A Dynasty of Giants (Viking Sagas Book 1)
Page 14
When it was clear there was nothing left they could do, the men started back toward the village. With sorrowful hearts, they returned to their homes; their spirits were heavy. Kari went to the longhouse to present Dansa with the flowers and the delicious food he had collected. His enthusiasm was tempered with the sad news. “The thingstead is gone,” he said flatly.
Baby Frosti had awakened and Dansa was holding him, sitting on their bed, rocking him back and forth on her lap. She looked up and Kari could see that she had been crying. Her cheeks were streaked red from tears.
“What is it?” Kari asked, sitting down beside her and taking the baby from her arms. “Why do you weep? Are you upset about the fire? It’s all right, my love. We can build another. Here! Look what I have brought you!”
Dansa stared blankly at the berries and mushrooms in Kari’s hands and smiled sadly, putting her nose down to smell the flowers. Then, involuntarily, her eyes darted across the room, focusing on the rumpled mat where Logi had so wickedly violated her, hoping desperately that her husband would not notice the spot where she had tried to scrub out the blood stains that now appeared yellowish-brown. Filled with dread that Logi would kill her husband should there be a fight, she swallowed the words she wanted to say and tried to smile. “I’m so sorry, Kari,” she muttered. “All your hard work for nothing.” Perhaps Logi has gone now that he has done his evil deed, she thought to herself. If she told her husband the truth, it would only fuel the bad blood that already flowed between the brothers.
Kari held his boy and smiled, sharing a berry with him, although, for Kari, the sweetness of the fruit was now soured with the tragedy of the destroyed thingstead. “This is what is important to me,” he said. “You and little Frosti. Buildings can be rebuilt. Remember how we lost the first boat we built and now we have an even better one! We will build another thingstead too, far better than the first! You’ll see!”
At that moment, Aegir entered the longhouse; on his face was a look of fear, a fear that he could only share with his brother. He looked at Dansa’s tear-stained face and wondered if Kari had shared their suspicion with his wife. “Is everything all right here?” he asked.
“I just told Dansa we will build a bigger, better thingstead,” said Kari, handing the baby back to her. “I reminded her of the first boat we built and lost and now we have two Kalevas!”
Aegir wasn’t worried about rebuilding the thingstead. That was just work; they would get it done. He was more worried that the ghost of their brother had returned from the lake where he had drowned. He looked at Kari, his eyes asking the unspoken question. Kari’s eyes met his and he shook his head slowly. He hadn’t told Dansa what they suspected. Nei need to worry his woman about it and make her afraid, his eyes said. Aegir nodded. He understood, his eyes answered back. “I suppose this will delay our starting on the next boat,” he said. “Do you think we can raise another building before the snow?”
“If we work night and day, perhaps,” said Kari. “But, there is nei hurry.” He stood up and motioned for Aegir to follow him outside. When they were out of Dansa’s earshot, he whispered. “Let’s not tell her about our suspicions. Women are easily frightened about ghosts and spirits. Besides, I am not sure I truly believe it was him.”
“Who else could it be?” asked Aegir. “Nei one in the village has a quarrel with us. It has to be Logi!”
“Still, I think it is best to keep it to ourselves until we have more evidence,” replied Kari. “Everyone believes Logi is dead. We don’t want the people of Kvenland to think their new jarl is losing his mind!”
He looked across the yard where Snapp and the others had begun the task of cleaning up the heap of ash. His eyes took in everything inside the palisade walls; the boathouse, the animal barn, the garden of vegetables and greens Dansa had planted with the first hint of spring. Nothing was amiss. Nothing had been stolen. There was no clue that an outsider had been here.
But, then, Logi wasn’t an outsider.
A few miles away, Logi found his way back to the campsite in the woods, where Dagstorp was roasting a fish over the fire. As always, Logi had been able to coerce his green friend to see things his way and accompany him back to Kvenland on the promise that they would return before either of their wives delivered of their babies. He had left the troll behind in the woods supposedly so he could have private words with his brother first and find out if there would be opposition. In truth, he didn’t want Dagstorp to witness the evil he had planned and stomp off in anger back to the Trondelag without him.
“So, what did your brother have to say?” Dagstorp asked. “Was he surprised to know you were still alive?” He pulled his stick from the fire and began chewing on the thick skin of the brown trout.
Logi helped himself to the other half of the fish, picking at it with his fingers and wiping them on his cloak. “There will be a thing,” he replied. “Kari has agreed to heed the villagers’ decision on the matter.”
“That sounds fair,” said Dagstorp. “You have handled it well, Logi. I do believe you are finally learning how to treat people.”
Logi’s eyes lowered, wondering how he would get out of the lie he just told when the truth came to light.
“So, we can go home now that you have spoken to your brother?” asked Dagstorp. “If you are to be jarl, will we bring our wives and babies back here to live?”
Logi nodded absent-mindedly; he was really thinking of what other atrocities he could inflict on his brothers before he travelled north. He wished he could have seen their faces when they returned and found their fancy new building burned to the ground. The secretiveness of it all intrigued him and gave rise to his anger; he yearned to inflict more pain. “Ja,” he said finally. “We will return with our families.”
“But what if the villagers decide they want your brother to be their jarl? What will you do then? Are you still considering waging war against him?”
Logi smiled. “We will work something out,” he said smugly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Dagstorp. Leave it to me. Kvenland will be mine in due time.”
Chapter Thirty-Three “The Awful Truth”
You could hear the rumble of the herd in the distance, echoing across the stretch of land that led from the village up to the foot of the mountains. The earth underfoot trembled with a thousand hoof-beats and a brown cloud of dust and reindeer hides spread out over the green grass like a slow-moving shadow. The villagers hurried to put away anything edible in their yards; the Saami had returned to the village.
Kari and Aegir put aside their work on the new thingstead to go and welcome their mother home. She held both her sons close to her and wept tears of joy at seeing her new grandson for the first time.
“He looks just like you,” Hildi told her son, when her tears had subsided. She had turned to Dansa and embraced her warmly. “I knew one day we would have you in our family. I am so glad it was Kari you chose to marry.” In truth, she was relieved the girl hadn’t been forced to marry Logi and face a life of torment.
Hildi’s people offered up a butchered reindeer in little Frosti’s honor and the feast lasted until well into the night. Most of the village stopped by to say hello and the longhouse reverberated with people coming in and out.
“I hope I have kept your home in good stead,” Dansa told her mother-in-law while they worked side by side in the kitchen to prepare food for the men.
“I am only sorry I could not be here for your wedding,” Hildi replied. “If I had known that Fornjot was dead, I…….” She didn’t finish her sentence; there was no need to discuss a bad memory on such a joyous occasion.
When all the merry-making had calmed to a low hum of conversation around the fire, Hildi’s face took a slightly serious tone. Dansa had gone into the next room, to suckle the baby before she put him to bed. Kari and Aegir were telling their mother about the fire that destroyed the thingstead, when Hildi lowered her voice and took hold of Kari’s arm. “It was Logi,” she said plainly.
Kari’s
eyebrows raised and Aegir’s eyes flashed. “How do you know this, Moder?”
“I have heard that he lives in the far north, in a place he has named Halogaland in his own honor,” she said. “He has married the daughter of Grim and hopes to rule all of the Trondelag one day.”
Kari and Aegir were both silent for several minutes as they let the awful truth sink in. “But, how can we be sure it was he who set the fire?” Kari reasoned. “Nei one has seen Logi since the day he disappeared in the lake.”
“It is his way,” said Hildi. “He was always cunning and secretive. There is gossip that when he learned about your papi’s death, and that you took his place as jarl, he was furious, threatening to kill you and take Kvenland back from you. I never truly believed he drowned in the lake. I think he ran away to escape your papi and now he is planning to come back and kill you both.” She stopped and closed her eyes. “He is just like Fornjot, in every way. I think he truly is cursed.”
“I don’t believe in curses any more than you do, Moder,” said Kari, dismissing the idea that Nordrana had somehow caused the misfortunes that had befallen their family. “But, I must admit, the fire in the thingstead did have Logi’s mark on it.”
Aegir had not said a word. “Logi is alive?” he mumbled. A ghost, he was almost prepared to deal with, but he was terrified at the thought that his brother was still alive. He got up and stoked the fire, staring into it as if seeing a vision. “We must prepare,” he said. “He won’t stop with destroying the thingstead. He won’t be satisfied until he has killed us all!”
Kari looked up and saw Dansa standing in the doorway and realized she had heard the entire conversation. He went to her and put his arms around her. “Don’t worry, my love,” he whispered. “I will protect you. We will be ready for him when he returns.”
Dansa was shaking her head and tears were flooding uncontrollably down her face.
“What is it?” Kari asked. “You mustn’t be frightened! I will not let my brother do any more damage! We will call a thing and rally the village men behind us. I am sure there is nei one in Kvenland who has loyalty to Logi! We will put guards on the palisade wall. I promise you Logi will never hurt my family!”
Dansa hung her head and diverted her eyes from her husband. She wrung her hands together and struggled to find words.
“He already has,” she said finally and burst into another fit of tears.
Chapter Thirty-Four “A Call to Arms”
No one had ever seen Kari so angry. The usually level-headed one in the family who always had a calm solution to any problem, seemed to have lost his mind from the moment Dansa had finally admitted what Logi had done to her. The men at the thing sat silently in the longhouse as their new jarl set forth a plan to protect the village from his brother, agreeing that they needed to be ready. But, for Kari, it was more than just defending themselves from a young usurper who wanted to take control; he was on a mission of revenge! And, who could blame him? whispered the men. Weyland was as outraged as Kari was when he found out what Logi had done to his daughter, his sweet daughter who had never harmed anyone or anything! There wasn’t anyone who left the thing that day who did not want to see Logi punished and hanging would be too lenient; they all wanted his blood!
Kari organized a team of men to keep watch all around the village night and day, putting Aegir in charge of patrols. Snapp and the other boatbuilders he put to work fortifying the palisade with sharp, honed wooden spikes and installing locks upon the high gate. Weyland went to work making more axes and spears so that no house would be vulnerable to attack. The rebuilding of the thingstead was put aside for more important work. Even the Saami men offered their help in the preparations. The village was placed on constant alert in anticipation of Logi’s return.
When the weather began to turn cool and the herd began to move south for the winter, Hildi remained behind with her sons. “I can’t leave you now,” she said, bidding goodbye to the rest of her family. For her it was a sad decision. It was not because she had to leave the herd and her people. It was because she had to witness a war between her sons. She had loved Logi once. He was as much a part of her as Kari and Aegir. She had borne him from her loins, suckled him at her breast, bathed him and clothed him. But, she always knew there was something different about her eldest son, something sinister and evil. Logi was just like his father.
It vexed her so much, that she decided to pay a visit to a person she had rarely spoken to; a person of whom she was secretly terrified. While her sons were busy with preparations, she slipped away and trudged through the snow toward the harbor, where she knocked on the door of Nordrana’s house, the witch she believed had put a curse on her family. When the door did not open, she knocked again. She heard a tiny voice from inside the hovel and pressed her ear against the grainy wood. “Come in,” said the tiny voice and Hildi let herself in.
The room was dark. In the corner was a cot and a table with a candle burning upon it. Nordrana’s shrunken little shell of a body was lying there. She was so thin her skin hung from her bones; she had no teeth but her fingernails were long and yellow. She looked up at Hildi with a knowing expression.
“Do you remember me?” asked Hildi.
The old woman nodded weakly.
“I have come because….,” Hildi began.
“I know why you have come,” said the witch.
“You know of this war between my sons?”
“Ja,” replied Nordrana. “I have seen it coming for many years now.”
Hildi swallowed and searched for the words that had haunted her since she had first seen the similarities between Fornjot and Logi. “I want to know if you put a curse on my son, Logi.”
Nordrana closed her eyes and did not speak for several minutes, so long that Hildi was afraid she might be dead. “I helped you birth your sons,” she said finally. “And, I brought your husband into the world as well.” She pointed a finger toward the window and a string that held up a row of dried funis. “I have birthed most of the village children. See how many?”
Seeing the disgusting souvenirs the old witch prided herself upon, the cords of life she had cut from each infant and dried in the window, most likely for one of her hideous rituals, Hildi was horrified. “Ja, I know that,” she said, turning her eyes away. “And, my husband was an evil one. I want to know if whatever curse you put on Fornjot was passed on to Logi. I want to know if you can do anything to stop this war.”
Nordrana’s voice was barely above a whisper by then. “The evil is in his blood. I cannot control that,” she said. “But I can tell you that young Logi has the power of King Alf and his army behind him. Your sons and the villagers will stand no chance against them.”
Hildi bit her lip. With pleading eyes, she took hold of the old woman’s hand. “But, what can I do? How can I keep my sons from killing each other?”
Nordrana’s breathing became quite ragged. She gasped to suck a last bit of air into her lungs. “There is nothing anyone can do. Your son is just like his papi. Pure evil burns within him, a fire that cannot be extinguished as long as he lives.”
The breath escaped the old woman’s lips with a hissing sound. For a moment, her fingers gripped Hildi’s tightly, as if holding on to life itself, then Nordrana’s hold on Hildi’s fingers relaxed and she closed her eyes again. A serene expression came over her face and Hildi watched in horror, thinking the woman had given up the ghost right before her eyes. She leaned in and put her ear against Nordrana’s chest, relieved to find that she had only drifted off to sleep.
Hildi dropped the witch’s hand and ran all the way to the longhouse, not stopping to catch her breath until she was safely inside. Dansa rushed to her when she saw the state her mother-in-law was in. “What is it?” she asked. “What is wrong now?”
“Where is my son?” Hildi asked when she could finally speak. “Where is Kari? I must speak to him!”
“He is out with the men, preparing,” said Dansa. “Why? What has happened now?”
Dansa’s eyes got big and round. “Stay here and watch the baby,” she said. “I will go out and find Kari. He must be made aware of Logi’s plans!”
Chapter Thirty-Five “Crossing the Keel”
King Alf’s army descended upon Grim’s homestead a few weeks after receiving the message that Kaleva’s grandson, his nephew by marriage, was in peril, and they came to his aid, a sea of horses and men as far as the eye could see. Alf’s commander, Valdar, argued with Alf and Grim vehemently about the logistics of the attack. He knew they were racing time as the summer was waning and they had to cross the Kjolens before the snowdrifts blocked their passage. He suggested waiting until the spring but Logi was relentless. Now was the time to take back Kvenland! he told them. Not later, after his brothers had time to build their defenses! Logi and Dagstorp had brought their wives and babies south to remain in the safety of Grim’s house until they returned, leaving only a few thralls behind to watch over Halogaland.
“Nei one will venture that far north once the snow hits,” Logi assured Dagstorp, confident that the longhouses they had built would be untouched while they remained in Kvenland, at least until he defeated his brothers. Secretly, Logi planned to never return to Halogaland ever again.
“I don’t know how I let you talk me into this,” grumbled his faithful troll. “My child will be half-grown before we return.”
“That baby won’t even know who you are until then anyway,” said Logi, now the father of two daughters, Eisa and Eimyja. “They are like little vegetables at that age. And, they will be safe here with old Grim.”