Night of the Shadow Moon

by A. E. Rayne

  ‘You are here to be of use to me, girl! Not to stand there and shake all night,’ Morana snarled as she picked up her pestle and started grinding the henbane seeds she would add to the ritual mead. ‘And all night it will be, I promise! I must stay awake now, preparing myself, so you will stay awake with me, watching if I start to tire. Keeping me alert. No food or drink shall pass my lips. My body must be deprived of everything now to enhance my dream state.’

  Meena didn’t like the sound of that. ‘Jaeger will be mad,’ she mumbled, her chin on her chest. ‘He’ll come looking for me.’

  ‘I doubt that,’ Morana snorted as she glanced at the girl. ‘What does he want with you anyway? Do you have some magical skill with cocks?’

  Meena looked so horrified that Morana burst out laughing. ‘So it’s your conversation he enjoys then? Or perhaps your pretty face?’

  Meena didn’t say another word as she ripped plantain leaves into the copper bowl Morana had given her.

  ‘Smaller pieces!’ her aunt grumbled. She turned back to her pestle and mortar, closing her eyes, wanting to infuse her own power into the seeds. It all needed to be perfect. Every tiny component had to work together in harmony.

  Her stomach growled, and she frowned, suppressing a yawn.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Bayla watched her children leave the hall and wondered why she was even bothering to hold a feast tomorrow night. Her sons were not talking to each other, Karsten and Nicolene didn’t appear to be on speaking terms either, and Haaron was, as always, entirely useless.

  Power and wealth were all that Bayla had sought since she was a girl. Her status as the queen of the greatest kingdom in Osterland mattered to her. Once, she’d had a strong husband and fiercesome sons by her side, all working together as a family to ensure that the Dragos legacy continued.

  But now?

  Bayla sighed as she got up from the table. Now, her family had splintered, her kingdom was broken, and she didn’t know what to do about any of it. She had gone from feeling powerful to vulnerable in a heartbeat.

  ‘You look tired, my dear,’ Haaron murmured as he stopped beside her.

  She snapped her head around. ‘Well, you look half dead. And there’s food in your beard again!’ And with that, she strode off towards the stairs, not wanting another reminder of how far they had come from the people they had once been.

  Haaron brushed a hand through his beard. He had been spending his days rushing from one corner of the city to the other, desperately trying to resurrect his piers, to hurry along his shipbuilders, to grumble at the stonemasons as they started construction on his new walls; to speak with the merchants who were complaining about having to beach their ships up the coast.

  But his wife never noticed any of that, he knew.

  She just saw a hopeless, old man.

  And right then, with his body aching and his spirit defeated, he thought that she was probably right.

  Jael sat on Eydis’ bed stroking Vella, who was getting comfortable on one side of her. Ido was already asleep on the other.

  The lamps glowed warmly around the house as everyone prepared for bed.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Jael wondered, leaning forward. ‘You’ve barely spoken today.’

  Eydis could feel tears coming. She had been holding them in for days. ‘I miss my father,’ she whispered. ‘So much.’ And her eyes filled with tears that quickly spilled down her cheeks. ‘I want to go home.’

  Jael squeezed her hand. ‘Oh, Eydis,’ she said softly. ‘I’m so sorry for you. I had a dream about your father the other night. Did I tell you?’

  Eydis wiped her eyes. ‘No,’ she sniffed.

  ‘He told me that in the dark you could see. He said that your mother told him that before she died.’

  Eydis felt strange all over. And so very alone. She had Jael. Fyn was always somewhere nearby. There was Biddy, Gisila, Entorp, and Edela. But her parents... she felt such overwhelming pain that she would never be with them again. She wanted to feel her father’s arms as he pulled her close; to hear her mother sing her to sleep. She squeezed Jael’s hand back. ‘If something happens to you...’

  ‘Nothing will happen to me,’ Jael promised her fiercely. ‘Nothing, Eydis. I’m taking you home and when we get there, Eadmund will be waiting. And we’ll get rid of Evaine and Morac and Ivaar. And we’ll start our new lives together, you and me and Eadmund.’

  Eydis closed her eyes, wanting to believe it could be as simple as Jael said, but the voice in her head boomed loudly, promising of dark things to come.

  Karsten stopped outside Berard’s chamber.

  Nicolene had gone on ahead. He wasn’t looking forward to another night in her frigid company. She had not uttered a single word to him since their last fight, and although he thought that it was better than listening to her screeching at him, there was nothing worse than sharing a bed with a woman who wasn’t talking to you.

  ‘You should do something,’ Karsten said quietly. ‘We can do something.’

  Berard looked confused. He had not drunk much wine, but his head felt scattered, with worry for Meena, and with all the things he still needed to organise for his departure. With Jaeger and the book too. ‘Do something about what?’ he muttered with a frown.

  ‘Meena,’ Karsten whispered, leaning closer. ‘You can take her with you.’

  Berard looked horrified. ‘How? I can’t do that. She’s in Jaeger’s chamber. He would know!’

  ‘Depends how we do it,’ Karsten smiled, eager to irritate his youngest brother, and taking away his bug-eyed toy was surely going to do that. ‘He doesn’t need to know until you’ve gone.’

  Berard peered into Karsten’s conniving eye, trying to see if he was just teasing him, but he appeared serious enough. ‘But how would we?’ he breathed, glancing up and down the corridor.

  ‘Well, let’s go inside and come up with a plan.’

  ‘What about Nicolene?’

  Karsten snorted. ‘I don’t imagine that she’ll miss me tonight.’ And he followed Berard inside his chamber, wondering exactly how they could get Meena away from Jaeger without him noticing a thing.

  Jael couldn’t sleep.

  Her mind kept wandering to Eadmund; feeling his hand touching her hair as they stood by Eirik’s pool; remembering the look in his eye that, for a moment, had made it feel as though he was hers again. And then everything faded, and she was back in Tuura, her mind skipping quickly to the temple.

  To Gerod tossing the book into the fire.

  Jael yawned. She could only hope that Eydis or Edela could help her get Eadmund back somehow.

  Gerod.

  What a bastard.

  Rolling over, trying not to wake Eydis, Jael closed her eyes, wanting to see Eadmund again. To hear his voice. But instead, she started thinking about Fianna. She was at the training ring in Andala, listening to the cheers go up as Harald defeated Gant, watching Fianna hand the note to her man.

  Gerod, she had ordered. Give the note to Gerod.

  Jael shivered in the darkness.

  It was well past any time that Meena might have expected to be asleep, and Morana was showing no indication that she was about to let her stop and rest. There had been no food on offer either. The fire was too busy heating Morana’s cauldron of ritual mead. It smelled awful and as well as longing for sleep, and food, and her freedom, Meena was desperate for a breath of fresh air.

  Mercifully, there was silence while Morana carried out her preparations. Occasionally, she would call on Meena to assist her, to hand her things or stir her cauldron. But mostly she left her alone.

  Meena glanced at her aunt. She seemed wide awake. She wondered why Morana had wanted her help at all. Her mind kept wandering to how angry Jaeger must be that she wasn’t in his chamber. She listened for the bang on the door that she was certain would come at any moment.

  Morana coughed loudly and struggled to her feet, eager to stretch out her legs. She had spent much of the night on her k
nees and was suffering because of it. She was almost surprised to see that Meena was still there. ‘Why do you like the hunchback so much?’ she wondered sharply, shuffling over to check on the cauldron. ‘When the Bear likes you? Why do you prefer the hopeless hunchback? What use is he?’

  Meena jumped. ‘I, I, I... don’t,’ she spluttered.

  Morana’s laugh was a coarse cackle, delighting in Meena’s discomfort. If the lamps in the chamber had been brighter, she knew that she would have seen her cheeks burning red. ‘Not that it matters,’ she sneered. ‘Your hunchback will be dead soon.’ And leaning forward, she picked up a log and placed it under the cauldron.

  ‘Make it look as though you’re raiders. Thieves. Searching for treasure, women, whatever raiders do when they... raid.’ Gerod turned around as he spoke. He was younger, much younger. His hair shone like polished ebony; his pale-blue eyes were feverish.

  The men before him were...

  Jael shuddered as she watched.

  The men before him were...

  She could smell them. Knew what their beards felt like rubbing against her face, her mouth. Knew the strength of their hands as they grabbed her body and pinned her down, ripping her dress, hitting her, pushing her, forcing her, bending her over.

  Hurting her.

  She couldn’t breathe.

  ‘So raid, pillage, rape, cause a great big mess and in the middle of it, make sure you kill the girl.’ Gerod strode to the fire in the centre of the cottage and held out his hands to the high flames.

  The huddle of large, fur-cloaked men stood behind him, blinking at each other, wondering if they’d been dismissed.

  ‘How will we know where to find her?’ a blonde-haired man asked.

  Gerod sighed and walked towards him. ‘She will be in her aunt’s cottage. Her aunt is to be married, so banners will fly outside to mark it. But I will ensure that someone is on hand to guide you in the right direction.’ He narrowed his gaze. ‘Do not hesitate. After you have killed her, cause some more mayhem and then disappear. Do not let anyone catch you, for if you do...’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘It will not go well for you. Our dreamers see everything. They will know if you have failed to cover your tracks. No gold will exchange hands if you do not do as I have instructed.’

  The five men nodded, shuffling out of the small cottage. Jael swallowed, desperate to look away, but just as desperate to lunge for Gerod and throw him into the fire. But she was stuck to the floor, her body gripped by terror.

  Nine years old.

  She was only nine years old.

  Although Jaeger had been annoyed to discover that Meena had left with Morana, he had been too preoccupied by his conversation with Yorik to give it much thought. But as he lay in bed, unable to sleep, the absence of her niggled at him.

  It was a warm night, and Jaeger kicked away the furs. His ankle was aching, and he tried to turn his mind away from the pain and the absence of Meena, towards the ritual.

  He was excited by the thought of raising the woman, Draguta; a woman he had never heard of before. His family had always proudly proclaimed that their line began at Valder Dragos. So, why was this woman both important, and yet, completely hidden from their history?

  He was going to help raise her with his blood, Yorik had said. And then he had added: a lot of blood. He would have to put his life in Yorik’s hands. But what need would they have for him once they had his blood? After that, why would they require him at all?

  They wanted to raise Draguta. And she, in turn, would bring back Raemus.

  But what of him?

  He turned over, angrily bashing his pillow into a more comfortable shape. If Yorik and his Followers thought that he had no part to play in the future of Hest, in the future of Osterland...

  They were wrong.

  They would need him.

  He would make sure of it.

  Bruno was moaning.

  Ayla leaned over him, stroking his shoulder, soothing him back to sleep. She smiled sleepily, happy that he was there, next to her again. He was growing stronger. And when he was ready? Ayla knew that he would try to kill Ivaar.

  Sighing, she lay back down, wishing she could fall asleep. She wanted more dreams. There was so much that she needed to know.

  Over and over again she saw a great line of ships sailing towards them. It sent a shiver through every part of her. But she wanted to see where they were, to know how long it would be until they were here.

  And as for Jael Furyck coming to rescue them?

  When Ayla thought of her, she saw fire. She was trapped by flames. Imprisoned by evil. Ayla could feel that. Jael had told Eadmund that she was coming to help them. But as much as Ayla wanted to believe her, she didn’t see that.

  She saw Tuura burning. And soon.

  41

  Hanna’s mouth was so dry that she was struggling to swallow.

  Six days on the ship as they had blown down the Osterland coastline had eroded her confidence. She wondered how she had ever thought herself brave enough to find Berard Dragos and convince him to steal the Book of Darkness for her.

  But now she had no choice. Now she was here.

  ‘We will wait here until tomorrow morning. One day only,’ Ulf growled between hacking coughs as one of his men helped her over the side. ‘Right here. Remember that. Remember your path back here. If you get lost, tell someone to point you to Balder’s Cove. And do not be late. I already have one gold coin from you. Perhaps I don’t need another?’

  Hanna nodded quickly, too nervous to speak. Her blue eyes were big and blinking as she stood on the white sand beach, swaying in a blustering wind.

  ‘Head up through those rocks, over the hill. That path will carry on to the left. It will take you all the way to the castle.’ He pointed to a well-worn dirt track leading up to the rise.

  Dawn had barely broken, but Hanna could see well enough where she needed to go. Nodding again, she forced her legs to move. ‘Thank you,’ she croaked, adjusting her cloak as she turned towards the path. Looking over her shoulder, she called out. ‘I’ll be back by tomorrow morning!’

  She hoped that they would wait for her.

  Meena’s eyelids felt like heavy curtains as she traipsed beside her aunt, her head pounding in time to the tapping of Morana’s enormous wooden staff as she walked.

  ‘I doubt that anyone has ever walked slower than you!’ Morana screeched, turning to slap Meena on the side of her head. ‘We’ll be all day if you do not shake yourself awake!’

  Meena did shake then, with fear, as she picked up her feet and quickened her pace, gripping the handle of the basket she carried in her sweaty palm. She didn’t know how long her aunt would keep her, but she was sure that the longer she stayed with her, the more furious Jaeger would become.

  They were walking along the gravel road that led away from the castle, over the hill, towards who knew where. Morana certainly wasn’t saying. The sky was a deep, dull grey, and although it was just past dawn, it was hard to tell. The wind was blowing angrily around them as they walked and Meena could smell rain coming.

  There was no one on the path, except...

  Morana frowned at the young woman who was walking quickly towards them. She appeared to have come from out of nowhere. Stabbing her staff into the gravel, Morana threw back her hood.

  Hanna stopped at the sight of the wild looking woman, who was most certainly a dreamer, and the wild looking girl cowering next to her with bulging eyes.

  ‘Who are you?’ Morana asked suspiciously.

  Hanna gulped, trying to form words but those dark eyes were interrogating her, and she worried what they might find. Then she remembered her stone. ‘I am Hanna,’ she said, almost boldly. ‘Who are you?’

  Morana ignored her question. ‘Where have you come from?’

  ‘A ship,’ Hanna said. ‘I have come to visit my cousin. Why do you ask?’

  Morana studied her. She was pretty and well spoken, unlike the shaking mess standing next to her. She couldn�
��t see anything else, though, which surprised her, but she didn’t have time to stand about engaging in pointless chatter. ‘Well, move out of our way then... Hanna,’ she growled, poking her staff at Hanna, who stumbled as she hurried around them.

  Morana glared at Meena who was watching the woman walk away, then spun around. ‘And what is your cousin’s name?’ she snapped.

  Hanna stopped, glancing over her shoulder. ‘Alika Salvar,’ she said as calmly as possible, feeling her knees knock together beneath her dress. ‘Do you know her?’

  Morana turned away, stomping up the hill.

  Hanna shook her head and continued on her way. It was early, and she doubted that anyone from the castle was up and about yet. She would have to find some way of getting a message to Berard Dragos.

  She needed to speak to him as quickly as possible.

  Jael woke in a cold sweat, her heart pounding.

  Her dreams came rushing back to her in horrifying waves, and she tried to shake them away. Biddy was spooning her hotcake mixture onto the griddle, murmuring to the puppies who were waiting by the door, ready to go outside. Jael sat up, knowing that she needed to get out of bed, but her nightmare had a firm grip on her and would not let her go. She was overcome with the strangest sensations. It was as though there was no past or present, just a shifting focus between then and now.

  She was still in that cottage, watching those men.

  ‘Jael?’ Biddy was at her side. ‘Are you alright?’

  It was a dim light that filtered down the smoke hole, but Jael could see the concern in her eyes. She nodded, unable to speak. Biddy lay a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched.

  ‘Jael?’ Biddy asked again.

  Jael heard her father’s booming voice telling her to come back from that dark place. She had been so quiet and lost when she’d returned home from Tuura all those years ago. Ranuf had barked at her and pushed her and never once let her sink back into that place again.