The Rising Azimuth

by D D Mathews

  Joseph was so full of hate he wanted to kill everyone involved. Veronika watched the event and cried the whole time, but never turned away.

  The image disappeared and was replaced with a bedroom in a cabin, “This was later in the night,” she said.

  In the bed, was an overweight guy, naked, ass up, snoring loudly. It was her father. A teenage Veronika stood nearby. She was shaking as she cut her dad’s throat.

  “After that day, I ran. I want to make them all pay; my brother, Kai and his horrible son Alek. They still do this with the girls born into clan Viking. It has to stop, we have to stop it.” Veronika said firmly.

  “Okay” Joseph answered, “I will do this with you.”

  Chapter 23

  Colin worked with Colleen the first morning on protocols and Viking rites, he absorbed everything he could. Afterward, he was on his own facing the clan members while Colleen worked other aspects of her grandmother’s plan.

  Later, he met with Mr. Nygaard who took him to see the Falcks. Mr. Nygaard drove them to a wealthy secluded part of the city on one of the islands, where the king of the Vikings owned a large tract of land with multiple homes. The king and his wife Erika lived in the largest house while his son lived in one of the other homes, the rest were rented out. The king’s house looked like a small castle. The front foyer was all dark wood walls with four full sets of medieval armor. Large swords hung on the dark walls. The back of the house was an open living space with an ancient throne in one corner. The opulence the king surrounded himself with was staggering. Colin thought it was idiotic but impressive. He was bowled over when the Viking king, Kai Falck came into the room. He was a tall man with sizable girth and a full well-maintained beard. He was wearing dark slacks, with a yellow dress shirt, and had a dead deer draped over his shoulder. He looked like a cartoon.

  Colin performed his introduction, “I wish to announce my presence to the mighty King of the Vikings and explain what brings me on to your lands, sir. I am a Celt from Ireland who wishes to court Lovisa Nygaard for marriage.” It didn’t matter if this was the truth or what the future might bring; Colin only had to say what Colleen told him to say. “My name is Colin, son of Carthach MacDermott, son of Alby MacDermott. I desire passage for a month if the King allows it.” He walked to the king, knelt down, and kissed his ring. The whole process was absurd, but showing respect allowed Colin to achieve his goal of saving his clan. He had to bring home allies and save his people.

  The king spoke loudly to a mostly empty room like he was yelling off a mountain, “I, King Kai Falck will allow this man, Colin MacDermott to stay on my lands for a month to live and court Lovisa Nygaard, he is under my protection and any who attack him will answer to my sword.” He bowed.

  Now the ritual was over they could talk normally, “You live in a beautiful place,” Colin said, turning to Erika, the king’s wife, “This house is amazing.“

  “That’s very kind, young man.” She smiled nicely, “It’s been a while since a Celt came knocking for a bride, Lovisa is a very lucky girl.” Erika examined Colin.

  “Well son, will you be asking about some of our other young women?” the king asked.

  “I was hoping to concentrate on Mr. Nygaard’s daughter, but I want to meet everyone. This is my first time away from Ireland.”

  “You must be from a powerfully strong family in Ireland to court Lovisa?” the king said as a question, not removing the deer from his shoulder.

  “His family is an old family, but one of the weakest,” Nygaard said.

  Colin didn’t take offense knowing weakest meant a different thing to the king and Nygaard.

  “I think you and Lovisa will make a cute couple,” Erika added.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Falck” Colin responded, “I was told to ask about your son, how is Alek?“

  “That’s very sweet of you young man. He went down to the mainland a couple of days ago. He will be back for the Viking initiation rite, he wouldn’t miss it.” Erika said with pride in her eyes.

  “You would be amazed by the Celt’s initiation ritual; they have a competition between all the new wolves. It was fascinating. You would have loved it, Kai.” Nygaard said to the king.

  “I like our way,” the king responded loudly.

  The conversation continued for most of an hour then the front bell rang. Erika excused herself and went to the door and in swept Colleen. She was wearing a modest dress with full make-up and hair. She looked like an American movie star from the forties. The king jumped up and eyed this redhead. He stood planted with feet apart and puffed out his chest ready for the protocol.

  Colleen perfectly recited the greeting, making Colin’s pale in comparison, “I wish to announce my presence to the mighty king of the Viking and explain what brings me on to your lands, sir. I am a Celt from Ireland who wishes to make sure Colin doesn’t embarrass the Celts; I also wish to speak to the King about future marriage bonds between our two great clans. My name is Colleen, daughter of Flannacan McCarthy, son of Sarah McCarthy. I desire passage for ten days if the King will allow it.” She kissed his ring.

  The king responded in the same ridiculously loud voice even though only one more person was in the room, “I, King Kai Falck will allow this woman, Colleen McCarthy to stay on my lands for ten days to speak and monitor, she is under my protection and any who attack her will answer to my sword.“

  Colleen was taken aback by this display of protocol but recovered well. She ignored Colin completely as she shook hands and introduced herself to Nygaard and Erika; they all sat in the den and had a pleasant conversation. Erika invited all to stay for dinner. Colleen cut Colin off before he could answer, and accepted for them both. It made him look weak to these Vikings, but he took it in stride. The women went off to the kitchen. Kai decided the “men” should take the air and he could show them his hunting shed. He never took the dead deer off his shoulder.

  Kai corralled Colin and Mr. Nygaard to a bright metal barn. Inside was clean and the walls were covered in weapons. There were Viking Carolingian swords along with a Roman gladius and a Scottish claymore. He had some long guns over 400 years old; he showed the men his pride and joy, a crossbow from 1200 AD. Kai, on a whim, wanted to shoot something, “Colin, you pick out a weapon and we will see who the better shot is.”

  Colin quickly chose an English longbow he had his eye on. They marched outside with the bow and a quiver of arrows. The king was full of energy. Colin was starting to like this outgoing boisterous werewolf who pointed out a typical straw target about a hundred feet away. Kai grabbed the bow and fumbled for a moment acting the fool. However, when the moment of truth was upon him his arrow flew true hitting the second ring. He handed the bow to Nygaard who had a hard time even pulling the string back, much less aiming. His shot fell short of the target. The king laughed and slapped Colin on the back. “Nygaard isn’t the best shot, but we love him anyway. Your turn lad.”

  Colin mentally prepared himself and let fly an arrow and hit the first ring inside the king’s shot. The king was stunned. “Unbelievable. I bet you can’t do that again.” Colin let another arrow fly and had adjusted his shot for the distance and bow, bullseye. The king laughed, “You found yourself a ringer, Nygaard. When you start betting Acke, tell me, I want in on that action.“

  The men talked about each clan and took a few more shots with the bow before they were called in by Erika. Dinner was chicken and vegetables. Aside from Colleen ignoring Colin, the dinner was pleasant and everyone seemed to be having a good time. About halfway through the meal, the doorbell rang again. Erika politely excused herself and went to the front door; Kai continued telling a story about hunting with his father.

  “Kai! Come here!” cried Erika. Kai along with the entire group of guests rushed to the front door to find a wooden box the size of an animal carrier. A moving truck was driving away fast. The box smelled of urine and shook a little. Kai and Colin grabbed the sides of the box by the air slits and ripped the box apart.

  The
shock of seeing a Were in human form chained down naked with metal sticking out of his mouth and rear haunted Colin.

  ***

  Over the next few days, Mr. Nygaard would come for Colin around noon and take him to meet with the different families of the Viking clan. He chose to start with the Leifs, who lived in Stockholm, not far from the hotel. The walk through the streets was enlightening. The city was much cleaner than Dublin however the people seemed about the same. It was reassuring to Colin no matter how far away from home people were the same. He saw the same locals rushing around or the confused tourist asking for help. Even the group of young causing a ruckus or couples holding hands all felt very familiar. Hopefully the Viking Weres would be the same.

  The Leif apartment building had a pale, light, sand-colored exterior. They lived on the top floor in the largest apartment. Mr. Nygaard knocked on the door and Elsa answered. She was an awkward teen girl with glasses, her light hair dangled past her shoulders.

  “Elsa, Are your parents’ home?” asked Mr. Nygaard.

  “Mother is. Father is at work,” she answered respectfully.

  “Acke Leif is a computer guy. Really smart. He runs and owns a computer consulting business,” Nygaard explained to Colin.

  “Mom! Mr. Nygaard is here and he brought some boy with him,” Elsa hollered into the apartment.

  “Elsa! Invite them in!” Her mother yelled back.

  “Mr. Nygaard, please come in. Mom is bathing Lina. She’ll be a minute,” she said.

  Colin smelled beef cooking. He closed the door behind him, turned and saw a naked child, dripping wet shoot out of the hallway. She squealed from excitement of being naked and free. A plump disheveled Kristina soon appeared with a towel to scoop up the escapee. The girl giggled as she was dried.

  “Here Elsa, take you sister to her room and get her dressed. I don’t care in what,” her mother told her. Elsa gave her mother a foul look. “Just do it,” her mom demanded.

  “Kristina, I’m sorry to catch you so busy, we can come back later,” Nygaard started.

  “It won’t be any less busy then,” she pushed a stray bit of ash blond hair behind her ear. She shook hands with Nygaard and Colin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Sorry for the show. Please come in, come in.” She guided them into the apartment proper.

  The apartment was decorated in a Scandinavian modern style, from the white walls, to the square sofa in light grey. The glass pictures on the wall matched the glass dining table. The common room included a kitchen, a dining room, an office, and a family room. And while, at the moment Kristina seemed discombobulated, she kept a white home spotless somehow.

  “Mr. Nygaard, why have you brought an Irish wolf here to Sweden?” she asked.

  “You know how you, Acke and I were talking about how to solve our clan problems. Well, I believe this young lad is the solution.“

  She considered Colin for a moment. “He seems awfully pretty, are you sure?” He was being talked about while standing right there. He should be upset, but most of his life had been like this.

  “You should see his Were and this contest the Celts have with boxing and tafl really show how strong and smart he is and he’s the lowest of the low back home, socially speaking. The Celts treat him and his family like dirt. We Vikings would be ashamed to treat any of ours like he is treated,” Nygaard spoke with excitement explaining to her. He wanted her to see what he saw in Colin.

  “Calm down, I’m sure he’s great. I’m just not sure how you’ll change the minds of the Falcks or the Knutsens or the Hexums,” she collapsed on the sofa and put her hand out offering a seat for her guests.

  “Let me worry about that you dear woman,” Nygaard responded.

  “Do you babysit?” Kristina asked Colin directly.

  “I don’t, but it’s not because I can’t. The Celts just don’t have a lot of young children right now,” he answered.

  “That seems to be going around,” she said as Lina returned. Elsa followed close behind. Lina grinned wearing a Disney tee shirt with a princess emblazoned on the front. The tee was tucked into a pair of panties with little faces of both Elsa and Anna from Frozen. She also wore a cape of red. She put her hands on her waist like a comic book hero.

  Her sister Elsa explained, “That’s what she wanted to wear.“

  “Great. Let’s eat some lunch,” Kristina said with a defeated smirk.

  ***

  The day after spending lunch with the Leifs, Mr. Nygaard drove Colin to a different part of Stockholm, which was run down and a little sketchy. They stopped in front of a derelict home worse than the others around it. The windows were dark and the exterior was peeling. No one had maintained the house at all over the years. The front door wasn’t a door, but plywood cut to almost the correct size. His guide warned Colin, “The Knutsens are a proud family, especially Isak. Don’t get on his bad side.” He knocked on the makeshift door. Colin and Nygaard waited then knocked again. Finally, a thin woman with sunken eyes opened the front door. She said nothing. Mr. Nygaard had to make the introductions, “Mrs. Knutsen this is Colin MacDermott from Dublin. He is here to court my daughter, Lovisa. Besides that, I wanted to introduce him to your husband before the rite. Is Isak here?” Mrs. Knutsen didn’t speak or respond. Colin heard a girl’s voice cry out and echo from somewhere in the house.

  “Knock it off Kajsa! Who the hell is it Milly?” a threatening male voice shouted.

  A tall bald man with similar sunken eyes appeared at the door behind Milly. He was wearing a white undershirt with a worn collar and a hole at the belly. He wiped his hand across his chest and put it out for Mr. Nygaard.

  “Move out of the way Milly. Let Nygaard and his guest in.” Mr. Knutsen said as he pushed his wife against the door frame. She knocked her head, but her hollow look didn’t change. Mr. Nygaard shook hands with the man who introduced himself, “I’m Isak, call me Zak.” He was all fake smiles.

  All four moved from the front door into a messy living space. It had two doorways; one to a hall Colin assumed was where the bedrooms were. The other doorway led into a kitchen. These Knutsens lived worse than Colin and his family. He had always considered himself dirt poor, but these Knutsens were worse. The living room was dark, even though it was early afternoon. The windows had black sheets nailed over them. A television was on, but nobody was watching it. The carpet was old and the victim of multiple spills. The walls were also stained with dirt or food or something. In two places, Colin saw fist-sized holes punched in the wall. The room along with the Knutsens made him uncomfortable.

  “You guys want a beer?” without waiting for an answer he bellowed at his wife, “Milly get three beers for us!” She shivered before heading into the kitchen.

  Mr. Nygaard said, “We don’t want to put you out Zak, I wanted you to meet Colin. He is a fascinating lad from Dublin. He is strong and smart and I hope he catches Lovisa’s eye.“

  “Now that’s a pretty wisp of a girl you’ve got there Nygaard. Colin would be a lucky guy to get into her panties.” Isak said crassly.

  Nygaard smiled and changed the subject, “Is Kajsa here? I brought a present.“

  “Kajsa!” yelled Isak while staring at his guests. Milly returned with three beer bottles. Isak saw them and freaked out, “How are our guests supposed to open these damn bottles, come on Milly use your brain.” He tapped her hard in the forehead, she winched, and shuffled away to fix her mistake.

  A cute girl of ten or eleven appeared from the hallway. She wore a plain dress of pale pink; her blond hair was braided into a complex pattern down her back. She didn’t have the same sunken look in the face as her parents. However, her eyes did dart around expecting trouble.

  “Yes father,” she said.

  “Mr. Nygaard here has a present for you,” Isak responded.

  Nygaard knelt down and pulled from his pocket dozens of different colored ribbons. They fell and squirmed from his grip like live snakes, “When my Lovisa was about your age, she used to put these in her hair and
I thought of you when I saw them in Dublin. Here you go.” Her face lit up as she grabbed them from Mr. Nygaard.

  She was about to bolt back to her room when her dad said, “What do you say, Kajsa?“

  “Thank you Lukas, very much,” and she disappeared down the short hall.

  “You spoil that girl, Lukas,” Isak said.

  “Someone should,” thought Colin.

  ***

  The next day, Mr. Nygaard picked Colin up at the same time, except today Colleen joined them. Colin sat in the back seat while Mr. Nygaard and Colleen talked in the front. The conversation was mostly about the oncoming Initiation Ritual for the Vikings. The way Nygaard described it made it sound horrible. Colin had heard of some clan rituals being brutal, but the Vikings ritual sounded much worse to him.

  The car stopped at an ancient house in the country. It looked like a big box with a roof. The wooden siding was painted pale green and was chipping off in a few places. Mr. Nygaard took lead and walked Colleen and Colin toward the front door. The tall white front door burst open and a massively obese woman started screaming at them. She had white hair and multiple chins, her eyes were wild and her screaming didn’t come close to resembling words.

  “Morning Vivian!” Mr. Nygaard yelled, “I wanted to introduce some werewolves from Ireland.“

  Vivian stopped yelling and Nygaard finished, “This is Colleen McCarthy and this young man is Colin MacDermott.“

  Vivian spits at Colin then screamed, “Come in!” like she was welcoming an army of terrifying ghosts inside and she was angry about it. Colleen seemed unfazed, while Colin felt like running back to Stockholm.