Page 80 of Alien Viking's Plunder

Josie decided not to be embarrassed by how hungry she was. Her neural lace had taken over during the fights inside the Ice Caves, and now her body needed to be replenished. She ate the simple, but delicious food with little restraint. She noticed Bragr was only sipping a cup of myod, more to be polite than because he needed a drink. He was quiet and brooding, for the first time since she’d met him.

Froydis had found clothes for her. While the adult Viking woman’s own clothes were far too big for Josie, her teenage daughter had a red, woolen dress that fit somewhat when fastened with a pin at the shoulder. They found a pair of leather boots and furry mittens.

She noticed that the women were very interested in the matching Marks on her and Bragr — they had never seen a Karestir couple up close before.

When Josie tried to turn on her headset, it was completely dead. The casing had melted in places. She took it off, took out the tiny memory card, and gave the headset to Froydis’s daughter, who was over-awed by the plastic alien artifact and immediately pinned it onto her dress like a brooch.

“It’s nice and warm in here,” Bragr said when Josie was done eating. “You still look cold. You’re not needed at the oracle. The Meistr’s work was finished in the Ice Caves. Your Marks clearly show it.”

“My love,” Josie said as she wiped her mouth, “we’re Karestir. Our Marks match perfectly. You know that if one of us dies, we both die. Do you not remember Siv and Sigurdr? We must always fight together. And nothing is going to keep me from finding Aretha. I thought you had learned that about me, at least.”

Bragr laughed drily. “Oh, believe me, my love. I learned that lesson the hard way. All right, we shall both go.”

“Let’s go now,” Josie said and got up from the bench. “I don’t want Aretha close to that creep for a moment longer than necessary.”

“Wait,” Bragr said and got up, too. “I have something to ask you. And it should be in front of witnesses.”

A hush went through the room when the women around them realized what was about to happen.

Josie’s heart skipped several beats when Bragr took her hand.

“Josie… oh. Do you have a clan?”

“Aclan?Oh, I see. Um. Clan Garcia should work.”

“Josie clan Garcia,” Bragr said solemnly, his deep voice making glassware rattle in a cabinet by the wall. “Our Marks match. We’re Karestir, decreed by the gods to be together. But both you and I are too stubborn and too contrary to let mere gods decide our fates. I ask you this not because it’s expected of me by tradition or by some higher power, but because there’s nothing in this life I want more. I love you very deeply, you see. Josie clan Garcia, will you marry me?”

The silence in the room was deafening.

There was nothing to think about. Josie’s whole heart screamed it, and for a change her brain was totally onboard too. “Yes, Bragr. Of course I’ll marry you.”

He pulled her to him and placed a kiss on her mouth. “Good. We’ll get it done as soon as we win the war. And I think we should win it now.”

The farm’s women and children applauded and cheered.

They left the farm and got into the shortship, setting course for the oracle.

“Here,” Bragr said and handed her the hairband. “I found it outside the Ice Caves.”

Joise took it and tied her hair back. “So that’s where I lost it. I didn’t notice. How far is it?”

“Not very far. We’ll get there before sunset.”

They flew higher up in the mountains, then skimmed along the hillsides with the ocean to their right. After about an hour Bragr spotted a ship on the ground and landed next to it. It was a different design than the Hjalmarheim ones, but it was still clearly a longship.

A tall shape was standing next to it.

“Hail, Prince Craxon,” Bragr said with joy in his voice. “I had no idea you would join us here, Your Highness!”

“Earl Bragr,” the prince greeted him. “I heard you were coming here to fight Gornt. And I thought, fighting one’s own father can’t be anything other than horrific. Especially if the fight might end with someone dead. No son should have to kill his own father. But I’m not of your clan, and so I have a certain freedom in that regard. Greetings, Meistr Josie. It gratifies me to see you so strong and so beautifully Marked.”

“Thank you,” Josie said, not sure who this guy was. He looked like Bragr’s people, but he spoke the language in a different way, and he had an air of command about him. “We shall see if the Marks are still beautiful after today.”

“Meistr Josie and I are engaged,” Bragr said. “We want the wedding to take place as soon as possible. Any sign of Gornt and his captive?”

“Yes,” the prince said. “His longship is barely concealed right next to the oracle’s entrance. It was my understanding that you keep the entrance guarded, but I could see no guards.

“Probably at the battle by the jarlagard,” Bragr said as they all started to walk uphill. “The oracle guards were not called to that battle, but I suspect they would rather die than miss it. How goes that battle, Your Highness?”

---