by Speer, Flora
The door was unbolted. She tiptoed inside. It was so silent in the building that for one terrible moment she thought Erik and Halfdan had already left, or worse, that Snorri had come and gone, leaving them dead.
She took a step, then another, and hesitated. A familiar arm caught her about the waist and a long, supple hand stifled her scream.
“Erik,” she whispered against his fingers. “Oh, Erik.”
He dragged her into a storeroom at one end of the building, where an oil lamp was burning and he could see her.
“By Thor’s hammer,” Halfdan exclaimed, “what are you doing here? Where is Freydis?”
“Well away. I came back to warn you.” Her news was quickly told.
“What now?” Halfdan asked Erik. “You said you think Snorri will come after us at dawn and we should leave before then. With Sven to help him, he may come sooner. Shall we stay and fight them?”
“We dare not. There will be too many of them. They will kill us and then discover Freydis is gone. Snorri will search until he finds her, and our deaths will be for nothing.” Erik thought a moment before continuing. “We have to draw Snorri’s attention to us so he doesn’t notice that Freydis has slipped away. Then we must make him follow us and keep him occupied long enough for Freydis to get to Limfjord.”
“How can we do that?” Halfdan asked.
“By taking my sister and my friend with me as far as Bornholm. Lenora, come here.” Erik took a silken cloth from a bundle in a corner of the room. It was a pale, creamy color, almost the shade of Freydis’ hair. “Wrap this around your head. Be sure you cover all your own hair. Then put the woolen scarf on top of it. There. Your name is now Freydis.”
“Erik, you can’t make her do this,” Halfdan objected. “She’s not your slave any longer. She has the right to refuse.”
“I forgot.” Erik’s bright smile flashed, dazzling Lenora. “Will you help us?”
He’s enjoying this, Lenora thought. He thinks it’s fun to outwit Snorri and the others. She had to admit her own heart was beating faster with excitement.
“I’ll help you,” she said, “but I’m not as tall as Freydis.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just keep your hair covered. If anyone catches a glimpse underneath the scarf, he’ll see the silk and think it’s your hair.”
“You hope,” Halfdan said doubtfully.
“It will be dark. I’ll call her Freydis once or twice in front of others, just before we go aboard ship.”
“You will bring Snorri’s men down on Rodfos’ ship. We will never get away.” Halfdan was still uncertain.
“I don’t think so. My sister Freydis here and I will slip out and go to the ship. A little while later you will come along, after creating a diversion that will draw most of Hedeby, including Snorri and Sven, to this warehouse. It won’t be until much later, when he starts asking questions along the waterfront, that Snorri will learn we have sailed away.”
A slow smile spread across Halfdan’s face.
“What do you want me to do” he asked.
“Something simple and spectacular. Holgar has no further need for this warehouse now that he’s dead, and he left no heirs.”
“A funeral pyre would be suitable. Too bad we don’t have the body.”
Lenora shook her head.
“Halfdan, that’s not funny,” she said.
“Snorri would agree with you. Perhaps he will think our bodies are here.” Halfdan’s broad shoulders were shaking with laughter. “We should rearrange the merchandise first, don’t you think?”
“A good idea,” Erik agreed. “Come on, Lenora-Freydis. You have to work too.”
They shifted barrels and bales of goods to strategic locations within the warehouse, making certain to spill the contents out against the walls and they sprinkled as much lamp oil as they could find onto the untidy piles.
“It will burn better that way,” Erik said.
“We could use some of these things,” Lenora remarked.
She had pulled out a long, loose garment made of silk. It was a rich blue-green color that glowed in the light of the single oil lamp they were using to illuminate their work.
Erik glanced at her in annoyance, then smiled as she held the robe against herself, measuring its length.
“That color becomes you,” he said. “You are right, we should make other use of some of Holgar’s goods. It would look very strange for us to go aboard ship with no belongings at all. We may as well take a few things to trade along the way.”
They quickly made up three bundles, using large pieces of woolen cloth to wrap their choices. They took fabrics and jewelry, a few marten skins, a walrus tusk, a couple of knife blades, and a packet of amber.
“You carry this,” Erik said, giving Lenora the amber. “If we are separated, or if Halfdan and I are killed, it will buy your passage home.”
Lenora added the packet to her bundle. She folded the silk robe and tucked that in too. Erik divided their food into three piles and they each took one. Halfdan found a tent and put it on his pile, folding it as small as possible. He included an iron cooking pot, along with the tripod and chain necessary to support it over a fire.
“That will be too heavy to carry,” Erik objected. “You are only going as far as Bornholm, you know.”
“We can’t go anywhere without a cauldron. It will be useful, and if I don’t want to cook in it, I can always sell it.”
The night was nearly over before they were ready. Erik and Lenora crept out of the warehouse and made their way to Rodfos’ ship by a roundabout route. Rodfos met them at the gangplank, blocking their way.
“No women on my ship,” he declared. “Women are bad luck.”
“This is my sister Freydis,” Erik announced. “We must both go to Aldeigjuborg.”
“No women, I said. If you had told me earlier that you wanted to bring her, I would have refused you passage.”
“I’ll pay you well, Rodfos. It is a family matter. Freydis must come with me.”
“Must? What are you running away from, Freydis?” Rodfos turned his attention to the woman with Erik, inspecting her with an eye fully appreciative of feminine charms.
There was a moment’s tense silence before Lenora-Freydis found her voice.
“A man I do not wish to marry.”
“Ha. And is this handsome fellow with you truly your brother?”
“Of course.” Lenora managed to sound offended.
“He had better be. Where is your father?”
“Our father is dead,” Erik answered. “I am taking Freydis to our uncle, a trader who lives in Aldeigjuborg.”
“To avoid this man she does not wish to marry?”
“Yes.”
“A likely story.” Rodfos regarded them suspiciously.
“Please,” Lenora begged. “Please let me go too.”
“Well,” Rodfos hesitated. “For a family matter I might make an exception. But it will cost you double the amount we agreed on. For each of you.”
“That’s robbery,” Erik protested.
“Then save your silver and stay in Hedeby.”
“All right. I’ll pay you.”
“Before you come on board.” Rodfos’ bulky form still blocked the gangplank.
Erik opened the leather purse at his belt and counted out the silver coins. Rodfos inspected them carefully before pulling out his portable scales and weighing the coins. The scales balanced, with two pieces of silver left over. Rodfos gave a low laugh and tossed the extra coins into the pan, sending the scales tilting as the coins overbalanced his weights.
“Fair enough. Come on, then.” Rodfos moved aside to let them onto the ship.
Erik looked annoyed but did not protest the overpayment.
“Stay in the bow,” Rodfos instructed, “and keep out of my sailors’ way. They don’t like women on board either. Now, I have things to do. We are leaving earlier than we planned.”
They made their way to the half-deck at the bow of the ship, clim
bing over the cargo piled amidships.
“Where is Halfdan?” Lenora wondered anxiously.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be here.”
In fact, Rodfos’ men had the cargo lashed down and were ready to sail before Halfdan arrived. He ran lightly up the gangplank, his huge bundle and the wooden tent frame slung over one shoulder, a mischievous smile on his face.
“By Odin’s beard,” Rodfos roared, “what is this? What kind of tricks are you playing?”
“This is my friend Halfdan,” Erik replied calmly. “He is coming to Aldeigjuborg with us.”
“Is he, too, running away from someone he does not wish to marry?”
“He will help me to protect Freydis.”
“He will not. I have no more room on my ship.”
“I will pay you,” Halfdan said. “And I will work too. I am a good sailor.”
“So is every man in Denmark. There is something strange going on here, and I wish I knew what it is. You are all too free with your silver. Well, I suppose I have to take you, too. Come aboard, come aboard. It’s time to sail. Put out the torches and cast off there.”
A few men were loitering about the dock, listening to this discussion with much amusement, calling out advice and joking with Rodfos and his sailors.
Erik winked at Lenora.
“Well, sister Freydis,” he said out of the side of his mouth, “if Snorri comes looking for news of us along the waterfront, he will hear that you and Halfdan have sailed with me.”
“I wish I knew where Snorri is now,” Lenora muttered.
“He’s probably wondering if we are being roasted alive,” Erik said, pointing over her shoulder. “That should leave him confused for a while. Let’s hope he thinks we died in there. If not, he’ll come after us, but at least Freydis will be safe. Snorri will be in Aldeigjuborg, or even Kiev, before he realizes she isn’t really with me. Look.” He pointed again.
Lenora turned to see Holgar’s warehouse in flames. Dark figures, silhouetted against the light of the fire, ran toward it, gesturing wildly. A few figures with buckets were dipping water out of the harbor in a vain attempt to quench the fire.
Red and orange flames reflected in the rippling water of Hadeby Noor and leapt in tall fingers against the gray dawn sky. The same wind that sent the fire billowing ever higher caught the sail of Rodfos’ ship as they glided past the burning building.
“I was beginning to think you hadn’t started it well.” Erik clapped Halfdan on the shoulder. ”I should have known you wouldn’t fail.”
“I used strips of linen dipped in lamp oil and laid on the earth floor,” Halfdan explained. “It took a little while for them to burn back to the fabrics and wood we had piled up, but then everything burst into flames at once. It looks nice, doesn’t it?”
He watched the burning building with a satisfied smile as they sailed beyond it and out the fjord toward the sea.
“Did you do that?” Rodfos, coming up behind them, jerked a thumb toward the flaming warehouse.
“How could we? We were all on your ship when it started.” Halfdan’s handsome face was the picture of innocence.
Rodfos balanced himself lightly on the forward deck of his ship, his giant fists planted firmly on his hips. He looked his three passengers over with an irritated expression.
“I want no trouble from you,” he said. “If there is any, all three of you go over the side.”
“There will be no trouble,” Erik assured him.
“There is a change in plans,” Rodfos now informed them. “We are not going to Bornholm, after all. I’ve no cargo to unload there and too many pirates are in that area. We are going directly to Aldeigjuborg.”
“What?” Erik was plainly angry. “You told me you’d put in at Bornholm.”
“Well, I’ve changed my mind. It shouldn’t matter to you anyway. You wanted to go to Aldeigjuborg, didn’t you? If we don’t stop at Bornholm, you will be there that much sooner. With your dear uncle, who lives there.”
“You—” Erik began.
“That’s wonderful,” Lenora interrupted. “I can’t wait to see my uncle again. I’ll feel so much safer with him.”
Rodfos smiled at her, his gruff exterior softening a little.
“What is your uncle’s name?” he asked. “I do a lot of trading in Aldeigjuborg. I may know him.”
“I don’t think so,” Erik put in.
“Gorm,” Lenora said, using the first name that popped into her mind. “Uncle Gorm. He’s a wonderful man.”
“Never met him.” Rodfos went off to attend to ship’s business.
“Afraid of pirates,” Erik said scornfully. “He’s a pirate himself. The silver he took for our passage would buy a ship of our own. I wanted to send both of you back here from Bornholm and now you will have to go all the way to Aldeigjuborg.”
“Hush,” Lenora soothed. “He might hear you.”
“You can hardly blame him for not trusting us,” Halfdan said reasonably. “We did come aboard in a very strange way.”
“I suppose so, but I don’t trust him, either. Halfdan, you and I will take turns sleeping. One of us will always be awake to watch Rodfos and his men and to guard Lenora – er – Freydis.”
Erik squinted at the sky, then glanced back toward Hedeby. The sun was just rising on a clear, beautiful day. The flat landscape of Denmark slid by as the ship made its way down the fjord toward the Baltic Sea. The plume of smoke and fire from Holgar’s warehouse dipped lower. Erik drew a deep breath and let it out in a whistle.
“Farewell, Denmark,” he said.
“I wonder if we will ever see it again,” mused Halfdan.
“You will. I won’t.”
Nor I, Lenora thought. Edwina’s bones lie buried there with Thorkell’s, and my babe’s remains too. I never want to see that place again. She turned her back on the land and resolutely faced the eastern horizon.
Chapter 18
Rodfos’ knarr, the wider, deeper, cargo-carrying version of a Viking longship, was heavily built to withstand the rough northern seas. There were short decks at the bow and stern only, leaving the mid-ship area open for cargo, which was securely lashed down and covered with oiled canvas. There was a square sail of brilliant red and yellow stripes. The ropes holding the sail were made of strips of twisted and waxed walrus hide.
In spite of its heavy load, the ship skimmed easily over the waves with no pitching or rolling, only a gentle rocking motion that Lenora found very relaxing. She slept well at night, knowing either Erik or Halfdan was standing guard.
Her last trip at sea, aboard Snorri’s longship, had been a journey of sorrow and dread. This time it was different. Lenora accepted the rigors of shipboard life without complaint. Cold, dried food, a shortage of fresh water with which to wash, the confinement of the knarr’s forward deck, bothered her not at all. She was filled with a sense of adventure and of curiosity about what lay ahead.
Early in the trip she had taken the little packet of amber out of her bundle of clothes and goods to be traded, and had hung it on a thong around her neck. It lay against her skin under her gown, along with the purse of silver Thorkell had paid her. When she wrapped her makeshift woolen cloak around her shoulders and pulled it close to her throat against the sea wind, the thongs were hidden.
It’s my own private hoard, Lenora thought. I’m a free woman now, not a slave. I can do what I want. Erik can’t send me back to Denmark or Anglia if I don’t want to go.
What she wanted, she knew beyond any doubt, was to go to Miklagard with Erik. She’d had time during this sea voyage to think about and make her peace with the events at Holgar’s house. She realized that the deaths of Tola and Alara had been quick and relatively painless. She said a few silent prayers for those unfortunate women, but she had no regrets for Snorri’s men who had perished. They all, but especially Hrolf, had deserved their deaths, and Lenora held no regrets for what she had done. Having thought this far, Lenora let herself remember Snorri’s taunting words to Eri
k before the fight had begun.
“Erik?”
“Yes?” He was lying beside her, rolled in his woolen cloak. A pace or two away Halfdan sat on the deck, keeping watch. The starry night sky arched above them. Lenora could hear the rustle and slap of water along the ship’s hull, the creaking of timbers, the straining of the sail under a stiff breeze, and, out of the dark, the occasional gruff comment of one of Rodfos’ sailors.
“Snorri said,” Lenora needed all her courage for this, but she had to know, “Snorri said you neglected Erna completely after I arrived at Thorkellshavn. Is that true?”
Erik stirred, turning toward her. His hushed voice sounded close to her ear.
“If you mean,” he said, “was Snorri telling the truth that it was Erna who told him where we were going, yes, I believe for once in his life Snorri was being honest. Erna would have betrayed us without hesitation if she thought it would be to her own advantage.”
“Was it because she was jealous of me?” Lenora took a deep breath and asked the all-important question again. “Is it true you had nothing to do with Erna, you never lay with her again, once you met me?” She waited tensely until he answered her.
“Yes, it’s true.”
“But all those months before we-. And Erna showed me a bracelet and said you had given it to her.”
“I gave her a bracelet half a year before you came to Thorkellshavn.” Erik moved restlessly. “Don’t talk any more. Let me sleep, Lenora. I must keep watch soon.”
He rolled over, turning his back to her, but Lenora did not mind. She could not have spoken again if she had tried. She was near to open tears of joy and relief. Erna had lied, had deliberately and spitefully tried to make Lenora unhappy. Lenora forgot all the decisions she had made out of pride just a few days earlier. Denmark and East Anglia had no claim on her. She would stay with Erik. They would make the journey to Miklagard together. They would be lovers again, and all would be well between them.