“One who wishes to send a clear message.”
He got down and went to the cross. The burning effigy stood near the smoldering ruins of the cabins.
Brandon led them to the bodies draped with canvas. Noelle’s eyes filled with tears.
“Turn away,” Brandon warned.
She refused. “I will witness this tragedy as anyone else would be expected to.” Though she indeed dreaded the moment he would uncover them.
She gasped in horror when he did.
Brandon identified the families. Scorched beyond recognition—the acrid stench of singed flesh made her stomach groan. She gagged and ran away—vomited uncontrollably.
She startled after Randvior’s face appeared on the opposite side of the tree she held on to. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Sick?”
“Yes,” she snapped, “obviously.”
She could tell he was trying to gauge her mood.
“And you should be ill, after seeing and smelling that… that hellish stench.”
She retched again.
“You’ve thrown up quite a bit over the last few days,” he observed. He felt her forehead and cheeks, checking for fever. “Are you dizzy?”
“No.” She pushed past him.
He followed on her heels and offered a wineskin. “Rinse your mouth and take a deep swig. Liquid strength bolsters any man’s spirit.”
I’m not a man.She gargled and spat the mixture on the ground. As her husband suggested, she took a drink and handed the skin back.
“Is your heart made of stone?”
He looked at her levelly. “Stone, no.” He snatched her close. “But hardened after years of war and death,” he admitted. “These are my brethren—irreplaceable subjects who depend on me for protection. Thrall or freeman, if one is harmed, the cup of my wrathshallrunneth over.”
This was not the homecoming Randvior had envisioned. Newly married, he wanted to celebrate, drink, and feast until his insides ached. He toured the grounds, stopped, and talked to the men on patrol. Brandon and Aud had wisely dispatched the remainder of the available soldiers to keep watch. Fifteen thousand acres was too large a swath for only a handful of men to protect. He returned to the hall and organized two more teams from amongst his tenants and slaves. Every available manwas needed for defense. If he judged correctly, these bastards wouldn’t dare attack the main house, only the outlying grounds.
The war council met in the great hall, and Randvior slammed his fists on the table. “Aud!” His temper had reached its limits. “Take two men and ride to my father’s house. Bring my mother—either voluntarily or at the end of a rope. She will answer this night for her betrayal and high crimes.”
Aud was especially adept at handling Lauga’s manipulative mouth, almost handled it as well as Brandon. And unlike the men who lived within miles of his lands, Aud didn’t fear her magic.
“I should have let them burn her at the stake years ago in Scotland, after the priests accused her of witchcraft,” he fumed. “Should have let the winds carry her ashes to the four corners of the earth.” He hated her now. Nothing could repair their relationship. No one would ever hurt Noelle again. Oh, he knew who sponsored Brian and brought him to Norway.
And no one challenged his decision. Lauga’s dark magic… A mother should be the wellspring of her family, not cursed by her only son. He reminisced about his childhood—remembered a far off time when Lauga had been kind.
It shattered his heart.
He offered nothing further. Ordered most of his men to stand guard throughout the night and promised to rejoin them once he settled things with his wife. He went upstairs. Noelle was taking a bath in a large tub set in the middle of her room.
“Leave us.” He shoved Katherine outside.
“Finish quickly and gather some belongings—enough to sustain you for a few days.”
“Where are we going?”
“Wearen’t going anywhere,” he snapped in a brooding rage. Noelle seemed unaffected by his sour mood, thankfully so. He softened his voice. “You are joining the women in the cellars andI’m staying aboveground to protect us and capture the bastards that murdered our tenants.”
