Jenna sat back. As Brother Merrick said the word, a strange feeling went through her, a cold shiver, as though somebody had stepped over her grave.
“I am supposed to recognize that?” Arran said, impatience clear in his voice.
“Veis the Norse word for shrine,” Merrick said, practically bouncing in his seat in excitement. “So put this word together with the name Njord and what do ye get?”
“Njord’s shrine,” Arran breathed, eyes widening in realization.
“Aye! And the land grand lists where it is.” He pointed at an empty spot on the map. “It isnae marked, but it’s around here.”
The cold Jenna had felt as Merrick pronounced the name hadn’t left her. In fact, it was growing stronger. “That’s it,” she said suddenly, looking up at Arran. “That’s what the raiders have been looking for. And I’ll bet my last penny that it’s this shrine that’s been preventing me from fixing the magic.”
Arran nodded. “Then if we can find this shrine and destroy it—”
“There will be nothing to keep me from fixing the magic,” Jenna finished for him.
She should have felt elated. At last! Finally, a breakthrough! At last she would be able to do what she’d come here to do and go home. Yes, she should have felt elated. But as she stared into Arran’s bottomless eyes, all she felt was a creeping sense of dread.
Arran’s face was a carefully controlled mask as he nodded. “Why are the raiders looking for this shrine?”
“Same reason we are at a guess,” Jenna replied. “Only for opposite reasons. We want to resurrect Skye’s magic; they want to stop us.”
Brother Merrick ran one hand down his face. “It’s more than that, Ireckon. After all, the raids started before ye arrived here, Lady Jenna. Centuries ago, Skye lay under the dominion of the Norse lords. What if Njord was the god they worshipped? What if that god was ousted when the MacFinnan spellweavers worked their magic?”
“And now the magic is broken, they want Skye back,” Jenna breathed. “They mean to resurrect Njord’s power.”
Arran looked between Merrick and Jenna. “And from yer expressions I’m guessing that’s bad.”
Jenna swallowed and nodded. “Arran, if Njord’s magic is revived, it will give him complete control over Skye. There would be nothing you could do to stop him and his people from taking your island from you.”
A snarl curled Arran’s lips. “Over my dead body. We’ll destroy this shrine before they ever find it. We’ll ride out immediately to look for it. If we—”
He cut off suddenly as a commotion sounded from outside the room. Arran’s hand went to his sword hilt as the door burst open and one of Arran’s clansmen came tumbling in. He was disheveled and wind-swept and brought the smell of the sea and open skies into the room with him. His chest was heaving.
“Tam?” Mal said, his brow furrowing with concern. “I thought ye were out with the eastern patrol? What are ye doing here?”
“Was… out… with… the… patrol,” Tam gasped. He leaned over, hands on his knees. When he’d caught his breath, he straightened. “Was… sent… to warn ye. Raiders. A huge force. Bigger than any we’ve seen.”
Arran’s face paled. “Where?”
“We spotted them from the top of Kerrig’s Fell. A fleet of them heading southeast. They were still some miles off and will take some hours before they reach us. I rode here as fast as I could. The rest of my unit are tracking them along the coast.”
That cold that had been building inside Jenna suddenly intensified.She felt as though she’d been pierced through the middle with a dagger of ice. She could feel things shifting around her, the strands of fate tightening, and she knew, absolutely knew, that this force would destroy Skye if it landed. They had to stop it.
“They’re going for the shrine,” she murmured, looking up at Arran.
He nodded tightly, jaw clenched. “Aye, but they willnae reach it.” His voice was low and dangerous, like the growl of a wolf. He turned to Mal and Edrick. “Send out the call to arms. Every man able to wield a weapon. Tell them to muster here.” He tapped a spot on the map close to where Merrick had said Njord’s shrine lay. “And mobilize whatever is left of our fleet.”
Mal scratched his chin as he examined the map. “If we do that, we’ll leave the other areas of the island vulnerable. This might be a ruse, designed to draw us out while they attack elsewhere.”
“I know that,” Arran replied. “But it’s a risk we must take. If we dinna fend off this attack, they will take Skye and there willnae be any of us left to worry about it. Do as I say. Send out the call to muster.”
Mal looked troubled but he inclined his head all the same. “Aye, my laird.”
The men left. Jenna found herself alone with Arran. His shoulders were hunched, his jaw tight, and a vein was throbbing in his temple.
“Arran, I—”
“Ye will stay here.”
