“If Jorvik understood how to read the map and Harald has a planned route, they will end up where the herd might be.”
“Why do you say it with doubt?” I ask, keeping our conversation away from the rest of the riders.
“Because the reindeer will circle for me, for you even, and that can be wherever we call the ritual to a close.”
Taking the antler map out of his pocket, he slides off his reindeer, and I follow as we kneel in the snow near the small rolling river. Shaw dips the smooth antler into the water, his skin so warm with the constant pull from my side of the bond that steam evaporates as he takes the antler out of the water and lays it in the snow.We watch as the water drops connect over the embedded, silver stars to make a web covering the curved edges.
“That’s the way, isn’t it?” I ask, brushing my body against his – I can’t stand not touching him.
“It is, but the gorge could be a dangerous path for the scouts and Joanna. It’s narrow, and we’ll need to go one rider at a time. If Harald has his own men watching us, we won’t have much in the way of defense.”
“Joanna won’t leave now no matter how dangerous it is.” I look over to my friend. We’ve never fought like this. I appreciated our conversation, but I don’t know if it made me feel any better about what she wants to do. Shaw’s hazel eyes are steady on mine as I wish I could make the choice without so much concern for my former home.
“We have a few days before the full moon, so we go after Jorvik like we promised. But if they are already herding the reindeer, I won’t have a choice. We need to connect the last link and circle the reindeer to ascend,” he responds.
“I know.” I give him the assurance that I am with him. We head down the narrow path, through the gorge in the mountains. Jorvik or someone’s horse bolted through here recently; the tracks hit the ground hard and deep. Unfortunately, I am struggling to keep my reindeer moving fast when she’s concerned about her antlers knocking into the loose rocks.
Shaw is in the lead when we see the edge of the blue and gray, rocky trail. Overhead, rocks skid down, falling on our shoulders with pieces of ice. I scan the top of the crevice we are guiding our animals through, searching for the shadow of a man or the raised curve of a bow. I am bringing up the rear of our party, which is too far away for me to say anything to Shaw.
The snow shimmers in wet, melting piles on every ledge and surface. As if the sun knows the King of the Vanheim has found his bonded partner and is on his way home. The earth itself is warming to our arrival. Melting snow is not good for traveling, but I force myself to calm down with each pained breath as I make it to the end of the tight trail.
“The tracks stop?” Joanna questions.
“How is that possible?” a scout asks. But I gaze up at the cliff, looking for the reason why the snow and rocks were falling on our heads.
Shaw is almost at the end of the trail, and I hear too much movement for it to be animals, especially this late in the day. Joanna moves her horse horizontal to block the last few paces of the trail. Patting my vest down to find the link, I have the sudden urge to expel the power in my hands. The cold trickle of snow across the back of my neck makes my heart plummet. The link is in Shaw’s pocket; I didn’t even question it when he packed our things.
“Wait!” I shout, but it is too late. Arrows fly down into the gorge, and I barely get off my reindeer to slide against the rocky wall. Shaw is moving out of the gorge to turn his reindeer around, but the sunlight reveals the edge of an axe, and I feel his body break open.
My knees give out as arrows hit the three scouts around me. The horses try to run or back up as their riders dismount, looking for shelter amid the chaos. One pushes past me and runs out the way we came with an arrow in his arm.
“JORVIK!” Joanna screams, pulling a banged up shield off her horse to protect herself as she crawls to me.
“Did you bring her?” I hear my brother’s voice as I throw up in the snow. I don’t have the link, and Shaw’s blood is spilling out of his chest. My ribs crack from the pressure of pouring the fragile power I’ve built up over the last months into keeping our bond alive.
“She’s here,” Joanna yells back. I need to move before she gets to me. I push my reindeer back, pleading with the creature to run away, but I can barely speak through the pain of Shaw’s injuries.
Barreling toward Joanna, I drive my shoulder into her shield to knock her off balance and run past.
“Stop shooting!” Bjorn’s voice is next. One of the scouts is bleeding out, slumped over in a pile of crimson snow and rocks. Keeping my feet moving, I see Shaw on his knees at the entrance with his chest torn open in a terrible way.
Behind me, Joanna screams, throwing her shield into my back, and I topple over. She jumps on me, wrestling me into the icy mud.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I grind out, rolling my body over hers. Her small fists collide with my collarbones and cheek. My power is recalled into my palms, and I shake, trying to hold her down without opening the channel or setting her on fire.
“I’m saving our people!” she yells, using everything in her wheelhouse to throw her leg around my waist to knock me off. “Jorvik and I will be in charge of the clan. I am taking your place. Harald is going to reward us,” she shrieks. I get a better grip and pick her shoulders up enough to bash her head on the ground.
“Little Rasha, he’s dying,” Bjorn mocks, walking down the side of the ridge. Jumping off the last ledge, he’s standing next to Shaw, who is clutching his chest, staunching the blood flow with his hands. I swallow back my vomit.
“Get her off me,” Joanna yells for her partners, but they don’t come to her aid. Jorvik obviously used her feelings to twist her against me, but I don’t have time to reason with anyone. Shaw’s bond is pulsing down my spine.
Pushing off of Joanna, I take the axe from my belt and hit her clean across the face with the blunt wooden handle. Something breaks between us at that moment. She hits the ground, unconscious, not able to watch what I plan to do next. I pray to Vidarr to help me and to Vali for forgiveness on Shaw’s behalf. I sense in my blood that they are here on the edge of the Vanheim, waiting for us.
Jorvik slides down the path, wet, heavy snow slipping beside him, and rocks begin to fall from the disturbed mountainside. At the end of the gorge, there is a cliff overlooking the pass where the reindeer should be. Keeping my axe at the ready, I need to make it to Shaw and the link before he truly dies.
“Come here, Harald will have you still.” Jorvik reaches for me, and I drop the axe. I have more powerful weapons to help me get closer to Shaw. “That’s it. This is over. He’s dying.”
I calm my breathing, settling the air in my lungs so I don’t explode, and wait for Jorvik. He kicks my axe over the cliff, and I watch it tumble down the mountain. In the valley below arehundreds of oval shapes. Some are moving, and others are still, but there is no mistaking the amount of reindeer right below us.
