No soft sentiments.
Do not spend the night.
And no matter what, she would never again let a man have power over her.
With her thoughts put firmly back into her skull, Hekla kicked off the tree and continued down the trail.
Kritka was curled against her neck when they came across the horde. Hekla’s focus was trained on the tree roots along the trail rather than her surroundings. But when she nearly ran into Sigrún’s back, and the squirrel’s surprise caused him to claw her shoulder, Hekla’s senses quickly sharpened.
“What is it?” she whispered, trying to see around their group.
Human draugur,signed Sigrún.A lot of them.
Hekla made her way to the front of the line, edging up beside Eyvind. They stood on the forested edge of a cliff, looking out over an endless expanse of pinewoods below.
“Down there,” whispered Eyvind, his heated breath on her cheek making her pulse accelerate.
But as Hekla caught motion in the forest below, her heart pounded for a different reason. Slowly, the figures distinguished themselves into a horde of draugur. There were more than a hundred undead men, women, and children moving like ants among the trees.
Hekla’s hand slid to the hilt of her sword as she watched the draugur heading south.
“They’re unaware of our presence,” hissed Thrand, who’d emerged on her other side. The Forest Maiden slumbered peacefully in the sling hanging from the warrior’s neck. “This is our chance to take them out,” Thrand continued. “To stop them from reaching their destination—”
We must not be diverted,Kritka chattered in Hekla’s mind, and she repeated the squirrel’s thoughts aloud.
Thrand shifted in agitation. “It has been too many long days spent marching. Too many days of doing nothing.”
A whispered chorus of agreements joined him, and the air seemed to thicken with the hunger for battle. Hekla felt it herself—felt her hand tightening once more around her sword’s hilt. But she paused. “We cannot afford to lose a single warrior,” she told them. “And aside from that, we do not wish to draw the leech’s attention onto us.”
Group cannot be diverted,said Kritka in her mind.
Hekla forced her grip on her sword to loosen as she repeated the squirrel’s orders to the group. She wanted to descend into the valley. Chase down the horde. Spill their foul black blood on the forest floor—
“It is likely a trap,” murmured Hekla, trying to shake the battle lust from her mind. “The leech wants to lure us away from our quest.”
“And why should we not grant those poor souls the long death?” demanded Thrand.
Hekla scowled at the lout. “We agreed to see this quest through, Long Sword. After we complete our task with the Forest Maiden, you can slay all the draugur your heart desires.”
Thrand glanced at the slumbering Forest Maiden and sighed. Then he jostled the warrior to his left. “You heard the woman!”
One by one, the warriors turned away from the horde.
And on they marched.
Chapter 34
Kopa, Íseldur
Silla sat at the head of the long table, counting the collective number of beard rings in the room to calm her nerves. Jarls lined the table, heads bowed in quiet conversation, and it was impossible to forget that these were the most powerful men in the north of Íseldur. She’d met them last night; had conversed with many. But in the aftermath of Rey and Atli’s confrontation, her nerves were frayed. Did they think her weak for fleeing the hall? Think her a poor judge of character for Rey’s outburst?
The ostentatious décor in Jarl Hakon’s private meeting hall did not help her nerves. A bronzed human skull glared at her through ruby eyes from a pedestal in one corner of the room, while a bear’s hide—complete with taxidermied head—was stretched on the wall behind it.
Last night, bolstered by the crowd and the Shortest Day traditions, she’d felt like Eisa. Today, though, she was back to Silla. And unfortunately, Myrkur fed on her insecurities and further agitated her nerves. She’d tried to explain to Him that she’d made strides in bringing the jarls to “their” cause last night, but the god was unimpressed that they’d not yet bent the knee. Impatience prickled through her body, and He refused to leave her mind to herself.
Rey sighed irritably from beside her, and Silla wholeheartedly agreed. While Atli had taken his seat a few minutes ago—glaring atRey through a black eye that made her frown—Jarl Hakon had yet to arrive.
The jarl plays his games of control,whispered Myrkur, making her flinch.When he arrives you must put him in his place. Shame him for his tardiness to show the others who is truly in charge.
