Sword of Doom by James Jennewein Read Free Book Online

asked his opponent, Svein One Brow, a pock-faced brute with one giant eyebrow above his nose. “Quit griping and move already, ya piss-hole.” Ragnar grumbled and looked back at the board. Svein grinned up at Jarl and said to pay no mind to Ragnar’snitpicking. The warrior life had it all. “Freedom. Travel. Women. Fresh air. Excitement. Did I say women?” One Brow admitted it wasn’t perfect. The hours were often too long, the food undercooked, and most were lucky if they saw their twenty-fifth year.
    â€œYes,” said Vik, “but what’s the downside?”
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    After the others had eaten and left Dane and Godrek alone by the fire, Dane again asked about his father. What was his best quality? His worst? His finest moment in battle? Godrek was slow to speak on these things, preferring one-word answers and cryptic smiles. Still, Dane felt honored to be having this private time with his lordship, and even brief glimpses of his father were better than none at all. Curious then about another matter, he asked what had happened between them to end their friendship.
    For a long moment Godrek drank from his ale jar and said nothing, contemplating the past. “Your father could have been a great man,” he said at last, his eyes on the fire. “A man of wealth and distinction beyond measure. He stood on the threshold of a life few can imagine. He could have grasped the stars.” Godrek fell silent. “But he threw it all away. Turned his back on greatness and retired to your sleepy little backwater village to live a dullard’s life.”
    The words hurt Dane, and noticing this, Godrek softened his tone.
    â€œI’m sorry, son,” he said. “I don’t mean to belittle you oryour people. But you must understand there is a life beyond the one you know. One of limitless glory. Since I last saw your father, I’ve lived ten whole lifetimes, become a lord of my own lands. Tested myself in ways few men ever do. Seen and done things that change a man forever, that make you change your view of life itself. Suffice to say, son, I’ve had my share of adventures….”
    Adventures! The very word was so tantalizing to Dane, it seemed as though a new doorway was opening right before his eyes.
    â€œThe question is,” said Godrek with a glint of fatherly wisdom, “do you want to stay in your little village of farmers and fishwives and while away your days in indolent domesticity? Or do you want to see the world? Maybe even conquer a piece of it?”
    Dane couldn’t speak; his heart swelled with yearning. Was this what he wanted? Was this his true destiny? Godrek rose, stretched his limbs, and said, “Some men keep their heads in holes all their lives and never even know it; others lift their eyes to the stars.” And it was these words most of all that Dane lay in his bedroll thinking about deep into the night.
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    William lay in his bedroll, determined to stay awake and prove his worth in the event thieves or godless wights chanced attack. For a time he heard distant hoots and night calls, and imagined the beasts of prey both furred and feathered that might be stalking the teeming forest. He heardthe snuffles and snores of his comrades, as well as nocturnal rumblings from Fulnir, who lay nearby. Even Klint the raven, perched in a nearby birch tree, slept soundly, his head tucked under a wing. The only other one awake, William saw, was the sentry on duty, who sat in a crouch on the far edge of camp, stoking a fire and drinking from an ale jar. It was Thorfinn, the one who had laughed and ridiculed him for being a little boy. Oh! How William wanted to show him he was wrong.
    But it would have to wait. Perhaps, he thought, he should get some sleep before daybreak. He turned over in his blankets—and spied something that had escaped his attention before. Two squat boulders, similar to the ones they had passed on the trail that day, sat