The Call of the Valkyries by T. J. Mayhew

Author:T. J. Mayhew
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tracey Mayhew

21

Everything came flooding back to her in that moment, attacking her with a vengeance.

The cries of fury and death, merging into a cacophony of sound so she could barely tell the living from the dead… The clash of iron-on-iron as weapons met in mid-air… But most of all, the sound of the axe as it was embedded into her brother’s shoulder… the sound of his screams of pain, of his pleas as he surrendered to Odin’s will…

Those sounds, more than any other, she would never forget.

She would also never forget the eyes that had stared back at her, the eyes she knew so well… she would never forget the helplessness she saw in them.

Unbidden tears sprang into Freydis’ eyes and she dropped her gaze to the reeds beneath her bare feet, willing them away; her throat felt suddenly tight and she couldn’t breathe. She heard the distant thud as her seax hit the reed-strewn floor and the world blurred behind another wave of tears. The strength drained from her body and, as she reached for her brother, cursed herself for her weakness.

Suddenly, Úlfarr was at her side, his arms around her waist, supporting her, the only thing at that moment keeping her standing. Instinctively, she reached out, clutching desperately to his shoulder, insurmountably glad when her fingers dug into his furs: he was here; he was alive.

Overcome, Freydis threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, almost afraid to let him go for fear this was another dream and he would be taken from her again the moment she woke up. Closing her eyes, she smiled in relief as she felt him pull her closer and finally allowed herself to believe what she was seeing: her brother had come home at last.

But one question kept replaying in her mind: how had she seen this Úlfarr, this older, stronger man, this virtual stranger, in her dream? After five years away from Sandefjord how had she even known what he looked like? The only answer she could come up with was that she wouldn’t.

“Harald! Úlfarr!”

The sound of her mother’s voice wrenched Freydis back to the moment and she reluctantly stepped back, releasing her hold on Úlfarr, as Ragna hugged her husband and son.

Stepping back, the older woman cupped Úlfarr’s face in her hands and looked at him, tears in her eyes. “My son,” she murmured reverently. She let her eyes wander over him, taking in his new appearance, before stating, “You are much changed.”

Úlfarr ducked his head, clearly uneasy by Ragna’s words.

Harald chuckled, coming back to stand beside his son, and clapped him on the back; the unexpected action jolted Úlfarr but he recovered quickly, glaring at Harald. Harald, however, ignored his son’s unspoken hostility, smiling proudly at his wife and daughter. “I should hope he is,” he declared. “He is a man now; ready to swear allegiance to Erik, ready to take to the whale road and seek glory in his first raid.” He took Ragna’s hand in both of his, looking into her eyes.

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.