“I don’t know how you can trust him, Gunnar. The man is a mercenary and a liar, out for his own personal gain.”
“Sounds familiar,” I muttered.
Kafir’s head swiveled toward me, a dark look in his eyes. “I may be a mercenary but…”
“I think perhaps we should move further away,” Gunnar whispered. “I’ve laid a spell around us but it’s pushing our luck to remain within earshot.”
I followed them up the hill and back toward where we’d left Gypsy. We paused at a rocky outcropping that lent some protection from the icy wind, huddling in a small circle. I could tell from the set of his jaw that Kafir was very angry. When he finally spoke it was clipped, his words like staccato reports from a gun. “Adair has made a home down there, the priestesses do her bidding. The boy is fine but the women don’t look well and some have very bad coughs.”
“I still don’t know how the sorceress managed to get through the protections around the temple,” Dancer said, her eyes filling with tears.
“Maybe someone from the inside helped her.” I wasn’t sure why I said this, but it rang true.
Dancer stared at me. “I cannot think of one priestess who would do such a thing.”
My mind went back to my time at the temple, searching for a clue. When I finally saw it I sucked in my breath. “It was Fire.”
Dancer shook her head. “Fire was thirteen when she came to me. She’s been like a daughter.”
“I may be mistaken but her face just appeared in my mind. You have to have seen how angry she was about my relationship with you.”
Gunnar stared into the distance. “No matter who is responsible, eventually Adair will kill them. There’s only so much energy draining a human body can take.”
“What are you talking about?” Kafir asked, frowning.
“The priestesses—she’s using them to keep herself young,” Brandubh told him.
I wondered how this had slipped by Kafir who usually seemed so savvy. But he had been in denial about this entire escapade, positive that Brandubh was in cahoots with Adair. Of course Gunnar had also believed this, neither one of them listening to me in Glanstgo. I was beginning to be annoyed with men in general. Right now I wanted to form a coherent plan. With the druid along we might stand a chance.
“We need to get out of this freezing wind,” Kafir finally said, leading the way back to Gypsy. “It’s too damn cold to think.”
We lit the stove, warmth spreading into the saloon almost immediately. When I took off my heavy sweater, moving to stand where the heat could reach me, Brandubh opened his mouth in surprise, his eyes riveted on my chest.
“What? What is it?”
“The amulet. I remember giving it to you back in the Otherworld. You need to take it off.” He came next to me ripping it from my neck. “It connects you to Adair.”
“So all this time she’s known exactly where I am?”
Brandubh nodded, his expression grim.
“That explains how she found me up on the mountain,” I muttered. I put my hand up to my neck feeling the absence of the heavy silver.
“And how she’s stayed one step ahead of us all this time,” Kafir added.
“What will you do with it?” I asked Brandubh.
“The safest thing is to throw it into the sea.”
Gunnar nodded his agreement. “I should have known the first time I saw it.” He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “I only hope my magic blocked its connection.”
After following Brandubh up the companionway and watching him hurl my pendant into the dark water I headed down again to make tea. There was restlessness among the men that I couldn’t define—they were like dogs sniffing around each other, trying to decide the pack leader. They were as unlike as three men could be: Kafir with his disheveled curls, stocky with ruddy weathered skin; Brandubh, older and taller, patrician-looking with his pale Scottish skin, green eyes and thick grey hair; and then there was Gunnar, straight-backed, taller and thinner than the other two, his hooded gunmetal eyes taking everything in.
After passing mugs around I gazed at the priest. “Brandubh, you need to pay her a visit, tell her you want to take the boy for a short walk.”
Brandubh shook his head. “She knows me too well. Gunnar is the only one who has the power to go up against her.”
Gunnar took a sip from his mug, his eyes on Brandubh. “If I could shapeshift into a young alluring man I think I could coax her away, but unfortunately this is not within my power.”
“What can you do, Gunnar?” I asked. “I have no idea the extent of your powers.”
“I can move through the ether, create a storm, use wind for various purposes. Fire is another element I have control over. If we could insure the safety of Rifak and the priestesses I could create an inferno down there. But I hardly think it would do much good. Worse case she’d survive while the priestesses and your child perish. My spell prevents her from knowing we’re here, but the longer we remain the more chance we’ll be discovered.”
My idea that we were going to be successful began to wane. “The only thing in our favor is it’s harder to travel with twelve women.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Gunnar replied, his eyes meeting Dancer’s.
“Gunnar is correct. I saw her do this at the temple. Luckily I’m too old for her purposes.”
Gunnar put his hand on the back of Dancer’s neck, a gesture of affection I never would have expected from him. “And thank the goddess for that,” he said, bending to kiss the top of her head.
Kafir stood, the bulk of him blocking the meager light coming down the companionway. “Gunnar, you can move as fast as she does. You can beat her if anyone can.”
“We need to trick her somehow,” Brandubh said. “Her Achilles heel is her vanity. The only person here who she doesn’t know is Kafir.” Brandubh let a pause go by, his gaze on the sailor. “You’re a good looking man and about the right age to interest her. It’s the only way to gain control. You’ll have to seduce her.”
I couldn’t believe my ears, turning to see how Kafir had taken this news. His face had turned red, anger flickering in his turquoise eyes. “You’re out of your mind,” he said, his tone level, but I could tell he was seething inside.
“And how would he explain his sudden appearance in Nifleheim?” I asked.
“He’s a sailor who got lost in a storm, which I can conjure by the way, and ended up here,” Gunnar said.
“So you think this is a good idea?” Kafir demanded, staring hard at the druid.
“I’ve heard worse. We’re in a situation that calls for creativity. We won’t gain the upper hand without some tricky maneuvering.”
Kafir ran his fingers through his hair, his expression resigned. “Well then, let’s get it over with.”
***
We spent the next hour talking about how to keep the sorceress from suspecting Kafir’s subterfuge. Gunnar said he could block Kafir’s mind from her, but the spell would not last long.
“But it needs to be long enough for him to…”
Kafir’s pointed stare brought my sentence to a close. “If you think I’m going to bed that hag you’d best find someone else. I’ll string her along while one of you grabs the child—nothing more.”
“But Kafir, she has to be distracted. Are you at least willing to kiss her?”
Kafir didn’t answer, his gaze going to the druid. “What exactly is my job here, Gunnar? I’m not a very good actor.”
“Oh, but I think you are, Kafir,” I said before the druid could answer. “I saw you in action in Glanstgo. You can play the mercenary with her—she’d be attracted to that side of you.”
“Goddamn it, Gertrude. Let someone else answer my questions. Gunnar, what say you?”
“You have to be willing to play this out, Kafir. She’s quite a beauty if you can forget who she is.”
“Think of her as a customer. Be the mercenary who can bring her the goods she needs—seems pretty simple
to me.”
Kafir’s face went from ruddy to magenta as he struggled to maintain his composure. I knew I’d hit a nerve but I couldn’t stop myself. “And maybe she’d like one of your exotic animals. She seems the type who would want something rare and endangered to torture—take the cat with you.”
“Stop it.” Kafir stood with fists clenched, his narrowed eyes on me.
Gunnar put a hand on Kafir’s shoulder. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but now is not the time. We need to plan this out very carefully to avoid mishap. I don’t want anyone to be hurt or killed.”
“So what about my women, Gunnar?” Dancer asked, her worried gaze on the druid.
“We’ll do everything in our power to save them.”
I looked at my feet wondering how any of this could possibly work out. For one thing Kafir was so furious I couldn’t imagine him playing his part. “We need to have some sort of ‘all clear’ signal, don’t we?”
“That’s a good point,” Brandubh said, pulling his gun out and laying it on the settee before sitting down. “A jaunty whistle, a certain word?” He laughed nervously.
“Another thing—how will Kafir find them?” I asked Gunnar. “It’ll look suspicious if he suddenly appears down there.”
“There are tracks, remember?” Kafir answered. “If she asks, I followed the tracks and they led me to the wall—I’ll tell her I’ve had practice with this sort of arrangement and let myself in. Gunnar, I’m counting on you to wait at the top. If she checks for others I’ll cough or sneeze to warn you.”
“I just remembered that the priestesses know you!”
Kafir shook his head. “I saw one or two of them one time for thirty seconds. And if they do I’ll make sure to signal that I’m trying to help them.”
“We’re nearly ready,” Gunnar said, his eyes roaming around the room. “I’ll conjure the storm first. It needs to rage for a good while before Kafir’s appearance. And it needs to be big enough that Adair is aware of it.”
***
Wind howled through the rigging, the boat swinging wildly from side to side as the waves grew larger and more violent. Sheets of rain swept across the deck, pouring down the companionway. “My gods!” I tried to sweep the water toward the drain in the floor but the boat rocked, sending it from one side to the other in a wave and unbalancing me.
“It needs to be believable,” Gunnar said, waving his hands in strange patterns. He mumbled some incantation and a moment later there was a flash of lightning followed by the rumbling roar of thunder.
Brandubh sat on the settee with arms folded, his gaze focused on the druid. Kafir had gone up top to make sure his boat didn’t get destroyed in the process.
“How long?” The priestess paced from one end of the boat to the other, her hands twisting together nervously.
“A few hours more. The storm must impact Adair or it will be for naught.”
I thought about the snug place under the rock, wondering how anything could impact it.
“The rain has a way of getting into crevasses and finding the lower spots,” the druid said as though reading my mind. “Believe me, it will leak into her little shelter down there.”
“I hope my baby is alright.”
“She won’t let anything happen to him,” Brandubh said, his tone bitter. “Fehin is her future.”
A moment later Kafir backed down the companionway, pulling the hatch closed above him. “Ye gods, Gunnar. You’ve unleashed the unholy wrath of Thor up there! I could barely get things battened down.”
His hair was plastered to his skull, dripping onto the floor as he pulled off his anorak and sodden sweater. I tried not to stare at the wool undershirt clinging to the muscles in his upper arms and torso. His irritated glance met mine for an instant before he turned away.
“Shouldn’t be long now,” he said, rummaging around for another sweater.
I wanted to say something encouraging about how handsome he was, how Adair could hardly resist him, but kept my mouth shut. We were no longer on those terms and just because I found him physically attractive didn’t mean I wanted to be with him. I thought about the cat, wondering how it was faring in the storm. “Does the hold fill up with water in a storm like this?”
Kafir stood, pulling on a dry sweater before turning toward me. “The animal is fine. I checked on it a short time ago. Contrary to what you believe, it behooves me to keep the creature alive. I want to get paid.”
Brandubh frowned, his eyes traveling from me to Kafir, but he didn’t say anything.
“Better have something to eat,” Gunnar said, pulling out several paper-covered packages from the cold box. “You’ll need your strength for this one.”
***
It was another hour before Kafir headed out. He looked the part with wild tangled hair, rain-drenched clothing and a distraught expression in his eyes. “Follow me in a few minutes, Gunnar,” he called over the roar of wind. “I want to know you’re there.” Gunnar saluted him and nodded, heading back into the warmth of the saloon.
I noticed he had taken on the brogue he’d used in Glantsgo, the sort of Scottish/Irish sounding lilt. It was his mercenary persona and I hoped it would serve him well. “So what do we do?” I asked Gunnar as the druid prepared to leave.
“You wait here. I don’t want Adair to see any of you. We’ve got to convince her that Kafir is alone.”
Dancer put a hand on his shoulder just before he headed up the ladder, planting a firm kiss on his lips. “Be careful.”
Brandubh moved next to me, taking hold of my hand. “Imagine it working out, Gertrude. Our positive thoughts are all we have.”
I gazed into his green eyes, seeing the caring man behind the mask. He was concerned about his son and if I was reading him correctly, about me as well. Dancer sat down on his other side and the three of us waited as the storm raged around us, our thoughts private. But I was fairly certain they were running along similar lines.
***
A shout brought me to my feet. “What was that?”
Brandubh climbed the ladder before me, pushing up the hatch. Rain poured in, making the wooden steps slippery as I followed him. A thick grey fog surrounded the boat, mist swirling past. The rain now had ice in it, the freezing bits landing on my neck and dripping down my sweater. Brandubh disappeared over the side of the boat. I couldn’t see anything beyond the wall of fog but another shout had me scrambling over the side, expecting the little pram to be waiting. Instead I fell into ice-cold darkness, my breath sucked instantly away. My clothing filled with salt water pulling me under the surface. “Help!” I called, but the words were garbled as water filled my nose and mouth. I flailed, my thoughts wild. I would die here without ever seeing my baby again. My body went limp with terror and sadness as a wave rolled in, washing me away from the boat. In the next minute there was sand under my feet and I stood, coughing and trying to clear the water from my eyes as I scanned the shore. There were two figures running in the distance but I couldn’t identify who they were.
I heard more shouting but the wind was so loud I couldn’t understand the words. I climbed up the rocky bank, heading toward the voices, afraid of what I might find. I was so cold I could barely walk, my feet unwieldy blocks of ice. My last memory of Rifak was what I focused on, his gurgling sweet baby self. When I tripped, my hands went out in front of me, my palms coming down hard on jagged rock. “Brandubh!” I called out, struggling to get up.
“Gertrude…Gertrude! Are you all right?”
Brandubh bent over me, a worried scowl creasing his pale brow. He pulled me up to standing, his arm looping around my waist.
“What’s happened?”
“They’re gone.”
“Rifak?”
He shook his head. “She knew we were here all along. She must have left a minute before Kafir went down those stairs. There were several cups of tea left on the table. We should head back to the boat. We’ll need to set a new course as soon as possible if we want to trac
k her.”
Kafir was taciturn when we returned, his mouth set in a grim line. He barely acknowledged us when we arrived and then proceeded to organize his charts, preparing the boat for departure. While I was changing my clothes in the cabin he put his head around the door.
“Stow the rest of it, Gertrude. I’m going up top.”
I finished dressing and then hurried into the main saloon, hearing the clank of the chain as he dragged the anchor back on board. A short while later the boat lifted on the swells moving out of the cove.
“Where are Dancer and Gunnar?”
“They went after Adair.”
“Is there any chance he’ll defeat her?”
Brandubh shrugged and spread his hands. I felt heavy and sick, my hopes scattered on the dark rocks of Nifelheim behind us. I had been so sure we would succeed. I imagined my arms wrapped around my baby boy, a cold hollowness settling into my chest.
“Gertrude, I need your help up here!”
The peremptory shout had me scrambling up the ladder, leaving Brandubh below.
“Take hold of that sheet,” he ordered. “I’m coming about.”
I did as he asked, bending as the boom swung past. Once the maneuver was completed I came to stand by him. “Where are we headed?”
“I’m taking the leopard to his new home and then…I don’t know.”
“Have you given up on our mission?”
“Gertrude, you’ve made it quite clear that we are no longer a team. I have no reason to continue with this. Once Gunnar gets back the three of you can do whatever you want, but count me out. I have trading to do.”
I stared at him, my mouth dropping open in surprise. “But Gypsy can track her.”
“So can Gunnar.” He turned toward me, his eyes narrowed in anger. “I could have been killed back there and for what? A child who isn’t mine and a woman who wants nothing to do with me or the life I’ve chosen.”
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