Page 60 of Alien Viking's Plunder

“The ocean,” Josie said.

Below them lay the soft green plains of Hjalmarheim. They ended at the craggy coast, rocky and flat. Beyond it lay the myriad of smaller islands, stretching out towards the red horizon where the sun had set.

“The ocean,” Bragr confirmed. “And the part of the island where my people live.”

“It’s beautiful!” Josie exclaimed. “I think I see some lights down there.”

Indeed, there were spread clusters of tiny, flickering lights, just being lit as dusk grew darker. Bragr filled his lungs with the fresh ocean air, mixed with the faint scent of farms and growing crops. “Settlements and farms and villages. My jarlagard is still far away. But someone down there will have a shortship, and we can get home fast.”

“What’s it like to be the chief of this place?”

He thought about it. “Some days it’s the last thing I want to be. Some days I wouldn’t have it any other way. Mostly it’s just the way things are and I have to deal with it.”

“Is it hard?”

“It would be harder if I didn’t think the people wanted me. And I have good advisors. I think it has made me a better person. But yes, it’s hard.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m sure you’re doing really well. And I’m looking forward to seeing this view again in the morning. It is a beautiful land. Can we get back to the hut?”

Back inside, he lit the fire and prepared a meal that seemed luxurious after days in the vilmark. Josie insisted on helping, and soon they were cutting dried meat and peeling vegetables. There was an entire barrel of myod, and he poured for both of them. “Remind me to reward the owners of this hut, too. They’re keeping it unusually well stocked.”

Josie took a sip of her cup. “They must come here often. Not a bad place to party.”

“That must be why,” he agreed, draining his own cup. “When you come up here to have a good time, you want everything ready. Even the drinks.”

“Looked like a long climb,” Josie said, carefully peeling a vegetable. “That barrel must have been heavy to carry.”

Bragr cut the meat into cubes. “Oh, they probably brought it up here with a shortship, along with the food. I don’t think they carried it. But to properly enjoy a party in this hut, the climb is a part of it. You want to have deserved the feast and—” He immediately regretted thinking about that. There would be no after-raid feast this time. And his crew would never feast again in this world.

Josie touched his hand. “I was there, Bragr. There was nothing you could do. Those two skrymtir destroyed the ship, not you.”

He gave her a surprised glance. How had she known that was what he had been thinking about?

“It was Gornt who did it, with his unholy undead,” he agreed. “But I was the captain. I should have checked that we had gotten rid of all the skrymtir, on the inside and outside of the ship. It was strange that he broke off the attack so quickly.”

“It’s hard to understand bad people,” Josie said, scooping up the vegetables she’d cut and putting them in the iron pot that hung over the fire, where melted snow was boiling. “They think of tricks and deceit that won’t even cross the minds of others. I’m glad you’re not like that.”

“My crew died because I’m not like that,” Bragr fretted. “But I understand your point. And I am also glad none of us are like that.” He stroked her hair and kissed her soft cheek.

“Also you don’t need to worry about being like your father. You’re a different man. There’s no evil in you that I can see. Even when you abduct someone, it turns out to be the right thing to do. More or less.”

“It’s remarkable how I had to go to another planet to find a woman who understands me better than I understand myself,” Bragr said, his voice not quite steady. “I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do. It justfeltright. There was only one spark of real life on that station, one that was really alive. I had to get to know that spark better and keep you close to me. You were so out of place on that foul-smelling station.”

Josie stirred the pot. “Ifeltout of place. But I couldn’t afford to think about it, because there was nowhere else to go. My life was onUnity, whether I wanted it to be or not. How long should this boil?”

Bragr sprinkled dried herbs over the pot. “Not much longer now. Just until it’s all softened.”

Josie threw a glance at his crotch. “Allsoftened?”

He chuckled, glad that she was taking his mind off the fate of his crew. “Some things will never be soft while you’re near.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, hiding a burp behind one hand. “You keep giving me myod, and I’m not used to it. There was nothing like that onUnityfor us that worked there.”

He refilled her cup again. “Then you have to make up for it now. This is some of the better myod I’ve had. But perhaps it tastes this good because of the company.”

“I think so too. Shall we try?” Josie took a spoon and dipped it into the pot. “You first.” She held the spoon up to his mouth.

He tasted it. “Needs more time. It’s still too chewy.”

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