“There you are, child,” said Brother Francis, climbing the stairs to the bell tower with a young boy at his side. She’d seen the boy begging at the gates of the monastery and had even given him food on occasion. “We wondered where you were this morning after Matins.” The monk was talking about their morning prayers.
Kadlin had often sat in the back of the church and listened to the monks and nuns pray and sing to their God. She didn’t understand any of it, but she didn’t judge them either. The monks wore plain, brown, woolen robes and shaved their heads in a tonsure, or a ring of hair with the top of their heads bald. She noticed the young boy had his hair cut this way now and wondered if he were training to be a monk.
The monks had taken in the boy the way they’d taken her in, too. This was her family now and she’d learned to accept and even like them. But she had another family that she still missed with all her heart.
Thunder boomed overhead and she was sure it was Thor leading the Vikings into battle with his great hammer raised to the sky. They were getting closer. Her breathing labored and she felt her head swarm. Her visions the last two days had been coming faster and faster, and none of them were soothing.
More blood. More death. More destruction. She could barely stand, as her knees became weak remembering the last raid and all the innocent people who had died along with the men of war.
“What is that?” asked the boy, squinting and looking out toward the water. Kadlin’s eyes shot upward and she spied the red and white striped sails of the longboats coming around the cliff.
“Vikings!” shouted the monk, and his eyes opened wide. “Sound the warning bell,” he told the boy. “I’ve got to warn the others.”
“Nei, wait!” Kadlin raised her hand in the air to try to stop him, but it was too late. The boy was already pulling the rope and the large bell swung back and forth, ringing out loudly, calling out a warning to the monks and an alarm to the soldiers to come help them. Things were set in motion and she didn’t know how to stop them. If she didn’t do something, people were going to die. Whether it be Vikings or monks, she didn’t want to lose any of them.
She looked over the wall to see three Viking longboats approaching the shores. The pounding in her head was either her heart or the hammer of Thor crashing down around them. She had to do something to stop this and she had to move fast. She picked up her skirts and ran down the stairs, knowing she was going to need the help of the Norse gods as well as the Christian God if this were going to end well for anyone.
Chapter Four
The first thing Brandr saw when he stepped from the boat and onto the shore was the spot where he’d last seen Kadlin crumpled, bloodied, and dying, calling out for his help. The vision in his head was as clear as if it had happened yesterday. Thunder boomed overhead and the sky became dark, giving him a bad feeling in his bones.
“Men, come get fire to light your torches,” called out his brother, holding up one of the torches they’d brought with them that had burned the entire journey. The warriors gathered around Finn and dipped their torches into the fire, lighting up the darkened sky around them. With the threatening sky above them, it looked as if they’d be drenched in another few minutes.
“Protect the fire and use it to burn down the walls as soon as we get close enough to throw it,” called out Finn.
“Nei. You’ll wait until I give the order,” snapped Brandr.
“Why?” growled his uncle, sidling up next to him with his shield in one hand and his sword in the other. “Afraid the girl is in there? I don’t think monks take captives, so she’s probably not a thrall. I’m guessing if she didn’t die, she’s servicing an army of soldiers on her back somewhere.”
Brandr reached out and punched Skuti in the face, knocking his uncle to the ground. The man jumped up and charged at Brandr, only to be stopped by the massive chest of Finn as he blocked his uncle’s path. Skuti crashed into Finn’s shield and snarled.
“I won’t put up with talk like that about my woman,” Brandr warned him.
“And my sister.” Asa stepped forward with her mother at her side. They were both dressed in padded leather and furs, same as the men. They looked fierce and Brandr only hoped they could hold their own, because he didn’t want the death of two more women he cared about on his conscience as well.
“Head up the hill but stop at the gate,” he called out, raising his hand in the air to give the others the signal.
Finn, being wild as usual and thriving on battle, led the way, running and shouting out a war cry of his own. Skuti, Asa, and the rest of the Vikings followed.
Brandr just stood looking up the hill, first noticing the slight mounds of raised earth that dotted the land between the shore and the monastery. He knew what they were. They were the graves of the rest of the Vikings who had died in the last battle. At least someone had buried them and not let them rot in the elements with crows pecking out their eyes.
“Do you think Kadlin is there . . . or there?” asked Kadlin’s mother, first looking at the mounds as well, and then shifting her gaze up the hill to the wooden fortress. The monastery seemed to be laughing at them as the clanging of the warning bell from the tower echoed in his head.
“Let’s hope wherever she is, she’s forgiven me for leaving her here all alone. Because if she’s still alive and in there, she’s not going to be happy to see me.
*
The rain poured down drenching the ground, making things more difficult. Kadlin raised the hood of her woolen robe to cover her hair and the small stalks of Forget-me-nots interwoven in her braid. She ran through the courtyard as the monks lowered the iron gate, hoping to keep the Vikings out.
“Ready the defenses and bring boiling water to drop over the walls atop their heads,” cried out Brother Francis. These monks might be holy men, but they’d learned from the soldiers how to protect themselves and their monastery if they had to.
“Nei, don’t do that.” Kadlin grabbed the long sleeve of the monk. “Please, don’t harm any of the Vikings. Let me talk to them and maybe I can change their minds and get them to leave.”
“Kadlin, you know as well as I that they don’t cross the sea for days and then land on our shores without expecting to plunder.”
“Then give them what they want. Give them the silver and gold chalices, whatever coin you have, and all the books and candles as well. I’ll convince them not to harm any of you or to ruin your home.”
“Do you really think you can do that?” The monk looked up to her with sad and desperate eyes. “We are housing the wealth of King Eardwulf as well as some of the nobles here. They thought it was a safe place for their goods to stay protected.”
She bit her lip and looked back up to the boy who was still ringing the bell. The warning had already sounded and she knew it wouldn’t be long before the soldiers came to fight the Vikings. The wheel had been set in motion. Now, only a prayer to Odin, Thor, Freyja, or perhaps the God the monks worshipped would be what could save them. She already heard the Vikings shouting out and banging on the gate.
How could she get their attention without getting herself killed? There was no guarantee that she could do anything to stop this madness, but if she could somehow get a message to their leader – then maybe she could save her new friends’ lives after all.
Chapter Five
Brandr pushed his way to the front of the line and held up his hand, shouting out the order for the Vikings to listen. But trying to stop a Viking with rage in his blood was like trying to stop a herd of wild cattle from stampeding.
The rain washed down around them. The Vikings who held the lit torches used their shields to shelter the flames.
“Can we burn through the walls?” called out one of the Vikings.
“Let us knock down the door,” shouted another.
“Wait!” Brandr held up his hand and walked up to the bars of the portcullis and looked into the monastery’s courtyard. He didn’t see Kadlin anywhere and knew they had only a short t
ime before the soldiers showed up like last time. They needed to get their bounty and get back to the ships before another deadly battle broke out.
“All right, knock down the gate and get the plunder and head back to the ships, but no one is to kill a single monk or burn anything unless you get the word from me.”
“What?” cried out his uncle. “You can’t mean that.”
Brandr took his spear and hurled it through the air, over the walls of the monastery. The first spear thrown was always dedicated to Thor, hoping he would favor them and see them safely through the raid.
“Go!” he shouted. The Vikings picked up their battering ram and forced their way into the monastery’s courtyard. Brandr followed them inside, scoping the area for Kadlin. The men tore through the area, overturning carts, scattering hay, and trampling flowers and plants growing in the monastery’s gardens. They shoved the monks to the ground, making their way into the buildings collecting gold, silver, grain and seeds, and whatever else would benefit their people.
Brandr knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the others from killing for long. Sooner or later one of them was going to get rambunctious.
“Get to the church,” shouted Finn holding his battle axe above his head. The warriors all shouted and stormed the area as they continued to pillage and plunder. There would be much wealth to collect here – things they could use or even trade to get the supplies they needed for their village that would enable them to survive. There would be priceless manuscripts and wine and candles and maybe even wealth and treasures that belonged to some of the nobles living nearby.
“Have you seen Kadlin?” shouted Asa.
A monk near the stairs to the bell tower looked up when he heard Kadlin’s name and ran up the stairs.
“Not yet, but I think there is someone who might be able to tell me where she is.” Brandr ran after the man, dodging other monks who screamed and blessed themselves and ran from the Vikings in all directions. The tension was thick in the air and the bell in the tower continued to ring out in warning. The rain started to subside and he thanked Thor silently in his head.
He took the stairs two at a time as he followed the path the monk had taken. The monk was there, putting his arm around a young boy who finally stopped ringing the damned bell.
“Take me to Kadlin,” he said, knowing they couldn’t understand his language, but still he had to try to communicate. If they knew something about her, he needed to find out. “Do you know if she’s still alive? Is Kadlin here?”
They looked at him blankly and he felt frustration filling his chest. His time was limited. He heard a rumbling in the distance that wasn’t thunder and he figured it was the soldiers on their way to help the monks. He ran to look over the edge of the wall. That’s when he saw Kadlin down below, outside the walls of the monastery. She ran over the ground toward the longboats with a brown woolen robe fluttering behind her in the breeze. Her hood had fallen down and he could see her long, blond braids bouncing up and down. It was the best thing he’d ever seen in his life.
“She’s alive!” he cried out, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. He shouted over the edge of the wall. “Kadlin, can you hear me?” She stopped and turned around and he lifted his hand to get her attention. She looked upward and he was sure she saw him, but she just turned and continued toward the longboat.
“Brandr, this place is full of treasure,” shouted his brother, heading up the stairs with his arms filled with golden plates and chalices.
The monk cried out and rushed forward, grabbing a chalice from Finn and causing him to drop the rest. Brandr’s brother looked up in anger and pulled his sword from at his side.
“You will die for that, holy man.”
“Nei, put the sword down, Finn, and just let it go.” Brandr stepped in between them. “I’ve seen Kadlin. She’s alive and headed for the longboats. We need to get back to the ships.”
“Not before we’re done. There is still so much more to take.” Finn bent down and scooped up a few of the items he’d dropped.
“That’s an order,” said Brandr, shoving his brother toward the stairs. Finn would have probably objected, hadn’t the sound of a Viking horn split the air just then. Three short blasts and one long one was the signal that they were in danger and needed to return to the ships at once.
“What’s going on?” asked Finn, looking over the wall. “Who’s sounding the horn?”
“It’s Kadlin,” Brandr told him, her name on his tongue tasting ever so sweet now. “She’s trying to warn us. The soldiers are coming. Now we need to go.”
“Nei, we’ll stay and fight to the death. I’m not afraid. We’re warriors, we don’t run from danger.” Finn had that crazy trance-like look in his eyes again of a Berserker. When he got this way, there was no stopping him. Brandr hurried him down the stairs where Asa and Signy were waiting. He hoped he could distract Finn long enough so that he’d forget his rage.
“Did you find Kadlin?” asked Signy. “We haven’t seen her.”
“She’s blowing the horn from the ship,” Brandr announced.
“She is?” Asa’s face lit up. “Thank the gods, she’s alive!”
“Possibly not for long.” Brandr felt a shiver work its way through his body at just the thought that Kadlin could be in danger once again. “She’s trying to warn us that the soldiers are on their way. Now take whatever you can carry and get back to the ships at once.”
The women picked up their bags filled with pillaged treasure and hurried toward the gate.
“Finn, help me get the word to the others,” Brandr ordered. “I’ll stay until everyone is out.”
“Nei, I’ll stay,” said Finn with his jaw set firmly in a clench. “You go to Kadlin. Protect her this time, brother, as it might be your only and last chance to keep your promise.”
“I owe you,” said Brandr, clasping arms with his brother, and turning and running toward the gate.
Brandr dodged monks running in fear and Vikings hauling out their newfound riches in big canvas bags thrown over their backs. His uncle even wore several gold crosses on chains around his neck. If Thor didn’t strike him down for that, Brandr just might do so as soon as they got back to the boat.
He ran across the soggy earth, making his way to one of the ships. When he approached, he saw Kadlin in the moonlight, standing at the prow of the ship, just behind the wooden carved head of the fierce dragon that had led the way to these lands of opportunity.
She looked more beautiful than he’d remembered, and he stopped for a moment and just stared up at her. “Kadlin,” he said, in not much more than a whisper.
She dropped the horn from her lips and looked down to him. Their eyes met and he thought he’d burst with joy. He saw the Forget-me-nots in her braid. Though they looked broken and slightly wilted, she still wore the flowers. She remembered his promise in the field of flowers five years earlier. She must still want him if she was still wearing Forget-me-nots in her hair so many years later.
He ran through the water, splashing it every which way, making his way to Kadlin. He flung himself over the sidewall of the boat. He hurried to her with outstretched arms, his heart so happy that she was alive that he wanted to shout out loud.
“Don’t touch me, Brandr.” She held out a hand and backed away. Brandr’s excitement left as quickly as it had come.
“Kadlin, you’re alive,” he said in a hoarse voice as he dropped his arms to his sides.
“No thanks to you,” she snarled and looked out over the sea.
“I thought you were dead.”
“Well, I wasn’t. You knew that. You looked right into my eyes before you left me to die at the hands of the enemy, all alone.”
He wanted to talk to her and find out more, but the Vikings were hauling themselves and their plunder back onto the ship now.
“Kadlin!” shouted Asa, throwing down her shield and running to hug her sister.
“Daughter, thank the gods you are alive.” Signy followed right be
hind her.
Brandr just stepped out of the way, his heart sinking to his boots when Kadlin hugged and kissed her mother and sister the way he’d wanted her to do to him.
She looked over to him then, her green eyes filled with tears. He wasn’t sure if they were happy or sad tears, but the tears she shed weren’t for him. Her stare was cold and stone-like and he knew he’d have no chance to talk to her and make amends right now.
He heard the sound of horses and the earth shook with thunder as the king’s soldiers burst through the forest with their swords raised high.
Brandr looked around him, realizing most the Vikings had obeyed his orders and were already back to the longboats with their bounty.
“Where’s Finn?” Brandr pushed his way through the crowd of Vikings, looking for his brother. Then he pulled his uncle to the side. “Where’s Finn?” he shouted.
“I don’t know,” growled Skuti. “I saw him heading for the refectory as I left the gates, so maybe he’s still there.”
“Arrrgh,” Brandr growled, knowing he never should have left his brother. Finn was too stubborn and was also obsessed with treasure. “Was he looking for more Vikings?”
“Looking for more to plunder is more like it.” Skuti plopped his bag down, so laden with heavy gold and silver objects that he could barely carry it. Brandr heard that oftentimes the monasteries housed the wealth of kings and nobles as well. Now that they’d collected so much, he could see it was true.
“Get ready to set sail,” Brandr gave the order to the others. “Man the oars and do it quickly because we have visitors, men.”
“We’ll fight them,” called out one of the men.
“Nei. This time we will return to Skathwaite with our treasures and our men alive. This time we will not leave with our dead lying upon foreign soil.” He started to lift himself over the sidewall of the ship.
Sirens of the Northern Seas: A Viking Romance Collection Page 37