Banners of the Northmen (27 page)

"And then I suppose the boys will want more of me today too." Konal groaned as he settled into the grass. "This is the hardest I've worked in a long time."

"Then rest." Runa placed herself on the grass, a careful distance away. She knew Konal lusted for her; his eyes were not as good at lying as was his tongue. Every time she beat him in practice, she saw him struggle to control his desire. Today was no different, and his red face was more from just the exertion of practice.

Runa's hands pulsed from sword practice. She rubbed the tough ridge of flesh at the base of her fingers of her sword hand and drifted into thought. Winter had been kinder than years past, and summer was soon to come. In better days, Ulfrik would have been planning a spring festival. She shook her head in dismissal, for Ulfrik would be gone at least two more months and thinking of him would only worsen her loneliness. Ever since the raid on her hall, his absence dug at her. Konal provided a strong presence but he was nothing like Ulfrik. He had neither his confident leadership nor his quick mind. More than anything, she missed his wit and humor. Nye Grenner needed laughter as much as it needed food and drink.

Konal shot to his feet. Runa startled from her thoughts.

"Two sails," he said, pointing to the sparkling stretch of gray ocean.

"Thorod and Skard!" Standing, her hand fell to the sword at her side, as if drawing it could wave away the enemy.

"They come from the wrong direction."

"How can you tell?" Runa was a poor judge of direction, but the two ships seemed to sail directly toward them. Konal ignored her question, shading his eyes with his hand. He began to laugh.

"I recognize those sails. My brother has found me." He turned to her, a wide smile on his face, and grabbed both her shoulders. "He has come at the first good sailing weather, as I foretold!"

Releasing her, he ran yelling down the slope while waving both hands overhead. Runa watched in dumbfounded stillness. Strange feelings welled up, a sudden sadness. Though the ships were not even at the shore, she knew Konal was not mistaken. Fate now worked to remove Konal from the thread of Runa's life. She touched her cheek at the thought, and her breathing grew heavier.

Konal was dancing in the surf, splashing water into the air like a child. His shouting had drawn people from the hall. Gunnar appeared at her side, and tugged her sleeve. "Is everything all right, Mother?"

Blinking several times, she patted Gunnar's head. "Of course. Konal's brother has come." Her voice weakened. "Just as he foretold."

They stared at him waving and shouting, then Gunnar remarked, "That's how I'm going to greet Father when he returns. I'm going to dance in the water like Konal."

Even as the ships slid onto the rocky beach, one man had leapt from the prow and stumbled through the water to Konal. The two men crashed together in the shallows, both of them screaming and wailing in joy. Others leapt the rails into the shallows, some to drag their ships onto the beach and others to slog through the water for Konal. In moments, the men were swarming him and reaching out to touch him. The pile of laughing men looked like boys to Runa. The clump staggered onto the beach where they finally collapsed in a pile. Gunnar laughed. "They're so happy!"

Runa smiled as an afterthought, then guided Gunnar to her side. "Let's greet our guests."

At the edge of the surf, Konal stood arm in arm with his twin. Only Konal's poor clothing distinguished him from his better dressed brother. The two shared the same smile, though the brother's seemed more open. Konal pulled out and grabbed Runa's arm, yanking her forward.

"Here's the woman who saved my life." His arm slipped easily about her shoulder, and she did not resist. "She plucked me from a rock under a cliff, where I surely would've died. Without her, you'd be fetching my bones instead."

The brother, whose name she knew was Kell, looked her up and down. His eyes widened at the pants she wore and the sword at her side, but he met her eyes and held them. "My brother is one-half my life, and so you have rescued me as well. I cannot repay you for keeping Konal well for all this time."

He bowed low and many of the dark men in salt-stained clothing behind him did as well. Several shouted their thanks while others simply looked her in the eye and nodded. A few even wiped away tears.

"I am Runa, ruler of Nye Grenner. I welcome you, Kell, to my lands and home."

Kell snapped up at his name, a wry smile on his face. "Konal's been talking about me, I see. All the good is a lie and all the bad is true, I'm afraid to admit."

Konal roared laughter, unhooked his arm from Runa, then thumped Kell on his shoulder. "How I've missed you, Brother! We've much to discuss. Let's get to the hall. But wait, where's ...?"

As his voice drifted off, a dark cloud formed over the men. Heads lowered and eyes darted away. Kell's own voice was solemn as he touched the silver hammer of Thor at his throat. "Down to Ran's Bed at the bottom of the sea. Were our blood not one in the same, I'd have guessed you'd followed them as well."

The somber air lasted only moments as Konal lowered his head and wiped his face. He exhaled and then gave a calm smile. "They were a fine crew, the best of any I'd ever known. Let's share a drink to their memories. Come."

Runa followed along as the gathering of warriors converged on her hall. Only now did she realize how naturally Konal has assumed control, as if the hall were his own. Gunnar joined Konal and Kell, receiving a greeting that Runa again felt overstepped boundaries of a guest. It was as if Konal was taking Kell to his home, inviting him into his hall. Her turbid thoughts settled and she realized that with nearly eighty men pouring off these ships, Konal had the force to settle Nye Grenner as his home. Her heart raced as she realized the real invaders might be walking aside her with smiles and songs rather than war cries and swords.

Runa sat at the high table, Gunnar at her side and Konal where Ulfrik had formerly sat. Male voices filled the hall, happy and vibrant conversations that reminded her of better times. As she closed her eyes, the scene transformed into the festivals of years past. The deep chuckle at her left became Ulfrik's. The sudden shout and crash became Toki's drunken stumbling. The resultant laughter came from the hirdmen. Yet when her eyes opened the scene was filled with unfamiliar actors, though no one was less happy.

Kell had fallen off the table, and his men threw scraps and laughed as he struggled to his feet. In the short few weeks Kell had stayed in Nye Grenner, he had done much good. Seeing the poor state of the buildings and the low stores of food, he had dispatched his ships to buy food and supplies from the Shetland and Orkney Islands. With the larders restocked, he then set his men to restoring the damage wrought over half a decade of disrepair. As the weather warmed into spring, Kell ensured Nye Grenner's people shook off the vestiges of winter. To Runa's embarrassment, Kell had paid for and organized the feast everyone now enjoyed.

The day of celebration drew all the community, comprised mostly women and girls. Though many were married, with husbands long gone and the prospect that many were dead, Kell's crew found plenty of accommodating women. Runa could not condemn them, but neither could she bring herself to join them.

Night still arrived early, and as the sun collapsed, so did many who had drank to excess. Others found the opportunity to slip away with a partner. The hall grew tired and quiet, and the amber light of the hearth fire cast flickering light around those who remained. Konal had reversed himself on the bench so his back rested against the table and legs stretched out. Gunnar and his friends sought mischief among the crowd below the high table and Thora had taken Hakon to free Runa to lead the celebration.

"The people of Nye Grenner are charming," Kell announced as he joined Runa and his brother. He clutched three mugs of beer, froth splashing over his hands as he offered them to Konal and Runa.

"The women of Nye Grenner are lonely and frightened." Runa sipped the bitter beer, a fresh and malty tang she had long missed. "They're glad to see friendly men in their hall."

"What's to be frightened of with Runa the Bloody leading them?" Konal said, raising his mug to toast her. He had given her the name after the attack. She disliked it but realized having a fearful reputation had its uses. "To the might of your sword arm, which I'm proud to have trained."

Flipping a lock of hair from her face, she frowned at the statement. "We fear once the mighty Konal and his more humble and better mannered brother leave, our enemies will have revenge for the five we killed."

"But we're not leaving!" Konal rollicked with laughter, though Kell smiled and looked at the floor.

"So it seems. But there is the matter of the one you seek, yes? You will search for him, then return to Ireland?"

Kell choked on his beer, coughing wildly enough to raise a few weary heads from the tables below. His face flushed red when he recovered. "You know about him?"

"I told her a wee bit of the story, Brother. Do not concern yourself."

Runa smiled as Kell settled back on the bench. She withheld a wee bit of the story as well, and it was a warm, satisfying secret that she could use for bargaining. "All I know is you seek a slave, and from this exchange I assume you have not found him still."

Kell shook his head. "The trail has vanished into the sea. No man will find him, but we must search. There is no reason to return to Father with news of failure."

"No reason to ever return," Konal grumbled.

"What about your wife and children?" Runa enjoyed the scowl that overcame him. Kell interjected, steering talk away from him and his brother.

"You fear an attack? What kind of enemy do you expect?"

"Two kinds," Runa said, pausing to drink. "Traitors and fools. The first kind are easily handled. Ingrid holds the north of the island for me, but she is a relative of my enemies. I've heard nothing from her since my husband left. My enemies learned about our condition from someone."

"So you want to discipline your bondsmen?" Konal glanced at his brother, then looked at Runa.

"And after I do that, I want to carry the battle to the lands of my enemies. Nye Grenner has seen enough blood in its years. I'll tolerate no more enemy feet upon its fields. Let the fools of the north die in their halls, with their women and children watching. That has been Nye Grenner's lot, but no more."

A lump clogged her throat and her voice trembled as she shared her plans. Pausing to marshal her rising emotion, she filled the silence with another sip from her mug.

"My husband promised to return before summer, but he must be delayed." She stared at Konal, who over recent weeks had hinted that Ulfrik might be dead. "I cannot wait for his return to take action. He will be too late."

Konal and Kell stared at each other. A strange impression of silent communication passed between them. Runa studied their expressions, hoping to read agreement. Both turned to her in tandem, though only Konal spoke. His voice was more studied, as if he were bargaining with a trader.

"You hope my brother and I will lead our men against your enemies?"

"That is correct in but one detail. I will lead the men."

Kell's eyes widened and cheeks puffed as if to laugh, but Konal's flat reaction instead led him to drain his breath with a long sigh. Runa met Konal's eyes, seeing his anger flash but also suspecting he approved. His pride, she knew, would interfere.

"Impossible. You can wear pants and carry a sword, but it does not make you a man."

"I rule this community in the absence of my husband, the jarl. I speak for them, care for them, and I fight for them."

"Men will not follow a woman to battle. It's unnatural."

"Glory is glory, whether a woman stands before or behind them. Isn't that what your men crave, glory in battle?"

"Riches is more like it, and that can't be had here."

"Then you misunderstand me, Konal. I don't want to kill a few of their levy. I want to water the earth with the blood of every person who has persecuted us all these years. I want your men to carry away slaves and property, the gold buried in halls, the ships at rest by their docks."

The blood-thirsty request stunned the brothers into silence. Runa could devise no other way to phrase her desires, for what she described would be the same plans her enemies made for her. She had to act first and with finality, no matter how horrible.

"So you are promising all spoils to my men," Konal looked at Kell as he spoke. "And you want to lead them in battle, though you've never before led men."

"There are a thousand fools living among these islands, and every one of them must know Runa the Bloody from Nye Grenner will destroy her enemies and not chance attacking me in the future. You can organize your men, but I will inspire them and stand before them."

"You will be killed." Konal brushed imaginary dirt from his pants. "You're too small and not strong enough to push through a shield wall."

"Then we don't fight in shield wall." Her patience ended, she slammed her mug onto the table and stood. Gunnar appeared beneath the table, and others gazed up at her sudden action. "You owe me your life, Konal. To repay your debt, lend me your men to end the threat against my people. All the spoils will be theirs and all the vengeance will be mine. Don't concern yourself with my life. Fate decides what to do with it."

The already quiet hall stilled to complete silence. Runa did not flinch from Konal's hard gaze, and the two remained locked. It was a different type of duel than one fought with swords, the type Runa was accustomed to winning. She gave a twitch of a smile when Konal glanced away and stood.

"You will have my men and my word to serve you. But once it is done, all debts are paid. I risk my life to repay you, after all."

Happiness and fear eddied through her, and she blinked slowly to keep the emotion out of her eyes. "Do this and you owe me no more. I will need no more."

Konal smiled, then sat, slapping Kell's knee. "She's a tough woman, eh, Brother? Can you see her in mail and helmet at the front of our men?"