“Good-bye, my old friend,” Marcus whispered as he left the tent and saw to the other necessary tasks he must complete in time.
After speaking to Brisbois, Aislinn’s guard and the only other human who had survived within the circle during the ritual, Marcus understood his place and praised his gods for such an honor.
Twenty-One
Hugh watchedas the priest conversed with his bishop. So far, over the last two days, the bishop of Orkney, the pope of Rome and even the king of Norway had visited the priest as he hung chained to the wall. The bishop was giving the priest a special dispensation to follow Hugh’s orders, as a secret mission against the true evil—the Warriors of the Stone Circles.
The pope had offered the priest a plenary indulgence of three years to take up the robe of martyr against the evil ones who sought to destroy the Church. The king had convinced Ander that the real leader in this endeavor against evil was Lord Hugh and a reward of gold would be his if he joined Hugh. When the priest had hesitated at a worldly reward, the king had instead offered him a choice of serving God in any part of his kingdom.
The fact that the bishop was Eudes, his commander and half-brother, did not matter. That the pope was a soldier who served as guard or that the king was actually Svein’s housekeeper who now did anything Hugh bid her do mattered not. In the mind and thoughts of Father Ander, the bishop, pope and king had come calling.
The sacrifices he’d witnessed and the burnings of his own skin were not worship to a false god, but were the results of the fiery purification by the archangel Michael with his flaming sword, the pope told him.
That the priest could fight his efforts did surprise Hugh. He’d seemed weak willed at first. The fact that he yet lived also, for Hugh had been continuously invading the man’s mind and forcing his beliefs into him. Soon, very soon, Father Ander Erlandson would be ready to fight the evil warriors, including his friends Soren and Ran.
Over the hours of relentless indoctrination and on top of the pain and deprivation, the priest broke and then was rebuilt by Hugh. By the time he was taken to the circle, Ander would do whatever Hugh told him to do and believe whatever Hugh told him to believe.
Eudes stepped out of the chamber and nodded to him. He had, as bishop, delivered God’s call to Ander and the word of God said that the Stormblood and Waterblood were trying to open a doorway for evil to enter the world. And he must do or say whatever was necessary to thwart Soren.
“He has taken up the call of his God, my lord,” Eudes said. Eudes had never refused an order or failed him in this work. Oh, he had killed the priest they’d captured, but his work with Ander had made up for that.
“Very well,” Hugh said. “Take him out and clean him up. Feed him and have that woman see to his injuries. He has only today and part of this night before he must perform the ritual.”
“And the Stormblood? What will he say when he sees him?”
Hugh shrugged. “He knows he was a prisoner. At least he is better off than the other one.”
Svein Ragnarson could be a problem. He’d promised him to Soren alive, and though he had no intention of letting him live, the man had to at least appear to have a chance at survival.
“See if the woman can do anything for him. When the Waterblood arrives, tell me.”
Hugh left the chamber and went outside. Within a few hours, his men would be positioned at the entrances to the spit of land where the major stone henges sat between the two lakes. No one would get in or out of it without Hugh knowing about them. He’d also prepared his ships. That did not mean he thought he would fail, but he was pragmatic and liked to have alternatives when dealing with such unpredictable creatures.
His biggest advantage was that they still thought like the humans they once were. They thought they were somehow limited. So, he planned to remind them of their humanity. Until or if they moved beyond that Hugh knew he would succeed.
Though Soren had promised cooperation, he would reveal neither the specific location of the circle or the words needed to open it. Hugh did not blame the young man, for keeping that knowledge to himself gave him some leverage. And kept both of them alive for now.
Now, they waited for the night and the rising of the moon to begin. He bristled with anticipation of seeing the Stormblood and Waterblood reveal the circle, long buried and hidden away.
And for the release of his goddess.
Ran knew she must leave soon. The plan Soren explained would have her arrive at sunset at her father’s house. She sought out Aislinn to speak to her about the ritual and found her in the tent of the healers, packing up supplies to leave.
“Aislinn, may I have a moment to speak to you? I have questions about . . .” The young woman turned and nodded.
“Come outside so we will not disturb the last few moments of rest they will get.” The burly, silent guard accompanied them.
“Have you seen Marcus?” Aislinn asked once they were outside the tent. “I have been looking for him since sunrise and cannot find him.”
“Did he leave with William and Brienne?” Those two would be close by the area when she and Soren uncovered the circle and having the older priest with them made sense. “I will tell him you seek him if I see him.”
Aislinn nodded to the guard who moved a few paces away, though his gaze never strayed from the priestess or anyone who approached her. Then the young woman studied her with an unsettling intensity. “You have bonded,” she whispered. “The gods be praised!”
“Bonded?”
“You have mated and merged your beings, your powers. It will strengthen each of you and your child.” The world tilted under her feet and only the quick action of Aislinn’s guard kept her from falling.
“My child?”
