From Death to Valhalla (The Last Einherjar Book 1)

by Randall P. Fitzgerald

  “Why does it burn like that?”

  Göll looked at the wood. “Fire is crucial to humans in Winter.”

  It was all she said before turning her eyes to the woods and away from them. Tove dropped her pack and pulled her bedroll, Erik doing the same in short order. Small flakes had started to fall from the sky, but they dissipated as soon as they touched the ground. They seemed to be like the leaves in Fall, giving way to the nature of the world rather than any common sense. The ground was certainly cold enough for them to stick without melting. It was a fact that made Erik’s choice to put some distance between himself and the fire one he regretted, immediately moving his bedroll as close as he could manage. Tove had done the same already. It barely helped.

  Erik stared off into the black beyond Tove and the fire. There was no joy in the wonder of a black world for him. As strange as it might have been, he couldn’t bring himself to feel wonder, only fear. The valkyries were out there, he knew it. He couldn’t be sure where, but he swore he could feel them watching. There was some small comfort in closing his hands around the cool steel in his palm, but sleep was the only thing that mattered now. He forced his eyes shut and hoped his mind would quiet enough that he could rest.

  chapter|24

  The small amount of wood they had used was still burning when the dim light of morning told Erik he’d be fine to get out of the bedroll. It was still cold and he’d only removed the topmost layer of the clothes he’d bought from the old man. He was quick to put them on, not getting too far from the fire while he did. He nudged Tove awake and went immediately to Göll who was still standing her vigilant watch over the woods around them, spear in hand. He could see the road not far away, and in between the little sleep he got he hadn’t heard anything. Göll was quick to disabuse him of any feelings of comfort that might have made their way in as the sun came up over the ridgeline far to their north.

  “There was movement in the night.”

  It was the last thing he’d wanted to hear that morning, but made him sure, at least, that the feelings he’d had weren’t simple imaginings.

  “What sort of movement? People? Animals? Valkyries?”

  She kept her eyes moving around the trees as Tove dressed by the fire. “They didn’t come close enough for me to be sure of anything.”

  Erik worked his arms in a circle, trying to get the cold to stay out of them at least until he’d eaten something. “We’ll eat and get walking.”

  He expected she’d say nothing, so Erik turned away from Göll to see Tove readying some meat, finding it hardened not quite to freezing.

  “This place is terrible, Erik. The air is cold, the ground is cold, the meat’s gone frozen. What are we even meant to do with frozen meat?”

  Erik walked to the pan Tove had prepared and picked it up, holding it out to her. He shook it when she didn’t put the meat in, prompting her to do so. Erik then held out his hand for the knife she was holding and retreated to the far side of the fire. He sat and cut the meat into the thinnest strips he could manage and put it on the fire.

  “Pour some of that ale in there.”

  Tove did as he requested and the pan let off a massive plume of steam. He leaned back away from it instinctively, but kept the knife in the pan working things around.

  “We had this thing back home that was sort of like this. They called it barbecue, but I don’t see how pushing stuff around on a big rock is any kind of barbecue.”

  All he received for his attempt at sharing a detail from his life was a blank stare from Tove. He had her cut some carrots thin as well and throw them in and they ate when it was done a few minutes later.

  “It’s not awful,” she said, chewing the meat.

  “Yeah, well, we don’t have soy sauce or anything.”

  “Soy sauce?”

  “It’s a thing made from fermented soy beans. Really salty, great with meat.”

  “Sounds disgusting.”

  “That’s the correct reaction to about ninety percent of the things I eat when you just describe them. It’s all in the taste.”

  “Well, it sounds as though it tastes disgusting.”

  Erik shrugged off her entirely uninformed thoughts on soy sauce and they finished eating, packing afterward. There was a log in the still-burning pile that had barely been scorched and they stood in front of it considering what to do.

  “Well, we can’t just pour the ale on it. We need that,” Erik said. “And I’m not going to look for a stream. So… leave it?”

  Tove was quick to nod. “I agree. But,” she hesitated, “what if the trees catch?”

  Erik looked up above the fire and around them. “Well the snow didn’t stick. Maybe it’s fine.”

  “And if it is not?”

  “We can out-walk a forest fire, probably.”

  “Do you have experience doing something like that?”

  “No, why would I?”

  Tove’s sigh was decidedly annoyed. She picked up her pack. “We should begin walking. There is only so much light in a day up here.”

  Erik grabbed his pack as well and they returned to the road with Göll keeping a short distance in front of them. The grips were surprisingly comfortable in spite of sleeping in them and his arms didn’t seem concerned with having leather next to the skin for so long. There wasn’t much chance of sweating in Winter and having to find the grips in a situation where a fight might come from nowhere would just end him up dead. It was likely something Völundr had considered when he’d made them.

  They had been walking for only fifteen minutes at the most when Göll came to a stop, looking into the woods. A few seconds later, Erik heard the footsteps that had brought her to a halt in the road.

  “Wait! Wait, you in the road! Stop, I beg of you!”

  A thin-haired man came stumbling out of the woods in heavy furs, carrying a small pack. He nearly lost his footing but caught himself and stayed there catching his breath for a moment. He stood himself up, looking Göll over before looking around her.

  “I am called Jari. I have been lost in this wood for weeks. Tell me—”

  “You look well-fed to me, Jari.” Tove spoke up before the man could continue.

  Jari’s expression soured for a moment. “I said lost, girl, not without provisions.” He turned to Erik, his face returning to the pleading look it had been before, but he kept his distance. “I know how it must seem, but I was separated from my party. I don’t know where they have gone, nor where I am and—”

  Göll charged the man, pulling her blade across his stomach. The guts spilled out, Jari screaming and falling to his knees. His hands went wet and red as he tried to gather them up in a mindless panic.

  “No! No! Not again, not again! Get… get back in…”

  The blood was draining quickly and his strength faded along with it. He fell over, clawing toward Göll’s feet as he hit the ground. Tove ran to the man, pulling open his pack.

  “Stones!” She shouted the word, kicking the man in the ribs before turning to Erik. “There must be more!”

  Jari still croaked slow breaths on the ground as Tove and Erik went over him, gathering around Göll. The valkyrie scanned the woods slowly with intense focus. Erik could hear the breath behind him grow staggered and fail. He turned his eyes back, seeing all but the pack dissipate into the ground. He’d been wearing only a single layer of clothing if Erik understood the way of things. Göll stood quiet for a few more minutes before giving her report.

  “There is nothing. No one comes to avenge him, if they were near enough to do it.”

  There was no screaming, so whatever camp he’d been a part of wasn’t nearby. It wasn’t worth sitting and waiting for someone else to come for them, so they returned to their trek along the road north.

  As the hills grew more aggressive the road came to an abrupt end, giving way to only a dense forest of e
vergreens and steep walks up hills. The climb began and Erik became increasingly concerned about how near the trees were to one another in some places. There were plenty of places to hide any number of people, or valkyries for that matter. As hard as it was to see from behind the clouds, the sun was past the halfway point in the sky. It was when flakes began falling that Erik moved up beside Göll, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her walking.

  “We’ve got to eat now. And then we can’t stop walking until the edge of this forest. Is it clear?”

  Tove came up to join them and Göll scanned the woods.

  “I cannot see anyone. If they move quietly enough, the snow will cover them at a distance.”

  Erik pulled his pack. “That’s good enough.” He pulled a single piece of wood and sat it on the ground. “Someone light that up. We’re doing this fast.”

  The pan came out as did the venison and Göll lit the fire. Tove watched him slice it thin again as she prepared potatoes in the same way she’d prepared the carrots that morning.

  “We could eat dried meat if you mean to keep us moving.”

  Erik looked around. “No, I want to save that for when we’re out of other things. And I want them to get less if they manage to kill us. These are the things they’ll be after, most likely.”

  Erik cooked the food as quickly as he could manage. The potatoes may have gone a bit better with the food, but he could hardly bring himself to enjoy the meal. His nerves were beginning to get to him and having to gut a man who meant to trick them was doing very little to calm them.

  They returned to their walk, Erik urging Göll to move a bit faster than the pace she normally kept. Tove kept pace, though not without some effort, but she didn’t offer any complaint as they worked northward through the woods. It was late afternoon, or at least late for Winter, when the clouds gave way and the world was bathed in orange light. It made checking the woods to the west nearly impossible and, worse, the shadows moving across his face made for a constant distraction.

  It was the least he’d spoken to Tove since they’d met, but neither of them could bring themselves to carry on casually after Jari had showed himself. The heavy air made Erik hate the forest even though it was truly a beautiful place to be. The sun was nearly down and the world had dimmed, but ahead of them was a clearing. He could not see how wide it was from behind Göll, but it appeared to be at least wide enough to keep them safe.

  As they came to the edge of the trees, Erik could see what it was. A wide, flat valley stretching out for several miles below them. There were mountains to the north side of it and all of it was devoid of trees. It was all stone and snow.

  “Perfect.”

  Tove came up beside him. “Perfect? Won’t we be exposed?”

  Erik shook his head. “If there are more of them, we want them to have to come to us. And we want as much warning as we can get.”

  “And if they have bows and arrows?”

  He tapped Göll. “Hey, could you stop an arrow?”

  “An arrow could not pierce this armor.”

  “There you go. Besides, it’s pretty much our only option.” Erik was satisfied, though Tove didn’t seem to share his confidence.

  They started down the treeless hill into the valley and walked across it. The sun disappeared and the light of the moon took its place. The stark white of the snow did its job reflecting the light above them, making it easy to see off in all directions well enough to be sure that any movement was not simply shadow shifting on shadow.

  Erik figured they’d come close enough to the center of the featureless valley when he decided they would set up camp. Göll saw to the fire again, making quick work of it as the bedrolls came out. There were occasional freezing gusts of wind from the north. Not wanting to spend the night dealing with wind destroying his nose, Erik made a small arched covering out of some spare clothes and a few sticks from his firewood bundle. Tove did the same and pulled out the food. They could spend a bit more time preparing it so Erik took the pan, gathering up some snow. The divots he made started filling themselves in slowly from the bottom up.

  He put the pan over the fire, watching the snow idly replace itself as the minutes passed. It had just barely started to steam when he put cubes of meat into it to thaw before relaxing, letting the fire warm him.

  “This is at least less nerve wracking than the forest.”

  Tove looked around. “The view’s better. I would still gladly trade the weather for any warmer sort.”

  “Even in Summer? Ugh, sweat. I don’t need it. I mean, this is too much, sure, but I’m not one for sweating. These furs won’t be soaked and disgusting tomorrow morning.”

  “You like convenience, is your problem.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Sweat is good for you. The cold is no good for anyone.”

  “And how could you enjoy a good fire if it’s hot all the time?”

  “A Spring night is plenty cool enough,” Tove scoffed.

  “No way, not for enjoying a fire properly. You have to be that kind of desperate cold where your fingers are starting to hurt.”

  “My fingers are starting to hurt.”

  “See? And isn’t the fire nice?”

  “Not even near nice enough. And what about a mug of cold drink? Useless here.”

  “But warm soup!”

  “Bah!” She waved a hand at him, putting the last of her cubed potatoes into the pan.

  There was a bit of dried meat around the cured pig belly that Tove cut away and tossed into the pan. It rendered down and they began cooking the vegetables. Erik looked at Göll. Her back was to them but she was only a few steps away.

  “Do you get cold, Göll?”

  “I can feel the cold.”

  He tilted his head. “I don’t know if that’s the same thing. Tove, is that the same thing?”

  “Seems close enough.”

  “What about the heat? Does that leather armor ever get unbearable?”

  “I cannot remove the armor, only change its shape.”

  “Sounds rough. I guess I’m probably stuck wearing these grips for a while. Taking them off seems stupid.”

  Tove shook the pan, stirring the contents. “Are they uncomfortable?”

  “No, not really.” Erik looked down at the grips. “I just hope they work when I need them.” He remembered the meat and put it in the pot.

  Dinner was the best of the meals they’d had and, when it was done, they decided to bed down for the night. Erik couldn’t manage to sleep, no matter how hard he tried and eventually gave up. He came out of his covered bedroll to find Tove had not shared in his trouble. She was sleeping soundly, mouth open and nose bright red.

  He walked to Göll. She was standing silently, as ever.

  “Thanks for watching over us. I’ve never said it before, so it felt like I should.”

  She looked at him for a moment, her eyes lingering as though she wanted to say something, but she didn’t, not until she looked away. “You should sleep.”

  “Don’t I know it. If you know how to make me, let me know.” He took in a deep breath and let it out again, the cold air not bothering him even without the thick overcoat. “I’ve been uneasy since we got here. To Winter, I mean.”

  “I have felt it as well, your unease.” She looked at the ground for a moment. “It is… strange.”

  “Strange how? Are you not supposed to feel stuff I feel?”

  She rubbed her fingers lightly over her chest. “I do not know. I have never…” She looked back up and across the field, leaving the sentence to hang in the air.

  Erik chuckled. Looking at her, he couldn’t help but smile. “I get it. There are a lot of new things for me, too.” He looked out over the snowy valley floor. “Can’t say I hate them, though.”

  The cold had finally worked its way through to his skin and so Erik went to sit in front of th
e fire for a while. The night was quiet except for the occasional snort or shift out of Tove. His eyes had almost grown heavy enough to convince him to retire to his bedroll when a sudden fog began to roll in. The heavy air moved in quickly and it was warm, unnaturally so. Erik stood, moving to Göll.

  “What is this? Is this—”

  Göll was shaking visibly, her eyes locked to the sky, scanning in a panic.

  “No…”

  The humid air was all around them, thick and unnatural. Erik turned his eyes to the sky, but found it empty. It was the sound that told him why Göll shook as she did. His body clenched and his hands wrapped tight around the grips.

  Not just from one, but from every side of them, there came a shallow hiss circling in the fog.

  chapter|25

  They hadn’t yet charged for whatever reason, but one of the valkyries had begun to talk to the others. He couldn’t make out the words, but it was strange enough as it stood. They rarely talked. He slapped Göll on the back to draw her attention, holding up a hand when she looked to show the grips.

  “We’ll be okay.”

  “You haven’t slept,” she said, more plainly than he’d have liked.

  His heart sank when he realized she was right. If they managed to kill him, they would likely also get to him long before Göll could hope to. He’d never survived an encounter with the valkyries.

  “Tove! Get up!”

  He heard a groan from the other side of the fire that cut itself short as Tove realized why she’d been interrupted. Erik took a deep breath and balled his fists tight around the grips.

  The fog seemed to roll back and he could hear the voice of the valkyrie hidden in it clearly now.

  “Seems his warband has readied itself. Go!”

  The hissing flared around them all at once. Three of the four made for him, the fourth stayed behind. Göll moved to his front to intercept the nearest of them and he spun to address the other two, coming in at angles from the edge of the camp.