Lord of the Runes Read Free Page B

knew he was dying, he told us to leave the sword for you, not to burn it with him. We’ll send him to the afterlife in the flames as is his right, no matter what the outcasts say. We have a fine sword for him so that when he fights tomorrow in Valhalla, he’ll be well armed. Even now, he drinks with the gods.” She sniffed as her eyes moistened again.
    â€œDrinking and fighting, his two favorite things.” They shared a slight smile, then he took Silvi by the shoulders. “There’s no time to waste. The bastards infest the woods and it’s only a matter of time before they find us. We have to leave now.”
    â€œNo, Eirik, I must stay here. They said if any of us leave, they’ll kill one villager for every measure of the oil lamps that we’re gone. Even knowing this, Mother sent me, and we’ve likely lost one or two of our people already since I left to find you and get these supplies to you. I can’t stay away.” Her voice shook.
    His stomach tightened as though he’d been punched. How could he leave his beautiful, otherworldly sister here? “You did well, Silvi.” He kissed the top of her head, letting none of his turmoil show. And yet, she was right. “Father would have been proud of you and Mother. We cannot allow the welfare of a few to overshadow that of the many.”
    â€œAlready we have lost over ten warriors and as many villagers.”
    So great a number? His jaw tightened with rage, but he couldn’t falter. “I may not be back until the spring, even if I can get through to Rorik now. Though the sea stays free of ice in the winter, most of his men will have dispersed to their homesteads, as many of ours did. And he will have beached his longships to repair them in the season of storms. We’ll likely have to wait, as will you.”
    â€œI know, Eirik, but we won’t be idle. Swords are not the only weapons we have, for the mind is also powerful. These men are ignorant and superstitious. They’ll fall prey more easily to fear. Mother and I will use that to our advantage.”
    â€œBe careful. Fear may be a weapon, but any blade can turn on the one who wields it. Unease makes men dangerous. Let them eat and drink until they are so fat they cannot walk and so drunk they cannot think. It will make their bellies a larger target for our blades when we return to slay them.” He drew her into his embrace. “I should just throw you on the horse and take you from here.”
    â€œThen they would come after me and discover you. This way, you can travel unimpeded. It’s for the best.” She pulled back from him. “Besides, Mother had a vision that I would one day be at the great temple in Uppsala.” She waved her hand toward the clearing. “Does this look like Uppsala to you?”
    He gave her a smile he did not feel as he pulled her hood up over her hair. “No.”
    â€œThen I will survive to go there to be one of the hóvgythiur , as I’ve always known I am destined to be. Now go. And may the gods watch over you.”
    He gritted his teeth. She would never be one of those temple priestesses if he had anything to say about it. “The gods will be too busy watching over you to worry about me. I’ve fended for myself quite well without their intervention. All I need is my own skill, a good sword, and a fast ship.”
    Instead of chiding him for such talk, as she always had, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll watch for the lengthening of the days and imagine that, somewhere in the world, there is still light.”
    He tightened the girth of the horse’s saddle. When he turned back, she was gone, disappearing before he could weaken and take her with him. He slammed his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree and the pain centered him. What manner of man was he to leave his own sister behind? But she knew, as he did, that it was for the good of their people.
    With the