The Northern Wave by Ross G A

Author:Ross, G A [Ross, G A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael Terence Publishing
Published: 2021-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Only one man’s soul was tormented by the battle, Aethan’s. He had witnessed the appearance of the devil and his fears plagued him. He distanced himself from the victory celebrations as much as he could and prayed on the side of the bloody river for the dead. Music, song and dance drowned out his prayers but he knew somebody could hear him and stayed there long after dark. It was the howling of a wolf far away downriver that moved him; they had scented the blood and would come.

The bodies of their own men lay in the centre of the great circle of warriors, to be carried home by the army. Aethan had been handed many crosses, of gold, silver or bronze taken from the necks of the Norse. He asked why the warriors didn’t keep them and rolled his eyes skyward at the answer.

“The monks say it is not good to steal from God,” replied a smiling blue face and darted back to the celebrations before Aethan had a chance to question him further.

He suspected they were making a fool of him but he wasn’t certain. One thing he was sure of, the heathen gods on both sides dwelt just below the skin and revenge would follow the beheading of the Norse warriors. He knew enough that in their minds, warriors without heads would wander the afterlife forever.

The Queen had beckoned him to come and eat but he had no appetite and kept staring at the cartload of heads in the centre. He listened to the praise lavished on the Norse warriors for the way they had fought and surprisingly, on the Smertae too. This was the aftermath of the battle and what those who had fought it thought made no difference. What was suitable for the masses to hear would prevail and nobody could question what got back to the enemy. No survivors remained to support the dead.

They conducted a half-hearted sweep of the forest but found nothing and they knew they had wiped out the Norse. Discussions about what to do in the morning took priority among the chiefs and the fate of the forest was only saved by Frazer who was adamant the forest should remain intact and not be burned. Stroma backed him, as did Gordon and eventually, Ross dropped his idea and commented he should have taken Drest’s whisky instead of his deer and everybody agreed with that.

They talked and listened to music late into the night but the lack of alcohol had a dulling effect on what would otherwise have been a wild celebration.

Astrid and Glo could hear the heathen music; they could also hear the wolves and cast aside all temptation to go to ground. Instead, they huddled together in the branches. The wind had stopped and they could see the stars above them. The crust of green seemed to keep in the heat making them more uncomfortable than cold.

As light started to flood the sky, they heard movement and horses coming from the direction of the camp.

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