Ship of the Dead
Page 22
“What are you thinking?” Astrid asked him.
“Something Lut said. ‘Humor in the face of death is the height of character.’ It’s something he had until the very end, and something I’ll never forget.”
“He won’t forget you either. Where he’s going—where he already is—he still thinks of you, and loves you now more than ever.”
The dreams came, just as promised, and in less than a week Dane had heard what each of his friend’s fates was to be. Jarl the Fair boasted that he would marry a princess—Princess Kara, no doubt—inherit her kingdom, produce many children, and live grandly until his forty-ninth year, at which point an enemy’s sword would pierce his heart and thus he would meet his end with a king’s courage. Jarl said that his dream also foretold that he’d continue to prove himself superior in the annual Festival of Games, taking the crown twice as many times as Dane would in the years to come, and that his hairstyle would become so popular it would be copied by other men and even be named “the Jarl.”
Fulnir the Stinking reported, somewhat more humbly, that indeed he and Drott would find success as experts in the killing of draugrs, and that each would come to have his own lands rich with grain and game fowl. He would marry as well, Fulnir said, and although his bride would be no princess, she would bear him children and love him truly and never complain about his ripe odor save for the times he complained about her cooking.
Drott the Dim said that he had dreamed he rode a whale out of the sea and up a mountain, and there atop the highest peak he built a home for her, made the whale his wife, and lived out the rest of his days eating heaps of seal meat and salted herring. Dane said that he had heard whales made good wives, but the having-children part might be hard. Jarl snickered and said that maybe the dream meant that he was to wed Ulf the Whale. Amid the laughter, Drott thought for a moment, then told Dane that Skuld had most probably sent him the dream as a practical joke and that Fulnir’s dream was meant for him too.
Ulf the Whale’s dream foretold that he was to attend what was called a “school” somewhere far to the south and gain great knowledge, and that he was then to lose half his weight and change his name to “Ulf the Narrow,” and that this bodily transformation would bring him much fortune and many wives.
Grelf was much relieved to report that indeed he was to find great renown as a perfumer to kings and caliphs, and that, as he had hoped, William the Brave would be his man-in-waiting. When William insisted that, according to his dream, he was to be more like an assistant and perhaps eventually a co-owner of the perfumery, Grelf grudgingly gave in on the point.
As to Dane’s other friends Vik and Rik the Vicious Brothers, no dreams came. And though downhearted at first, they soon took it as a sign that, because their valor and vigor were of such majestic magnitude, the gods could not reveal their destinies, for they would so greatly outshine the fates of all their friends as to cause excess worship from females of the village.
And as for Dane and Astrid, they were living their dream, spending each day together walking in the woods and fishing in the streams, planning their future together. One day not long after their return, Dane and Astrid lay in the grass atop Thor’s Hill, gazing at the clouds and marveling at the shapes they made. One looked like a sheep’s behind, Astrid said, and another a liljekonvall, or a lily of the valley. As it scudded cross the sky, the lily bumped into a new cloud, slowly forming a new image—and for one amazing moment Dane swore it looked exactly like Lut the Bent! There he was—his beard, his eyes, his very smile—alive in the sky once again, looking down on them with wise benevolence.
“Do you see it, Astrid?”
“Yes, yes, I do,” he heard her say, and felt her hand squeeze his.
“It’s him!”
Dane’s heart soared. For one golden moment Lut was with them again. And then, taken by the wind, piece by piece the clouds drifted apart to form new shapes, and the magic of the moment was gone.
And then came Astrid’s voice again. “You know, Dane, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“Yes . . . ?”
“The night Lut died . . . what was it he whispered to you?”
Dane did not answer. Not because he had forgotten Lut’s words—far from it; the words he had uttered would be forever etched in his mind with undying clarity. But Dane thought of Lut’s last message as a private gift given only to him, and thus he had treasured it as something secret and sacred, something never to be revealed. But Astrid, he now thought—certainly he could tell her. She was the love of his life, his most trusted friend. But try as he might, the words wouldn’t come. All that did come was the hot feeling in his throat he always got right before he cried. And catching Astrid’s look, he was relieved to see that she knew all that he felt in his heart. She patted his hand and lay back on the ground, gazing up at the clouds.
“Someday, Dane,” she said softly. “Someday you’ll tell me.”
Perhaps he would tell her what Lut had told him. Someday. But for now he was content to lie beside her in the splendor of the afternoon, the sun warm on his face and the scent of lilacs on the breeze, free of worry and full of nothing but the pleasure of her company. Again Lut’s words came to him like some god-whispered lullaby. No god is greater than the voice in your very own heart. . . . Yes, perhaps he would tell her one day, for who better to hear it? But until that time, Lut’s words would be his and his alone, a gift to be cherished and inspired by the rest of his days.
Acknowledgments
Although authors are usually the only ones given credit, a published book is always a team effort. In this case, our team includes our fabulous editors—Warrioresses of the Word—Donna Bray and Ruta Rimas; our very talented art director, Carla “The Artful” Weise; the famed illustrator Greg “I Can Draw Anything” Call—we love the covers, Greg!—and all the other kind and diligent folk at HarperCollins who have worked so hard on our behalf.
We also wish to acknowledge the many personal friends and colleagues whose friendship and support over the years have stoked our creative fires and fed our souls. They include: Jodi Reamer; Amy Schiffman; Sandra Lucchesi; John Thornton Lundgren; Kitty and Tim Miller; Tom and Jane Jennewein; August Jennewein; Thelma Jennewein; Harald and Veshlemoey Zwart; Greg Chappuis; Sally Anderson; Cary Odes; Kit Stolz; Dale Launer; Dan Ackerman; Rich Cronin; Rich Siegel; Bob Busker; Glen Wormsbaker; Joe Galliani; Babs Mondschein; Seth Greenland; Tod Goldberg; Scott Phillips; Darren Star; Douglas Kinsey; Catherine Palmer; Gerald Graham; Thomas Faiver; Lt. Col. David Fautua; James Walsh; Kevin Donohoe; Mark Stroble; Michael “Boom Boom” Baser; the Guest family; Michael Parker; Christine Dishaw; Laura Parker; Allison Robbins; and Jake Jennewein.
In Memoriam
Geno Foster, Hal Kaufman, Mike Roth, Jeff Rothberg
∼ Fine men, gifted artists, beloved friends ∼
About the Authors
JAMES JENNEWEIN lives in a bloodthirsty, barbaric land filled with evil tyrants, slimy monsters, and comely maidens. It is called Los Angeles.
TOM S. PARKER, who has Viking ancestors on his Swedish mother’s side, enjoys pillaging now and then with his pet Chihuahua, Tony. He lives in a moated fortress in Topanga, California.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
ALSO BY JAMES JENNEWEIN
AND TOM S. PARKER
RUNEWARRIORS
SHIELD OF ODIN
RUNEWARRIORS
SWORD OF DOOM
Copyright
RuneWarriors: Ship of the Dead
Copyright © 2011 by James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker
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* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jennewein, Jim
Ship of the dead/ James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (RuneWarriors.)
Summary: In order to save his one true love and prevent the destruction of the earth, Dane the Defiant must defeat an old—and undead—enemy.
ISBN 978-0-06-144942-0 (trade bdg.)
1. Vikings—Juvenile fiction. [1. Vikings—Fiction. 2. Dead—Fiction. 3. Fate and
fatalism—Fiction. 4. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 5. Humorous stories.]
I. Parker, Tom S. II. Title.
PZ7.J4297Sh 2011
[Fic]—dc22
2010013687
CIP
AC
* * *
EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780062039699
11 12 13 14 15 CG/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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