Norse Valor by Constantine De Bohon Read Free Book Online Page B

drown
if it is breached by ice! My men are powerful swimmers; your sister is not!
Damn! We are back a month too early! I had hoped the ice would have melted!”
Vakr yelled to be heard over the chaos of his men. “David, take your place below,
as we need every man possible to maneuver around the ice! We have not come all
this way to die in our own waters!”
    “I can row,” Svana said.
    That stopped Vakr in his tracks. The vessel once more
lurched under the assault and Svana was thrown into Vakr’s arms.
    “Svana,” Vakr said.
    “If the boat sinks, you will save me,” she replied and
grinned cheekily up at him.
    Vakr grinned back. He grabbed her hand and they made their
way below. Vakr sat her on the bench in front of him.
    Svana gripped the heavy wood and pulled with all her might. Good God, how on earth do the men row for
hours? For a moment she was sorry she had offered, until she found the
rhythm of the men. When Ari yelled something from above deck, Vakr would call
to Svana.
    “Pull hard!” he yelled. Then after a moment he yelled, “Be
still, Svana!”
    “Where are we headed? I didn’t see a dock,” Svana groaned
out her words as she began to row once more. Her arms already burned with an
ache.
    “Right to shore,” he replied.
    Svana turned to look at him and he was grinning like a madman. On shore? “Vakr, you mean to run your
vessel aground? On purpose?”
    “When the ice is gone the water will have risen and it will
be in enough water for our men to push it to the dock. This way everything we
have brought can be hauled from land to home.”
    “Oh.”
    Svana heard a yell from above. Ari sounded frantic. The next
thing she knew Vakr had her pulled backwards into his arms and was all but
crushing her to his chest. She was suddenly under him. Crunching sounds under
the boat were her first warning. Svana groaned when the fast-moving vessel
suddenly stopped its harried movement forward. Vakr’s entire weight was on her
and she was immobile. For a moment there was silence, then more shouting was
heard only it was a cheer of happiness. They had made it. Vakr grinned down at
her then kissed her hard. The men cheered again.
    “Soon you will meet my mother. She will love you,” Vakr
said.
    Svana had mixed emotions about that. She would of course
meet his mom, but then she would need to call her father. He was no doubt out
recruiting the navy trying to find them. In just these few short days, she had
grown very fond of Vakr. Perhaps she could figure out why he and his men
thought themselves to be Viking warriors once she went into town. A disturbing
thought entered her mind. What if they are
outlaws and the police are looking for them? Depending on what they were
accused of Svana decided she would hire him the best lawyer possible.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
    Chapter 3

 
    Svana sat in the large hut with her mouth gaping. Everywhere
she looked had her filling with more stunned surprise. The entire setting was
beyond medieval and then some. The floor of the domicile was hard-packed dirt.
A fire blazed in an open hearth with a small black cauldron hanging over the
flames. Something inside bubbled and gave off a somewhat interesting odor—neither
pleasant nor unpleasant. Steel and wooden utensils were hung on the wall near
where the fire burned brightly. It was the only lighting in the rustic home.
    Who lives like this?
    The furniture was all homemade, from wooden chairs to
leather cushions. In a far corner was a pile of furs with a few leather throw
pillows…no doubt stuffed with feathers. The hut walls were worn and smooth, but
it was apparent they were made from wood and stone and mud. The domicile seemed
sturdy enough. Snow had begun to fall before they had made it to Vakr’s
mother’s home. The wind had picked up and the one window was shuttered and
closed against the cold bluster. February, Vakr claimed it to be late February.
    How is that possible?
    Vakr’s mother was bustling about with a