At the mouth of the Sognefjorden
Magnus raised his sword in thanks as Rorik’s fleet peeled away from his two knörrs, continuing northward. As they became a dark shadow in the distance, he drew his ships toward the channel near the islands guarding the entrance to the fjord. From there, he would follow it to the Lustrafjorden, where he beached his vessels. It was the closest place to his inland village.
They’d had a fair wind during the voyage up the coast. The southern current had run swift, so they’d made good time in only about two days. Of course, Rorik’s ships could have made it faster, but the knörrs had slowed them down. Still, it had been a pleasant enough trip. Magnus sighed in relief as he saw the familiar islands before him, the mountains rising from the fjord beyond them.
He turned away to direct the adjustment of the sails for the tight maneuvering past the islands. He didn’t use the oars except for landing the knörr, unlike a longship. The wind had been growing all day and now it blew harder as they skirted the islands.
“Magnus, ships.” Leif stood on the prow of the other vessel, pointing ahead of them.
Two knörrs slid out from behind the island, heading for them. This wasn’t good. They should give a wide berth if they were passing by. But they continued coming. He shaded his eyes with his hand while his helmsmen turned his ships toward each other.
He clenched his jaw as he recognized the other vessels. “It’s Toke. How could he know we would be here?”
As his ships came alongside each other, Leif said, “He couldn’t have. He might have been lying in wait for anyone entering the fjord. He saw Rorik’s ships break off and is taking advantage of it. We’d best prepare for battle.”
“Sail toward the lee side of the island. It’s calmer and will give us more stability.” Magnus took the steering board while Leif did the same on the other boat. They curved around the shore, using the land to protect them from the fast currents. Toke’s ships closed in on them. Magnus’s seafaring craft held more men and were heavier than Toke’s coastal knörrs. While Magnus couldn’t outrun him, he did have greater numbers.
They slowed and he guided his ship alongside Leif’s, turning until they faced Toke’s ships with their backs to the sun. Leif and several other men jumped across, carrying mooring lines, and tied the two ships together. They lowered the sails so the wind couldn’t shift the boats.
As the men gathered their weapons, Magnus said, “Remember, minimal chain mail. If you fall over, it will drag you under... If you do fall in and can’t get back aboard, make for the island.”
“We won’t desert you.” One of the men raised his sword and the rest followed suit. “We stand together.”
Magnus nodded his thanks. “They’ll want the ships, so they won’t damage them. They’re drawing close enough to fire arrows. The sun should hinder their aim. Ready your shields and your bows. May Odin grant us victory.”
They all murmured agreement and Magnus hefted his shield high on his arm, tightening his grip on his sword. The first volley of arrows should come right about . . .
“Now.” He and the other men knelt and raised their shields. They formed a wall of wood and leather, the edge of each shield solid against the boss of the next. The arrows hit, biting deep, but no one was injured. His men stood and fired their own arrows back. Screams filled the air. Magnus exchanged grins with Leif. Toke’s men, likely all outcasts, weren’t as skilled as his were, and now the fool had even fewer of them.
Magnus looked over the edge of his shield. Toke’s ships were almost upon them now.
Leif also peered over his shield, then ducked behind it as more arrows hit. “I think I saw Toke there, cowering in the back of the boat.”
“Are you certain? He has always had others fight for him.”
“I’m not sure why he’d be there, but when they saw us, he couldn’t back down in front of his men.” Leif chuckled. “This will be amusing.”
Magnus raised his voice over the next barrage of arrows. “Don’t underestimate the danger of a coward.” The ship rocked as Toke’s knörr rammed it. “Let’s give the gods a good show this day.”
“When do we not?”
They stood just as the first wave of attackers landed on the deck. They met with yells and the ringing of steel.
Magnus deflected the spear of an attacker with his shield, swiping it to the side and thrusting his sword into the man’s chest. He twisted the blade free and pushed him over the side. At the sound of boots behind him, he jammed the pommel of his sword backwards. It slammed into a shield, shattering it. Magnus brought his own shield around, hitting his attacker in the side of the head. The man dropped. Magnus ran him through and stepped over him toward a knot of men fighting. A man came at him. Magnus drove him back into the cluster of combatants. He pushed his shield against the man’s sword arm, trapping it against his body before running him through.
He stepped back. Where was Toke? This had to stop now. He had gone too far, ambushing them from behind an island, attacking for no reason. He looked for the nithingr but couldn’t find him. Another man leaped at him. Magnus let him come. He stepped aside at the last moment and grabbed his helmet. The chinstrap held it on his head as Magnus swung him off the ship and into the water. That was why he didn’t wear a headpiece. He looked around.
Leif fought on the other ship, his sword flashing in the bright sun. As he gutted his opponent, he yelled to Magnus, “Rorik’s returning.”
Magnus looked to the north. The dark shadow on the water was growing larger as the ships approached. The other men heard Leif, and Magnus’s men cheered. They were winning, but the size and power of the fleet would make Toke’s men wither away and run. Already the cowards were abandoning the battle and leaping back on their own boats.
Magnus saw him then. Toke stood on the deck of his ship, never having left it. He shouted at his men to keep fighting, but they didn’t listen. They swarmed over the sides and shoved their boats away, leaving Magnus’s forces laughing and jeering at them.
Leif turned back and grinned, but then his eyes widened. “Behind!”
Magnus didn’t stop to look. He dropped and brought his shield up, angling it so it caught the wind. With the added power, he swept it behind him, hitting his attacker hard. The warrior stumbled toward the low edge of the ship. Magnus’s heart froze. It was a youth, little more than a boy. And he was wearing mail. Flailing his arms, the whelp dropped his sword and flipped over the side into the sea.
Magnus threw down his own weapon, fell to his knees, and reached into the cold, dark waters, trying to find him. His hair trailed into the sea and the spray from the side of the boat caught him in the face. The lad was too young to fight. What was he doing there? What idiot gave him mail to wear in a sea battle? He never had a chance. Magnus leaned over farther, searching, the water up to his shoulders, and almost fell in. A strong hand yanked him back by his belt.
“Magnus, he’s gone.” Leif peered into the water. “Ran embraces him now, and she doesn’t give up what she holds. Let it be.”
“What fool let so young a boy fight?” Magnus’s hands shook as he picked up his shield and sword. To kill a hardened man was one thing, but this was little more than a child.
An agonized bellow echoed across the water.
“My son! You drowned my son.” Toke’s scream rang from the other ship as he sailed past.
“I don’t kill children. Nor do I bring boys to fight with men. What were you thinking, Toke? He wore mail. You shouldn’t have taught him to attack from behind like the nithingr you are.”
Toke shook his fist. “By right of law, I can kill you for saying that.”
“You can try. But you won’t. You lack the bollocks for it.” Magnus took a harsh breath to bring his anger under control. “A sea battle is no place for a boy. You should have kept him home where he belongs, not leave him behind as you flee for your miserable life. His death lies at your feet, not mine.”
“I saw you. You were hanging over the side,
pushing him under. Holding him there so he drowned.”
Magnus sheathed his sword. “I tried to find him, to pull him back up.”
“No. You drowned him.” He raised his sword high. “I vow by all the gods that, as you destroyed what I love, so I will annihilate anything you hold to you. Watch your family, your village, your life, Magnus. I’ll obliterate them all.”
While Toke’s ships headed toward the fjord opening, his screams still carried across the waves.
“I should have gone in after the boy.” Magnus ran his hand through his dripping hair.
“And Ran would have salivated over a warrior like you.” Leif helped toss the body of one of Toke’s men overboard. “Even if you didn’t drown, she would have come for you herself and pulled you down. The boy is lost because of his father’s foolishness. There’s no one to blame for his son’s death but Toke himself.”
“You heard his vows. The rivalry between us will grow into a full-scale war now.”
Leif clapped him on the shoulder. “Looks like you may need those other warships and men Eirik offered you as Silvi’s dowry after all. Though I don’t imagine it would be any hardship to have the lady herself as well.”
Magnus said nothing as Rorik’s fleet drew closer. All the ships had returned, four and twenty of them, a force as large as any king’s army. The splendid sails billowed in the winds, the proud bows rising above the waters. Rorik’s flagship led the way. He stood with his feet braced on the prow, his arm wrapped around the dragonhead ornament. Dozens of warriors stood behind the shields lining the low sides. When the oars were in use, the shields wouldn’t hang there, but on the seas with ships in full sail, they made a fine display. Thank the gods he was an ally.
Rorik’s fleet lowered their sails, slowing the ships a short way off. Their numbers blocked out the northern horizon.
Rorik yelled across the distance. “Trouble, Magnus? The lookout in the last ship thought he saw a battle. We weren’t certain how many you faced, so we all returned.”
“Just a nithingr who thinks to start a war with us. It’s been building. He tried to ambush me.” Two of his men tossed another body overboard after stripping it of anything of value.
“Looks like he made a mistake.”
“That’s true of anyone who attacks me on the seas.”
Leif raised his stained sword. “We’re slow, but we’re mean.”
“I can see that. Leif, how would you like to come raid with me? Beautiful, willing women, a share of our spoils, the best of everything. Then you could sail on some real ships.”
Leif smiled, shaking his head. “Don’t you have enough warriors?”
“Never.” Rorik swung down off the bow onto the lower level.
“My thanks, Rorik. I’ll stay with trading. It’s safer.” He looked down at the bloody deck. “Usually.”
“If you change your mind, I’m sailing to Northumbria with Ragnor Lothbrok. There are some holdings that are ripe for the picking. Good for hostages. Lots of silver and gold there as ransoms. And treasure-filled monasteries guarded by soft-armed monks. Magnus, would you like me to send a couple of my ships with you up the fjord, just to be certain? I can spare them. It’s no trouble.”
Magnus looked at Leif and his twin nodded. “We must sail past Toke’s fjord to get to ours. I don’t trust him, especially with what just happened. He’s lost his mind.”
As Magnus turned back to Rorik, Leif put a hand on his arm. “Make certain one of the ships has Rorik’s sister, Kaia, on it. She’s . . . a good fighter.”
Interesting. The shieldmaiden and his brother had circled each other all week at Haardvik.
Before Magnus could speak, Rorik said, “My sister will command the two ships I send. And they’ll stay with you for a time, to increase your strength in case you need it. I know you’re accustomed to shieldmaidens.”
“I should be. I trained one.” Magnus laughed and Rorik joined in. Rorik must have noticed the same thing about Leif and Kaia. He’d wanted Leif to join him. When Leif had refused, Rorik sent her with them. Even more interesting.
Rorik’s shouted orders echoed across the water, passed from ship to ship. His men scrambled to obey. Leif jumped back to the other vessel, the men clearing the decks of weapons and the remnants of battle. They untied the ships from each other. Rorik’s fleet moved north as two of his warships peeled off.
Magnus called for his men to raise the sail. As they worked the rigging, one of Rorik’s longships slipped past them. Kaia stood in the front, tall and slender. She didn’t look at them, but her gaze stayed forward, scanning their route. Leif’s knörr fell in line behind her, and Magnus’s ship, along with Rorik’s other warship, took up the rear.
Once they got past the islands and entered the fjord, Kaia’s ships slowed so that Leif and Magnus could lead the way. The fjord split into other waterways farther up, and she wouldn’t know which course to take. The mountains rose high on either side of them.
The fjells of home.
It didn’t sit well to take Rorik’s charity, but it paid to be sensible. Magnus needed all the help he could get now. As jarl, he’d always had enough warriors for his needs—some to guard his ships, and others to remain behind at Thorsfjell while he and Leif were gone trading.
Rorik was family now, through Asa’s marriage to Eirik. So perhaps his help wasn’t charity, just what families did for each other. And there was a way to further cement that connection, giving him the warships and fighters he needed.
Silvi.
Chapter Three
Haardvik
The moon darkened.
Silvi studied it, perplexed. The trees of the grove were shadows around her in the night, though the clearing was bright. She’d come to try to ease her mind. In the days since the fleet left and her mother had had the vision, Silvi had been unable to eat or sleep well. Anxiety ate at her, as though the Norns wove a terrible net and now they tightened it. That afternoon, she’d wept, though she didn’t know why. She wanted to burst. Her stomach burned and no amount of ginger, myrrh, or cow’s milk would soothe it.
In this place, she should have found peace. Instead, a dim shadow passed over the moon, even though there were no clouds. It wasn’t like the bite the Fenris wolf had taken from it a year ago during the Ostaramoon of spring. This was the same full moon, but now the tint was more subtle. Few people would notice it. But she did. What did it mean?
Her heart pounded as though she’d run fast. Her mouth dried. She fell to her knees and shut her eyes as the grove swam around her.
A dark dragon with gold-tipped scales swam on the seas, a crimson and ebony sky behind it. Arrows passed through the sky toward it, like a storm. It screamed and lashed its tail, striking them away. But still they came, becoming sharp-beaked birds. They grew until they were as large as swords. The dragon’s scales repelled them and it was unharmed. It rose up from the waves and its power swept some of the birds into the churning waters, where they drowned. Another dragon, this one black as night, flew across the waves toward them. The rest of the birds saw it and fled, leaving only blood burning scarlet on the surface of the ebony seas.
Silvi opened her eyes. Her trees surrounded her, and only the soft sounds of the night wove around her. The moon looked like it always had, bright and full.
How long had she been kneeling here? What did the vision mean? There was only one other time she’d had a vision of a dragon on the seas.
When Magnus had come to fight for Haardvik. The hair stood up on her body. She staggered to her feet and ran back to the village. People were still up, drinking and gaming, but she ignored their greetings. She stopped in front of Nuallen, who guarded Lifa’s room as always.
“Is my mother here?”
“She just returned from visiting a sick child and told me to watch for you.” He opened the door.
It came as no surprise that Lifa would see this time. Silvi nodded to him and stepped inside. “Mother.”
Lifa sat at her table, a small oil l
amp before her. “The Fenris wolf has passed close to the moon without taking a bite. Only his shadow touched it.”
She sat in the chair opposite Lifa. “I was in the sacred grove, watching it. I saw a dragon on the seas, like my vision when Magnus and Eirik were coming here to kill Hakon. The sky was red, like blood, and there were arrows in the sky that became lethal birds. The dragon defeated them. Magnus and Leif should have reached their home today, if the seas were fair. What if something has happened to them?”
Two rune pouches lay on the side of the table. Lifa pushed one of them across to Silvi. “We need clarification. Take your own runes and pull out only one. Think on Magnus.”
“Why can’t you do it?” Silvi didn’t want to think of him. What would the rune show her mother?
“The gods gave you the vision, not me. They will speak to you this night.”
That was true. She opened the drawstring. Reaching into the pouch, she let the wooden disks slip through her fingers, searching for the one that warmed to her touch, that seemed different. Magnus’s image rose before her, strong, beautiful, imposing. His blue eyes looked directly at her, into her. Something deep within her melted. She shook her head. No, those weren’t the influences she wanted to bring out.
She bit her lip and tried again. Magnus on the water, in his ship, the striped sails billowing behind him as he stood on the foredeck. His cloak streamed behind him like a storm as he braced his powerful legs on the rolling deck. The ship flexed beneath him, giving to the waves, yet cutting through them. His hand would grip the prow as he leaned into the spray . . .
There. One of the runes felt a bit warm. She pulled it out and laid it on the table. Perhaps it wouldn’t tell them anything. Perhaps it would hold many meanings.
Her heart fell. “Raido reversed.”
Lifa rose and crossed to the door. As she opened it, she said, “I’ll tell Eirik we need to leave as soon as possible. Pack your clothes, Silvi. We’re going to Thorsfjell.”
Lord of the Mountains Page 4
