Page 41 of Alien Viking's Plunder

She tasted the casserole, finding it spicy and savory. “It’s really good.”

Bragr got a plate for himself. “It’s a simple meal, but nourishing. It’s only dried meat and vegetables. My hunters know what’s needed after a long day in the vilmark. Yes, it was difficult. I spent as much time as possible away from the jarlagard. Gornt was never evil towards me, but as I grew up I realized that he was hated by everyone else. And that they had every reason to hate him.”

He took the pot off the fire.

“Late one night, I was traveling in the land with a shortship. My two warrior companions and I found an abandoned barn and slept there. In the middle of the night, I awoke and the barn was full of men and women. They were holding torches, but not swords. I asked them what they wanted with me. They said they wanted me as their earl, as their chief and their captain. I said they already had those things in Earl Gornt. They said they wanted him gone and me earl in his stead. ‘And if I refuse, you’ll kill me,’ I snarled, thinking I understood their errand. I drew Brisingr to defend myself to the last. But they showed their empty hands and said that if I refused, they would all leave, return to their homes and wait for Gornt’s men to come and kill them for having been to see me. It surprised me. I think they saw that on my face.”

Bragr frowned, a thousand miles away.

“They asked me to come out of the barn. I did, and outside was an ocean of torches in the night. Thousands of people had come from all over Hjalmarheim. To beg me to rid them of Gornt and to take his place as earl. It was all completely silent. Just torchlights as far as the eye could see.”

Bragr stopped, staring into the fire as if reliving the moment.

“Was it a hard decision?” Josie asked, already knowing the outcome. He must have agreed, or he wouldn’t be earl now.

“They were asking me to commit treason. I knew Gornt’s shortcomings, but I also knew his weakness: he loved his son. Perhaps his son was the only person he ever loved. Loving someone is not a good idea if you have enemies. And Gornt had many. Yes, it was a hard decision. But I did not refuse. I took up arms against the earl, waged war and deposed him, taking his place as earl. It was a quick and bloody war. Gornt was so surprised that he couldn’t mount a solid defense. I had hit his only weakness, and I hit it hard. When it was over, every elder and lendmann of Hjalmarheim came and accepted me as their earl, even if the old earl was still alive. It should have felt good, I suppose. But it was only hollow. Because only I could have betrayed Gornt and won.” He sent Josie a quick, blue glance that spoke volumes.

“Only the son he loved could defeat him,” Josie added softly, having figured it out. “He was defenseless against his son. Againstyou.”

The flickering light from the fire danced on the Viking chief’s bearded face. “Defenseless. Yes. Only his men fought for him, while he stayed mostly out of it. He only took part in the last battle, when it was clear he would lose the war. Everyone urged me to kill my father, but I couldn’t. I banished him from Hjalmarheim and let him have the longshipDragon’s Fire. He renamed it theDead Son.”

“His way of saying that you’re dead to him?”

“Or that he’ll kill me. Or something else that only he knows.”

Josie reached out and put her hand on his knee. “Thank you for telling me this.”

Bragr shrugged. “Everyone else knows. I thought it only fair that you know, too.”

“Do your people regret asking you to take over?”

“I don’t think they do. But I suppose I would be the last to know if they were unhappy.”

“If your father was that bad as a ruler, you seem to be completely different from him,” Josie pondered. “I think you made the right decision. Your warriors clearly admire and trust you. You made sure nobody died on theUnity. And the way you just talked about your people a little while ago… if it’s true, then I think you’re a good ruler.”

“I’m different from him on the outside,” Bragr said slowly. “But Iamhis son, and I feel it every day. When I say those things, it’s mostly to remind myself of the earl I want to be. I have certain… urges that I don’t act on. It’s sometimes hard not to. And of course, some Idoact on.” He sent her another quick glance.

“Taking me from theUnitywas an urge you acted on?”

Bragr leant forwards to pull the boot off his injured foot. “I’ve never taken captives before. I stopped that practice as soon as I became earl. But with you, I didn’t even think about it before I was sitting in theKraken, trying to feed you sweets. I just wanted to bring you along, and I couldn’t resist it.”

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”

He thought about it. “When I get an urge like that, one that I know comes from the part of me that is my father… it’s usually enough to simply think ‘that’s something Gornt would have done. And I’m not Gornt’. When chasing you, I didn’t think that. I just… I decided not to think that. I didn’t want to let you get away.” He spoke slowly and haltingly, as if saying these things out loud for the first time. “Those urges are stronger than you probably think. Waging war on Gornt, cutting down his men, seeing their blood, hearing their screams… it gave me pleasure. Ienjoyedit. It horrified me, and it delighted me. More blood was spilled in that war than was necessary, and that was because of me. Since then I have done my best to control those urges.”

“How many people know about this?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, nobody knows about that constant fight with myself. I can’t tell anyone. I’m their earl, their chief. I can’t burden them with my weaknesses. Not even old Shaman Heidran knows. Though he is wise, so he probably suspects.”

“But you’re tellingmeabout it.”

He pulled at his boot again. “Perhaps I wantsomeoneto know. Perhaps I feel that you should know why I forced you to come along, even though you fought me. I know my reasons for taking you aren’t very good. But it’s all I’ve got. I wanted you. That was it.”

Josie could tell it wasn’t easy for him to talk about this. He was admitting a weakness, one that he struggled with and one that he’d never told anyone about. His words came slowly, as if he had to fight for each one.

“Let me help you with that.” She changed her position to help pull his boot off. “It looks like it hurts.”

“It’s not pleasant,” the Viking rumbled and clenched his teeth. “But it’s time to see how bad it is.”

---