grinned. "Then let us speak some more."
Alain held up a hand. "Only with the understanding that my sister will be spared your wrath."
The jarl nodded grimly. "Get the wench away from this island before she drops Viktor's brat, and yea, she will be spared."
The two men continued to converse intently, settling the terms of their devil's bargain. Privately Wolfgard concluded that young Alain was every bit as headstrong as his sister— and even more of a fool. Did the dimwit really believe he would allow both brother and sister to escape Vanaheim unscathed? On the contrary, like a serpent lying in wait, Wolfgard would study the boy, learn of his plans, then conjure the best moment to strike.
Wolfgard realized he should have slain both of Blanche's brats back in Loire. He had missed his opportunity once, and he would not let the chance slip through his fingers again.
Later that day, Alain walked through Viktor's village, seeking his sister, who had been absent at the longhouse. He spotted Reyna in the distance, sitting on a boulder at the top of a rise. She was petting one of Viktor's wolves crouched at her feet; beyond her, the tundra was sprouting back to life with grasses and wildflowers. His sister appeared quite comely in her long blue dress, although her huge stomach reminded him of Viktor the Valiant's treachery, and of his own determination to take Reyna away from this island.
He would try to love his sister's baby when it came, he vowed, just as he had come to love his half-Viking brother, Ragar, but never would he feel either respect or allegiance toward his sister's husband. Despite Reyna's arguments to the contrary, Alain would never see Viktor the Valiant as anything other than a traitor and a brute, a barbarian who had cruelly subjugated and impregnated his beloved sister, abusing her for his own purposes.
Spotting her brother approaching, Reyna smiled and patted a vacant spot on the boulder. "Come join me, my brother Where have you been? I sought you out earlier, and fretted when I could not find you."
Plopping himself down beside her, Alain flashed her a conciliatory smile. "I visited our mother's grave today."
Reyna was aghast, her jaw dropping. "You went to Wolfgard's village! How could you have been so careless? You could have been killed—"
He touched her arm to stay her protests. "I am perfectly fine, my sister, as you can see."
"But why did you venture forth so foolishly?"
"I truly yearned to see our mother's grave. And I wanted to meet the man who abandoned me to die so many years ago."
"Why?" Reyna's query was the merest whisper.
'To prove to him that he could not defeat me," Alain retorted with fierce pride.
She nodded solemnly. "Verily, did you meet Wolfgard?"
"Out And he is every bit the animal I expected."
She squeezed his hand- "But how did you manage to survive the encounter?"
"In exchange for my safe passage out of the village, I gave him news of Ragar."
Reyna nodded. "That was wise of you." She regarded him curiously. "Was Wolfgard stunned to learn you had survived his treachery in Loire?"
"Out" Alain's jaw hardened. "If only I could have slain the whoreson today—but such was not my luxury."
"I know, my brother," she murmured sympathetically. "Your wounds go very deep. But I think in time you will be happier to give up this bitterness."
His troubled gaze beseeched hers. "Can you not understand that I will always be embittered until our family is truly reunited? Wolfgard sto
le not just my mother, but also my sister.' He clutched her hand and smiled. "And I want her back."
Reyna struggled with her own feelings. "I know, and I also yearn for us to have a future together in Loire. But 'tis complicated now. I have a husband and a child to consider."
"Out. You and the child are my greatest concern, and the main reason I spoke with your stepfather today."
"What do you mean?"
"Wolfgard and I spoke openly of our concerns. I do not think you realize, my sister, how thoroughly you have aroused his wrath by defecting to the camp of his enemy— and especially by bearing Viktor the Valiant's child."
"Go on/' she urged with a worried frown.
"Wolfgard considers you a blackhearted traitor. He hates you, Reyna. And he does not intend to honor the pact he made with Viktor."
She went pale. "I was afraid of this."
"Especially if you deliver to Viktor a son, Wolfgard will become more affronted than ever, and more determined to kill you, Viktor—and the child.'
Her hands moving protectively to her belly, Reyna struggled to her feet. "Oh, I have suspected as much all along! He will not honor the pact, then?"
"Nay. He never intended to."
She spoke with increasing frustration. "But my husband is convinced Wolfgard will live up to his word—and that the coming of our child will bring peace to Vanaheim."
"Your husband is a fool who places his own doomed craving for peace before the safety of his wife and child."
Reyna began to pace. "I will have to convince Viktor that he is wrong—that we must all leave Vanaheim."
Alain sighed. 'Try if you must, but mind you, we must leave quickly—tomorrow, in fact."
She turned to face him. "Why so soon?"
Alain stood, gripping his sister's shoulders. "Reyna, I made a pact with Wolfgard—"
"What?" She jerked away. "You turned traitor?"
"Nay. I did what I had to do to save your life and that of your child."
"What is this pact?" she demanded.
"Wolfgard has promised me that if you leave Vanaheim before your child is born, he will not harm you, and that afterward"—Alain glanced away and coughed—"he will live in peace with your husband."
