A string of Norse comes out of me, stunning me because I don’t even know what I just said. It just comes out of nowhere, like I am suddenly animated by a foreign entity that shares its strength with me. Whatever this mystical occurrence is, I embrace it because I make the jump with ease, and so does Ulf.
“You just spoke the war cry of Odin!” he says in disbelief. “The gods smile down on us.”
We can celebrate later because now, it’s time to burn this kingdom to the ground.
Soldiers charge us, but it suddenly feels as though I am possessed. A strength I have not felt before awakens every fiber of my being, and I am a force not to be stopped as I kill anyone who stands in my way.
Each stroke is a fatal one, and some are so brutal that I take out two men at once. It’s as if each man I kill gives me their lifeforce.
Before long, all I can see is red, and that’s because I am coated in my enemy’s blood.
My horses stand on piles of broken corpses, their twisted bodies breaking under his hooves.
The sound of bones snapping has me screaming at the top of my lungs. “Come out, you coward! You have your men fight whilst you hide! That is your leader!” I say to the men who attack me. “A coward who hides and allows you to perish because he is too gutless to face me!”
Fighting within these walls gives me a sense of comfort because this is my home and has been since I was a child. No one knows this place better than I do.
Therefore, I know where Aethelbald hides.
I leave Ulf in the courtyard as I ride down the long hallway, taking down any man who stands in my way. When I cannot ride any further, I dismount and am swarmed by men.
But nothing can stop me.
As more blood is spilled, it feels as though my anger increases as does my strength. I turn the corner and am punched in the face.
Licking the blood away from my lip, I grin when I see Inga.
“This is a long time coming…you fucking bitch.”
Memories of what she has done, of what she did to Skarth assault me, and an anger so fierce blinds me.
The only cure—her head.
She charges at me, sword raised. She too knows that only one of us will make it out of here alive. It’s a clash of steel, and honestly, she is the first worthy opponent I have fought all day, and that’s because she’s a Viking.
But the fact that she has sided with Aethelbald makes her a traitor. So Viking or not, in my eyes, she is worse than the Saxons, who are merely doing their job.
Anger animates her, which works in my favor. “You disgrace your gods,” I say, getting into her head. “Siding with a corrupt king, and for what? To be his little lap dog? You are pathetic.”
A furious cry leaves her as she attempts to elbow me in the face, which leaves her ribs unguarded. I bend low and punch her in the flank. The cracking hints that I have broken some ribs.
She staggers back, breathless, gripping her side. I don’t give her a reprieve and kick downward, breaking her kneecap. When she wavers, I punch her in the solar plexus, winding her. She sways on her feet, which is the time I swing my sword and am about to slice off her head, but I am sadly ambushed from behind when someone punches me in the kidneys.
I topple forward, taken off guard. But when I turn and see Bodil as my attacker, it doesn’t surprise me that she resorted to a sly attack. Her cowardice only further incites my wrath.
I spin, on guard to her advances as she charges at me with her sword. I recall our last fight, and as I was taught, I remember her weakness, which I exploit. She is heavy on her left foot, and when she steps, I duck low and deliver an undercut to her jaw.
Her head snaps backward.
Inga grabs my arm, as does another soldier who appears. Bodil walks over and punches me in the stomach. I sag forward, where she grabs me by the head, forcing me to look at her.
“I now see what all the fuss is about. Skarth fucked me long and hard. Inga did tell me what a great lay he was.”
Her words are supposed to cut me deep. But little does she know, I am done being hurt. All I care for is revenge.
I laugh in response, a maniacal cackle.
My captors are clearly stunned by my insanity.
