I don’t think twice and dive to the ground, ready for attack, because it’s apparent from Alruna’s terror that she isn’t privy to this ambush. She tosses me her blade as she withdraws her sword.
A man jumps down from a tree, bow and arrow in hand, but Alruna drives her sword through his throat before he has a chance to shoot again. We both silently wait for more men to attack, but nothing.
Perhaps he was instructed to keep an eye out and mistook us for the enemy?
Alruna would know his hiding spot, however, so I doubt this is protocol. When Bodil emerges from the shadows, I know she put this in place.
“I am very disappointed in you, Alruna.” Bodil shakes her head. “You help a Christian? What would the gods think?”
“The gods stopped caring a long time ago,” she replies, never wavering.
“You shame your people.”
“And you do not by leaving men, women, and children in Wessex? Do not scold me when you are nothing but a traitor yourself.”
Alruna has just incited a battle because Bodil will not allow this insult to go unpunished. But Alruna is ready as she points her sword toward Bodil. “You will grant us safe passage, or we will take it…as well as your head.”
The moonlight amplifies Bodil’s grin, and I realize she was never going to let us leave. Viking men and women suddenly appear from the shadows, weapons in hand.
“You destroy everything you touch,” she says to me, her hatred clear. “No wonder Skarth does not want to be found.”
His name passing her lips is all it takes for me to strike because I have fought far meaner villains than she. I elbow a man in the nose, and when he drops his sword, I pick it up and am determined to cut down anyone in my way.
Alruna and I are swarmed, but we fight back-to-back, attacking from every angle while protecting the other. It’s how Skarth taught me to fight, and it’s never failed me before.
When one man is down, another two take his place, but Alruna and I do not allow the odds to intimidate us. She is a strong fighter, and there’s a reason for it.
“Skarth taught you to fight, did he not?” I ask breathlessly. She doesn’t need to answer, for I recognize her skills as they are akin to mine.
“Yes.”
“Then he also taught you not to lose,” I reply, spilling a man’s guts onto the ground. “Victory or Valhalla!”
“Victory or Valhalla!” she repeats as we fight with all our might.
Bodil waits back, watching as her men fall to the ground, wounded or dead. Her panic is clear. Her arrogance has condemned her village.
When her people begin to retreat, a war cry leaves her. She comes charging for me, sword raised high in the air. I prepare for her attack with a grin, as I will take great pleasure in ending her life.
She pushes those who stand in her way, and we immediately engage in warfare. I block her strikes and dodge her attacks, but she is a strong warrior and doesn’t surrender. She soon catches me off guard and draws blood as she slashes my arm with her sword.
“Yield, or I will kill you.”
“You can try,” I reply, coating two fingers in the blood that seeps from my wound and wiping them across my eyes, leaving a bloodied war mask behind.
Bloodshed only rouses my bloodlust, and I attack her with force. Alruna fights off her kin, protecting me, and I shall never forget this sacrifice she has made. She is my eyes when my back is turned.
Bodil fends off my attacks, but it’s apparent she wasn’t expecting me to be equipped with such techniques, and when I bend low, only to elbow her in the ribs, she soon realizes she will not win this battle.
“I will give you one chance and one chance only to leave here. I will not offer this again.”
When I hear a snicker in the distance, I know that Ulf is watching. He knows better than to fight my battles for me, but he will intervene if my life is in danger.
“I was trying to leave,” I counter, circling her. “You are the one who stopped me.”
A hearty laugh erupts from Ulf, which distracts Bodil. She turns to look at him. “How did you get free?”
Ulf’s laughter only grows. “It is going to take a lot more than some rope to bind me, sweetness.”
