by Farah Cook
“Show me how to be different,” I say and smile.
Mina watches me with a mischievous look in her eyes and walks back to me. This little girl knows more than I can imagine. I let go of my worries and suspicions. I trust her.
“Come! Mina show you.”
At the assembly, I feel all eyes on me. I’m conscious of what I’m wearing and I have no shame. Raiders point at me and whisper. I hear what they’re saying. Do I want to belong? I do. And I do belong. It is my choice to show them my true self.
“What’s she wearing?” whispers someone to another. My newly heightened senses allow me to hear what others think I cannot hear.
“Old rags – I’ve seen the savages from the East wear what she wears. Highly inappropriate for an Elite Raider to refuse our standard attire.” Now that I hear what they’re whispering – I’m convinced they’re going to hate the idea I’m about to present them with.
Will that make the raiders trust me? I doubt it, but it’s worth a shot to get their attention, dressed as I am in the attire Mina selected for me. I don’t know where she got hold of my old jeans and T-shirt, but it makes me feel comfortable in my own skin. A born Judith, with virtues, who has learned to dwell among Lumini Law believers. I still wear my cloak as a symbol that I belong to the Jarl Dynasty.
I stand facing the raiders in the assembly. Magnus appears and swiftly goes unnoticed toward the back of the room, where he eyes me from underneath his hood – eyes granite gray. I know what he’s thinking.
I take a deep breath and nestle into my chair. I glance up and down the row of raiders sitting in front of me. Maja takes a seat next to me and squeezes my arm gently. She’s been the only real support I’ve had next to Magnus since I arrived at the towers. Before I get to speak, someone gets up at the back.
“Nora Hunt. I am Morten, a third-generation raider,” he says. “We’ve heard gossip that you’re leading us on a deadly mission to look for the City of Vikings. What experience do you have to lead raiders there?” His eyes are hard. Worry is not what’s snaking through him – not even fear. It’s anger, resentment and bitterness. A hundred expressions chase each other across his cold square face.
“I have my intuition and wilderness experience from the East, which is enough” I say. “As the leader of our dynasty I have made up my mind. We start two days from tomorrow as soon as it’s light. We’re not going by road. It is not safe. We’ll depart from the north gate of the city – in secret. Where the bridge crosses the West road at the borders of the City of Skies.”
“That will lead us straight into the Shadow Forest!” says Morten, horrified. I’m surprised by how well he knows the territories. “You can’t possibly be thinking of doing that. It is the most dangerous route out of the West. We don’t even go there to capture beasts for the biannual sports games.”
“It’s not quite as dangerous as it sounds,” says Maja. “Perhaps risky and uncalculated, but I believe Nora is right. It’s the only way out – on a fast track without losing too much time and drawing attention to our journey. Dark raiders will have no trail of us.”
“You won’t have much luck in the Shadow Forest,” Morten objects. “No one has ever had luck in there. We’ll get lost. Raiders don’t go into that territory for a reason.”
“That’s not true!” says Maja. “The old raiders used to go into the Shadow Forest. The Orkeney Dynasty leader Niels has been there in broad daylight when creatures are out of sight.”
“You must be mad!” cries Morten. “Shadow Forest is the most feared entry point and it is stupid to believe the City of Vikings is located beyond that point. The stories we know of this place are a nightmare. I will not be going on this mission with you. You must be out of your mind.”
“What exactly will you be doing?” asks Tove.
“I’m staying behind,” says Morten. “Someone ought to tell the senate if any news comes in from the mission.”
“The senate support this mission,” I say. “There’s no reason for anyone to believe that we will fail. I need Jarl Raiders to stand together as one. I need each one of you to be by my side. Who is with me?”
My worried eyes flit across the assembly. I don’t have eye contact with anyone from the crowd. Heads are shaking and arms are crossed tightly over chests. Have I failed? Or do they reject me without having faith in me?
I don’t let the raiders drag me down. I keep my head high and spirit intact.
Tene takes a stand and rises from her chair. She broadens her shoulders and turns on her feminine charm.
“I’m with you, Nora Hunt,” she says, placing her hand into mine. I feel several odd-shaped bulky rings around her skinny fingers. Next Tove walks up to me. She puts her arm around me and glares at me. Her eyes are troubled at first, perhaps even mischievous. Should I worry?
“I’m with you, Nora Hunt,” says Tove, “Jarl Raiders stick together.” She leaves and takes a seat next to Morten in the assembly. Burning stares – and I’m left seized with another question. What do I do now? Maja stands up right next to me.
“I’ll always be with you, Nora Hunt,” says Maja. The way she says it without any emotion makes me question her. Suddenly, some raiders in the assembly rise and take a seat next to Tene, Maja and Tove – a smile creeps over my face and before I can say anything raiders roar approvingly drumming their chests and tossing their masks away.
I look over at Magnus and he smiles approvingly. Now I just need to show my dynasty that I can locate the City of Vikings without getting anyone killed.
“Trust is a valuable thing,” Tene whispers in my ear. “You’ve earned yours.”
“I would not have earned it without my sisterhood,” I say and smirk.
After the assembly, I walk down the glass corridor and my cloak gets caught in the wind swirling around me. We’re ninety stories up – the thick glass windows are sealed and steady. There’s no opening anywhere, so where’s the wind coming from? I untangle myself from my cloak and brush away strands of hair wrapped around my face. Outside the big glass front, a dark cloud is gathering.
I press my fingers onto the glass, my eyes wide with worry. The cloud turns raven-black and thunder strikes. I think it just hit me through the glass. It takes me a moment to realize someone has cast a spell on me. I’m unable to move. The window shatters into millions of pieces, with shards landing on my face and arms, and I lose my balance.
My head twists and my body jerks, as the wind blows me hard against the wall. I crash and my spine curls into the wall breaking the cement. I grab hold of the door frame next to me, but the wind is too strong, sweeping me across the floor and I begin to imagine my own death. My bones crushed against the shiny clean streets of the City of Skies, birds pecking at my remains.
I scream and with all my might try to pull myself against the frame. If I can just push myself into the room and close the door… But it’s impossible, the wind is too strong.
The alarm in the building goes off, a loud screeching noise and red light flashes across the corridor. From beneath the floor, two metal plates rise and seal off the broken window, just as my body slides across the floor to the edge of the windowsill.
Members of the Jarl Dynasty run toward me.
“Are you okay, Nora?” says Tene. She looks at me and pulls a face of concern. I touch my face and feel the stinging.
“I’m not okay,” I say, “but I will be.” I wrap my arm around her neck and she supports me with her arm and brings me to my room.
This was no accident but an attempt on my life, and I feel the heaviness in my head. The thunder that hit me was no ordinary spell. It was a death spell and serve one purpose. To kill the enemy slowly while they suffer a painful death. Goths don’t believe in spells and burned all their books of magic centuries ago. That’s what I’ve heard Tene and Maja whisper when the Empress’s bespoke death spell was cast, as if they regretted it and want only to use magic. This must be the murder attempt Solvej warned me against, which took place among my own and
where I’m supposed to feel safe. In my own dynasty and was attacked in broad daylight, but who would want to kill me? Goths don’t practice magic – especially not black magic, which this was given the cloud that gathered outside the window. The attempt to kill me can only come from someone in my own band – a commoner.
I should have seen this coming. My secret is out, and the number of people who want me dead is growing. Did I take Solvej’s warning too lightly? Maybe. I will not take the attempt on my life frivolously. I just need to know, who suddenly wants me dead and for what reason?
14
WHEN I GO to bed I cannot sleep for some time. My skin hurts. Even though Mina spent all day pulling out the glass pieces with tweezers from my face and arms, a thousand tiny shards are still itching my bruised skin. I’ve always healed fast, and my wounds leave little trace, but these stubborn scars seem etched on my body and mind.
I don’t want to be reminded of what happened, but the thoughts keep taking over.
I’d rather forget this terrible incident, which has left me a little crippled emotionally, but I can’t. At the assembly, I was aiming to gain the trust of my band, and in return trust each member. Clearly, I was in the wrong. I recall Solvej’s warning that someone from my band would want to deceive me, just the way my dad was betrayed. But who would do such a thing?
Pondering suspects, I am convinced it is not Tove, and Tene is incapable of killing me. Goths do not apply magic. No, Goths apply wisdom, which leads to power. Power is the ability to make wise decisions. A decision about killing someone is not the same as using powerful dark forces to take out someone you want to get rid of. I do not want to mark every commoner in the Jarl Dynasty as a suspect. Such an investigation will only lead to mistrust and uncertainty.
Magnus returned the messages I sent him almost immediately after the incident. He’s concerned and has suggested I take a few trusted raiders with me on my mission to find the City of Vikings. I feel like I’ve disappointed him – although he’d never express disappointment in me. He’s everything an Emperor should be: gracious, kind and intelligent.
He will soon be crowned Emperor of the new rising Goth Empire – the only real Empire in the Triangle that dates back to centuries-old Viking legends. With Magnus in charge I suspect things will change drastically. Things are already starting to change. At the dying Empress’s request Magnus wants to free the Empire from the deceitful tyranny of the Sovereign Republic, controlling it for far too long causing it to lose the strength and willingness to rule.
With Yggdrasil holding the nine worlds in her branches Magnus stands to rule the most powerful empire of our times – Goth. But where there’s power there will be greed. Wilhelm will build his army of dark raiders to destroy Magnus.
By the gods above us, there’s the higher dark shadow that Wilhelm serves – Lord Nourusa. A deep dark feeling crawls over my skin, the same perhaps that Frederick feels and cannot fight. The dark ways are empowering and that day in the towers on my way to the assembly when Frederick called for me, I nearly took his hand. My heart has awakened, but it was weak only because I let it drown – and the more I deny it the more I’m in love with Frederick.
Tene tells me after the attempt on my life the world tree on my back was burning red and screaming – she could hear the terror banging like drums inside her head. The vision she saw when she touched me was of my own death. She shut her eyes in fear and nine shadows dancing in a circle of fire appeared before her terrified eyes. Tene was shaking when she told me this, and someone like her is not easily shaken by anything.
The memory that haunts me is hazy. Strong wind, broken glass and my life hanging by a thread – seconds before what would have been my inevitable death, I was miraculously saved by the advanced system in the towers that detected a breach when the window broke. Luckily the metal plates in place sealed the window instantly – just seconds before I was meant to meet my doom.
Eventually I fall into a vague dream. I’m standing in a tower looking out of a high window. A raven-black ocean is tangled around the world tree Yggdrasil. Down below among her roots odd creatures are crawling and making strange sounds. Some point their sinful amber eyes at me. It’s only a matter of time before they get to me. Strong wind in the distance gets closer. It’s the sound of the raving mad sea. A smell of rust and salt floats in the air.
Suddenly I am out in the desert. The sun is scorching my skin. No trees, just endless sand dunes everywhere. Out there in the open I spot something. High-rising fumes, and the smell of burning fills the air. It’s Yggdrasil. She’s on fire. Coal-black, her branches begin to wilt and turn into ashes.
When I stretch my hand out the embers coat me like a shade. I look at myself. My arms are tree branches and my legs have formed into a sturdy trunk. I hold my face in my hands. Leaves are growing out of my body. I scream but the sound muffles.
I wake covered in sweat. The dark room is bathed in a faint moonlight and the windows draw a reflection of a shadow leaning against the wall. It is Magnus. But why is he standing soundless just staring at me? I wipe off the sweat from my dream with my arm and stagger to my feet. He sees me and sighs, shifting away from the wall. How long has he been standing there observing me?
I know why he has come, in the dead of the night. He could not have waited. A man of his status could stand to lose everything – Jarl Raiders, his loyal servants and the warriors he depends on. An army of the warriors he’s building to protect his rising Goth Empire.
Should the word get out to Rognvald Raiders or the senate a formal investigation will occur and crush the Jarl Dynasty which exclusively serves the Empire in return for their support. The Empress supported all the past raids – an honor Magnus now prides himself with.
As a trained Elite Raider, he’s pocketed a strategy to grow his army. By the gods, he can’t fail now. Perhaps that’s why he’s chosen me to lead. I’m the girl chosen by the gods that will help him succeed as Emperor claiming his empire.
As the leader of the Jarl Dynasty, I know what dangers I’m faced with, but also the obligation to abide by the Empire’s reign. I think of what Karen would say, or even my dad. Would they be proud? Sometimes I doubt that my dad even exists. Hidden in a forbidden city where no one dares to enter.
Ever since I left the East, I’ve been determined to find him, and I’m closer than ever. I can feel it. With Magnus giving me the go-ahead for this mission, I’ll let nothing stand in my way, and can’t help but think, was the attempt on my life to stop me from my mission?
I will not let fear defeat me. My wounds are still fresh and I will keep my head strong. I won’t let my enemy detect my weakness. Only by rising stronger than ever will I overcome the attack. Where there’s been one attempt there will be others. I hope Magnus does not see the hurt in my eyes? Does he understand the pain I carry?
He walks toward me. His breath is steady and so are his thoughts. I hear his heartbeat as if my ear were on his chest. But it’s not. If I stretched out my arms, I’d not be able to touch him. He’s distanced himself from me.
Someone under a death spell from a commoner is contagious – Vikings believe it. The position he’s in, Magnus cannot risk catching the death spell that’s been cast on me. It will put his life into more danger than it is already in. Still, he’s come to see me. He should just have stayed away. He’s here because he cares and it hurts my heart – a new emotion I don’t want to get attached to. Too many emotions will weaken me, and my judgments.
In my message to him after the attempt on my life I’ve asked Magnus to use Odin’s eye to seek out the person who tried to kill me. The look in his eyes tells me he knows, but the thoughts occupying him are secretly kept captive inside a heavily locked chest. If Magnus is not here to tell me who it was then why has he come at all?
“Please say something,” I beg him. The silence is driving me mad. “Don’t torture me, just tell me what you know about the attempt on my life.” His serious eyes shock me and for a moment I forget who he is
going to become, a Viking Emperor who just lost his mother. A powerful Empress who entrusted him with all her wealth and knowledge, but most importantly, the eye of Odin.
“I can’t tell you,” he hisses, containing his anger, “because it will breach an oath I made.”
What oath? I want to scream, but I stay cool.
“What about me? I can’t have a traitor in my band?” I say. “I need every single one of them to trust me or this mission will fail. If you refuse to tell me then—”
“I know how you feel,” he says. “But you have to trust me.”
“Magnus!” I shout. “Tell me who tried to murder me?”
He walks swiftly behind me and lays his cool hands against my back. I know he can feel the raised tree. He strokes the branches and twigs gently. Every emotion the tree carries runs through my veins. I let my anger settle and close my eyes. His soft caresses sooth my stormy thoughts. The world tree Yggdrasil is alive and pulsing through my veins, draining my blood and my mind. The tree coexists with me now. What I am, she is.
“The world tree will show you when you’re ready,” says Magnus. “She’s powerful and strong…”
“I’m sorry,” I say interrupting the softness in his words. “But that’s not good enough. I need to know now!”
“If I were to tell you it could destroy you and who you trust going forward,” sadness fills his voice. “Odin’s eye could be wrong.” The doubt lingers on his lips.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “By not telling me you’re taking a risk for a formal investigation to take place. Is that what you want?” He shakes his head. The coldness in his eyes turns to concern.
“By telling you willingly I will break an oath, which has consequences. But by showing you, there’s just one decision.”
“What decision?”