by A. E. Rayne
Hakon slapped her, and Alys cried out, remembering Ivan’s knife.
She had slipped it under the pillow.
Ignoring her terror, and resisting the urge to fight Hakon off, Alys went perfectly still, trying to conserve her breath. He was heavy, his hand pushing her down as though he wanted to push her straight through the bed.
Hakon was pleased by her submission, releasing the pressure of his hand, struggling to sort out his trousers, wishing he’d thought to take off his swordbelt. He was dizzy, thumbless hands fumbling. ‘You needn’t be afraid, Alys,’ he slurred, fighting with his clothes.
‘I’m only afraid for you, Hakon,’ Alys panted. ‘You won’t see what’s coming if you hurt me. I can’t give you any warning about what’s coming if you do this. The Vilanders are out there, in the harbour, I saw them!’
Ignoring her, Hakon finally pushed down his trousers, shoving a hand up Alys’ dress, his other hand moving off her chest now. And freed to move, Alys slid away from him, one hand extended, slipping under the pillow, pulling out the knife. She rolled over, holding it to his face, quickly scrambling away from him. ‘Get out!’ she yelled. ‘Go back to your wife, Hakon!’ Body trembling, Alys almost fell off the bed, shouting loudly, hoping the guard would come in and help her.
Hakon smiled, excited by the challenge. ‘You have a knife? To do what?’
‘To stop you! To wake you up! The Vilanders are here! In your harbour!’ she screamed, so loudly that her throat hurt, blinking eyes on an approaching Hakon. ‘You must leave!’ She saw her grandfather’s face, saw him training her how to use a knife, a sword, a spear, and blinking him away, she tried to focus on Hakon’s thoughts, listening as he stumbled through how he would disarm her.
‘I’m glad to hear it, and I’ll leave, don’t worry, but first, I need something from you. For luck. With Thenor to impress, I’m going to need some luck.’ And yanking up his trousers, Hakon circled her, hands out.
Alys tried to shut away her memories, which threatened to distract her.
She thought of Torvig and Stina, seeing the pain in her friend’s eyes.
And she saw Reinar climbing in the dark, too far away to save her.
‘My lord?’ The guard knocked on the door. ‘Is everything alright?’
Alys lifted her head, and Hakon lunged for her, knocking her back onto the chair. She grunted, swinging the knife up to his neck, horrified when he simply knocked it out of her hand, listening to it clatter across the floor.
Hakon was furious now, yanking Alys to her feet, off her feet, straight back to the bed, where he threw her down, rolling her onto her stomach, dragging down his trousers again.
Alys tried to move, but he had her pinned in place, hand on her back, pulling up her dress. ‘Your father!’ she screamed, images flashing before her terrified eyes. She saw Mirella. Beautiful Mirella.
And then Jonas, back in his cottage.
‘Who is the father, Mirella? Who?’
‘Jesper Vettel, but he can never know about her. Keep her safe for me. Whatever you do, Father, never tell anyone who she is. I have seen the future, and there are no Vettels in it. Keep her safe for me, I beg you. My daughter will always be in danger from those who know the truth.’
‘Hakon!’ Alys shrieked, trying to roll over. ‘Your father is my father!’
Hakon’s bleary mind was slow to react. Dropping Alys’ dress, he rolled her over, lunging at her, hands on her shoulders, holding her down. ‘What? What are you talking about?’
And then the door swung open, and in came Ivan, sword in hand.
‘Get the fuck away from her!’ Voice like stone, Ivan was quickly at the bed, poking his sword at his cousin’s chest until he stepped away from Alys.
Hakon laughed, hands out. ‘What are you doing, Cousin?’ He was irritated, but drunk enough to find Ivan’s anger amusing. ‘Thought you were on the ramparts, watching for our enemy. According to Alys, they’re already here.’
Ivan didn’t want to talk. ‘Leave,’ he demanded, jaw clenching. ‘Now!’
Hakon stepped back, still laughing, smile curling his lips, none in his eyes. ‘Ivan, my cousin, my dearest friend, after all these years, you aren’t going to let a woman come between us, are you?’
‘A woman?’ Ivan saw Alys sliding away from the bed, pulling down her torn dress, trembling as she backed up to the fire. ‘It’s nothing to do with her. You did this. You! We need to be focused on what’s coming, not this! Get out! Go back to your wife!’ As mad as he was at his cousin, Ivan didn’t want to do anything either of them would regret. Hakon just needed to sober up, get some sleep and calm down. He would see more clearly in the morning.
Hakon sighed. ‘Fine. Whatever you say. Whatever you want, Cousin. I understand. You couldn’t have Falla, so you thought you’d have the dreamer. I understand.’ He walked towards Ivan, hands by his sides now, chest aching, voices screaming inside his head like a flock of hungry birds. He heard Mother and Karolina. His crying son. And frowning, he dropped his head. ‘I don’t want anything to come between us, Ivan. Especially not a dreamer.’
Alys turned to the window, distracted, sensing something coming.
And when she turned back around, her eyes burst open, watching Hakon slip his hand behind his back, drawing out a long knife.
‘Ivan! No!’
She remembered the voice, her mother’s voice; she knew that now. ‘I have seen the future, and there are no Vettels in it.’
‘Ivan!’
But Ivan hadn’t gotten his blade up before Hakon had jammed his knife into his cousin’s belly, twisting it sharply, tearing it through his guts.
And then the first boulders smashed into the wall, signal bells quickly clanging.
45
The sound of shattering stone made Sigurd smile. He nodded at Torfinn, who’d been given command of Dagger’s catapult, and was working with his crew to hurry boulders into the wooden spoon in the dark.
‘Won’t take them long to find us now,’ Bolli fretted at the tiller.
‘No, but that’s the straw we drew.’
‘Hmmm, the short one again.’
Sigurd laughed, clapping him on the back. ‘Or not. I don’t mind the sound of that wall shattering. A little payback for what they did to Ottby.’
Bolli nodded, agreeing. ‘Though as soon as dawn comes, they’ll have eyes everywhere.’ He worried about his ships, feeling vulnerable, stuck out in the harbour as they were, right under that old fort.
‘Hopefully, not everywhere,’ Sigurd grinned, thinking about Reinar, Ludo, and Bjarni, hoping they’d stay safe.
Ludo’s throat was tight, fingers twitching, listening to the boulders crashing against Slussfall’s walls. He wanted to launch his own catapults, but he had to preserve their firepower, for soon they’d be needed to draw the Vettels’ attention away from the main gates, allowing Reinar and his men to slip inside.
If Alys and Eddeth could get them open in time.
Eddeth crept out of the cottage, hood over her head, Aldo beside her, carrying the bowl of potion. The night sky was heavy with clouds, the air thick with fog. She could barely see an arm’s length in front of her. ‘Well, well, well,’ she chuckled as they walked, trying not to trip over anything. ‘The gods have spoken!’
Aldo hoped the strange healer was right, jerking at the sound of something hitting the wall. Head twisting to the left, he wondered if they were safe.
‘Come on! We’re not going that way. We need to get to the main gates!’ Eddeth’s limbs trembled with excitement, but she saw Alys’ face in her mind, and she felt a jolt of terror.
‘Ivan!’ Alys hurried to his side as he lay on the floor, Hakon slamming the door shut, disappearing down the corridor.
She heard the sound of the lock turning.
Ivan had one hand gripping his belly, the other reaching out, pain in his eyes. ‘My... sword.’
‘Ssshhh,’ Alys breathed, wanting to keep him calm. She picked up the sword, moving it into his right ha
nd.’
‘I... I’m sorry,’ he almost sobbed, trying to keep a tight hold on his sword, hearing Mother’s premonition echoing around him, seeing her gleeful old face.
‘I have to stop the bleeding.’ Alys barely noticed the torn mess of her old dress as she ripped off thin strips of green cloth. ‘I’ll pad some of this into your wound, then I’ll strap you up. Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.’ And seeing images of Sigurd, she felt a lift, knowing he was in the harbour; hoping that somehow, Eddeth would be able to get the gates open for Reinar without her.
‘I...’ Tears filled Ivan’s eyes.
Alys leaned over him, smiling. ‘I can read your thoughts, Ivan Vettel. Save your breath. I know your regrets, don’t worry.’ She was worrying, though, hands quickly slick with blood, feeling Ivan slipping away.
‘My lord!’ Lief had hurried into the hall, wide awake. He hadn’t slept a wink, disturbed by dreams of his oath and his father, and his lord most of all.
‘What have you seen?’ Hakon demanded, all thoughts of Ivan and Alys gone, his voice authoritative and sober.
Lief was relieved to hear it. ‘Nothing, my lord. It’s impossible to see anything at the moment, though they’re certainly in the harbour.’ And right on cue, another crash shook the walls, the iron candelabras above their heads squeaking ominously.
‘And Falla and the boy?’ Hakon headed for the doors, wanting to get to the ramparts.
‘They’ll be here soon. They’ll keep Karolina company.’ Lief tried not to sound irritated as he ran down the steps beside Hakon, but Falla had insisted upon taking her time to dress, and he’d had to leave her with the servants, instructing them to hurry her along.
Hakon was pleased to hear it, suddenly remembering that he’d tasked Ivan with looking after his wife. He wheeled around, trying to find someone to take his place. And seeing a familiar figure emerge from the dark fog, he held up a hand. ‘Erri! I want you inside, guarding my bedchamber. You’ll remain there, ensuring that my wife and son stay safe until I come for you.’
Erri nodded, disappointed to be given such a tedious task, though his lord glowered at him sternly, and he was quickly heading up the steps.
Mind sharp and focused now, Hakon walked away from the hall with Lief, slipping down the street that led to the harbour gates, their journey slowed by the fog. Hakon didn’t let it distract him, though, knowing that Thenor would litter his path to victory with traps, wanting him to prove how truly worthy of the throne he was. He could feel his chest thumping as he walked, the mark as hot as fire now.
‘Where’s Ivan?’ Lief asked, hand out, already having tripped twice, the buildings seeming to lurch out of the fog, disorienting him. ‘Surely he can’t sleep through that?’ Another crash had him thinking about Falla, wondering if the hall was the safest place for her to be.
‘Ivan?’ Hakon’s voice was dismissive. ‘No idea.’
Ivan gripped Alys’ hand, knowing that he was going to die. Everything was darkening before his eyes. The chamber was already dark, he knew. It wasn’t that. It was a darkness he could feel coming from within him.
An ending.
‘What do you see?’ he breathed, shivering suddenly, cold all over. ‘Tell me.’ Alys had draped a fur over him, slipping a pillow under his head. He couldn’t feel any of it, but he did feel the cold creeping up his body, freezing every part of him. His teeth started chattering.
Leaning over, Alys smiled, trying to keep him warm. She wished she could edge him closer to the fire, though she didn’t dare move him now.
‘I see the Vilanders. I see...’ Alys saw her grandfather standing with Vik, and she remembered her dream. ‘I see you.’
‘D-d-dying?’
Running a hand over Ivan’s hair, Alys closed her eyes, listening to the assault on the walls. ‘You’re going to live,’ she lied, ‘and become a famous warrior, with a wife and many sons. In a great hall. I see you sitting on a chair in a great hall.’ A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away before it dripped onto Ivan.
‘Sons?’ Ivan didn’t think Alys was telling the truth – she sounded so sad. ‘And my w-w-wife?’
‘Oh, she’s a beautiful woman, with shining eyes, and a round, sweet face. A kind woman with a big heart.’
‘And big tits?’
Alys laughed, wiping away more tears. ‘I... couldn’t say. Is it important?’
Ivan closed his eyes, feeling everything become so heavy. He couldn’t keep them open at all. He tried to see the picture in his mind of the hall, and the chair, and the woman standing next to him.
She looked just like Alys...
Alys swallowed, glancing at the door, wanting to get some help. She needed to stitch Ivan up.
She needed Eddeth.
And then, lock squeaking, the door swung open, and Eddeth was there, basket in hand, a nervous-looking boy shuffling along behind her. ‘My dreamer!’ Eddeth bellowed, seeing a swollen-eyed Alys, who was clinging to a now-unconscious Ivan. ‘Oh, that horrible man, what has he done?’ She hurried to Alys, creaking down to the flagstones, hand on Ivan’s chest.
Alys burst into tears, dropping her head. ‘He’s gone!’
Eddeth nodded sadly, seeing that Alys was right. ‘He is, I’m afraid. Poor Ivan. Poor, poor Ivan.’
‘He saved me from Hakon,’ Alys cried, rubbing her eyes. ‘He saved me from being raped. If only I’d...’
Aldo, still standing in the doorway, started jiggling nervously.
‘You can’t blame yourself, Alys. It was up to Ivan to do the right thing, to stand up to his cousin. And he did, in the end. For you.’
Another boulder smashed into the wall, and Eddeth jumped in fright. ‘We need to move quickly now, before the guard returns. We can’t stay here!’ And struggling back to her feet, Eddeth swung around to Aldo. ‘Any sign of him?’
Aldo shook his head, desperate to leave.
‘Falla sweet-talked the guard, managed to send him away on an errand, but he’ll be back before long. I could hear him grumbling as he went.’
Alys nodded, placing a hand on Ivan’s head, hoping he would find his way to Thenor’s great hall. ‘We should go.’ She looked up at Eddeth. ‘But what about the spell to open the gates?’
Eddeth was already on her way to the door. ‘No time for that now! But don’t worry, I’ve got something else in mind. Should work just as well.’ She turned back to Alys, who was staring at Ivan, tears in her eyes as she stood.
‘I hope you’re right, Eddeth. We need to get those gates open quickly!’
Karolina jumped every time a boulder crashed against the wall, Anders wailing in her arms.
Falla arrived with a crying Borg, leaving him to be soothed by his frazzled nursemaid, who looked ready to escape the chamber, eyes rarely leaving the door. Falla didn’t blame her, but they were safer in here. Surely?
‘I’m worried,’ Karolina muttered. ‘Hakon was so strange. So drunk.’ She’d been relieved when he hadn’t followed her to their bedchamber; pleased that he hadn’t come to bed at all. ‘How will he protect us? Keep us safe? I worry for his mind, now, when he needs to be in full command of it.’
Cringing at the ear-splitting sound her son was making, Falla drew Karolina away from the door, towards the hearth, where the fire was slowly dying. The chamber was freezing, and Falla realised that she was either going to have to take Borg from Eggi or make a fire herself, neither of which appealed. ‘Hakon is cursed. You know that, Karolina,’ she whispered. ‘And by the end of this battle, with some luck, he’ll be dead.’
Karolina gripped her son tightly, hand on his dark mop of hair, hoping to soothe him, desperate for the terrifying noises to stop.
‘My lord, shouldn’t someone go and wake Ivan?’ Lief was unsettled by Hakon’s disinterest in his cousin’s absence; still confused that Hakon had asked someone else to watch his wife and son. ‘He must be able to hear the attack? He didn’t appear drunk when I last saw him.’
They were on the ramparts now, m
en busy on either side of them, moving braziers, dragging buckets of arrows into place. There was no hint of the moon, the fog creating a thick barrier between the fort and the harbour.
Between them and their enemy.
Hakon barely acknowledged him. ‘You’re saying that we need Ivan?’ And quickly moving past Lief, he called to his head archer, a man named Olag. ‘Spray the harbour, Olag! They’re out there somewhere, so let’s try and hit them. We can’t wait for morning. We can’t wait for this fog to clear. Hit them now!’
Olag nodded, almost falling over as a boulder smashed into the wall just beneath him.
‘They’re in range! There!’ Hakon bellowed, pointing in the direction he’d heard the boulder coming from. ‘There! Aim there!’ And leaving Olag to take charge of his men, Hakon turned back to Lief, unable to stay still. It felt as though spiders were crawling under his tunic, and he had a vision of the maggots in his belly. He tried to focus, eyes sharpening with intent. ‘They’re sitting in our harbour, laughing at us! Let’s kill them all!’ Catching sight of the brazier Lief was standing near, he twitched, eager to set fire to their enemy, but he couldn’t risk damaging those precious ships. Ake had sent him a gift, and he had no intention of burning it.
Striding past Lief, Hakon made for the northern wall, wanting to check on his men.
They stood on Dagger, shields protecting their heads, peering into the fog, listening. Waiting. Some men held two shields, helping to protect those running the catapult. Torfinn had his own, for he was merely overseeing his men, not doing the hard work of loading the catapult in the darkness. They didn’t dare light a brazier or a torch, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.
Not yet, anyway.
Sigurd jiggled in the stern with Bolli, impatient to feel his sword in his hand.
The first wave of arrows from the fort mostly hit the water, arrowheads piercing the dark sea, sinking to the harbour’s frozen depths. A handful thudded into Dagger’s deck; one hit a shield. There were a few muted cheers; some reassurance in the knowledge that their enemy was up there, bothered enough to attack blind.
