Lord of the Mountains Read online

  “That’s the way it usually is with Silvi,” Rorik said. “I never know what she’s talking about. Between her visions and those strange eyes of hers, I stay clear. I love my cousin, but I’m a simple man with simple . . . tastes.” He eyed another woman who walked past them.

  “Aren’t we all?”

  “I tried to warn you to leave, but you were too slow.” Rorik chuckled. “Or perhaps you meant to stay behind?”

  Magnus kicked a small rock with the toe of his shoe. “It’s obvious I find her beautiful.” What man wouldn’t? With her white-blond hair and eyes the color of a fine sword’s blade, he’d felt shield-struck when he first saw her during the battle for Haardvik. Since then, he couldn’t help but watch her, giving Leif much fodder for jokes. “She claims she’s meant for the great temple at Uppsala. I need a woman who can run my village when I’m not there, bring me political connections, and give me a bit of wealth. I do well enough for my people, but we live a difficult life in the mountainous interior. We can’t grow much for ourselves. Our summer is shorter than here on the coast, so we don’t keep as many animals. We hunt for much of what we eat and have to import the rest. That’s expensive.”

  “When Leif was at my village, he said your people spend all winter making textiles, jewelry, and carvings for you to take to the markets come spring. That’s resourceful.”

  “It brings in what we need. Barely. Thorsfjell needs so much more.” He stopped. Rorik didn’t need to hear of his weaknesses. “I require a woman who is strong and self-sufficient. One who can guide my people, make judgments, run a household, and stand beside me in every way.”

  “All of which Silvi has been trained to do.”

  He blinked. “I thought she was going to be a priestess.”

  Rorik snorted. “That’s what she wants. But Eirik said it will only happen if he’s dead. Even their mother, Lifa, said she doesn’t want that for Silvi—and she’s a respected rune mistress herself, trained at the temple. Silvi knows about running a household, wielding power when the men are away raiding or trading, and keeping the accounts.”

  “Then why isn’t she married yet? She’s long past the age.”

  “Men can’t look into her eyes, for one thing. She’s too strange with her visions and knowledge of the other realms. Eirik has the right to make her marry, but those arrangements seldom turn out well. It’s too easy for women to divorce their husbands if they’re not happy. Apparently, Lifa had a vision long ago of Silvi at Uppsala, and my cousin has hung on to that as proof it’s where she’s meant to be. It’s been a running argument for years between them. As to why she wants to be there so badly, that’s something she’ll have to tell you herself. I don’t look too deeply into these things.”

  A familiar laugh drifted to them across the village. Near the well, Asa, Magnus’s newly married sister, stood with a group of women, her red hair blazing in the spring sun. She stood taller and straighter than the others, but then, years of sword training made that so. Would she remain a shieldmaiden now that her life was here with Eirik? Or would she take the path of other women and settle for children and the hearth?

  He shook his head. Not Asa. Not yet, anyhow. She had blossomed under Eirik’s love, and was happy, finally. Eirik stood between her and her past, slaying anything that might threaten her, as he had killed Hakon, the nithingr who had brought such pain to them all. Magnus rubbed the scar on his stomach.

  Rorik followed his gaze. “Ah yes. The gods finally smiled on Eirik. Your sister is as beautiful as my cousin. Yet, they could not be more different. One like a sword, the other a deep pond covered in thin ice. Both just as dangerous. After all, they are women.” He stood. “We’d all like to see Silvi married and happy. Lifa always said that if any man can look into her daughter’s eyes, he might be the one for her. My aunt, like others who walk with the gods, often says such things. I prefer to speak plainly, with my sword.”

  Another woman glanced over her shoulder at him as she passed. He chuckled. “Both my swords. I’ll see you at the evening meal.” He followed her toward a small house, calling back, “Perhaps.”

  Magnus looked at Asa as she talked with the other women. Eirik snuck up behind her, grabbed her, and flung her over his shoulder. She shrieked and pounded on his back in mock outrage as everyone in the yard called out encouragement to the new bridegroom. With Asa’s propensity for weapons, he might need it. Her throaty laugh floated on the air as Eirik carried her into the longhouse where their private chamber was.

  With the wedding festivities ending tomorrow, Magnus would head back to Thorsfjell soon. He had goods ready for the market and had to return. Without his sister. He, Leif, and Asa had been together so long, having only each other, that he couldn’t imagine her not being there. But this was best for her, and even for him and their people.

  Asa’s bride-price had brought in a great deal of gold. Enough, perhaps, to set aside some to purchase another knörr. The merchant ships were slow, meant to hold a large amount of cargo. He gazed out over the fjord cliff to where Rorik’s vast fleet of beautiful, sleek warships lay anchored near the narrow beach. If only he could afford a longship. Then he could outrun the pirates who threatened all on the seas. In the past, he could do no more than stand and fight. And he had. Between Leif, Asa, and him, they had held their own, not losing any cargo or their lives. Yet.

  If he had one of the blade-sharp ships to cut through the waves, he could outrun his enemies, make more trips, and earn more money for his people. It was a luxury, though, and they had so many other needs. He had to put aside his dreams for the good of his people. He looked away from the tempting ships.

  White-blond hair caught his eye. Silvi. She entered the village from the direction of the sacred grove, moving with her head down, toward the longhouse. She was so slender, her skin so pale, she appeared little more than an apparition. Her hair curtained her face and she met no one’s gaze as she walked. What was it Rorik had said? That if any man could meet her eyes, he was the one for her? Why was that difficult? Her eyes were so beautiful, he could fall into them forever. Was that why no man met her gaze? Could she see into them too clearly?

  In the grove, she had come too close to his secret. Something no one else knew. Something he had not even told his twin, Leif. The truth would undermine his rank as jarl.

  A woman with an infant approached Silvi. As they spoke, Silvi put her hand on the babe and nodded. They went into the building together. No doubt the child ailed and needed herbs. Was it true Lifa had made certain Silvi knew how to be a wife? She was certainly versed in healing and medicine. He had seen her skill all too well after the battle with Hakon and his outlaws. When she had tended to his wound, he’d thought his head injury was making him see things. He could barely think straight as he’d breathed in her sweet scent.

  He’d spoken with her several times over these past days. They were so far apart, it was as though he stood on Midgard, their own world, and she’d come from Alfheim, the realm of the Light Elves, near to Asgard.

  He blew out a harsh breath. Perhaps she was the wisest of them all, wishing to retreat from a world filled with so much pain and horror. Who was he to hold her here to wither and fade in a life where she was not meant to be? As the daughter, and now a sister, of a jarl, she had been raised in relative luxury. Though he was a jarl as well and could give her every protection, Thorsfjell was rugged and windswept, the winters longer and colder than here near the coast. He would do her a disservice to bring her there. Let her go to Uppsala and dwell with the gods, as close to Asgard as she could come in this world.

  He’d go back to his sword and his silver, as she had said, and keep his secrets to himself. Until the gods discovered what he hid in his heart. When that happened, he’d not drag her down with him as they descended on him with their fury.

  Even though he could look into her eyes.

  * * *

  “Are you certain you don’t want to stay a few more days?” Eirik took a sip of his mead. He and Asa wou
ld continue to drink the honey wine for the next three weeks to sweeten the first month of their marriage.

  Magnus joined him at the table and poured ale into his cup. Mead was fine on occasion, but not every day. “Rorik is leaving tomorrow and offered to escort me to the entrance of the Sognefjorden. I didn’t want to slow him down with my knörrs, but he said he’d be skirting the islands anyhow, where it’s slower sailing. We’ll pick up the southern current, to help speed the journey. I have to load my ships and get to the markets in Kaupang. Since you claimed Asa’s dragonhead prow ornament as her dowry, I have to avoid Hedeby, where King Horik often is. He wanted that dragonhead and isn’t going to be pleased. I may have to lie low for a time.” He grinned and took a large swallow.

  Eirik laughed. “Starting next year, you’ll stop here and pick up the carvings she did during the winter, as we agreed. Including one dragon. Though I’ll make certain the one I have for my ship is the best one, of course. She’ll do a magnificent one for the king. He’ll just have to wait another year. Then you won’t have to avoid Hedeby, the largest market. I don’t think he’d go so far as to attack your ships, though, so you don’t need an escort.”

  “I wasn’t concerned about the king.”

  “Then why do you want to sail with Rorik?”

  “I don’t think the outlaws who attacked Thorsfjell during the winter did so on their own.” He swirled the ale in his cup. “A coward called Toke, who is more raider than merchant, took over Bygvik, the village in the next valley. He killed their jarl. I didn’t do anything about it, for I didn’t know the old jarl. I thought his family would take vengeance, but no one ever did, so Toke remained in power. The fjord entrance is next to mine. His men sail the Sognefjorden, harassing and pirating other merchants and jarls living in the villages on the shores. Word among the merchants in the region has it that he’s jealous of the prices our goods bring. I can’t help but feel he had something to do with those attacks. Perhaps he put the outlaws up to it. He may have paid them. With Thorsfjell’s goods destroyed, he could charge more for his own.”

  “Asa saw a dark rider in the woods after that last battle.”

  “Yes. And my stable hand, Sjurd, saw him as well.”

  “Do you think it was Toke?”

  “I don’t think he’d get that close to a battle. He’s known as a nithingr, without honor. Which sometimes can make a man more dangerous. More unpredictable. He won’t have principles to guide his actions.” He took another swallow of ale. “Eventually, I’ll have to travel to the market at Kaupang on my own, but if I have the chance to journey home with a larger force, I’ll take it.”

  “Because Asa is your sister, Rorik would likely allow a ship or two to remain with you, as a matter of family.”

  Magnus shook his head. “I’ll not be beholden to anyone. And he may need his ships. He’s heading off to meet Ragnar Lothbrok, which surprises me. I’ve heard there’s a massive fleet of our ships farther south, near London. Almost three hundred fifty of them. They wintered there for the first time at Thanet, attacking the area. Last I heard, they’re to head north through Mercia. I thought Rorik would join in the fun.”

  “Not likely,” Eirik said. “We came across the fleet as we sailed home last fall. He thinks there are too many ships and that means less gold and silver for each man. From what I understand, Aethelwulf, the king, is very strong in the area and may give them a problem. Rorik follows his guts in these instances and he’d rather strike away from so much attention. More spoils for him that way.”

  Magnus nodded. “Makes sense. Lothbrok’s amassing a smaller fleet to sail up the Humber River. Rorik may need all his ships for that. Besides, Leif and I have plenty of experience fighting on the water. We’ve never been taken and I don’t intend to learn what it’s like, although we’re somewhat weakened without Asa with us.”

  “She is quite skilled. With a blade.” Eirik smiled into his cup and glanced to the other side of the room.

  Magnus winced. “This is my sister we’re talking about.”

  “And this is the wedding celebration, so there’s always such talk throughout the week.”

  He followed Eirik’s gaze. Asa sat with Eirik’s mother, Lifa, and several other women, runes on the table between them. Silvi was there as well. Lifa had agreed to teach Asa about the ancient symbols to help with her carving, so of course her daughter would sit in on the session.

  Her white-blond hair glowed in the soft firelight of the central longhearth. She smiled at something her mother said. Magnus’s body tightened and his breath hitched. He shifted on the hard bench. Silvi’s smile was so rare, it caught him off guard.

  “Of course, there’s a way for you to get the longships and warriors you need to be a force on the seas yourself.”

  He dragged his attention away from Silvi and focused on Eirik. “How?”

  Eirik nodded toward her. “I’ve never actually set a dowry for her, but that can change. Warships and the men to sail them and fight for you. Isn’t that what you need?”

  Was he that transparent? “That takes gold.”

  “And gold.” Eirik set down his cup. He fixed him with a hard look.

  Magnus’s head spun. And it wasn’t because of the ale. “You want me to marry your sister.”

  “You want to marry my sister. We need to lay out the terms so we understand each other. I have several longships on the beach in a cove just up the fjord. I won’t be going anyplace this year. I have to establish my jarlship, gather warriors to fight for me, and settle my household. And see to my wife.” He grinned. “Rorik’s shipbuilders can work on other vessels for me this year and the next. The women will work on weaving the sails, which takes just as long. In the meantime, three of my ships will be sitting idle. They could be yours. Now. I’ll give you the men you need until you can gather more of your own. Your knörrs call for five or six men to sail each of them, but longships require more.”

  “Actually, that’s fine for coastal ships, but I have oceangoing vessels. I need at least twelve men to crew each of them. I put out word about where I’m trading. People in my area rent space on my ships for their cargo in exchange for working as the crew, so I don’t need to support all those men.”

  “I know warships, not merchant ships.” Eirik shrugged. “They need more men to sail them. With the fleet you’ll have, you’ll attract more warriors and that will bring your enemies to heel, including Toke. Rorik would be your ally. He’ll contribute men as well, and back you however you need. You’ll have power, with him in the north and with me in the south. And no one has more power and wealth than Rorik. Not even the Danish king, Horik. No one crosses him on land or on the seas. You have our support because of my marriage to your sister, of course. But with you married to Silvi, it would double the ties between us.”

  If his mind started functioning, he might be able to form an answer. Instead, he stared at Eirik. He could have the ships he’d dreamed of, the power to become a major force along the trade routes, and best of all, Silvi. In one moment, his world expanded. It all sounded good, but there was one small problem.

  “I understand she’s to become a priestess at Uppsala. I won’t come between the gods and Silvi.” He didn’t need any more trouble with them than he already had.

  Eirik grimaced. “You mean between Silvi’s foolish dreams and Silvi. A hóvgythiur. That won’t happen while I have any say. She’s never been farther away from Haardvik than a half day’s ride, when she visited outlying farmsteads with our mother. She has no idea of life yet. My mother wants her to live first, experience all she can. Gather wisdom. So do I. Her heart is too full of love to lock it away like that. All her love should go to a fine man, not distant gods. She should whisper words in the night to her lover, not to an unhearing statue.” He held his hands up. “I’m not disparaging the gods, mind you. I’m pleased she hears them so clearly and they speak to her. But it’s not all she’s meant for. They gave her great gifts, and she needs to use them for the people she loves. You
don’t have a rune reader any longer, remember.”

  “No. We lost the one we had at Thorsfjell all winter.” He made an effort to smile. His stomach was twisting like a loose sail in a stiff breeze.

  “You could have a better one than I was. I do well enough with the runes, but Silvi is far more skilled.” He nodded toward the women. Asa held up a rune and spoke to Lifa, no doubt telling her what it meant. Lifa nodded and showed her another one.

  “And your healer woman, Ingeborg, is getting old. How many more winters will she be able to travel to the homesteads to see to the ailing? Silvi is well versed in all medical skills, as you’ve seen.” He looked at the healing wound at the edge of Magnus’s scalp. “It’s not a decision to make lightly, I know. Go home. Think on it. The offer will stand.”

  “Why, Eirik? Why me? There are other men who are wealthier, more powerful than I am. Men who can bring you political connections I cannot.”

  “I don’t need them. I have my own. And I have Rorik as family and an ally. I admit I can use your trade routes and connections at the markets. Besides that, I want what’s best for Silvi, even if she doesn’t see it herself. You’re the only man I’ve seen her speak to for any length of time during this past week. She watches you when you’re not staring at her.”

  She does?

  “And don’t forget, I lived at Thorsfjell all winter. I know the manner of man you are. With your honor and steadfastness, you would be the type of husband I want for her. You’re a man of the world. You may well be the only one who could hold her to the earth so she doesn’t float away to Asgard one day.”

  Eirik downed the rest of his mead and set the cup on the table. “Sometime this summer, Asa and I will return to Thorsfjell for her things. We prepared for battle when we came here. She left her fine clothes, jewelry, carving tools, and her personal items behind. I’ll bring Silvi with us, and I’m certain my mother will want to come as well. She’ll see to the spiritual welfare of your people. We can talk further on this then. Silvi needs to experience more of the world she’s so determined to retreat from. She needs to see the best of it.” He rose and went to the table where the women still studied the stones. Sitting down, he drew Asa close to his side and she leaned on him with a smile.