At the prow, Sigurd’s gaze locked on a dark, unnatural line stretched across the inlet’s mouth. AsÚlfdrekicut closer through the burnished tide, the defensive wooden barrier emerged above the waves. Massive pine trunks were lashed together side by side, the iron chains of the boom glinting in the molten sun. The logs rode low in the water, blackened with tar, anchored at either rocky point of the inlet to heavy posts driven deep into stone.
Atop the cliff, shields and weapons flashed as armored guards defended the palisade crowning Lyngvi’s towering fortress. Along the jetties, Lyngvi’s warriors scrambled aboard theirships, dragging helmets over their heads and seizing bows to return fire at the advancing fleet.
Sigurd watched the tide curl white around the chained timber boom. Beyond it lay Lyngvi’s entire fleet — trapped as much as protected.
Kveld stepped beside him, amber eyes aglow like molten gold. “Penned like sheep.”
Another horn shrieked from the cliff. Archers lined the heights
Sigurd turned,Blárúlfr’sblue fur snapping in the wind. Theouroborosabove his hammering heart seared his skin asdragonfiresurged in his Sea Wolf veins. “Archers!” he roared. “Pitch and flame!”
Warriors leapt to obey. Bundles of resin-soaked flax were tied beneath arrowheads. Torches flared along the gunwales, smoke whipping backward in the wind.
“Row!” Sigurd bellowed.
Oars bit the choppy sea.
Twelve ships surged forward as one, theHammertightening its formation.
“Loose!” At Sigurd’s command, flaming arrows streaked upward and rained down upon the tarred logs. Pitch caught quickly as fire crawled like serpents along the wooden boom.
The chained trunks ignited, heat shimmering above the tide as thick black smoke billowed outward. Defenders bellowed in alarm as sparks leapt toward moored sails.
“Drive through!” Sigurd thundered.
Úlfdreki, Gjálfrmarr,andDrepamarrslammed into the burning barrier with a splintering crash. The boom heaved and bucked. Chains groaned under the strain. Axes flashed as warriors hacked at smoldering ropes and splintered iron.
Behind them, moreshipsfrom theHammerstuck in rapid succession.
Above, arrows hissed down from the cliffs.
Below, fire spread across the boom.
And beyond the smoke-choked inlet, Lyngvi’s fleet went up in flames.
The shore became slaughter as Sigurd’s warriors poured fromdrakkarandsnekkja, storming the jetties and the beleaguered beach.
Sigurd drove forward through smoke and screaming men. The snarling wolf onGramr’sgleaming hilt rose and fell in relentless arcs of steel. A shield bearing Lyngvi’s black eagle split beneath Sigurd’s savage strike. When a spear glanced off his goldenbrynja, he answered with a backhand slice that tore through chainmail and bone.
Around him, the Sea Wolves howled as they advanced up the blood-soaked beach. Gunnar fought like a war god, hammering men back with shield and blade. Högni’s strikes were swift and brutal, felling warriors with lethal precision.Behind them, Lyngvi’s defenders dropped in droves, pinned between the fieryFangat their flanks and the mercilessHammerat their throats.
Sigurd shoved past the last knot of resistance near the base of the cliff.
Above him, like a war eagle perched upon its crag, Lyngvi peered over the rocky ledge. Crimson cloak snapping in the wind, eagle crown gleaming through drifting smoke, he stared down at Sigurd like a ravenous raptor.
When their gazes locked, Sigurd began to climb.
A warrior wielding an axe lunged from the side. Sigurd seized the man’s wrist and hurled him down the steps carved into the side of the cliff. The armored body struck stone and vanished into the carnage below.
Two more guards barred his path.Gramrflashed twice, and both fell.
Sigurd continued his relentless ascent.
At last, he reached the upper landing carved into the crag.
At the summit, the coppery stench of blood and the acrid odor of burning thatch assailed his nostrils.
Behind Lyngvi, beyond the timbered hall of Örnfjall, flames devoured the entire village. Warriors in wolfskin cloaks and gleaming chainmail surged through the rear gate, steel flashing in the firelight.
