RuneWarriors by James Jennewein

Author:James Jennewein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

Alone now at the bow of the ship, Dane remembered his mother’s words. Believe in himself? How could he? They were in this fix all because of him. Jarl was right. Dane had no business piloting a warship. Other than his good luck in picking the wisdom water, all he’d done was make bad judgments and wrong decisions.

Dane peered up at the cloud-enshrouded moon. The mists that rose from the sea were as thick and impenetrable as the obstacles he faced. Could he lead the men to safety? Was Astrid lost to him forever? Could he ever be as fearless and brave as his father had been? Of course not, he thought. I’m just a stupid kid who thought he was hot stuff. Dane the Defiant? They might as well call me Dane the Ridiculous! And forget ever becoming a celebrated Rune Warrior! Ha! There was about as much chance of that happening as there was of Dane growing a second nose!

He looked to Lut the Bent, who lay asnore beneath his furs. The old one had taken sick a few hours before, complaining of fever ache, and though Lut had tried to shrug it off, saying it was nothing to bother about, Dane had insisted he take to his bed and rest. Lut had done so, spending much of their sea journey asleep. Dane felt acutely the absence of his counsel. And when twice Dane had shaken Lut awake to give him more mead and ask how he was feeling, all Lut had said was “A man can fool his fate,” and gone back to sleep. Was this an important dream truth, Dane had wondered, or just the mumblings of a feeble old man?

The southern skies were clotted with clouds, but to the north two stars shone clear and bright. For a moment Dane thought of them as two eyes looking down upon him, the eyes of his father. Staring up into these star eyes, he felt the presence of his father’s spirit, and forming words from the feelings in his heart, he sent out a silent prayer, asking for strength and guidance and, yes, wisdom, for he knew he’d need these to succeed. He told his father he felt responsible for all that had happened and if it were possible he would give his own life to reverse all that had gone wrong. He waited, hoping for some kind of answer, a comforting sign.

None came. The ship drifted on. Dane peered into the fog, feeling more alone and scared than ever. He wished he could just go back to being the fun-loving boy he once was and let someone else bear this terrible burden.

Then all at once, as if on divine cue, the curtain of fog parted and the men saw a spectacular sight in the northern sky. Shimmering arcs of light, glowing yellow, green, and blue, moved across the starry firmament, great swirls of glitter alive and vibrating like a million sparklers marching in unison.

The men were gobsmacked.

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