“Nan?” she asked sleepily, reaching out her hand blindly before slipping away.
“Wake up!” she repeated sharply.
Disa heard her scurrying around the room as she rifled through their possessions. Was that a scream? “Nan?” she said as she willed her eyes to open. A faint light bled through the windows. Was it morning already? She was so tired…
Another scream rent the air as something crashed in the distance. Disa sat upright. “Nanna, what's happening?”
“It's an attack,” she explained, her shaking hands betraying her even tone. “They've set fire to most of the camp. By the sounds of it, they've met some resistance, but it won't last.”
Disa was frozen in shock. She could hear the resistance Nan spoke of, the clang of metal and the death throes of men. “Where is Roe?”
“I don't know,” Nan cried. “Grim either. I don't know where they are.”
The miserable sound compelled her from bed. She felt unsteady on her feet but the rush of fear was clearing her mind in a hurry. “We need to gather the children together. You can row them out in one of the smaller vessels.”
“You’ll come with us,” Nan said sternly.
Disa ignored her. “Where is my sword?” She was still dressed in her finery from the feast. She must have gone to bed fully clothed. Come to think of it, she had no idea how she'd gotten to bed in the first place. Disa struggled to make sense of what was happening as she pulled on her boots. “Nan, my sword?” she demanded.
“I don't know. Your brother took it.”
Disa growled, vowing to give Roe a piece of her mind when she found him. She wished she could change, but there was no time. The room brightened as the roar of a fire sounded too close. Disa ran to the door and pulled it open a crack. The last house in the row had erupted in flame, the structure completely engulfed. “They're here,” she whispered.
Nan pressed close behind her to look. Six men were gathered around it, only their silhouettes visible in the sudden brightness. “What are they--” Nan gasped and covered her mouth. A woman had come running out of the door, stopping abruptly when faced with the unknown soldiers. Without hesitation the tallest in the crowd raked his sword across her belly. She didn't have a chance to scream.
Disa shut the door abruptly. “What do we do? Should we try and run around them?”
Nan thought for a moment. “Help me.” She ran to the far end of their long table. “Help me move this in front of the door.”
Disa obeyed though she didn't see the wisdom. “What if they set fire to us, we'll burn.”
They wedged the table firmly between a beam and the door. “Hopefully they'll be so busy with the door at the front, they won't notice us escaping out the back. Come.” Nanna waved Disa to the window.
“I'll never fit through this.”
“You will fit,” she said determined, ripping the chains from Disa’s chest unceremoniously. She knelt under the narrow opening and cupped her hands. “Come,” she repeated. “I'll boost you up.”
Disa heard another crash and more screams, closer this time. She ran to Nanna and did as she commanded. She stuck her arms through first, pushing on the outside to pull the rest of her through. Her head barely fit, the sod scraping her face as she went. “I can't fit,” she hissed as her breasts trapped her. She couldn't breathe, the opening too tight, and she was starting to panic.
A hand clamped over her mouth but she screamed nonetheless.
"Shh," came an insistent voice as the man who silenced her, still covering her mouth as he came into view.
Finn.
Finn put his hands under her arms and pulled. Her chest was freed quickly only to be caught again at the hips. Disa stifled a cry of pain. He heaved again and she popped free, both of them landing on the ground in heap.
Finn jumped up and returned to the window, reaching his hand inside for Nan. Nan looked at him in wonder. "You're here." Finn nodded and urged her forward again. "No," she whispered harshly. "I'll never fit. Take her and go."
Disa glared at Finn to make sure he understood she was not leaving this place without Nanna, but she needn't bothered. Finn had already unsheathed his sword and began to hack at the earthen windows, desperately trying to increase the opening. Pieces were falling in large chunks and it seemed like he was making progress, but Disa could hear him hitting something hard, too, like wood or stone. Still, the opening was larger and his mutilation attempts had weakened it. Disa clawed at it with her fingers while Finn held out his hand once more, his expression clearly stating there would be no argument. Nan hesitated and then took a step towards him.
BANG!
They were here.
"The door is barred!" a man's voice called. "Go around back."
Disa looked to Finn in alarm. He put his hands on her shoulder and shoved her down before crouching himself. A man's heavy footfalls could be heard and Finn moved towards that side of the house, waiting. The moment the looming figure rounded the corner, Finn sprang forward, catching the man's neck with his arm and swinging behind him. He didn’t cry out, too surprised by the attack, and the pressure was now too great for him to do much more than struggle. Finn tightened and with one swift jab of opposing force from his free hand, the man's neck was broken.
Finn dragged the body to conceal it behind the house and gave Disa an apologetic look. She returned an exasperated one and gestured for the man's sword. She was more worried about witnessing her friends die than the men who were attacking them. He pulled it free from the man's hip, but Disa could see it was too large, not a Viking blade but a foreign broadsword that even a man as strong as Finn would have to wield two-handed.
A man appeared suddenly at Finn's back. He was surprised but quickly took in the scene of the two of them pilfering the corpse of his fellow soldier. He snarled, raising his sword, but Finn was too quick. He thrust his weapon up and under the man's ribs. He cried out in pain as Finn wrenched his blade free, but the sounds of his body hitting the ground were muffled by one final crash, splintering wood, and a man's muffled oaths.
Disa stood and ran to the window. She only had a momentary glimpse of Nan slowly backing away from the door as a man clambered over the debris. Finn yanked her backwards. She made to protest but he put a finger to her lips. "Don't. Move," he breathed. Disa nodded reluctantly and watched as he crept back towards the side of the house, peered around the corner, and disappeared. She moved back to the window immediately.
"Where is she," a strange voice growled. Disa pulled her head back, surprised at how close he sounded, and peered out just enough to see but hopefully not enough to be seen.
"What are you talking about?" Nanna asked.
Disa thought she heard a muffled struggle but it could have been her imagination. “Where is the girl?” he repeated.
“She never came back last night. She is up top, with Rurik.” Nan told the lie with conviction but the man kept approaching.
“Tell the truth, now. Don't make me kill you, old mother.” Nan spat in his face and uttered a curse in the old language. The man flinched, wiping his face in disgust. “Have it your way.” He pulled his knife and plunged it deep into her stomach.
Nan was silent but Disa screamed in rage. She leaped into the window, desperate to reach Nan, desperate to claw out the eyes of the bastard who tried to kill her. The man looked at her, caught halfway, and laughed. Finn was struggling with one of the men just outside but she could hear him screaming her name, the sound abruptly cut as his opponent tackled him. Disa reached her hand behind her, her gaze never leaving his as she flung her arm forward once more. Her would-be executioner’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth holding the ghost of a smile as he fell to the floor, a thin blade protruding from his heart.
Disa wiggled her way through the window and fell hard. “Nan,” she whispered, crawling to her shuddering frame. “Nan.”
Her face was pale and her eyes unfocused. “She's not here. She's killed,” Nan repeated over and over. “She's killed.”
Finn stumbled into the room, tripping over the upturned table and catching himself with his sword. His eyes flicked to Disa’s blade in the assailant’s chest and then over her body, free from harm. He knelt on the other side of Nan and ripped open her dress around the blade. “This is going to hurt,” he whispered over her repeated ramblings. He pressed his hand firmly against her stomach and eased out the blade before putting pressure on the exposed wound. Nan shook and laid still, her breathing shallow.
“Finn,” Disa pleaded.
“I know.” Finn grabbed at Disa’s underdress and ripped a long piece free, feeding it gently under her chest so he could wrap it tight. There was another scream and flash of light. “We need to move.” He darted in and out the door, pulling bodies inside. “The others will be here any moment.” He cradled Nan’s body gently in his arms. She didn't protest, didn't even make a sound, and Disa’s stomach sank. She followed them both as Finn slipped into the night and sprinted to the shore, taking shelter in the cluster of the boats.
Disa scanned the area. “They're all still here. All the boats. They're still here, nobody escaped.” She could hear her voice tumbling away from her, high and scared.
Finn took her face between his hands. “Breathe.” Disa gasped rapidly, but couldn't calm. “Here.” Finn put his sword in her hand. “See to Nan. I'll be right back.”
No, she said or thought, but it didn't matter. He was already gone. She brushed Nan’s hair from her face, trying not to flinch at the battle sounds just out of sight. Her skin was cold and her chest was still. “Nan,” she tried to whisper but it came out a sob. She put her ear to her chest and felt for her heartbeat at her neck. “Nan, please.”
She felt the sudden heat of the blaze before she saw it. The last building, her building, had just been set on fire. Finn was gone, Nan was dead, and she was alone. She grabbed clumsily at Finn’s blade, realizing belatedly he had run away unarmed, and held it tight in her two hands. It was heavier than her sword and her arms felt weak from panic.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.
She couldn't bring herself to peek at the carnage she knew was just over the line of beached boats, wasn't sure she would even be able to see it through the choking smoke. There was a pounding of feet and she raised the sword over her shoulders, ready to defend Nan's body.
Finn skidded into view and doubled over, crawling quickly towards Disa. She dropped the weapon to the side and let out a few jagged sobs. “It's ok,” he whispered. “How is she?” He turned his attention toward Nanna’s small body, her position unchanged after Finn had dropped her.
Disa buried her head under her arms and tried with all her strength to keep her tears silent.
“No.” He felt her face and throat. Disa was hopeful for a moment, hopeful that somehow his fingers would find what hers did not, that Nan's heart would beat for him. His shoulders fell and he pulled himself upright. Disa knew. Her tightly held sobs spilled out in a high-pitched keen. “Disa,” he closed the distance between them and forced her to look at him. “We have to move. I set fire to the house as a distraction but it won't last. They'll know it's their men who burn inside and not two women if they bother to look.”
Disa nodded. “What do we do with Nan?”
Finn looked miserable, his mouth opened and snapped shut. He didn't want to say it.
Disa said it for him. “We need to leave her.”
“Yes, we do.”
She nodded, chin tilting up. Only the tears streaming down her face gave her away. “Ok. What now?”
Finn looked around, weighing his choices. Disa watched him with surprise and confusion as he lifted Nan’s body and held it close to his chest, half running, half crawling to the far end of the beach. Disa followed and watched him tuck her against a rock. “We can bury her when we come back.” She gripped his arm and nodded, unable to speak.
Finn took her by the hand and pulled her to the closest boat. He gestured to one side and took the other himself. They made eye contact, not daring to speak, and tried to move in unison. Pull, rest, pull, rest, repeating the move half a dozen times until it began to slide more easily at the water’s edge. Finn slogged back onto shore, running his foot over the drag marks, and returned to Disa’s side.
“Should we get in now?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Too dangerous. We’ll have to swim with it.”
Finn pulled the boat into the dark, the helm slicing through the cold, still waters, and Disa found herself submerged up to her chest much faster than she’d expected. He turned the vessel so it floated parallel with the shore and they each gripped the sides, hoping to look adrift in the chaos and not like a means to of escape.
Disa couldn't feel her legs and her teeth were chattering so violently, she was worried they would hear her on shore. She looked up at Finn. “I'm-- I'm-- sor-- sorry,” she managed as another tremor took hold.
“It's ok,” he said quietly. “It's cold.” Disa laughed at the obvious statement, the sound turning into cry. “Come here.” He edged himself towards her, holding tight to the boat with one hand, the other pulling her body into his.
Disa’s fingers were too stiff to move but she turned her face into his neck. She didn't feel much warmer but she felt safer, and that was almost better. He snaked his arm around her waist tighter and she heard his sharp intake of breath. “What's wrong?”
Finn's mouth was a tight line, but he shook his head. “Nothing.”
Disa couldn't see much in the darkness. She pried one of her hands loose and brought it to his neck and chest, running her bloodless fingers over his body, stopping when he flinched at her touch. “Your shoulder,” she said, pushing his tunic over as far as she could as he stayed silent, submitting to her inspection. He had been stabbed with a blade by the look of his wound. The cut was wide but clean, one at the front and another behind where it had pushed all the way through.
“I'm fine,” he insisted as she gasped. His tunic was sticky with blood. “Most of it isn't mine.”
There was a shout at the beach and Disa jerked her hand away. They were too far out to hear anything. All they could do was be still and wait. There was a whistle and splash on the other side of the boat. “What was that?” Disa asked.
Finn shook his head. “I don't know.” Another whistle and splash, this time to their right, a sudden pinprick of light extinguished. “Shit.” Finn let go of her waist and put his hands on either side of hers, arching his body around her and tucking her head under his chin. Two more whistles, but this time they found their mark. The flaming arrows landed with a solid thump.
Their boat was on fire.
“They know we're here,” Disa panicked as the heat put needles in her numb fingers.
There was no more fire raining from above, no more telltale whistles. “Stay here,” he commanded before he dropped under the water. Disa couldn't see where he went, the water smooth as he swam beneath it.
She pulled herself closer to the hull, the outside already warm. She was getting so tired, and she couldn't tell if the pain in her arms was from the freezing cold or the fire. Maybe I'm burning.
Finn’s head reemerged and he inhaled deeply. “I don't think they know we're here.”
“The boat is on fire, Finn.”
“They know the boat is here, obviously, but if they thought we were here, I think they'd be in the water. Burning the boat seems more like a precaution.”
“What are we going to do? Swim?”
“There's only a few men left on the beach, but they don't seem to be moving. I think they're going to watch it burn. We should wait until the fire isn't so bright. It's luck we haven't been spotted so far.”
“Luck…” Disa closed her eyes, too tired and cold to weep. The boat crackled and groaned as a taut rope burned through, the smoldering end snapping across her arms and face. She let out a short whimper but couldn't do anything to shield herself. The flames licked closer, dancing across her knuckles as the wind shifted. She tried to sl
ide sideways closer to Finn but she couldn't uncurl her cramped fingers.
“You're getting burned,” Finn said, reaching out to pull her closer.
She tried to open her mouth but her jaw was clamped shut. Another shiver overtook her. “I can't move,” she ground out.
Finn reached forward and attempted to pry her loose from the edge, jerking his hand back instinctively as he felt the intense heat. “Let go,” he said urgently, covering her hands with his own again. “Let go.” He peeled her fingers back and she dropped down, sinking under the water briefly before Finn managed to pull her up.
Disa stifled her cough after swallowing a lungful of water. He was breathing heavily, his good arm still hanging onto the boat, his injured one keeping her afloat. “I'm sorry,” Disa said at the look of pain on Finn's face.
“I'm fine. Put your arms around my neck.”
Disa obeyed, doing her best to keep her weight off his injured shoulder. She was pressed flush against him, her face burrowing into his neck once more as she gazed into the pitch black stretching out behind them. “Where Roe?” she asked, trying to keep her sluggish mind from slipping into the pitch black, too.
Finn adjusted, holding her tighter. “I don't know.”
He was a terrible liar.
It was the burning in his throat that woke him. His cracked lips were stuck together and it took more effort than it should have to part them. He opened his eyes, his head already pounding, and tried to gather his senses. His chest felt heavy and warm and with a quick glance, it was easy to see why: Disa was curled against his right side, her head on the top of his stomach. Finn reached his free hand out to touch her, to see if she was real or just a dream. A sharp pain lanced through his shoulder and jolted him back to reality. He tensed, gasping once and then holding his breath until the throbbing dulled. His shoulder was bound tightly with strips of white cloth and he remembered: Disa crawling back through the window; the quick stab of panic quickly followed by the quick stab of steel from that bastard.
Finn braced himself, taking Disa gently in his hands and setting her to the side so he could sit up. He felt dizzy and everything hurt. His eyes and throat were sore from smoke, every muscle ached, and the fingers on his right hand were wrapped in more cloth. He untied the bandage and flexed his fingers, inspecting the shiny burns. They were dark and dry, though they looked as if they might have been blistered.
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