The Raven Banner by Tim Hodkinson

Author:Tim Hodkinson [Hodkinson, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788549967
Publisher: Head of Zeus

Thirty

Affreca opened her eyes. Above her she saw greenery. Beyond that, weak sunlight poked through foliage. Was this death?

She remembered the ship falling apart beneath her feet after striking the rock. One moment it was there, the next it had disintegrated and she was tumbling into the freezing sea. The shock of the cold water had been intense. Pain shot through her head and it was impossible to breathe in, which was a good thing as she had been under the surface. When she had burst up into the air her breath had finally come but it was in short, rapid pants. A wave had rushed her forwards and she had spotted a beach ahead. Knowing death was the only option if she stayed amid the boiling sea and hidden rocks, she had struck out for the shore. Another wave had caught her and she surged forwards even faster towards the beach. Affreca was exhilarated at the speed at which she was moving closer to safety. Then she saw the dark ball of a rock looming out of the sea before her. She had a brief moment of panic as she realised the wave was shooting her directly for it. In the final moment she thought she glimpsed someone clinging to the rock, then the wave slammed her into it. She felt a stunning blow to her forehead then all had been blackness.

Now she was under this strange, leafy heaven. Many folk talked of going to Odin’s magnificent Valour Hall when they died. Custom taught that was the fate of only half the worthy dead though. The other half went to Fólkvangr, the lush meadow in which the goddess Freyja’s hall, Sessrúmnir, stood. Perhaps the greenery was the grass of that field?

Then she realised she was also not alone.

With a start Affreca saw there was another body lying beside her. He had his arms and legs wrapped across her. It was Ulrich and he appeared to be dozing.

If this really was the heaven ruled by Freyja, the little Wolf Coat leader and devotee of Odin, was in for a nasty surprise.

Her movement woke him. He opened his eyes and his face screwed up in pain straight away.

‘Ow! Watch it, will you?’ he said. ‘I think my foot’s broken.’

‘What are you doing?’ Affreca said, shoving his arms away and rolling away from the grasp of his legs.

‘I’m sharing the warmth of my body,’ Ulrich said, his tone sour. ‘And keeping us both alive.’

With a shudder, Affreca realised her clothes – a pair of leather breeches and a sealskin hooded jerkin – were soaking. The jerkin was supposed to keep the water out while on a voyage but submerged in the ocean there was little it could do. She touched a hand to her forehead, wincing at the stab of pain it invoked.

‘I’m not dead then,’ she said with a sigh.

‘What?’ Ulrich said.

‘I saw the greenery above and thought I was in Fólkvangr,’ she said.

Ulrich grunted. ‘They say Odin’s sense of humour

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.