Under A Viking Moon

by Tami Dee

  *****

  As the words blurred and shifted on the page, his heart constricted painfully and the small hairs on his arms stood on end. His thoughts turned dark as he read the text in earnest, Singlee and Rosie's whispering voices faded away. As he read, shock, anger and frustration swirled deep within him. If what he read here was true, it was imperative that he return to his time as soon as humanly possible, for he now knew exactly what he must do to save his family.

  Yet in doing so, Leif acknowledged soberly, he would destroy Kat's. He steeled himself against the remorse the realization filled him with. Regardless of the consequences, he must return to his time. And he must do so before the Katla he had married's son reached manhood.

  Meanwhile, this Kat must never learn what was written within her Amma's tome, she must never guess what he must do to protect his family, his people.

  Guilt shackled him. At this moment, Leif wished that he was anyone else but the leader he had to be, a man who took his responsibilities seriously, placing the happiness of the many before that of the few.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kat walked out of the bank clutching her copies of the legal documents, not quite knowing what to make of this development.

  She had never had anything of real value in her life. And now all that had changed due to the generosity of an ancient Norseman, one who by rights should wish her ill.

  Proof of his esteem was now in the form of the contents of a manila envelope giving her access to great riches. Leif had even stipulated that his authorization wasn't necessary if she chose to take any, or all, of the box's treasures.

  He trusted her.

  And she didn't deserve it.

  She didn't deserve his trust any more than her ancestor had.

  Kat fought back tears. It was all she could do to not simply stop in the middle of the crowded, noisy sidewalk and cry her eyes out. But she didn't. Instead she stepped into the limo behind Rosie, keeping her face expressionless, Leif following close behind.

  What am I going to do? She kept her face turned down to hide the question she feared was plain in her eyes as she clicked her seatbelt in place. By tucking that blasted pendant into her tote, she had set her course down a rode which had no easy path of return.

  If she were to simply pull out the pendant right now and show it to him, he would demand to know why she hadn't drawn his attention to the remarkable find back at the bank.

  Kat sighed and sank miserably into her heated seat while Rosie and Singlee chatted lightly with one another, neither seeming to notice how quiet Kat and Leif had become.

  Kat groaned inwardly. Ultimately, Rosie and Singlee would demand to know what she had stolen away in her tote and why. How could she explain something she didn't understand herself?

  Singlee maneuvered the limo onto the freeway. Traffic was moderate, the afternoon commute still a few hours away. Leif was staring out the tinted window, his face expressionless.

  Kat frowned. He was rather quiet, wasn't he?

  A wave of panic washed over her. Did he know? Perhaps he had noticed her slipping the pouch into her tote after all. What if he guessed what it contained? She eyed the tote covertly as it sat on the seat between her and the door. She could almost feel the pendants presence, almost hear its accusing cry. What if Leif could feel it, too? What if he was as aware of its presence as she was?

  Oh, what if he knew? What if he was so disappointed in her that he couldn't even force himself to speak to her? What if he was plotting right now how to secure the pouch and learn exactly what it contained? What would he do to her when he discovered that she'd deceived him?

  Just as his wife had done.

  Okay, maybe not just like his wife. After all, no one was going to die because she was unwilling to give him the key to return to his time. Would they?

  The silence lay heavy between them. Kat struggled to think of something to say. Anything.

  "The book." She spoke so abruptly that Leif jumped.

  "Sorry," she muttered. "I was wondering what the book was about? I assume it was more legends."

  "Aye, the tome is about my times." He paused, meeting her eyes briefly before returning to stare out the window.

  Kat swallowed hard. Her fingers bit into her knee. "Your times? Specifically?"

  She didn't know why, but she was worried about what he may have learned. What if some tragedy besides the one his wife brought on had befell his people? He would be more determined than ever to get home, and it would be her fault that he couldn't do so.

  "Anything interesting?" she asked him, forcing herself to sound casual. Anything interesting? What a lame thing to ask. For goodness sake, he was a man a thousand years removed from his family and time. He had to be heartbroken right now, not to mention feeling helpless. Not, she would wager, a feeling he was used to. Not Leif.

  He hesitated, seeming to weigh his words carefully. "It seems that my three younger brothers, Balmung, Ofeig, and Davyn survived the attack the morning of my marriage."

  Joy coursed through her veins. Kat almost laughed out loud with relief. "That's wonderful!" she cried. "Really just wonderful. Now you know that your father will be taken care of, after all. I know that was weighing heavily on your mind."

  She reached out and placed her hand on his knee. Rosie, who had been twisted in her seat talking to Singlee, glanced over her shoulder. "What did I miss?"

  "The book," Kat told her. "It said that Leif's three younger brothers, the ones he believed had been killed in the attack, were left alive. Isn't that wonderful?"

  When Rosie frowned at her, Kat realized that she sounded giddy, over-excited.

  But she couldn't help being relieved. His brothers had lived which meant that his father would have been taken care of. Kat was curious as to why his father needed to be cared for. Perhaps he had obtained a serious injury from a raid or something.

  Leif, talking to Rosie now in a low voice, seemed strangely subdued, perhaps because, although his brothers had survived the battle, they were now a thousand years dead.

  And Leif was alive and alone in a strange place and time.

  Guilt shrouded her once more and she shifted restlessly in her seat. She could make it up to him. She could help him adapt to her time. Yes, that was what she would do. While she pretended to assist him in returning to his time, she would in reality help him to acclimate to hers. It was a good plan after all. He was already picking up their slang. His business sense apparently bridged the span of time quite adequately.

  Kat's hands clenched and unclenched in her lap, even as she told herself that she shouldn't feel guilty. After all, it was be much easer for him to adapt to her time than it would be for her to adapt to his. Really.

  "We're here," Singlee announced, as he drew the limo up in front of the care facility. It was a V-shaped, single storey building surrounded by mature oaks, green lawns and tenderly cared for flowerbeds, with welcoming wooden benches strewn about for the guests' and residents' enjoyment.

  Kat worried her bottom lip as Singlee made his way around the limo and held open the door for them to step out. The desire to tell him about the pendant was almost a physical need. But something held her back. Likely, she admitted to herself, it was simply fear of his reaction to her planned deceit that stopped her.

  Instead, she cleared her throat and said, "Leif, you remember that I told you that my Amma is very ill. Well, she doesn't look ill, but it's her mind, you see. She may or may not know who I am. Sometimes I have to introduce myself and talk to her as if we just met. It's important that we play it by ear when we get in there. Okay?"

  His gaze locked with hers as she spoke and she was struck by the haunted look in his eyes, something very much like compassion. The kind of compassion that was earned by experience.

  Unexpectedly, he reached out and tweaked the tip of her nose, lightening the somber mood that hovered between them. "Lady," he said. "Do not worry yourself. If my presence causes your grandmother undue upset, I will return to the li
mo and await you here."

  Kat tried to smile her appreciation and only half seceded. Why did he have to be so nice to her when she was being so mean?

  Chapter Twenty

  The four stepped through the sliding glass door as any ordinary visitor might. Kat was proud that Leif no longer reached for his weapon and searched for an unseen enemy that could be leading them into a trap.

  The head nurse, Mrs. Moore, a crisp and kindly woman in her early forties, greeted Kat with a warm smile and showed the others where to sign their names on the visitor roster. Kat was surprised that she could read Leif's signature clearly. She really didn't understand how this time-travel, understanding thing worked, but apparently reading and writing were included in the bargain. She hoped that, if she did end up in his time, that the pattern would follow suit for her.

  Rosie gave Kat a quick peck on the cheek. "Let us know when you're ready, sweetie," she said, sinking onto the couch and crossing her long legs to the delight of two giggling teenage volunteer readers whose excited whispers included the name Selma Hayek.

  Leif was glad for the distraction from his troubled thoughts. "Who is Selma Hayek?"

  "Dude, she's the hottest Latino actress around today," Singlee said, slinging an arm around Rosie's shoulder and giving her an exuberant hug. "At first look, everyone thinks that Rosie is her. We can rent a video after we leave, you'll see what I mean."

  Singlee sank back into the couch, a satisfied smile on his lips and far away look in his eyes. Sliding his dark eyes to Rosie he mused out loud. "You used to get us into a lot of Hollywood parties pretending to be her cuz, we should plan a crash," he suggested. "I've been out of circulation for a long time. Maybe I could get a gig in one of those martial arts movies -- hang out with Jackie Chan or Jet Lee."

  Rosie, now clearly caught up in the excitement of her cousins fond memories smiled brightly, her eyes glittering like molten gold. "I'll make some calls, see what's going on in LA these days. I haven't been to any Hollywood crushes since you got snagged."

  As they continued their rather cryptic conversation about Hollywood and the rich and famous Leif's thoughts drifted back to Kat.

  She had looked anxious during the long car ride here, worried even. But then, he imagined he would have felt thusly if he were in her situation and she were meeting his father.

  He understood more than he was willing to share about illness that attached the mind rather than the body. Hadn't his family been touched by such an affliction for the past fourteen years? Only people of the future seemed to accept this type of illness with a resigned sadness instead of fear for those possessed.

  In Leif's time ones thus cursed were hidden away from their clans, cared for by relatives. If they had no relatives, they were taken outside the village and left to the mercy of the elements, just as newborns were if their father found them lacking in strength or vigor. In his society only the strong survived, and no time or resources were wasted on the weak.

  As for mind illness, most believed that it was something to fear, perhaps even to be contracted. But Leif knew that the latter was not possible, for he and his brothers had cared for their father all this time and none had taken leave of their minds.

  How different all this was, he thought, looking around the reception room Leif took in the large potted plants, and long glass windows. A phone rang from somewhere nearby, and an elderly couple stepped through the sliding glass doors and over to the sign in roster.

  This was the future. He was reclining on a soft floral couch, wearing modern day clothing that constricted and confined every part of his body from his neck to his toes. And he had absolutely no weapons on him.

  Leif frowned, a very real feeling of uneasiness settling about him. Perhaps there was something to the fear his people held. Perhaps he had indeed taken leave of his mind and simply did not know it yet. It was, he decided, something to think about.

  *****

  Tears clogged Kat's throat as she stood in front of apartment 3B. These visits were getting harder and harder. It was heartbreaking to watch her loving, vibrant ninety-seven pound grandmother waste away, both mentally and physically.

  Kat had been warned, three visits ago, by the resident physician Dr. Kramer, that Amma's system were nearing the point of shutting down. No one was certain why, but the evidence was clear. Amma had signed a legal document early into her illness stating that she did not wish to be kept alive artificially for an extended amount of time.

  Her wishes were difficult for Kat to accept. But love demanded that she must. She would never deny her grandmother the dignity and control that her decision allowed her. Kat could only hope that the doctors were wrong, and that time was still a long way off.

  When she rapped softly at the door, a thin voice called her inside.

  The bright yellow curtains were pulled wide and the small room was comfortably warmed by the late afternoon sun. "It's me, Amma," Kat said softly. In a practiced glance Kat took in the neatly made bed and the just misted fern hanging from the macramé holder she had made for her grandmother in the fifth grade. The book of sagas lay open on the small stand next to the chair where Amma now sat, a hoop of needlepoint etched in purple in her lap and a multicolor crochet throw was draped around her shoulders.

  Amma was having a good day today.

  The golden glow of the sun painted a soft blush on her too thin cheek bones.

  As soon as she saw Kat, her aged face broke into a wide smile, the perfect teeth that she was always proud to say were 'all hers' white against her pale lips.

  She knows me today.

  Kat rushed over and scooped her into her arms. The scent of lavender and Bengay ointment brought a fresh sting of tears behind Kat's lids.

  "Oh, Amma, it's so good to see you. How have you been?" Kat forced her voice to be light, carefree. If her Amma, in her rare moments of clarity, was ever to guess at the dangers and struggles her only grandchild had encountered since her illness, she would be heart-broken and riddled with guilt.

  "Child, you look wonderful," a soft finger brushed away the tear that escaped Kat's eye and trickled down her cheek. "None of that now, only smiles for your Amma, you hear me?"

  Kat sniffed and perched herself on the edge of the neatly made bed. "I hear you, Amma. I am just so happy to see you. I went to the bank today and saw the lovely things you placed in the safe deposit box. I brought the pearl necklaces with me." Pulling the strand of cool pearls out of her tote, she dangled them from her fingers for Amma to see. "I never knew you had them."

  A far away look entered the older woman's sky blue eyes as she focused on the glowing white pearls, not the dreaded vacant look that so often filled them, but a dreamy, thoughtful look.

  "I gave those pearls to your mother on her wedding day," she said. "She wore them that day, and every other day of her life."

  Tears filled her eyes, her voice softened to almost a whisper.

  "The day she died was the saddest day of my life. It was one of the happiest days also. My first, my only, grandchild had been born. Your mother knew she was dying. She took off the necklace and handed it to me. There were tears in her eyes as she made me promise to give you that strand to wear on your wedding day."

  Kat blinked back her tears. "Oh, Amma. I didn't know," she whispered. "I can take it back to the bank until my wedding day if you like."

  Kat had a difficult time making the offer. The pearls were her mother's. She could almost feel her gentle presence seeping through the cool pearls and into her palm, into her soul.

  Amma gave her a knowing look and reached across the short distance from her chair to where Kat sat on the bed and grasped her hand, her grip surprisingly firm.

  "No child," she said. "I would never ask you to part with them, now that you know they exist. I know you grieve the loss of your mother, as do I. But Katla, no matter what choices you make in your life, or which path you take, always remember that your mother would have been proud of you. As I am."

  She took a
weak breath. Kat slipped off the bed and knelt on the round area rug next to her Amma's chair. With shaking hands she picked up the needlepoint from her grandmother's lap and set it atop the book of sagas, abstractly noticing that the purple thread was creating a cluster of pansies. Resting her head on her lap she wrapped her arms around her grandmother's tiny waist.

  Kat basked in the feel of the loving hand now stroking her hair, just as it had a thousand times before as a child.

  Kat closed her eyes, lost in the moment. Enveloped by peace. Love. Security.

  Security that had always been hers until that fateful day five years ago, when Amma had been taken away from her.

  Kat didn't hear the door open, she felt before she saw that Leif had entered the room. She tensed, for she hadn't had a chance to tell Amma of the new visitor.

  Amma's legs stiffened under her head. Kat raised her eyes to Amma, an introduction on the tip of her tongue when Amma spoke.

  "I knew you would come, Leif. I've been waiting for you."

  Kat was stunned, as apparently, was Leif. He stood stone still in the threshold, his eyes trained on her Amma. His face had lost all its color and she could have sworn she saw him sway.

  "Amma, do you know Leif?" Kat said, finding her voice.

  "Indeed," Amma said, smiling. "I have been waiting for him for a very long time, child. Tell me you remember your promise, Leif. To cherish her as I have. Love her. Protect her from her enemies. I am counting on you, Leif, I am trusting you with my only grandchild."

  In a graceful movement that belied his warrior's body, Leif dropped to his knees before her grandmother. His knee touched Kat's and once again she was amazed at the heat that radiated from this man who belonged to a land of ice.