Viking Warrior by Connie Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

grip on Olaf’s sword and ran out the door to Wulf’s defense. Vaguely she heard Thora calling to her. Though the place where Wulf fought for his life was of no great distance, every step seemed to bring Reyna no closer to Wulf and the Finn attacking him from behind.

    Sweat pouring down his face, bleeding from several superficial wounds, Wulf used his formidable strength to wield his weapons against the two Finns moving in for the kill. Wulf wasn’t ready to die, even though a warrior’s death would earn him the right to be carried to Valhalla by Odin’s handmaidens.
    With a forceful thrust of his sword he vanquished one of the warriors while jostling for position to deliver the killing blow to the second. But the Finn was a skilled warrior, nearly equal to Wulf in strength and skill. Nevertheless, Wulf was gaining the upper hand when he heard a strangled cry behind him. Not daring to turn his back on his opponent, he cut him down with a slash of his battle-axe and whirled to face the unknown enemy at his back.
    Horror-stricken, he glanced first at the body sprawled on the ground and then at Reyna, who stood as if in a trance with a bloody sword dangling from her fingers. All color had drained from her face as she stared at the Finn lying at her feet.
    Wulf was no idiot. He knew immediately that Reyna had just saved his life. How she’d found the strength or why she’d done it escaped him. But the danger was not yet over. Another Finn came hurtling at him with raised sword and a blood curdling war cry.
    “Return to the hall, Reyna!” Wulf shouted.
    As if coming out of her trance, Reyna turned and fled. Unfortunately, she ran straight into the arms of a massive Finn retreating from the battle. He scooped Reyna into his arms and fled with his captive to the fjord and his dragonship.
    When Wulf saw the Finns fleeing, he knew the Norsemen had broken the attack. He tasted victory when his opponent ceased to defend himself and turned to flee. His sword held high, Wulf shouted a Viking victory cry and gave chase. That was when he saw Reyna being carried off by the enemy. Rage coursed through him as his protective instincts took over.
    Reyna struggled fiercely in her captor’s arms; her pale hair scraped the ground as the Finn flung her over his shoulder. Wulf’s enraged war cry alerted Hagar, who was closer to the Finn than Wulf. Seconds before the Finn reached his dragonship, Hagar tackled him, sending both men and Reyna to the ground. Rising swiftly, Hagar put a quick end to the Finn with a wicked slash of his sword.
    Reyna lay still as death on the hard ground, her glorious hair pooling around her. Wulf reached her in two long strides, scooped her up into his arms, leaving the fleeing Finns to Hagar and the Norse defenders.
    Wulf carried Reyna to his sleeping alcove and placed her on the bed. Reyna moaned and opened her eyes. Wulf dropped to his knees beside the bed and stroked strands of matted hair from her forehead.
    “What happened?” Reyna asked.
    “You tell me. Why did you leave the hall? What ever possessed you to place your life in danger?”
    Reyna struggled to sit up. “A simple ‘thank-you’ would suffice.”
    Her words took the wind out of his sails. “Are yousaying you deliberately risked your life to save mine? A man you claim to hate?”
    Reyna glared at him. “Now I wonder why I wasted my time. I should have let you die. And you would have died, you know. The Finn was within seconds of cutting you down while you fought off his comrades.”
    “You have not answered my question.”
    “Very well, if you insist. If your Norsemen were defeated I would have had to accept a new master. I prefer the devil I know to the one I do not. Are you satisfied?”
    Wulf gave a jerky nod.
    “Then let me ask you a question,” Reyna continued. “Why did you rescue me? You could have let the Finn carry me off. You have been looking for a way to get rid of me.”
    Wulf gave her question due consideration. Why,