by Ellie Mack
Erik blanched. This was exactly what he was afraid of.
“See, I saw you coming out of the police station then going down the street to the pub. I was certain that it must have been you that took my journal, well, I followed you.”
Erik swallowed hard. Dr. Westergaard motioned him to get out of the jeep. He tossed the keys under the seat as he reached across for his backpack.
“I heard everything that you told that girl. She’s very attractive by the way, she would be an excellent choice for my next volunteer.”
Erik’s heart sank. The last thing he wanted to do was put Inga in danger and that seemed like just what he had done.
The older man walked beside Erik, the gun pressed into his side as they made their way to the yacht.
“Can’t have you blabbering about my plans you understand, you’ll spoil the whole thing and I have no intention of letting some little peon steal my glory.”
Dr. Westergaard opened the gate to step onto his yacht, motioning Erik first.
Erik remained silent as he was escorted to the interior of the yacht.
They stopped at the dining area, where he was urged to have a seat.
Dr. Westergaard paged his chef and requested drinks. “No reason to not be civilized. You shall have a feast for your last meal, Erik.”
Erik’s heart was pounding. He glanced all around the room, not seeing any way to escape.
Soon the chef brought two plates of lobster, with roasted potatoes, and a chilled fruit cup. His stomach betrayed him by choosing that moment to growl loudly.
“Oh for heaven’s sake. Eat! I’m not going to poison your food. It’s too easily traced.”
Reluctantly, he took the first bite. It would have been sheer heaven if he didn’t know that his end was near.
“Good. While we eat, I’m going to explain to you what is going to happen. After you have had your fill, you’re going to fall overboard from being intoxicated. Tomorrow, someone will find your body and I will visit the lovely Miss Inga, to break the news and offer her my condolences. A quick needle to the back of the neck and she will be compliant. She will take her place as the most important volunteer, to open the portal. I have favor with the gods, you see. Tyr has visited me personally.”
He truly was mad. “They will catch you.”
“Nonsense.” I’ll outwit those lame brains with little effort.” He motioned the chef for a refill on the drinks.
“By the time they find you, Ragnarok will begin and I will take my place as Lif.”
Erik was beginning to feel a little drowsy. The older man may not have poisoned his food, but he was pretty sure he put something in his drink.
“Don’t fight it. It’s a pleasant sensation as the drug takes action. Soon, you’ll feel little pain.”
Erik wanted to fight, but even lifting his glass to drink was getting heavy. He fought to keep his eyelids open.
“I think perhaps you’ve had enough and it’s time to go to my lab.” Dr. Westergaard dabbed at his mouth with the white linen napkin before dropping it on his plate. He pushed the chair back and lifted Erik from his chair.
“Let’s go young man, before you are too tired to walk on your own feet.”
He held onto Erik’s arm, directing him into another room, then helping him to sit down on a wooden chair.
Erik’s head lolled forward.
“Not yet, you need to stay sitting upright while I tether you down.”
Erik mentally was screaming, but his body was going limp rapidly.
The older man worked diligently, fastening zip ties around his legs and the chair legs, and binding him to the back of the chair with duct tape.
“One good invention that has come from the states. Very useful.”
Erik tried to speak but his tongue felt as if it were swollen to the full inside of his mouth.
“Just a little longer and you can sleep all you want.” He held Erik’s head, pressed against the back of the chair as he wrapped a cloth around his head and fastened it to the chair, tilting his head back so he was staring up at the ceiling.
Erik wanted to fight. He wanted to squirm, wriggle free. His mind screamed at his body to work to no avail.
The man pried his mouth open and shoved a plastic tube down his throat causing him to gag. He then began pouring Vodka straight from the bottle into the funnel that he’d attached to the tube. He emptied the entire bottle of Vodka and started on the second one when Erik choked, trying to get his breath, and inhaled the Vodka into his lungs, causing one last burning gasp before he drowned.
Chapter 25: Graverobbers
Stubbornness brings either greater humiliation or greater honor.
- The saga of Hrafnkel Fresgothi, C. 10
Gabby lay on top of her jacket curled into a ball. She had offered to help them dig, but both adamantly refused her. She allowed herself to doze intermittently, then would take a few photos of the guys.
It was full dark, the lanterns casting crazy shadows. She’d heard legends about the Faery folk at night, and had observed a Faery ring as they came up the hill. Not that she was superstitious or anything, but finding out that she was a Valkyrie from Norse legend, well it had her wondering what else was real.
“Hey! I think I’ve found it!” Scott shouted from somewhere inside the ruins. They had dug down enough that they found the foundational walls of the once house, and found where there was a newer section of that wall. They broke through it and found where the Viking had been buried, a tribute set around his skeleton.
Brad checked his notes and moved to the Stones above the warriors head.
“I’d love to claim the entire site here, do you see the gold pouch they buried him with?”
Scott shone his flashlight down towards the hands of the skeleton. The remains of a leather pouch with over a dozen gold coins lay on top of the stone he was laid upon.
“I feel like we are grave robbers, or tomb raiders. You know this goes against all the morals of archaeology, right?”
Brad quickly turned and popped his head up, facing Scott. “Do you want to save Lena or be a proper archaeologist? We don’t have time to do both.”
He sighed. “I know, it goes against everything I was ever taught and I feel like I’m being sacrilegious here.”
“Me too, but the goal is to save Lena, save the world.”
“No pressure there.” Scott held the lantern up to where Brad was digging with his hands.
He stopped, his fingers curling around something. “I have something.”
He worked quickly, brushing more dirt out of the way, digging with his fingers to break clumps loose as he felt the curved edge of metal. He unearthed the curved edge, then began scraping back from there to reveal a double curved bladed double axe, the handle had deteriorated. “Damn it. I thought I had it.”
He tossed it back to Scott and kept digging. Beneath the axe was another object. It felt like straight edges though, not round. He scraped away the soil to reveal a cross pattern.
“I think this is it!”
He excitedly cleared away the rest of the dirt to reveal the key, and a leather wrapped piece of parchment attached to it.
“Thank God!” Scott exclaimed, sitting back on the ground. Both were covered in dirt. He checked his phone to check the time. Three in the morning.
“We need to get back. It’s already three in the morning.”
He moved around to the backside of the ruins to strip down and change his clothes. He couldn’t do anything about the dirt on his face yet, but this was the very reason they’d brought a change of clothes. Then he moved over to wake Gabby.
Brad tried to replace the stones as they had found them before he changed his clothes. Both men used one of the water bottles to wash their hands and face as they rushed down the hill towards their boat.
~~~~~
Dr. Westergaard dismissed his chef, telling him that he was free for the evening. He was going to take his guest on an excursion.
He maneuver
ed the yacht to an area just beyond the buoys where the lights from the marina didn’t reach. From the back of his yacht, he tossed a bucket full of chum in the water. In no time at all he saw a fin. A smug grin crossed his face as he thought once again Tyr had favored him.
Carrying the bucket back to his lab, he cut the zip ties from Erik’s leg. Removed the cloth that he’d bound his head with, then cut through the duct tape. It left a few marks on his clothing, but that wouldn’t matter. With his left foot, he unlocked the wheels of the chair, and carefully maneuvered Erik’s corpse to the rear platform of the yacht.
With one final heave ho, Erik’s body slumped from the chair over the edge and sank into the water. A few seconds later, he popped up, floating on the surface.
He waited. A fin popped up circling. Two more. Erik bobbed in the water amidst the chum.
Wham! One of the sharks took a bite, thrashing him about. Then another.
Good! His plan was going exactly as he had hoped.
Chapter 26: Viking chat
When faring on journeys, ward yourself well. Take no harbor near the highway for thereby dwell many ill wights for men’s bewilderment.
-Volsunga Saga, C.21
Lena sat on the dirt floor, her knees drawn up, her head tilted back against the stone wall. There had to be a way to get out of here.
Hulk had gone back to one of his storage rooms to get them some food. She was simply too exhausted to take another step.
She reached for the journal that he had scribbled in, flipping through it, wishing beyond hope that she could remember what the runes meant.
“Please help me understand this and make sense of it.” It was a simple plea offered to anyone who was listening.
After a few minutes, she recognized some of the same runes that were on the rune stones of the village. In fact, it was exactly what the rune stones said. She recognized it from her thesis papers.
The man came back carrying a leather skin, and a bundle of dried bread and dried berries. In another pouch he took out a handful of jerky.
It wasn’t much, but she was grateful.
“Thank you.” She accepted one of the pieces of bread. “What is your name?”
He looked at her puzzled.
“Hvad hedder du?” She tapped her chest, “Lena.”
“Ah! Aella” he tapped his chest proudly.
She took a bite as she tried to formulate the words for this is the same. “Detter er det same som pa stenene ved landsbyen.”
He dropped his head with a sad expression.
“Landsby er vaek. Forbandet af Odin.”
“Village dead, Forbidden, no Cursed. It was cursed by Odin?”
“Ja”
“So, the visions I had weren’t just crazy dreams. Aella, how erm, how do I say this, how did you get here? Let me think a minute.”
He took a bite of his bread and a piece of jerky.
“Hvordan kom du herhe?”
He made signs to tell her. She watched him as he told the story. He made motions of rowing in a boat.
“You came by boat.”
He made the paddle motion again and mouthed the word ‘boat’.
He stood and grabbed his double bladed axe, and the broadsword in the other and made motion of crouching to attack.
“Battle? Fight? Kaempe?
He nodded, “Kaempe”
”OK, fight.”
He repeated the word ‘fight.’
He acted out the actions of battle, slashing his sword, ending with the action of the double slice where he had beheaded Jorvic’s brother.
“Dead. Someone important was dead.”
“Dod. Ivan dod.”
“Ivan was someone important?”
“Nogle” he tapped his chest. “Aella nogle.”
“You have the key.”
“Brodre”
“Your brother has the key.”
“Ja! Brodre” he made motion of rowing again, and tapped the journal. “Skjule”
“Your brothers hide the key?”
He nodded as he began to pull his hood over his head, reaching out to feel nonexistent raindrops. “Regn”
“Rain? Yes, go on.”
He acted startled then made sound like crackling lightning. “St- storm”
“A storm with lightning.” She reached for another piece of bread.
He shook all over, acting as if he had been struck by lightning, then sat down hard on the floor. “Jorde heren.”
“You landed here.”
“Ja. Maske ikke sa svag.” He chuckled as he took another piece of the bread and opened the wineskin taking a big swig before offering her some.
Lena took a swig expecting it to be wine but it was mead. Smooth as honey mead. Aged mead that tasted like the nectar of the gods!
“Who carved the stones?” She passed the wineskin back to Aella. “Who, erm hvem skåret stenene?”
He tapped his chest again. ”Aella.”
”Oh! I see. Well you Aella are my new BFF. I’m going to climb inside your brain and get all the information that you can give me.”
He looked at her funny then looked away. ”Dim”
~~~~~
Dr Westergaard called in the tragedy to the harbor patrol that his guest had fallen overboard drunk. It was nearly daybreak when he called it in. By then the sharks had done quite a number on Erik’s corpse.
As the patrol fished his body out, Scott, Brad, and Gabby were coming back to the marina. They saw the remains of some poor guy being hauled up, but didn’t realize that it was Erik.
Brad checked the boat in as Scott and Gabby hauled their equipment up to the jeep. The door was unlocked so they stowed their gear in the back. Scott checked the visor, checked the ashtray, then checked under the seat searching for the keys.
Brad looked ill as he walked up to the jeep. “Guys?”
“Yeah?” Scott replied wondering what was going on.
“Um. That was Erik they pulled out of the water.”
Gabby burst into tears. She had fallen hard for Erik. “No you have to be mistaken.”
“It was him. Harbor patrol came in and said he fell overboard drunk off of some guys boat and drowned.” It didn’t settle well with any of them. “We uh, we better get back to camp.”
Chapter 27: Viking chat
The problems that lay before you are not as strong as the Ancestors that walk beside you.
-Norse Proverb
Once they reached camp Brad, Scott, and Gabby were too tired to do much besides collapse. It was full dark before any of them woke.
Scott was the first one to wake. He headed to the showers to clean up, then woke his friends. They met in the mess hall to develop their plan when the detective walked in.
“So who do I need to talk to here. Miss Eskildson is gone, Erik’s gone, Nialls is apparently gone.”
“What? Where’s Nialls?” Brad asked, pausing from his cup of coffee.
“Seems the mess around here had his nerves jangled and he checked himself in at the hospital with heart palpitations.”
“I tried to ask him some questions while you three were off to Ireland, poor lad about wet himself and was a basket case of nerves. I take it he’s more the academic classroom type than field work?”
“I’d say. Poor guy. And we all thought he was just a stoolie.” Gabby offered.
“Well, he is a stoolie. But, I hate to see him have a nervous breakdown or something.”
“So anyway.” The detective filled a Styrofoam cup and sat at the table with the small group. “Who’s in charge now?”
“I guess that would be us.” Scott replied.
“Erik came to see me at the station before his, accident. I’d like to say that it wasn’t an accident, but there’s not much left of him to prove that it wasn’t.” Toxicology noted that his blood alcohol level was definitely off the charts, but that doesn’t mean it was an accident.”
He took a swig of coffee, swirling the rest in his cup. “In about an hour, our tea
m is going to set up and we are going to catch this guy red handed, hopefully before he harms another woman. There will be two patrol here, and I have to insist that everyone stays in camp.”
Gabby started to argue before Scott grabbed her leg under the table and shook his head. She shushed her complaints, trusting that he had a plan.
“I’ll make the announcement to everyone and let them know about Nialls. I don’t think I can tell them about Erik yet though.”
“All in good time. It’s imperative that you keep your crew in this camp and nobody goes down the hill.” He leveled them with a serious look before leaving.
Once he was out of ear shot, Brad turned to Scott. “What are we going to do?”
“Easy. No one leaves camp.” He nodded his head to motion that they leave. Brad noticed the shadow passing the end of the tent.
“I think we should go tour tents and work on our reports and let the police do their job.”
“Yeah, let’s hope they catch this guy.”
They walked from the mess tent to their own tents. Scott whispered his instructions before they separated.
Twenty minutes later, everyone reconvened inside Brad’s tent. “OK, so we are going to have a hike. We can’t use the jeep or the ATV’s. We’ve got flashlights, I’ve got my multipurpose tool, let’s go.”
As quiet as they could they walked around the Ops tent, cutting in between some of the undergraduates tents, cutting a path across the camp in the direction of the dig. They had no interest in going down by the water. They had to get Gabby to that door!
The trek down the hill to the dig site seemed like it took forever. Everyone’s nerves were on edge, knowing how critical this was. If they had miscalculated on anything, it could mean the end.
Brad led Gabby down the tunnel to the door and took a deep breath. ‘This part is going to hurt and I’m sorry.”
“Let’s do it.” Gabby braced herself.
“As soon as we get a ray of moonlight. Do you want to watch or have a surprise?”
She closed her eyes. “Just do it when it’s time.”
“For Helena and all of us.”