Shield of Lies (14 page)

"It's more like dismissed from my father's presence," he said. "My mother could not take searching any longer, and so Father told me to see her home."

"Now that doesn't sound like a dismissal," Astra countered as she entered the hall, closing the door behind her. The backlight had bleached Gunnar's vision a moment, but now he could see her full beauty. She was every bit the traditional Norse woman despite being half-Frankish. She was tall with wide hips but a tapered waist. She wore a traditional head covering that could not diminish the brightness of her golden hair. She swept into the room and laid her basket aside as she sat upon the bench beside him. What Gunnar appreciated most was the delicacy of her movements, which he found endlessly fascinating and delightful. He could not imagine a more beautiful woman than Astra, and now she sat beside him on the bench.

"There is a fortress full of hirdmen to escort her, but why me? All the men continue the search, but I am sent away. Ah, but there's the problem." Astra raised a brow at the bait Gunnar threw out, and he responded with ready anger in his voice. "My father says I'm not man."

Astra pursed her lips and slid closer to place her warm hand upon his knee. She rubbed it gently, and smiled coyly at him. "Your father is wrong."

Her hand lingered enough to pass beyond simple comfort, and she turned her head away at Gunnar's smile. His reaction was immediate and strong, and his breath grew hot. He reached to touch her hand, but she suddenly recoiled with a giggle. The silvery chime of her voice filled him with an icy tingle of delight. Her eyes sparkled with promise, but despite many close moments, she had not as yet delivered herself to Gunnar. Despite the pain of forbearance, he enjoyed this. Being the jarl's eldest son had brought many girls willing to lay with him in secret, but none of them had held his attention. Only Astra, ever elusive and more beautiful with each day, commanded his desire.

They fell silent and in that moment, Gunnar recognized the shamefulness of his thoughts. His brother was a captive and likely beaten or worse, and he was dreaming of Astra. His heart was full of impulses that shamed him and made him wonder if his father was right about him after all.

"I'm sorry, that was ill-timed," Astra said, apparently recognizing Gunnar's thoughts. She pulled herself straighter on the bench and smoothed her apron. "Tell me of Hakon's plight. Does your father know where Throst is?"

Her voice was earnest, almost intense. Gunnar appreciated the way she shared his worries, another trait lacking in all the other girls he had known. Putting his boots back on, he described all the events leading up to when Throst escaped. She listened with rapt attention, her eyes searching him constantly as if trying to see what he had seen.

"It was a cunning plan to split our attention between the ransom and the boy he posed as Hakon," Gunnar said. "Even my father had to admit he could not decide where to commit the chase, and in truth he wasn't even certain the man who spoke was Throst. The trail they left led to the forest, but once inside it was as if they disappeared. Maybe Throst has a bargain with the elves of the forest, or has some magic to cover his escape."

Astra laughed aloud, but quickly silenced when Gunnar frowned at her. "Sorry, that sounds incredible to me."

"Well, plenty of men believed it possible," Gunnar said, feeling slighted at the laughter. "But I suppose he probably used the streams to travel without leaving a trace. He just disappeared so quickly. We were on his trail as soon as the ruse was revealed. How else could he have done it?"

Astra shrugged. "So what now? Will your father look beneath every stone in Frankia? The world is wide, and Throst can be anywhere. What's his plan?"

"To search until there is no place left to look. The world is wide, but even Throst cannot travel the whole of it in a few days. He must be close, and so will soon be found out."

"But what if he is not?" Astra persisted.

"Then my father will return to Ravndal, but he will not stop searching. This is family, Astra. We will bring Hakon back and take revenge for the evil done to us."

"And how will that happen if Throst can't be found?"

Gunnar drew breath to answer, but suddenly Astra yelped in shock.

Aren had appeared, seemingly from nothing, between them on the opposite side of the table. Astra had not seen his approach and when he stood she startled. Gunnar laughed. "Calm yourself, it is only my brother."

Astra leaned away with her hands on her chest and a hateful scowl on her face, staring at Aren who returned a blank stare of his own. The two faced each other like stray cats in a territorial fight and neither moved nor changed expression. Finally Gunnar waved at his brother. "What are you doing here? We're talking, or can't you see. Go play and leave us alone."

If he had been a cat, Aren would have swished his tail with disdain, but being only a child he still managed to glare a chill and silent warning before climbing off the bench and wandering away. Astra remained in her repulsed state after he left, as if Aren's stare had frozen her. Finally she relented, smoothing out her apron as she returned to normal.

"A strange child, would that he'd been taken too."

The insult rankled Gunnar, the first time he had ever felt anything negative toward Astra. "Don't repeat such evil words. He is different, I'll say, but he is my brother."

For an instant Astra's eyes flashed with what Gunnar thought to be anger. His stomach turned cold at the realization, but she shifted back to a smile so quickly he thought himself mistaken.

"I'm sorry, he surprised me, and his stare is unsettling. You must know that." Gunnar nodded and Astra continued, her smile softening her face. "You should do something to find Throst. Your father squanders your talents by sending you away."

"I don't know what that would be," Gunnar said, shifting so that he leaned on both knees. "I have already angered him enough, and don't dare press him."

Astra again slid closer, leaning in as if whispering a secret. "But you must do it for yourself, yes? If your father returns without your brother, then it means he needs help. Your help. Think on it for now, and I know in time you will know what to do."

She stood and gathered her basket of leeks, brushing Gunnar's cheek with her hand as she did. The warm touch stirred his passion again, but she had already stepped an arm's length away.

"I will think upon it, but I'm sure my father will not return in defeat."

Astra gave a small smile, and joined the other women at the hearth. Gunnar watched her at work, admiring her gentle sway and bend, but soon his gaze slipped past her to Aren. He sat at the high table, alone and solemn as if he were a jarl himself. His expression was stern, and he slowly shook his head at Gunnar before he slipped from his bench and toddled off for his mother's room.

Chapter 21

"I'd be happier with a fire than silver. Think I've caught my death of a cold in this cave, you know."

Throst's mother stared into the handful of hack silver Throst held out to her. Though she complained, she still picked the largest bits from his hand all the while sniffing and snorting. His sister stood on tiptoes to see over their mother's shoulder, rapping her side while insisting on her share.

"Give it one more day before we light a fire," Throst said, waiting until his mother had taken her part of the ransom. "Or your suffering will have been for nothing if Ulfrik sees the smoke and finds us."

Wan light filtered into the cave mouth, which had to fight hanging roots and moss to illuminate the entrance. Water dripped over the narrow opening, mixing with the mud to fill the cave with a heavy earthen odor, remnants of the morning rain that Throst hoped further confounded Ulfrik's search.

"Cold food and cold mud ain't no good for an old woman," his mother continued, wrapping her drab cloak tighter while shooing her daughter. "All my joints ache and my teeth chatter. You're trying to kill me, so you can keep all the silver yourself. Don't think I can't see your plans, because no one knows you better. I bore you in the coldest winter and nursed you only to be treated like this. Well, you owe me for saving you; your father would've thrown you out with the scraps of his dinner. No forgetting, now."

"No forgetting," Throst repeated as he stashed the remainder of the silver into a leather sack. He palmed a piece for his sister, Tora, and slipped it to her while his mother blew the snot from her nose onto the ground. Tora's face widened in a surprised smile, and Throst placed a finger to his lips gesturing that she should keep it secret. The silver bit disappeared beneath her cloak and her smile vanished as quickly.

"I'm going to die today," his mother stated. Throst had no fear for his mother, and simply patted her shoulder before leaving her to continue complaining to Tora.

He picked his way over the rough cave floor, squeezed between a tight crack, then popped into the main cavern where all his men huddled in darkness. Only a crack in the cave roof allowed the faintest illumination to brush a milky outline over them. The largest man, Dan, stood as he entered while the others huddled miserably on the cold floor.

"Is it safe to move on now?" Dan asked, his gruff voice made fuller with the echo of the cave.

"I want to wait another day before we return home," Throst said as he joined the circle of men. "Let Ulfrik find it empty and so discount it in the future."

"Look, I'm as happy as anyone to get the ransom for Ulfrik's brat, but it's cold and wet and I'm living worse than a rat in this cave." Olaf, who had been eager to leave Ravndal and join him, now led the complaints for Throst's men.

"The caves were an incredible idea, and have saved our lives," Throst countered. "Ulfrik must think we've disappeared from the face of the world."

Several men chuckled, but Olaf's head dipped and he ran his fingers through his hair. No matter what he or the others thought of living in a cave, it was key to the entire plan. No one knew of these small caves but for one of his own men, a local Frank who had braved exploring them in his childhood. It was no small feat, for even now grown men of his gang hesitated to enter, fearing dwarfs or worse living in the darkness. It was unnatural to live beneath the ground, and so it was yet another reason these caves made a perfect place hide from Ulfrik.

"All the same, we can't remain here forever," Dan said.

"Clear out your ears, you oaf. I never said we'd stay here forever. Odin's balls, did you think snatching Ulfrik's son and robbing him of his silver would be a simple thing? You expected to go home like returning from a day of hunting? Ulfrik has twenty men for each of us at his command, so do some thinking on that. We can't hit him in the face and expect nothing to follow."

Throst surveyed the shadowy forms of his men and none met his eyes. Dan, chastened, settled back to the ground and lowered his head. Throst let his words settle on them, then he shifted his sight to the back of the cavern.

"And speaking of the brat, is he still alive?"

"Sure is," answered one of the men. "The shit-licker bit my hand when I took off the gag to give him some water. See if he'll get any more from me."

Muted laughter spread among the men, and Throst smiled as he picked his way to where Hakon lay bound. The small form of the boy was a gray lump in the darkness curled into a crack in the wall. A torn and muddy cloak covered him against the damp. Throst noticed glints of light reflecting at him, Hakon's wide eyes brimming with tears and studying him.

"I'm going to remove your gag, and you'll not scream or bite or I'll crack your head with a rock. Do you understand?"

The small head nodded, and Throst untied the saliva soaked rag that served as his gag. Hakon immediately spit on him, a thin glob landing on his hand.

Throst laughed, "Well, I didn't tell you not to spit. I see I'm going to have to be clearer."

His backhand struck Hakon's cheek with a crack, snapping his head to the side and collapsing him against the cave wall. He did not cry out or scream, but took the blow in silence, which Throst admired. It seemed Ulfrik at least raised one strong boy, not that it mattered now.

"You should know I'm holding back so you won't be too damaged for what I intend. But if you tempt me, little man, I will pop out your eyeballs with my own thumbs. Do you want me to do that?"

Throst smiled and in the darkness he barely discerned Hakon's terrified face staring back at him in silence. Throst bowed his head as if suffering, entwining his fingers behind his neck. "When I ask a question, you answer me. If you don't then I get madder and madder until the jelly of your eyeballs are smeared all over my thumbs. So, do you want me to pop your eyes?"

"No," Hakon said quickly, backing farther into the cleft in the wall. "But Odin protects me, and you won't hurt me."

Throst unfolded his hands and looked up in surprise. A few of the men behind him hissed through their teeth. "Why do you think Odin protects you? Did I hit your head so hard you've gone mad?"

"Odin has seen me and smiled upon me. He has other plans for me."

A few men laughed and others grumbled, but Throst faced Hakon with his mouth open and no words to meet such a ridiculous statement. Hakon sat up straighter, as if he had won a contest. In a way he had, for Throst could only laugh and not answer. The gods were capricious and gave their favor where they pleased. If Odin had shown himself to the boy, it made no sense to Throst's mortal mind. Rather than hear any more, he replaced Hakon's gag.

Returning to the circle of men idling in the darkness, he sat beside Dan. He felt his stomach rumble and gestured that Dan break out the dried fish and bread for a meal. Food had become the highlight of their days, with nothing more to do than hide in the caves and allow enough time to pass before exiting. Now as the dried fish made the rounds, spirits lifted and more animated talk began.

Once all were tearing into their shares, Olaf renewed his complaints. "So, now that you've tricked Ulfrik once, how do you plan to trick him again? We've still got his kid, and you've got plans for him. Suppose you tell us what those are."