Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) (70 page)

             
As though she had been stung Alodie snatched her hand from his grasp and sweeping up her skirts turned her back on him and curtsied to Halfdan.

             
There was a collective gasp at this and a snarl from Olaf which Alodie ignored.  “I trust you are feeling better, my lord?” she asked quietly.

             
Halfdan nodded then beckoned her toward him.  She approached and putting his mouth next to her ear he whispered.  “Being a Saxon you will, of course, not know this but you must sit next to Olaf my dear”

             
“Please sir, I beg you, no” she replied frantically.  “I would rather eat with the dogs”

             
Halfdan nodded and smiled at her then held up his hand, it was unnecessary, everyone was looking at him anyway.  “My people, milady Alodie is  concerned about my health and, on this occasion, I am breaking with tradition” he turned to Olaf “the lady is sitting with me tonight - now less of this silence, are we Vikings or puling Saxons? Feast!”

             
Halfdan gestured to the seat next to him and, with a grateful sigh, Alodie took it.  Within a couple of seconds the room was as noisy as ever.

             
Halfdan smiled ironically and patted her hand.  “I fear you have upset Olaf”

             
Alodie glanced up, Olaf had taken his seat half way down the table and was glaring at her.  “My lord, where is Herger?” she whispered.

             
Halfdan laughed.  “He will appear at the appropriate time milady, fear not.  It would not do for Olaf to see him before he is prepared now would it?  So calm down and for Thor’s sake eat something”

             
Alodie pulled the breast from an adjacent chicken and spooned some mushrooms onto her plate but she had no appetite.  She glanced round at the revellers.  A young lad two seats down was staring goggle eyed at her whilst his mother remonstrated with him.  Alodie caught the words “Saxon strumpet”.  Smiling, she turned her attention back to her plate and pushed the chicken round with her knife.

             
“Not hungry my dear?” Alodie glanced to her right, Gudrun was in the process of clambering into the seat next to her, her brown hair in disarray and her face wet with perspiration, she had probably been running round non-stop since Alodie had last seen her.

             
She smiled with relief.  “Gudrun, thank goodness you’re here”

             
“I have a bone to pick with you Alodie” she said biting into a chicken leg.

             
“A chicken bone?” asked Alodie, wondering if Gudrun wanted to pull the wishbone of the by now denuded fowl in front of her.

             
“No, an argument bone, why don’t you trust me?”

             
“I have no idea what you mean”

             
“Yes you have, I have just seen your deceased husband, Herger, looking as alive and handsome as ever, sharpening his sword and crooning to himself like a berserker”

             
Alodie glanced frantically down the table “Gudrun - sshh!”

             
The little woman chewed and swallowed.  “Ah, so this comes as no surprise - what does he intend to......”

             
There was a sudden crash and the room was once again plunged into silence as every eye turned to Olaf who had climbed to his feet and hurled his goblet to the floor.  Alodie’s hands flew to her mouth.  He smiled at her and ran his tongue round his lips - Alodie was reminded of a snake eyeing its prey.

             
Climbing onto the table he pulled out his sword, threw back his head and beat his left breast with his right fist, then turned to the assembled throng.  “This farce has gone on long enough” he yelled “I, Olaf, son of Trigve, son of Erik, Jarl of Segensfjord -  having killed in lawful combat Herger son of Sigvard, son of Leif, sea king and lord of Hergersby and various other lands and properties in Northumbria and Norway,  do rightfully claim the woman, lands and property of the same Herger.  Is there anyone to say me nay?”

             
The silence in the hall was almost palpable.  The young lad who had ogled her earlier began to climb to his feet but was pulled down by his mother.

             
Olaf walked up the table, careless of the fact that he was sending plates and goblets flying in all directions, until he stood in front of Alodie.  He held out his manicured hands.  “Milady Alodie, I claim you as my bride, take my hands”

             
Alodie allowed her eyes to travel up the length of him until she was staring into his soulless eyes then slowly climbing to her feet she gestured to him to come lower.  With a triumphant smile he bent down whereupon she drew back her hand and slapped him across the face.  The sound echoed round the hall like a pistol shot and there was a collective gasp - it seemed she had broken a few rules.

             
Olaf’s pale face suffused with colour and he jumped off the table landing opposite Alodie.  He turned to Halfdan.  “I appeal to you my lord, make her come with me”

             
Halfdan smiled.  “Take the lands Olaf, I have a fancy this lady is not biddable enough for you, and you know that in our law you cannot force a widow to marry the killer of her husband.  You can take her lands if no one champions her, but you cannot
make
her marry you”

             
“I can if I forego the lands”

             
The hall fell silent.  It seemed that Gudrun had been wrong.  It was possible to force a widow to marry her husband’s killer but only if that killer gave up all rights to her lands.  It had, however, never been known.  Vikings fought each other for land or ships, not women.  Most widows, however, elected to marry their husband’s killer rather than be turned out and the victor was honour bound to marry her if that was what she wished. 

             
Alodie turned to Halfdan “What now my lord?”

             
“As no one seems to wish to be your champion, you must go to him Alodie” said the king, gently.  She bit her lip.  Herger was cutting it damned fine.  Turning her head she looked Olaf straight in the eyes.

             
“I’d rather die!” she snapped.

             
The Viking smiled in a superior manner and again held out his hands.  “Think again, Captain Austen” he whispered.

             
For a second Alodie could not believe her ears, then her legs gave way and she sat down with an almost audible thump.  Olaf had spoken in modern English.  “That’s taken the wind out of your sails somewhat, hasn’t it my beauty?” he continued in the same language “now come round the table and take my hands before I turn my torturers loose on the owner of this”

             
With that he pulled a thick gold ring from his finger and threw it to her.  She caught it and turning it over examined it closely.  She would have recognised it anywhere and had last seen it on the third finger of her father’s left hand.  It was his wedding ring, made of thick Venusian gold with the front showing a J and N entwined around the planets Earth and Venus.  The material alone was unique on this planet and would be for another thirteen hundred years.  Nerissa had had it specially made for Jake by her cousin who was a goldsmith.  How on Earth then had it come into the possession of this Olaf, this Viking barbarian?

             
She glanced up, her mind unable to form rational thoughts.  He was smiling, evilly.  “I am waiting my lady, and fear not, I have him safe.  Your distress signal was received but not acted upon, so your father took a ship to some planet or other that is barred to your people.  The natives of this planet can apparently travel through time”

             
“The Dolweyans” muttered Alodie.  The planet was not exactly barred, not if you had fifteen years to wait for an entry visa, but due to the dangers of interfering with history, time travel was completely forbidden in the civilised galaxy and the Dolweyans themselves were almost paranoid about its secrets, only allowing their own people to become involved in it, and then only under strict controls and because they had absolutely no warlike or ambitious genes in their makeup.    They were a race of tiny, thin, physically weak, almost transparent waifs, whose main pastime was eavesdropping on other planets’ histories.  It would, however, never occur to them to interfere and the thought of allowing a human to use their equipment was unthinkable.  How on Earth had her father managed to.......

             
“He stole a time travel pod my dear and came back here to try and save you, unfortunately he was not very expert with the controls and landed,
ten years
early, in my backyard as it were, well my fjord anyway.  I pulled him out of the water myself, had the whole story from him, and have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, now if you would just................”

             
“Olaf the Black!!”

             
Alodie’s head shot up.  Herger was standing at the far end of the hall.  He was bare chested and carrying a drawn sword and shield, his long dark curly hair was loose and he was wearing a
hlad
in his battle colours of blue and gold.

             
Olaf spun on his heel and before she could do anything about it he clapped his hand to his wrist, from which a ray of light shot out.  Alodie recognised it instantly as a laser, probably her father’s own, but it had not been re-charged in the sunlight after its last use and the light, instead of being in a strong straight line which would have cut Herger in half, was weak and wavy and melted into nothing as it approached him.

             
Alodie laughed out loud and Olaf turned back to her, his mouth working.  Halfdan threw his arm in front of her in a protective gesture.  “You must fight him Olaf” he said quietly “man to man”

             
Herger was approaching the table, crooning to himself.  He had begun to sweat and the thick black hairs on his chest were matted with perspiration.  Olaf turned to Halfdan and Alodie, teeth bared, then, in a lightning movement, slashed his sword down on Halfdan’s wrist, neatly severing his hand and dragging the bracelet from the bloody stump he placed it on his own wrist.  Halfdan slumped to the table in front of Alodie, his life blood pumping from him, pooling on the table and dripping to the floor.  The speed with which it had been done was breathtaking.

             
“Now let me see, Captain” sneered Olaf.  “It’s this stone I believe” and to her horror he expertly flipped up the green stone.  “Come here, Alodie Austen” he continued “come here to me now!” Numb with horror Alodie climbed over the table, careless of the spilled wine and scattered food and jumped down to stand next to Olaf.  “Now, my love” he said “stop your husband coming any nearer or he will fry, along with as many others as I can take out with him”

             
Alodie shook his head “I can’t stop him Olaf, he won’t listen to me”

             
He gave her a savage push “He may stop if you tell him that you are going with me willingly.  He will perhaps not fight for you if he thinks you prefer me, there will be no honour in it.  Believe me Alodie, it is the only way to save him”

             
Alodie nodded and began to walk down the hall, she had decided to take the risk of turning and hitting Olaf with a stun blast and hope she could get him before he got her or Herger but even as the plan was forming Olaf’s voice stopped her in her tracks.  “Before you go, milady, take off your bracelet, I am not such a fool as you seem to think”

             
With an indrawn breath she removed her bracelet and threw it to him, her eyes spitting sparks of hatred.  She was trapped and she knew it.  She would just have to pray that Herger would see through her words and into her heart.  Taking a deep breath she began to walk toward her husband who had stopped in the middle of the hall and was standing, waiting, breathing heavily, his body glistening with perspiration.

             
Someone dropped a knife and the sound of it clattering onto the floor echoed round the deathly silent room as Alodie approached the magnificent figure of Herger, the man she loved with her heart’s blood, with her life, the man she must wound and who would more than likely end up hating her until his dying day unless she could get some sort of message through to him.  The fact she was saving his life would not do, it would merely serve to insult him.

             
He was looking at her now, puzzled, probably wondering why she and Olaf had been talking together in that language he did not understand and wondering why she had given his mortal enemy her bracelet.

             
Suddenly there was a gasp from the assembled people and the sound of female screams.  Alodie spun round.  Olaf was hovering above her.  “Tell him, Alodie” he snapped “he makes a wonderful target from here!”

             
“.......how much power is left in my father’s anti-grav belt though Olaf?” she snapped back “you will not be able to hover there for long!”