Authors: Sandra Hill

Kiss of Surrender (28 page)

Vikings, Vikings, everywhere, and not a
longship in sight . . .

T
he wedding
of Trond Sigurdsson and Nicole Tasso took place one month later. To everyone’s
surprise, the ceremony was held at Blue Dragon Vineyard in Sonoma, California,
home of Magnus Ericsson, Max’s father and the father-in-law of Commander
MacLean.

Trond and Nicole wanted to wed sooner and in the
Transylvania castle, but they wouldn’t have been able to invite any outside
guests. Too many young vangels unable to control their fangs. Plus, the location
of the VIK headquarters had to remain as secure as possible.

The SEAL command was not happy about their decision
to marry, just as they had disapproved of Sly and Donita tying the knot and
others in the past. It was the Navy contention that if they wanted their men to
have wives, they would have assigned them ones of their choice. But facing a
possible resignation by Nicole from WEALS and Trond’s possible change-of-mind
regarding the new BUD/S class, they acquiesced.

When Max heard about the wedding that Trond and
Nicole were going to hold in the base chapel—just a small affair—Max insisted
they hold a grander event at Blue Dragon Vineyard where he’d been married
himself to another Viking, Hilda Berdottir. “Vikings need to stick together,”
Max had said.

So, here they stood on their wedding day on a
gorgeous estate.

Unique speckled-bark oak trees lined the drive up
to the massive Victorian mansion with its wraparound porch. The low stone walls
on either side of the road were dotted every ten feet or so with enormous,
dragon-design terra-cotta planters spilling over with baby’s breath and crimson
roses, especially filled for this wedding. Wildflowers in every color of the
rainbow appeared especially bright today on the lawns, as if knowing it was a
special day for them to shine. Beside a spring-fed pond framed with willow
trees, tents had been erected for today’s reception. Behind the house were
several hundred acres of plump grapes awaiting next week’s fall harvest. A white
carpet led from the side of the house to the arched, rose-twined trellis with
its makeshift altar where the ceremony would be held.

It would be a Christian ritual, but the couple did
bow to the Blue Dragon patriarch’s wishes in one regard. Trond and Nicole would
wear Viking wedding attire passed down in their family.

Nicole wore a long-sleeved, collarless chemise of
gauzy white linen . . . ankle-length in front and pleated and slightly
longer in back. Metallic gold, green, and white embroidery portraying
intertwined roses edged the red bands about the wrists and circular neckline. A
crimson silk overgown, open-sided like typical Norse aprons, had matching bands
of embroidery in reverse colors along the edges. Rosebud shoulder brooches held
the gown in place.

Trond had balked but eventually donned a black,
long-sleeved, cashmere wool tunic that hung to mid-thigh over slim trousers. At
the waist was a wide leather belt with a solid gold buckle. A white, silk-lined
mantle of the same fabric, embroidered with roses matching the bridal attire,
completed the outfit. The roses were what had Trond balking. “Men do not wear
roses!”

Magnus, a massive, barrel-chested Viking, still
impressive even in his fifties, overheard Trond and smacked him upside the head.
“I wore roses. My brother wore roses. My sons wore roses. You’ll wear roses and
be happy about it.”

Trond wore roses.

What had started out to be a small affair was now a
huge wedding reception. Nicole had declined to have her father at her wedding,
choosing Commander MacLean to “give her away.” His wife, Madrene, a gorgeous
Amazon of a Norsewoman, had been very helpful to Nicole in planning the quick
ceremony. Almost like a mother, although she wasn’t really that old.

Nicole’s sister, Teresa, was her maid of honor,
with Marie, Donita, and Alex as her attendants. Trond had all six of his
brothers as his best men when they’d all argued for that honor. Of course, their
SEAL buddies were there: JAM, Sly, Cage, Geek, Slick, F.U., and a few others.
And all of Magnus’s children, all twelve of them, from teenagers to
thirty-somethings, along with their extended families; Magnus prided himself on
being a very virile Viking.

When Nicole walked along the white carpet and saw
Trond for the first time under the arch, she missed a step, so impressed was she
at her vampire angel in Viking wedding attire. But then, Trond gasped himself on
seeing his beautiful bride.

A local priest was to perform the ceremony, but at
the last minute Michael stepped forth in regal church vestments. Afterward,
everyone wanted to know who that remarkable clergyman had been, but he seemed to
have disappeared.

When they were pronounced man and wife, and turned
to face the crowd for the first time as a married couple, Trond whispered in
Nicole’s ear, “Look over there, under the willow tree.”

There stood a handsome man in a black suit,
pristine white shirt, and a red and black striped tie. It was Zeb. He gave them
a little wave, then faded away into the now milling crowd.

Between the service and the setup of the reception
tables, Trond led Nicole into a little sewing room off the kitchen where he
flipped up her gown and “swived her silly”—his words—up against the wall. “These
thirty days of celibacy seemed longer than centuries of celibacy,” he told her
afterward.

Between the dinner and the cake cutting, Nicole
told Trond she wanted to show him something in the wine-pressing building. Once
inside, she shoved him onto a table and had her way with him. “Celibacy sucks
for women, too,” she’d told a laughing Trond afterward.

When it was time for dancing—a band was about to
play on the portable dance floor that had been set up—they did the traditional
bride and groom dance. No father-daughter dance for her, but she didn’t mind. In
the glow of Trond’s family and all their friends, she had enough.

Just then, the band struck a particular note, and
Trond turned on her. “Nicole! You didn’t!”

“Me?” she asked, putting her hand over her chest
with exaggerated innocence as “Chain of Fools,” began.

Trond and his brothers looked at each other with
disgust—Mordr was particularly disgusted—as they walked out onto the dance floor
with resignation, and formed a line. While the band belted out “Chains, chains,
chains,” and the rest of the guests joined in, the seven brothers did the
Michael
dance. And they were good. Really good. For a
long time afterward, people said it was the best entertainment they’d ever
witnessed at Blue Dragon, and that was saying a lot. Vikings knew how to have a
good time. There was even a video of it up on YouTube for a day before someone
yanked it off. Probably Harek.

When Trond sat down next to a smirking Nicole, he
pinched her behind and said, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Uh-oh! Is this payback?”

“No, this is a gift from Zeb. I found it in my
jacket pocket.”

He handed her plane tickets and a set of
directions. Her eyes were wide with wonder and a slight mist of tears. “His
hideaway? For our honeymoon?” They both bemoaned the fact that the demon had
been unable to participate in their celebration. They both also feared for Zeb,
back in that horrible den of evil, but this was a time for happiness. They would
worry about Zeb later.

That night, when they were on a plane with Nicole’s
head resting on Trond’s shoulder—no teletransporting this time—she inquired
sweetly, “I was wondering, honey, if you would teach me that
Michael
dance later.”

He paused and then laughed, “Only if we’re both
naked.”

Glossary

Al Jazeera—
Arabic news network.

Al-Qaeda—
Military Islamic organization formed by Osama bin Laden; a terrorist network.

A-Viking—
A Norse practice of sailing away to other countries for the purpose of looting, settlement, or mere adventure; could be for a period of several months or for years at a time.

Baksheesh—
Bribery.

BDUs—
Battle dress uniforms.

Berserker—
An ancient Norse warrior who fought in a frenzied rage during battle.

Bivouac—
A military encampment with tents and improvised shelter.

Boondockers—
Heavy boots.

Boonie hats—
Wide-brimmed hats with loops for hanging vegetation for camouflage.

BQ—
Acronym for bachelors’ quarters.

Braies—
Slim pants worn by men.

British MI–6—
British secret intelligence service.

BUD/S—
Basic Underwater Demolition SEALs.

Burqa—
Enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic countries.

Catacombs—
Ancient human-made subterranean passageways for religious practices or burial.

CentCom—
Central Command.

Ceorl (or churl)—
Free peasant, person of the lowest classes.

Cher—
Male endearment, comparable to friend.

Collateral damage—
Unintended or incidental damage to the intended outcome.

Cossack—
Russian military warriors during czarist times.

Delta Force—
Elite tactical combat group, affiliated with Army but including other service branches, as well.

Drukkinn (various spellings)—
Drunk, in Old Norse.

Eunuch—
Castrated male.

Extraction Point—
Place where military forces are extracted from enemy territory.

Fibbies—
FBI.

Fjord—
A narrow arm of the sea, often between high cliffs.

Force multiplication—
A factor that dramatically increases the effectiveness of a group, including the training of friendlies within an enemy nation to multiply the size of the fighting forces.

Friendlies—
Those within an enemy nation who are friendly to the attackers, e.g., rebels within Afghanistan.

Gammelost—
A pungent Norse cheese with a greenish-brown crust.

Gig Squad—
A punishment inflicted during BUD/S whereby a SEAL trainee is forced after a long day of training to do many vigorous exercises outside the officers’ quarters.

Grinder—
Asphalt training ground in the middle of the SEAL compound in Coronado.

Gunna—
Long-sleeved, ankle-length gown for women, often worn under a tunic or surcoat, or under a long, open-sided apron.

Haakai—
High-level demon.

High-and-tight—
Military haircut.

Hird—
A permanent troop that a chieftain or nobleman might have.

Hordling—
Lower-level demon.

Houri—
Beautiful woman, often associated with a harem.

Igal—
Rope or band used to hold the head scarf in place.

IM—
Instant messaging.

Imps—
Lower-level demons, foot soldiers, so to speak.

Insertion Point—
Place where soldiers insert themselves into enemy territory.

Jaegers (or jagers)—
Jaegerkorpst, Scandinavian special forces.

Jarhead—
Nickname for U.S. Marine due to high-and-tight haircut.

Jarl—
High-ranking Norseman similar to an English earl or wealthy landowner, could also be a chieftain or minor king.

Jihad—
Religious duty, or holy war.

Kaftan—
Silk or cotton, ankle-length and wrist-length garment, buttoned down the front, belted with a sash.

Karl—
High-level Norse nobleman, below a jarl or earl.

K-Bar—
Type of knife favored by SEALs.

Keep—
House, usually the manor house or main building for housing the owners of the estate.

Keffiyeh—
Traditional Arab headdress fashioned from a square of cloth.

Longship—
Narrow, open water-going vessel with oars and square sails, perfected by Viking shipbuilders, noted for their speed and ability to ride in both shallow waters and deep oceans.

Lucifer/Satan—
The fallen angel Lucifer became known as the demon Satan.

Lucipires/Lucies—
Demon vampires.

Manchet bread—
Flat loaves of unleavened bread, usually baked in circles with a hole in the center so they could be stored on an upright pole, like a broom handle.

Mead—
Fermented honey and water.

Mossad—
National intelligence agency of Israel.

MRE—
Meals ready to eat, what used to be called K-rations.

Mungs—
Type of demon, below the haakai in status, often very large and oozing slime or mung.

Muslim—
A religion based on the Koran with the belief that the word of God was revealed through the prophet Mohammed.

Nithing—
A Norse insult meaning that a person was less than nothing.

Norman Vincent Peale—
Famous for his book
The Power of Positive Thinking
.

NVG—
Night vision goggles.

O-course—
Grueling obstacle course on the training compound, also known as the oh-my-God! course.

Odin—
King of all the Viking gods.

PEZ—
Type of candy available from unusual, mechanical pocket dispensers.

PT—
Physical training.

Purdah—
Practice in certain countries of screening women from men or strangers with all-enveloping clothes.

Roger—
As in “Roger that!” meaning “I understand,” or “I hear you.”

Runic—
Ancient alphabet used by the Vikings and other early Germanic tribes.

Salaam—
Arab greeting meaning “Peace!”

SAS—
British special forces.

SEAL—
Sea, Air, and Land.

Seraphim—
High-ranking angel.

Shalwar kameez (or gamez or kamiz)—
Shalwar
is the long shirt of tunic, thigh or knee-length, worn over the
kameez
which are pajama-style pants with drawstring waists, usually wider on the top and narrow at the ankles. Women would complete this outfit with a loose scarf over the top.

Shayetet 13—
Elite naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy.

Skald—
Poet or storyteller.

Spetsnaz—
Umbrella term of any special forces in Russia.

Stasis—
State of inactivity, rather like being frozen in place.

Taliban—
Islamic military and political organization that rules large parts of Afghanistan.

Tangos—
Bad guys, terrorists.

Teletransport—
Transfer of matter from one point to another without traversing physical space.

Thobe—
Long white robe.

Thor—
God of war.

Thrall—
Slave.

Tun—
Roughly 252 gallons.

Valhalla—
Hall of the slain, Odin’s magnificent hall in Asgard.