Page 13 of Into the Isle

The mist spurt from the fjord into the wider expanse of the sky and ocean in front of us. A neon-green ribbon ignited overhead in the heavens, painting the sky, as if Thor was lighting the path of the Gray Wraith toward our rocky banks.

Kids and parents alike pointed up at the aurora borealis in awe. Though it wasn’t a rare sight in these parts, the coincidence of its appearance right now seemed serendipitous.

The temperature dropped precipitously as the mist rolled over the surface of the ocean and engulfed the bank. It froze and lingered in the air in front of me, unmoving, thick enough I couldn’t see through. The air stilled around me.

I heard the ghostlike reverie coming from within that vortex of fog and smoke:

“Row for our lives, row for our prize,

Bring the heavens to heel.

Row for our lives, row for our prize,

Until your soul is sealed.”

The voices chilled my blood with their eerie cadence. They were harmonized in rough tones, men and women aboard the Gray Wraith calling out their purpose.

Goosebumps lined my arms and nape. I shivered, and Ma squeezed my hand harder.

The voices got louder, repeating the chant, and the audience on the bank fell silent. They sang it five, ten times, and still we couldn’t see a damn thing. It was their promise and mission spoken in rhyme. Vikingrune Academy’s anthem, as they rowed for the village to claim their “prize.” Their initiate.

My palms grew sweaty despite the cold chill in my bones. I could hear the oars now, carving into the water. The heaves of the men and women aboard the Wraith.

The curved prow of the Viking longship jutted through the mist, its menacing visage of a horned dragon with its jaws agape thrusting into view. The large ship plumed the fog around it—“parting the mists.”

Cheers rose from the villagers. I raised both arms, holding Ma’s hand in mine like a prized boxer winning a title match. Together we shouted to the heavens, to the moon, to the gods we hoped could hear us.

Our chorus became an anthem of its own as more and more of the longship appeared through the mist. Once it was fully in view, with its sleek gray-painted body and curved prow and stern at either end, the mist seemed to linger around it like a mirage, making the Gray Wraith seem otherworldly and impossible to make out completely.

From the shore, we could see the huge sail set in the middle of it, complete with the emblem of Vikingrune Academy: a simple design with a white dragon head stamped onto a warrior’s black circular shield.

The ship froze on the shore, half on the sand, half in the water. The oars thrust diagonally into the water. When they lifted as one, the air lifted too. A cool breeze washed over me. The mist remained as the ship moored.

The Gray Wraith looked twice as grand and large as any longship I’d ever seen. A giant smile cracked my lips, splitting open the wound I’d taken from the thrown rock earlier in the day. I tasted blood once more. My cheek hurt from my stepfather’s slap, yet I didn’t complain. I couldn’t be bothered by any of that now.

Despite its size, the ship seemed to run a skeletal crew. I could only notice ten or so shadows in the rowing benches through the swirling mist.

When a figure leapt over the side, going knee-deep into the water before wading through the bank and coming to the shore, my heart seized in my chest. The cheers fell silent.

Eirik appeared through the mist with a crooked grin on his face.

The cheers ignited all over again, louder than before.

“Well met, Selby,” he called out, throwing us a small wave. His eyes searched the crowded shore.

My elder half-brother was handsome, without the violent traits of his father. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and everything a descendent of the Vikings could hope for. Women shrieked at him like he was a celebrity, because he was. I imagined part of the chip on Damon’s shoulder was due to his older brother and how effortlessly things came to him, women included. It had always been like that with Eirik—the shrieking—yet now it took on more gravity because of his position at Vikingrune Academy.

He was one of the chosen ones. And now I will join him . . . albeit for a completely different purpose.

I tried to stuff down my anxiety before it could grow unwieldy.

His dark eyes landed on mine and all other thoughts were swept aside. He marched out of the lapping water and approached me and Ma, his smile growing.

Lindi went to him first, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. “Hello, dear boy.”

“Ma,” he murmured, hugging her tight.

He continued looking at me. I stared at him. He looked larger, stronger, even more imposing than when he’d left two years ago. He wore blackened hide armor with a heavy fur coat of white and gray over his shoulders.

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