Desire's Fury (Viking's Fury Book 2) by Violetta Rand Read Free Book Online

beautiful Saxon. Something Eva had never done before.
    If her ancestors refused, then she would try to convince the Sami gods to help. In order for them to intercede on behalf of a nonbeliever, there might be a price to pay. What exactly, she didn’t know yet.
    With her drum and reindeer bone drumstick in hand, she knelt beside the bed and closed her eyes. Though Eva didn’t dream like other noaidis , she could communicate with the spirits still, feel the movement of nature down to her marrow, and possessed the ability to identify the evil spirits that plagued her patients.
    A low but strong tone sounded as she struck the surface of her drum with the carved bone. The important thing was keeping a steady beat until a kind of ecstasy was reached. In that moment, where the three worlds collided—Eva would enter the land of the spirits. She rocked back and forth in unison with her music.
    Then the words followed, her special joik , a song meant to express her need and feelings to the gods and spirits.
    Gift of light
    Kept us from straying
    Showed us the pathway to the scared lands.
    Gift of light
    Overpower darkness
    Set us free from the prevailing night.
    Tears no longer fall
    Eyes wide open
    Gift of light
    Life is precious.
    Restore faith
    Gift of light
    Restore health
    Gift of light.
    Mother, father
    Hear my plea
    Sons of the Sun
    Daughters of the Moon
    Our ancestors are scattered among the countless stars.
    Gift of light
    Read my heart
    Restore life to my sister.
    *
    Roald crossed the threshold of Silvia’s chamber, then paused. He found Eva on her knees by the bed, her melodic voice wrapped around him, drawing him into another world. And the words she sang— set us free from the prevailing night …
    “Is this what a Sami soothsayer offers as healing?” Konal shoved his brother aside. “She’s not a spaewife. Get her away from Silvia.”
    Roald gripped his arm. “Stand down, Konal. The ways of the noaidi are different than our healers. And if you touch, Eva, I’ll be forced to take action to protect her.”
    “This is your way of torturing me.” His lips stretched into a snarl. “You wish my wife gone. You want her to die.”
    Roald focused intently on his brother. He had never seen his sibling act so irrational. There was only one solution, remove him from the room until Eva finished her chant.
    “Get out,” he said.
    “Leave you alone with…”
    “Out.” Roald elbowed him in the direction of the open door. “Troel.”
    The captain stood at attention.
    “Don’t let anyone in or out of this room until I give my consent. Even if Ragnarok comes.” Sure he’d made his point clear, he shut the door.
    Eva had stopped singing then, but she continued to play the drum softly. “Jarl Roald,” she whispered.
    He moved to stand by her.
    “I am between worlds,” she said. “Tell me why you wish to save this woman.”
    “She’s beautiful…” he said.
    “And?”
    “She belongs to my brother.”
    “And?”
    “Honor.”
    “You mean obligation?” Eva asked.
    Even in a trance-like state the woman argued. “Yes. Obligation. My mother would expect no less from me.”
    “And your sire? He is here with me, Roald.”
    An unseen force sucked the air from Roald’s lungs. He felt suddenly dizzy. “My father is with you?” He didn’t believe her. Jarl Brandr should be in Valhalla, drinking strong mead and making love to a Valkyrie.
    “He wants you to forgive your brother. To understand that everything he says and does right now is driven by the fear of losing the one person he truly loves. Silvia.”
    The girl must prove her power to him. Anyone could claim to see the ghost of his father. Though he’d never told Eva his sire had died. “My father has a second name.”
    “Brandr the Restless.”
    “His hair color?”
    “Red.”
    “Eyes?” She’d surely fail now.
    “As blue as yours, Jarl Roald.”
    He licked his lips with cautious hope. Did the girl truly see his father? Could she speak to him?