Authors: Constantine De Bohon
The two men turned to attack Alfarin. Leif yelled and
struggled harder when he saw the men go after his brother. He
twisted so violently, Sky dropped him.
boy was sturdy and strong for five, but not nearly strong
enough. Sky couldn’t just stand there. She hefted Lud’s sword into
her hands with sheer determination. The warrior before her
laughed when she went for him, jumping in front of Leif.
Sky cried out when the man’s sword hit hard against her own.
The blow rocked through every portion of her body. She was
relieved to see Lugh helping Alfarin.
Leif dodged around her and struck the man with his wooden
sword against his kneecaps. The man growled and lifted his sword
to strike at the boy. Sky screamed and raced forward to protect the
child. Her weapon clashed with the man’s, but she wasn’t nearly
strong enough to deflect a strike from a man of his power. The
blade came down hard and would have sliced her in half if Eirik’s
sword hadn’t stopped its descent.
“Fight like a warrior,” Eirik snarled. “Or are you only capable
of killing defenseless women and small boys?”
Eight of the village men now surrounded the renegade
warriors. Alfarin slammed his sword through a man and the others
cheered. Lugh downed anther renegade. All the others were dead
except for the man Eirik challenged.
Sky knew the man was going to die; it was just a matter of
time. She wanted to take Leif away, but Eirik demanded he stay.
“I want to stay and watch Father flay him alive!” Leif shouted.
“He was going to kill Sky.”
Eirik and the man clashed swords. It was over quickly. Eirik
didn’t toy with him with a man down and another injured. Three
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strikes and the man lay in a pool of his own blood. The men
cheered.
Sky thought she would vomit. Eirik went to Sky; she could
tell she was ghost white from his tender expression.
His thumb stroked her chin.
“Always in the middle of trouble,” he said with affection.
“I’ll say,” Leif scoffed. “I should have asked Rolf for
three
squirrels.”
Eirik directed the men to carry Lud, who was wounded but
alive, up to the cabin. Isibel was already there, for she had raced
for Eirik and the others the moment the man who was carrying her
went down. Eirik tossed Sky over his shoulder; he ruffled Leif’s
hair and clapped his older son on the back, declaring him to be a
mighty warrior.
Sky was glad to be carried; she didn’t think her shaking legs
would hold her.
Eirik took her to Katla who held her in her arms. Eirik
explained what had happened.
“You took up arms against a warrior for my son?” Katla said in
surprise. “But I have seen you try and hold Rolf’s sword, and you
cannot.”
Sky couldn’t explain it and she doubted she would be able to
lift the sword again. But she didn’t know the word for adrenaline;
she tried to explain, but Katla shushed her.
“This word you use sounds like love,” Katla said.
Sky supposed in that situation she was most likely right. “You
have two very brave sons,” Sky said.
“Too brave, I think, from the sounds of what happened. The
foolish boy could have been killed. Thank you again for saving his
life.”
“There will be a feast tonight,” Eirik said and rubbed his hands
together. He grinned at Sky. “Today my son became a warrior. He
is young but worthy. Another test from Odin. Lud was wounded,
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but he will recover and Lugh fussed when Isibel tried to wrap his
arm, so he will also be fine. Sky will dance and we will eat.”
* * * *
Sky went to throw a bucket of reddish-brown water behind
the cabin. Lud may recover, but she winced at all the blood. She
was about to return to the cabin when a sound caught her
attention. She strained her ears when she heard a mewling noise,
like that of a tiny kitten farther in the bush. She put the bucket
down and went forward curiously. She bet Leif would love his own
kitten to play with.
“Kitty?” she called.
Sky tried to scream when a hand went over her mouth and she
was lifted off her feet.
“Be silent or die.”
Sky felt the blood drain from her face; it was the female
escaped captive. A cloth of soft leather was then shoved in her
mouth and she was gagged and tied. The woman was large and
tossed Sky over her shoulder. They headed briskly into the dense
woods.
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Chapter 9
Sky remained tied and gagged. The sun had set. She was
sitting in a small cave and her shaky legs ached in exhaustion.
The woman had pushed her at a merciless rate once she had
dropped Sky to the forest floor and commanded she walk. A tiny
fire burned in front of her. The woman told Sky she was her
prisoner and if the gag was removed, Sky was to call her ‘captor’.
Her captor was eating a leg of mutton—no doubt stolen from their
village.
“I might share with you, eventually, but not tonight. I went
hungry many nights. I stayed strong and didn’t beg. They control
their women by not letting them hunt. They are cruel. They say I
kill…they kill. I have never raped a man. They are the evil ones.”
Sky tried to reply, but her words were too muffled and so she
just sat and listened.
“They killed my husband. There is much unrest between the
villages; of course he would kill to protect our own. I haven’t
harmed you, though. Your man fed me. I know you asked him to. I
could see the pity in your eyes. I don’t need pity. I need my
freedom. I was angry with you. They fed you any time you asked.
They love you. The entire village thinks you were sent by Odin.
Were you? No matter. You are mine now. I saved you instead. Do
you want to know why? I went back later that night and watched
your men tie you and take you. Your Brandr can be cruel. I was
surprised he would take you like some men had taken me.”
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Sky didn’t know what to think about that. She’d wanted
Brandr. How was Sky to explain that to a woman who had been
taken forcefully against her will? For Sky, it was different; she
loved Brandr and had no fear over what they did together. She felt
bad for the woman. Her captor scowled.
“No pity,” she snapped. “I survived. That’s all that matters.”
Sky supposed it was. She had been glad the woman had
escaped, but she had hoped she would have been long gone. When
Rolf caught up to her, Sky wasn’t certain what he would do. She
wondered if Brandr would kill the woman; he had such a volatile
temper when it came to protecting her. Perhaps he would listen to
her and spare the woman’s life. Sky would rather they just let the
woman go, but she knew they wouldn’t, it was their way.
Her captor threw the bone on the fire and licked her fingers.
She went to Sky and pushed her onto her side. Sky’s ankles were
bound.
“Sleep,” she demanded.
Even though there was a fire and the cave was small, it was
cold. Sky shivered, laying on the hard dirt and rock ground. Her
teeth clattered under her gag. The gravel under her cheek was
gritty and uncomfortable. She didn’t want to sleep, but exhaustion
won out. She fell in and out of fitful slumber, wishing Rolf’s and
Brandr’s big warm bodies were before and behind her. When Sky
woke, her entire body felt cramped. She struggled to rise and
groaned in pain. Her captor came over and unbound her ankles.
She pulled Sky to her feet and shoved her out of the cave; Sky
moved stiffly.
“Walk,” she demanded. “You will take me to this cave you say
you came from. There must be more coins. I need the coins to
build my army.”
Sky wasn’t certain she could find it. It also meant going back
through the village of dead people; that thought made her shudder.
And there wasn’t any more money there; it was in her time. Sky
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stopped and tried to speak but was shoved again, which almost
caused her to fall. Her captor demanded she walk. They walked for
hours. Sky stumbled and winced when sharp branches scraped at
her flesh. She was unable to push them out of the way with her
hands. She was given no food or water throughout the day and her
hunger wore on her. That night she collapsed onto the hard ground
when her captor told her to rest. This time when the meat had
cooked, her captor stood before her.
“I will remove your gag. If you scream, I will beat you and it
won’t come off again,” she warned.
Sky remained quiet when the gag came off. She spit out the
leather cloth. Her captor fed her small bits of meat while she
remained tied. She gave her a long drink from a leather flask filled
with tepid brackish water. Sky’s arms ached. She looked up into
the heavens and asked her angels for help.
“What are you saying?” the woman screamed. She grabbed
Sky by the hair and jerked her head back.
“I was asking for help,” Sky said through gritted teeth. “My
arms and wrists ache.”
The woman released her hair. She laughed. Another laughed;
a deep sinister sound from behind them.
Sky gasped in fear, and her body tensed. She thought her heart
would stop when Thorvald appeared. He strode over and crouched
before her. Her captor seemed unconcerned with his appearance.
That alone made the dread sink into her belly.
“You are in a great deal of danger,” he growled.
“Rolf will kill you,” Sky said calmly, but she felt her heart
pound in her chest and her pulse hammered in her throat. She
could see the lust burning holes behind his eyes.
Thorvald reached for her and squeezed a breast hurtfully.
Sky yelped.
“Leave her,” her captor demanded. “When you set me free, I
became your equal. I captured her; she’s mine.”
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Thorvald rose, looking none too happy. “We agreed to
capture her and get the coins.”
“I will share the coins, but I spent two months in your village.
You took me often; you are too brutal and she is small. It is
disgusting to feel your filthy hands on one’s body. We will part
when we divide the coins. She comes with me,” the woman
snapped.
Thorvald smiled evilly. “Are you afraid if you watch, you will
remember submitting to me,
partner
?”
Sky could hear the scorn in his voice.
The woman glared. “We are not partners; I only agreed to
help you because I need the coins. I hate you. I never would have
helped you unless you told me about the wealth and how to slip
around the warriors guarding the village to get the woman.”
Thorvald chuckled. He went to the fire and cut a chunk of
meat from the woman’s kill. “Has she eaten?” he asked and pointed
to Sky.
“Yes.”
“Too bad, I would have liked for her to lick my fingers.”
“She has had enough.”
Sky wouldn’t have gone near his dirty fingers; she’d starve
first. Most of the Viking men and women washed and groomed
themselves regularly. Thorvald wasn’t one of them. Now that he
had no home, he appeared even more slovenly. He also appeared
to have less patience. He was glaring at her captor. Sky watched
the tension between the two build. She knew Thorvald would kill
the woman when he got the chance. He had only needed her to get
Sky, now he had her. The woman’s usefulness to him was finished.
Once her captor was dead, Thorvald would do whatever he chose
to do with her. Again she wondered why the man seemed
fascinated with her.
* * * *
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Sky walked until she was exhausted. The destroyed village
came into view and Sky felt the tears in her eyes build. Thankfully,
someone had taken the time to bury the fallen. Everything looked
deserted. She stumbled and fell to her knees. Thorvald pulled her
up by her hair. Sky winced but said nothing. She hated this vile
man; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. She
walked farther until Thorvald declared they had traveled far
enough and the woman built a small cooking fire while he hunted.
“You have courage,” the woman said.
“He will kill you,” Sky warned.
The woman shrugged. “He can try, but I have a reputation for
being able to stand toe-to-toe with any man.” She gave Sky a hard
stare. “Eat nothing from him. If he feels your mouth on him, he
will want you.”
“I’d rather starve,” Sky declared.
“We will reach this cave of yours tomorrow I’m guessing,” her
captor said.
“I’m not certain I can find it,” Sky said.
“You will find it or you will die. If I have no coins, I have no
means to create an army of warriors; you will be useless.”
“What are you planning on doing with me?”