Fate's Needle by Jerry Autieri Read Free Book Online

the knife sank up to the hilt in soft belly. Black blood bubbled up with the man’s wail.
    Ulfrik stood and yanked the dagger up with him. Beneath him, the man rolled over and wheezed. Ulfrik placed the blade to his throat. “Who are you and what is happening? Speak!”
    The man made no sound. Ulfrik felt tension flow from the man’s body like the pool of blood that widened with every moment. With a shrug of disgust, he kicked the dead man’s leg. “Grim, you coward,” Ulfrik cursed. He did not need to think too hard to determine what was going on. “You couldn’t come for me yourself?”
    Footfalls and the snapping of underbrush were followed by a man’s voice calling his name. “Ulfrik, I am with you. Hold on!”
    Dissatisfied with his position on lower ground, Ulfrik wanted to get back over the ridge, but the axman burst through, following the trail he had left. They both stood motionless, neither knowing what to do. The axman broke the stare first. Glancing down at the dead man beneath him, he relaxed his stance. “That’s good work there. You were unarmed.”
    Ulfrik threw the blood-dabbled knife on the ground between them. “He lent me a weapon. Don’t think I can’t borrow that ax from you. Drop it.”
    Unexpectedly, the man casually flung the ax into the mud next to Ulfrik. “It’s a good one, too. Your brother wanted me to put it through your head.”
    “So it was Grim!” Ulfrik roared, his voice echoing through the trees. “He hired you to kill me, didn’t he?”
    “Not so much hired as ordered,” the man said, gesturing that he wanted to jump down to Ulfrik’s level. Ulfrik nodded consent and the man leaped down before continuing. “We’re his hirdmen, according to what he thinks. So maybe we’ll be rewarded for good work. Of course, I won’t now.” A derisive smile lit his face. Then he straightened up and the smile dropped. “Your father is dead, Lord Ulfrik. I am sorry. He was a great warrior.”
    Ulfrik knew it already. He had been preparing for it all day, but to hear it was another matter. He had planned to show no emotion, to be strong and unflinching. Yet now he felt himself sway, his breath and eyes burning. His father was dead. Grim and her. Orm had known what was happening. He died in the grip of his enemies, betrayed by his own son. And Ulfrik had failed to act.
    He turned his head aside, not knowing what to do next, his vision filled with nothing but images of Grim standing over Orm’s wasted body. Blood from the corpse of the enemy wet his feet, and he danced away as if it were fire, shaking his thoughts back to the present.
    “What is your name? Why did you betray your friends?” Ulfrik struggled to keep his voice steady; it wavered nonetheless.
    The man stood with his hands clasped before him, relaxed but attentive. “I am Yngvar Bright-tooth,” he said, smiling to reveal the whitest, straightest teeth of any person Ulfrik knew. “These were no friends of mine. Fate put me with them to help you, I would guess. I gave my oath to your father only months ago. I don’t consider that it transfers to your brother. Besides, your brother is an ass and a fool.”
    “And a murderer,” Ulfrik added. The words sounded false in his ears, despite the evidence written in blood at his feet. Is this really happening? he wondered.
    “But for a fool,” Yngvar said slowly, drawing out his words, “Grim is canny. He has bought the men with your father’s gold. You won’t get close to your brother, not alive at least.”
    “I am not concerned with the scum he has hired. My business is with Grim. I will challenge him to defend his name. The others will stand aside.”
    Yngvar frowned, as if he smelled foul air. “You should be concerned, Ulfrik. All of those men are part of the plan, and more are coming—camped not far from here.”
    Ulfrik rubbed his temple, closing his eyes to think. The matter was far more complicated than he wanted to admit. Reality dawned on him just as