Page 59 of Alien Viking's Plunder

She squeezed him hard, not saying a word but still saying it all.

The pillar of gray smoke towered over them and Josie shielded her eyes. “Maybe someone will see that.”

“Everyone in the valley will see it,” Bragr said. “And some of them will not be friendly. How do you feel today?”

“Really good,” Josie said. “I mean, except for this.” She nodded towards the fire.

“We have done what we could.” Bragr decided. “They don’t need us anymore. We’ll eat and then walk on. You have nothing to fear when we reach my jarlagard on the coast.” He grabbed the two weapons he had taken from the two dead warriors and examined them. “Try to swing this.” He handed her Sigurdr’s sword.

Josie hesitantly held the weapon with both hands. “It’s heavy. I’m not sure I can do much with it.” She tried to swing it, but it was clearly too unwieldy for her small frame.

“That was Sigurdr’s sword,” Bragr said and took it back. “He was much bigger than you. No, I think you’re better served by your Tornado. I will put these two inside the hut, and the next hunters to come here will have some idea what happened here. The weapons should be buried next to the altar in the woods. But the ground is still frozen.”

They got ready, and carrying as much food as they could, they started walking into the forest.

There were vettir circling the pyre, and that suited Bragr fine. They would be too interested in the smoke and fire to spot him and Josie moving away.

Josie walked in front. “How’s your foot?” she asked when they could no longer see the vettir.

“It is as I thought,” he told her. “You are a gifted healer and shieldmaiden at the same time.”

She walked on, leaving small footprints in the snow. “I never was before. Maybe your body just heals fast.”

He kept a sharp lookout for both vettir and trolls. He was sure the dfergir had learned their lesson and would not be bothering them again.

At midday the ground started to rise towards another range of mountains. From the clues he had seen, they had to be the Haling mountains. It meant the coast would be on the other side.

The thought of finally coming home after a raid had completely lost its luster. With the crew of theKrakendead, there would be no reason to celebrate. Josie’s presence was the only thing that brightened his thoughts. But it was obvious they had to stop Gornt once and for all.

Josie walked in front, sinking only a finger’s breadth into the snow with each step. His eyes kept seeking her curves, aching to explore them again. They would have to spend one more night outside, and he wanted it to be a good one.

“Let’s go more to the left,” he told her and pointed in the direction he meant. “I know that place. There’s a hut close to the peak. We can spend the night there.”

Josie’s eyes sought his crotch for a brief moment. “Good.”

He caught up with her and handed her a cold slice of grilled keigr as well as a bowl of tree syrup. “The vettir are busy with the fire, and we’ve seen no trolls so far. They usually don’t come much closer to the coast than this. There’s even a good chance we’ll meet hunters today.”

“If the other ships landed safely,” Josie said between mouthfuls, “and they saw your ship fall, won’t they send out a search party?”

Bragr filled his mouth with newly fallen snow from a branch. “They won’t know where we landed. They must have lost sight of us. For all they know, we could have landed in the ocean or on the other side of Gardr. We could be anywhere. And they will think we’re probably dead.”

They walked on as the hill became steeper. But Bragr knew where they were now, and the hut he had in mind was a small but good one.

The sun had set when they finally reached the top of the ridge and saw the dark shape of the hut against the red sky.

“Are all your houses built from stone?” Josie asked as Bragr opened the creaking door.

“Some are,” he said as he looked around inside the dark, cold room. “This one is not as old as the one down in the valley, but stone huts last longer than wooden ones, especially up here where the wind from the ocean blows hard. Can you use your magic light?”

Josie touched the black device by her ear, and the room was immediately starkly lit.

Bragr spotted several chests and a part of the wooden floor that could be opened, revealing a stone-lined space filled with woven baskets and wooden boxes. He didn’t need to open them to know they were full of conserved food, probably salted meats and dried fruits. There was a low bench, a fireplace in the middle of the room, and various tools for cooking and chopping wood.

“Have you been here before?” Josie asked, adjusting the brightness of the light. “It looks like you know your way around.”

“I was here once or twice in my youth,” Bragr said absentmindedly as he opened the chests and found them full of furs and blankets. “It’s a typical hut that a village will keep ready. They’re all mostly the same. And they’re protected by sacred runes all over. We’ll be fine here until tomorrow. There’s no bastu, though. Before we settle down, let’s go back outside.”

He took Josie’s hand and led her out of the hut, then climbed the last hundred steps to the very peak of the ridge. The moment they stuck their heads above it, their hair was blown out of their faces by the wind.

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