Page 56 of Alien Viking's Passion

The storm had carried voices with it. One voice she knew from before, but the other was icy and terrible, painful to her ears. And old, unfathomably old. The words had been confusing, talking about a curse. There had been the clanging of swords, as if someone was fighting.

Suddenly everything was quiet and the ship had stopped moving.

The only thing Aretha could hear was a sound as from wood being scraped and crushed. It was coming from very close, and it was making her box tremble, just the slightest bit. She thoughtshe could hear sniffing, too.

“I loved once,” the ugly voice said in the silence. “But the Prince of Ragnhildros took my female from me. He slayed her when all she wanted was to feast on some of his subjects. Are we draugr not allowed to eat our fill? It was only a few dozen sailors and fishermen! Surely a fitting tribute from a prince to a draugr couple. Instead the prince slew her with that very sword!”

“As shall I slayyouwith it!” Craxon's voice rumbled. There were more clangs of fighting.

Aretha's box trembled more, barely perceptibly. Someone was being very busy with the chest, and it sounded like squeezing soft wood with a pair of pliers, crushing it.

“You shall not,” the icy voice said. “Krakhogg may slay krakens and draugr, but never the Draugr King. I cursed the prince then, vowing that I would destroy the land of Ragnhildros if any ruler of that land were ever to fall in love. It was a brave curse, little princeling! For my powers then were not like they are now. I have grown to greatness, and the Big Shine has helped me grow greater still!”

“You love to speak, Kofraks,” Craxon said, with cold mirth in his voice. “But nobody here will hear your words. I grow weary of your harangue. State your business or leave us to continue on our journey.”

“Your journey is over, princeling. I shall kill your crew and take your ship. Their spirits shall forever travel the seas where the valkyries can't find them. Look around you! Already I own many ships like that, forever doomed. But you, princeling, for you I have something better. I shall not kill you until you have seen me flood and destroy your principality, drowning your people as mycurse promised. But! Before they die, they shall seeyou. They shall see you with your love, and they shall see that you have betrayed them. They shall curse your name before my flood wave hits them!”

Craxon roared in fury, and there was another flurry of hard clangs.

Aretha’s mind was churning. Was that it? There was a curse on Craxon that meant he couldn’t fall in love? That would explain it. It was insanely weird, but that was nothing new on this crazy planet.

The scratching sounds intensified, and suddenly Aretha saw daylight. A small snout came into the box from above.

Her skin crawling, she tried to push herself away from it, but there was no room to move. The snout came further in, and then she saw the teeth — long and pointy, they made short work of the wood in the chest as they expanded the hole.

The three eyes came into view.

Was it…Sonic?!

Aretha couldn't do anything but watch and listen as the not-hedgehog kept gnawing, expanding the hole and causing parts of the chest to fall away. He was like a small wood chipper.

“For a draugr who claims greatness, you have not kept up with the news,” Craxon said. “I may have loved. But I left her behind, never to see her again. Your curse doesn’t say anything abouthavingloved.”

The laughter that followed chilled Aretha to the bone.

“Such certainty in your words!” Kofraks taunted. “Are you sure?”

The side of the box fell away, and there was Sonic, white-tipped spikes laid back.

Aretha rolled out onto the rough planks at the bottom of the ship. She was immediately soaked by the standing water in the bilge, but she barely noticed. She held her tied wrists out to Sonic's snout, but he only sniffed them and didn't get it.

Fine.

She was able to get hold of Fjernstjerna's hilt, pulled the blade from the scabbard, and used it to cut the rope.

Then she saw long shapes approaching, and she knew what they were. Kofraks was reaching for the chest with his tentacles.

Her hands freed, she yanked the white fabric out of her mouth and crawled behind a crate, splashing through the water.

The tentacles grabbed the chest and lifted it, pulling it away.

20

- Craxon -

Kofraks had suddenly sprouted tentacles, but nothing about this surprised Craxon now.

He slashed Krakhogg at the thick appendages, but they were slimy and strong, and they kept writhing out of reach.

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