The linkboy came to a stop in front of a sign that was painted white and red, with only the word “Inn” carved into it. He nodded to them and snuffed out the torch in a metal extinguisher on the wall of the inn before running off back to the south. Across from them was a bustling restaurant, labeled “Inga’s.”
When the linkboy was gone, Tove started toward the restaurant.
“I’m not convinced we needed to pay him a farthing for that work.”
Erik shrugged. “Hard for me to argue with you, but we’d have been all night trying to find this place. It was a one time expense.”
They entered the restaurant and a large woman welcomed them with a booming voice.
“Find a seat and drop your pack! Inga will serve you!” She laughed heartily and went into what Erik assumed was the kitchen.
There were individual tables, with chairs instead of benches, except for a long set in the back, where larger groups sat drinking and laughing.
A table with two chairs was next to the door, so Erik went to it and sat, Tove nervously taking the seat across from him.
“What if this table belongs to someone?”
Erik gave a sideways smile. “It’s a restaurant. They’re for customers.”
Tove looked down at the table and then back up to Erik and huffed. “For knowing so little about Kvernes, you sure know plenty about Lofgrund.”
Erik looked around. “It’s more like where I came from.”
The large woman rolled up to their table, smiling. “Travelers? Welcome. Inga will make sure you are fed. Meat and a vegetable for a half coin.” She put a meaty hand on Erik’s shoulder. “What will you have?”
Tove was confused. “Have?”
Inga pointed to a menu board on the wall behind them. It was a short menu, but they offered beef steak, mashed potatoes, and a half dozen other items.
They ordered and when Inga was gone, Tove leaned across the table. “People live like this?”
Erik couldn’t help but laugh at it. “Apparently so.”
“Did you eat at restaurants?”
“Pretty much exclusively.”
Her eyes widened. “Were you rich?”
He laughed again, leaning back to stretch his tired muscles. “I was not even a little bit rich, no.”
She looked out the window. “It’s amazing. This was how you lived?”
Erik shook his head. “No, it wasn’t like this. There were indoor toilets and… I guess, carts that didn’t need horses.”
“You’re picking fun at me again.”
“I am not!” Erik feigned indignance.
The food came before Erik could further defend himself. It was well-cooked, amazing by the standards of everything he’d had since he’d woken up in Helheim.
Tove was nearly weeping after she took the first few bites, having gotten the beef and mashed potatoes.
With her mouth full, she looked at Erik, barely keeping it together. “Ith gaht tho mush budder.”
A few men at the tables around them laughed at her and slapped Erik on the back.
Inga shouted at them from the far side of the room. “Inga said, did she not? All who eat here leave satisfied!”
Half the room cheered, and then began shouting orders. Inga yelled at them and they calmed down. She started making rounds, taking orders properly.
They were nearly finished when a middle-aged woman poked her head through the open shutters, looking at Tove, frowning, and then to Erik. She sniffed the air around him and then left, coming through the door and leaning over, rubbing her hands through his hair.
“Excuse me, do I…”
“Quiet…”
She flipped his hand over, and ran a small knife across it. Erik yelped, but her grip was inhumanly firm and he couldn’t wriggle his hand free. She licked his palm and breathed in deep, letting his hand go. The woman stood up, rolling her head back. Tove stood up from the table.
“How dare you! Seidr woman!” Tove pulled back to swing at her, but the woman jerked away. Inga came from the back, holding a dozen mugs. She saw the woman and immediately flew into a rage.
“Seidr! Begone from Inga’s! You know not to come to this place!”
The woman ignored her, looking down at Erik. “You…” She whispered the word, her eyes swirling with black and green.
Inga put the mugs down and came thundering across the room. The woman ran outside into the street, stopping by the window.
“I know you, Haki! I know!” Inga followed her out the door and the woman fled down the street, laughing wildly.
Inga was quick to return to their table as Tove inspected Erik’s hand. It was still bleeding, though not much. It looked almost as though it had already begun to heal.
“Inga cannot… free! Drinks, food! Whatever you wish. No seidr woman should ever come near you in Inga’s.”
Erik smiled. “Thanks, but it’s not—”
“Inga will not hear it! Eat! Drink! I will bring them! No one leaves Inga’s unhappy!”
The room cheered again, returning to their revels in short order. Tove sat down, looking with troubled eyes at his hand.
“She called you Haki.”
Erik looked at the now-scabbed cut on his hand. “She did…”
chapter|11
It was barely sunup when the sound of knuckles rapping on the door pulled Erik out of an uncomfortable sleep. It was the old man who’d rented him the pair of ground-floor rooms after they’d eaten.
“I’ll have you out! Paid for the night, not the day. Want another day, ye’ll pay for it!”
It wasn’t a change of attitude from the night before, when the hunched old man had taken a silver off of him for the two rooms for the night, “and nothing more.” Erik could hear him continue down the hall shouting the same command at every single door. The bed had been less comfortable than the ground, somehow, and Erik figured he would likely have been better off sleeping in the fields surrounding the city.
He’d slept without clothes since the night was so much warmer in Lofgrund than it had been in Kvernes. He hadn’t noticed it while they were walking, but now that it was morning he could feel the heat of the sun coming in through the shuttered window. They must have left Spring at some point during their walk, but Erik would have found it impossible to tell where. The sun had fallen as they walked and cooled the day fairly evenly. The excitement of having made it to Lofgrund made him forget to take notice of how the night had been until he was undressing to sleep.
The old man’s voice was farther off down the hall, and Erik didn’t want to have to deal with him opening the door, so he pulled on the loose, unclean underwear he’d had since arriving in Kvernes and pulled on his unclean pants and shirt on top of them. The whole ensemble needed a wash, and Erik wouldn’t have minded one himself. He held the hand the strange woman had cut the night before up, looking for any sign of the wound but there was nothing, not even a line of red. He had meant to ask what seidr was and what it had all been about, but Inga’s fussing over them had been so overwhelming that he’d forgotten until he was in his room at the inn.
He checked his pocket, pushing the thought from his mind, and found the remaining three farthings still there. The money was dwindling, which made him nervous to say the least. He hadn’t looked through the pack that Tove had prepared and had only trusted her to mean what she said about having her own money. She’d taken the pack to her room the night before, wanting to organize things and make a catalogue of what they had remaining.
Erik opened the door before the old man had the chance to finish his rounds. He made for the lobby and found a yawning Tove standing there waiting for him.
“Paid for the night.” She scoffed the words as soon as she saw him.
Erik gave a sideways smile. “He’s a man who takes his definitions very seriously.”
“It’s day and I was told I could go see jewelry.”
“After breakfast.” He slapped at his stomach.
Tove chuckled. “You’re starting to talk like a man. And maybe look like one, just the slightest bit.”
Erik rubbed at the hair growing in on his chin. It was still barely more than stubble, but he felt strange, having been forced to shave for so long.
The old man made it back to the lobby. “Less yer waitin’ to hand me coin, get out. My inn’s for sleeping, less you pay proper.”
There were higher floors, which Erik assumed the man meant. There hadn’t been an explanation the night before when they’d come to pay. He’d told them a fixed price and taken their money. The dirty clothes and rough pack must have made their finances clear enough.
Tove left first with Erik just behind her. The sky was still a purplish blue, but there was already a stream of people making their way all in the same direction. Inga’s was still closed so early and had been fairly costly in spite of the extra food they’d enjoyed.
“Maybe we follow them?” Erik motioned at the passing people.
Tove nodded her agreement and they started after the people.
“This must be Summer,” Tove said, shifting her shirt away from her body. “I can’t say as I enjoy it.”
“Never been a big fan myself. You can only take off so much. Makes me miss air conditioning.”
Tove gave him a questioning look so he didn’t wait for the actual question.
“It cools off rooms and buildings. Sort of an automatic fan that blows air over ice.” It wasn’t strictly accurate but she might at least not call him a liar.
“I am starting to be jealous of this world you’re describing.”
“It wasn’t too bad, really. All the complaining I did seems a bit silly now that I’ve wiped my ass with dirty wool.”
Tove left the conversation there, more interested in the shops around them than in retreading the conversation about toilet practices. There was a marked difference in the shops in general, but they seemed to be getting nicer as they followed the people southward.
It was a few turns and a ten-minute walk among the grounds before they came into a bustling square with dozens upon dozens of stalls and businesses lining the lower levels around the square. It was nearly impossible to see all of the stalls through the throngs of people doing their morning shopping. At the far edge of the square, Erik could swear he saw a bread shop that looked to be putting out croissants. Tove’s eyes were wide, scanning the booths with manic energy.
“You got money? Coin?”
Tove tapped the pocket of the loose pants she wore. “Of course. Warband funds.” She smiled. “I’m going to buy dried fish. And fruits. Some of those tiny, red, bumpy ones, like we had from that strange man. These should be fine, right? So long as the vendor’s not strange, I mean.”
“Raspberries.” He pointed down toward the end. “I’m going to look at that bread shop.”
“We have plenty of bread.”
“We don’t have bread like that bread. Trust me. I’ll wait there since it’s easier to find.”
Tove headed off after saying she understood and Erik made his way down the row of businesses. There were a number of small shops between him and the bread. One sold spices and another was selling assorted fabric in a dozen different colors. There was a shop selling jams and preserved fruits right next to the bread shop. It was a shrewd arrangement. Small jars of raspberry jam were a half coin each. The jars were smaller than he would have liked for the cost. The bread shop was, at least, selling croissants. In fact, it was all they were selling. There was a line in front of him, waiting to get them. He looked around, spotting other bread shops along the adjacent row, but they were all selling more traditional looking loaves. In a way, he found having to stand in a line to be fairly refreshing in general. There hadn’t been so many people around before and Erik took a strange sort of comfort in the idea that there were towns larger than Kvernes had been. The large stone walls helped the feeling of ease that he felt.
A pair of people had bought their croissants at the front of the line and moved on when the third approached, insisting on haggling over the prices. Erik was watching the argument escalate when he felt a sharp pair of fingers dig into his shoulder and turned him around.
“Haki!” It was the woman from the night before. She had a scar across her cheek in the shape of a cross that he hadn’t noticed in the restaurant. Rather than looking at him after calling his name, she looked around frantically. Not seeing whatever she was wary of, the woman turned her attentions back to Erik. “You should come with me, Haki. There is much I could tell you.”
“Look, I don’t know how you know my name, or whatever is happening, but there’s literally no way I’m going anywhere with you.”
The woman flinched at nothing, rubbing her hands together nervously. “I know—”
The pit of a cherry thocked against the side of the seidr woman’s head. Rage flushed her face and she turned to scream but Tove beat her to it.
“You again! How dare you touch him? I won’t have you put your hands on him again, understand me seidr woman?”
She ignored Tove, who walked toward them at speed. “Haki, you need my help. I know the safe ways. You go north, yes? Toward Valhalla. It is a treacherous journey. Seidr is for these things, ask the girl. I can help you avoid the valkyries.”
Erik turned to look at Tove whose face showed her annoyance plainly, but she relented. “She speaks the truth. Seidr is used for such things.”
The woman reached out, grabbing at Erik’s arms but Tove was quick to strike at the woman’s wrist.
“Don’t lay a hand on him!”
Erik looked at Tove. “Can she be useful?”
Tove stewed on the question for a minute, looking the woman over as she continued to scan the buildings, looking up toward the sky. Erik felt himself twitch as she did and looked up himself, finding the sky empty of even clouds.
“She can help us. But only ask what we need to know, nothing more. And do not let her touch you. They seek to change destinies with their touch.” Tove pointed an angry finger up at the woman’s chin. “Don’t touch him, understand? I’ll spill your insides if you try it again.”
The woman took a step back, nodding. “Of course. But you know we cannot do what is needed here. The herbs and salts must be seen to.”
The argument with the bread maker was still ongoing in spite of the noise the seidr woman had made arguing with Tove so Erik decided they may as well see to whatever divination the woman intended to show them. She showed crooked teeth behind an unnerving smile and led them through side streets and alleys.
Tove and Erik kept themselves a healthy distance behind the woman. He didn’t like the way she looked around the upper parts of the buildings around them.
“Are you sure this will be fine?”
Tove hesitated. “Not entirely. People can know their destinies and know how to live within them. Why does she call you Haki?”
“It’s my first name.”
“But you do not use it?”
“Where I lived it would have been considered an odd name. Erik wasn’t. I’ve been Erik all my life to everyone but my parents, no sense in changing now.”
Tove looked him over. “Haki suits you better.”
“Does it?” he laughed. “I’ll have to consider that. When our warband gets larger. Then you’ll feel special for calling me a different name.”
“That might make the others talk.”
The woman came to a stop in front of them as they arrived at a small stone shop that stood on its own between the typical taller buildings of the city. Inside was a room covered with furs and carved wooden idols, a thick set of curtains separating the rear of the home from the front. The seidr woman was quick to disappear behind them, telling the pair to wait. Tove put
a hand on Erik’s shoulder as soon as the woman had left them alone.
“Do not give her your seed.”
Erik reeled, brow furrowing in confusion. “Why would I give her my seed?”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
“And if she undresses, you must resist her. Tell me immediately.”
“Why would she undress?!”
The woman reappeared, still fully clothed, and called for Erik, telling Tove to remain outside. Tove dropped the pack and sat on the wooden bench at the side of the main room.
“I know how your rituals work, seidr.”
Erik sat down in the chair nearest the curtain and the woman moved to the far side. She had bones laid out on the table and dried herbs smoking in bowls behind her. She kept herself standing and began slowly shifting the bones around the table. For five minutes, she slid the bones slowly into a small bowl before shifting them around and dumping them on the table. Still, she said nothing. The woman moved to the side of the room and retrieved a staff. Running her hands slowly up and down it, she began to chant nonsense. She tapped the staff on the floor once, lightly, and again, slamming it down and opening her eyes, cackling madly.
“They’re here! I’ve done it!”
The door behind them flew open and Erik heard a horrible, familiar hiss he hadn’t heard since the motel. Erik flew to his feet, flipping the table. A rage boiled in him at the woman’s trick. He plunged his fist across the table, catching her in the neck, just above her collarbone. The woman crumpled backward, shrieking. A second later, before he could turn himself around, he heard Tove shout in agony.
Erik ripped the curtain open. Tove was bleeding from nearly every spot on her body, dragging a leg that was barely attached. His eyes opened wide, fixed on her as she tried to drag herself to him, crying. Between choking, pained sobs, Tove managed a few words.
“Kill them! Kill them, Erik!”
She put a hand out to drag herself to him, but it fell there and her head dropped into a gathering pool of blood as the valkyrie behind plunged the tip of a spear through her chest.
Erik flew into a rage, charging the valkyrie as fast as his legs would carry him. She barely managed to pull the spear clear and put it in front of herself to block the punch. His fist slammed against the shaft, sending a crackling ring through the weapon and sending the valkyrie stumbling back into her short-haired partner. He barely registered the stunned look on the longer-haired valkyrie’s face when he charged again. She was ready this time and moved herself to the side. He saw it well enough, but couldn’t change the angle of his charge. The second valkyrie slapped the flat of her glowing sword into his back, sending him tumbling through the open door.
From Death to Valhalla (The Last Einherjar Book 1) Page 10