He nodded, staggering away. A strange dread washed over me, followed by a dizziness that blurred my vision. Instinct took over. My feet slid into fighting position, my sword at guard, but the flash of movement that caught my attention didn’t feel like athreat. The mist swirled, its white wisps dancing with the snow, unveiling a form emerging from its depths: a traveller, or a beast.
‘Ready…’ the call came from my left. Bowstrings creaked, my men preparing to release their arrows. My world was focused on this one point, watching, waiting… one possibility after another flashing through my mind. My heart beat louder and louder in my chest until there was nothing but the roaring of blood in my ears.
The moment the mist gave way and released its hold on the distant figure, the world stuttered to a halt. I nearly leapt from the palisade at the sight of liquid gold whipping free of the dark cloak hiding it.
It can’t be… No! It can’t…
The figure swayed so drunkenly that surely only the gods’ favour kept them in the saddle, but their movements revealed someone else astride the steed. The horse brayed as it lost its footing, a terrifying sound in the darkness. The exhausted animal stumbled each time the wisps of fog caressed its heaving flanks.
The rider straightened, raising her hand, and I felt something buffet my soul. The sudden burst of power was so strong, it ripped the hood from the rider’s head, revealing the face of the woman I’d thought safe at home. A green glow emerged from the rider, forcing the fog to recoil and hiss as its tendrils snapped at other figures within its depths.
The old woman’s words returned so loud they drowned out everything else.
‘Roksana!’ I bellowed before shouting to my men. ‘Lower your bows and open the bloody gates – that’s my woman you’re aiming at!’
How she got here, I didn’t know, but with that woman, anything was possible. I cursed myself for revoking her blood oath. At least then she would have followed my orders andstayed safe.I’m going to turn her arse red for this recklessness, but gods… I need to get her to safety.
‘Open the gate! Gods damn it. Open the fucking gate! She can’t hold on much longer!’ The loud, booming voice from behind Sana, carried by the wind, drove all doubt, all rational thought, from my mind. That bloody dwarf was the only thing keeping her in the saddle, but for how long?
‘Open the gate!’ I shouted once again, leaping down three steps at a time as I rushed to do it myself. I was snarling wordlessly, the berserker rage taking over as I tossed aside anyone who tried to stop me.
‘Sire, no! You heard the villagers – it’s the wraiths. Stop! Please, sire…’ Ivar grasped my arm, but I shook him off, finally managing to speak.
‘I know my woman,’ That was all I could muster before pushing forward like a battering ram. Anyone who blocked my way was sent flying until, with a wordless roar, I slammed into the gate, hefting its heavy beam as if it were nothing. I took one step outside the palisade, and the fog coiled around my legs, reaching past to enter the village.
The pendant Roksana gave me, the one pressed against my heart, burned so intensely that I stumbled, and a voice in my head roared, blinding me.Stay where you are, you idiot! Keep the gate open!
A volley of burning arrows lit the sky before plunging into the ground around Roksana, hissing as the snow doused their flames. I watched on in horror as her hand, shaking with obvious fatigue, lifted upwards, and another pulse of emerald magic seared away the fog. She was so close I could see her nose and eyes bleeding, the foam on the horse’s sides and the terror in the dwarf’s eyes when Sana slumped forward over the horse’s neck.
‘Roksana!’ I fought my instinct to rush forward, while a will much stronger than mine held me rooted to the spot. Theoverladen horse staggered through the entrance, with the deadly fog grasping at its hooves, and suddenly, I could move.
My feet slipped in the mud as I twisted to grab the gate and slam it shut. With a wild cry, I heaved the wooden beam to bar the entrance as the gate bounced back on its hinges. I fought to secure it, but through the gap, I saw the horror we were confronting, faces contorted in agony, their eye sockets open to the depths of Veles’ pit: the victims of the unnatural fog.
‘We need a fire in front of the gate. Now!’ I shouted. Bundles of twigs and branches appeared from the gods knew where, my men frantically lighting and throwing them outside, creating a wall of fire. I just hoped it would last.
The massive Friesian shook violently as my men tried to calm it and help Roksana to the ground. I rushed over, carelessly pushing through until I faced the dwarf cradling her to his chest. Her blood-stained face was so pale. I reached her chest, searching frantically for signs of life. It took far too long for Sana’s chest to move. The breath she drew was shallow and tremulous.
‘Viper?’ I whispered the endearment like a prayer, then added my thanks to the gods when she opened her eyes. A verdant emerald glow lit the night as she focused on my face.
‘I made it,’ she whispered, her hand weakly reaching out.
I caught it like a lifeline, bringing the frigid fingers to my lips and kissing them ‘You made it. Whatever horrors you faced, you made it, my love.’ The ghost of a smile appeared before her eyes fluttered closed, and I looked at the soldier standing next to Tova.
‘Take her to the inn and drag the chief healer from the barn, by the neck if you have to. She must live.’ The soldier’s posture straightened at my commanding tone before he nodded and marched towards the inn. I stood in a puddle of muddy water, anger burning as hot as the token my Viper gave me. Morana’s blessing saved my life at the gates, but who would save the rest?
My gaze drifted to Tova, his knuckles white from supporting Roksana. ‘What happened?’
His head lifted slowly, and it took all my self-control to hold back. The dwarf took far too long to answer. A curse slipped free as Tova remained silent, only gesturing to the soldiers surrounding us.
‘You can speak freely; my men can be trusted.’
With an unimpressed snort, Sana’s friend ignored me to study the faces surrounding us. ‘That… whatever it is, surrounded us in a frozen village just to the north. If not for Sana’s instincts and her magic, we’d have ended up like the poor bastards guidingus.’ He looked around, meeting the grim faces of my men. ‘It’s not like we’re any safer here.’
He was right; shouts from the palisade warned me that the fire we’d started was already failing in the frozen conditions outside. If only we had a dragon. My mind reeled as an image of fire pouring from the sky flashed before my eyes, the flames searing the mist with a savage intensity.You only have to ask, came an alien thought, an illusion created by my fevered mind. I shook my head, pushing the intrusive scene from my thoughts.
‘We need more fuel. Find something that will burn despite the conditions,’ I said, gesturing to my second-in-command. ‘Send some soldiers to find an old wagon, load it with wood and hay and make sure they’re strong enough to help me push it outside.’ Ivar’s eyes widened, but after nodding, he rushed off to execute my orders.
‘That won’t be enough,’ Tova said. I looked at the dwarf, who pushed his hands into the pockets of his coat and stared at me with a determined expression. ‘Tell the villagers to bring me pine resin, sulphur, and quicklime. I’ll build you a fire that will burn even in the worst blizzard.’
