Page 3 of Rune

Truthfully, they might listen if Tova was the one asking. But I had other plans, ones more reliable than the ears of deaf gods. I cut through the shadows between the trees before she could say more. She wouldn’t have had the chance to follow anyhow. A young couple was reaching for her, likely to ask for her touch as a sign of the gods blessing over their marriage. She was worshiped nearly as much as the gods and visited theiraltars so often that if she hadn’t been marked at birth, she would have been marked as a favorite now.

As for me, I used to visit twice as often as her. I prayed daily, sometimes hourly for the gods to see me and heal my body. I prayed for kindness from those around me, for honor in the clans, for praise from my parents.

The pleas went unanswered.

When the gods didn’t answer for me, I prayed for others. I prayed my baby sister would survive the pox a few years ago. I prayed our weakening crops would come back to life.

Still, nothing.

Soon, the altars became a place of empty words and helpless cries. But there was one god I wanted to visit.

I stepped onto the beaten down path about a hundred meters away from the other altars where broken cobblestone was set in a small circle before a cut of birch wood. Other altars had gold plaques, finely carved smooth stone statues, or garlands of gems.

But this one was like me. Overlooked. Tucked away to give room for the major gods to shine.

I dusted fallen leaves from his plaque. The name, Aegir, was crudely carved into it. His lithe statue was constructed from driftwood depicting a man with sharp features, aged eyes, and hints of a smile as if he knew something no one else did. He wore a long cloak that I envisioned to be a brilliant blue like the depths of the sky, and his hair would be black as night and his skin ivory. I imagined him with a rough voice, something sounding like the waves of the sea hitting the shore outside our home, and he would laugh far more freely than Jarl Hakan did.

I imagined him here, listening to me, until I’d tricked my mind into sensing his presence.

“It’s me again,” I whispered, lowering my knees into the dirt and bowing until slivers of grass grazed my forehead. Weeds clung to the stones, and I dug my fingers into them to feel the cold rock face as if I were touching the threshold of his home, beseeching him at his very door.

I recited the usual prayer. “Great god, bringer of justice and bearer of the waters. Your strength awes me, and I lay myself at your feet as a humble servant.” I muttered the words, still bent to the ground. It was only when I reached for my pocket that I looked up. “I made you something.”

I reached into the pouch at my waist, pulling out a carved figure. I’d spent two months making it in Aegir’s exact likeness, though now I wondered if the smirk was exactly right or the cut of his nose was angled correctly.

It was no bigger than the length of my hand and the large statue dwarfed it, but I laid my gift at his feet.

Then I dipped my head. My hands touched something rough and I pulled a necklace free, the pebbles coated in dirt until the runes I’d carved were hard to see. “So, am I the only one who comes?” I asked with a whisper, inspecting the gift I’d presented him last year. “They don’t even clean off your altar.”

I dropped the necklace. It made a hollow sound.

“I know something about not being wanted, but that’ll all change now.” My voice gained a hint of an edge. “Today I am not asking for something, I’ve come to offer a trade.”

I looked up now as desperation turned my voice stronger, hoping he felt the urgency, too. Again, I swore I sensed his presence, but it could have been the presence of all my nerves surrounding me. I almost couldn’t get the words out.

There were many things I wanted: for my breathing condition to heal, to earn my shield in three weeks alongside Tova, to be respected in the clan. But I could live without those things. There was one thing I’d found to be too precious to lose, and I fought for it.

“I ask for love.”

I set one knee up and dared to look the carving of Aegir directly in the eye. Odin might smite me down if I stared at him so boldly, but Aegir needed to hear me clearly.

“This is all I ask. The chieftain’s son cares for me, and I for him. Let the fire between us keep burning for the rest of our lives, let him choose me always and I him, and let us find joy in each other. I beg you, Aegir, let this never be taken away from me, for at last, at his side, I will have a place in this clan. Someday, I will be the wife of the chieftain, and I will find my strength there.”

The statue stared at me, those dark eyes fixed on mine as I tightened the grip on my hilt, hoping for a sign. When I didn’t get it, I stood and stepped as close as I dared. I whispered in his ear. “I don’t care who you need to ask in Asgard to make this happen; give this to me, and when I am the wife of the chieftain, I will make you revered amongst the Fjord Clan. You will be worshipped more than any other.”

I couldn’t trust my breathing. I couldn’t trust the other clans wouldn’t attack this winter or our crops would grow in the spring, but I could trust the greed of gods.

It could have been the trick of the firelight, but at my words, one of his beady eyes flashed red.

“I’ll take that as we have a deal.” I stood back and dusted myself off. I’d have offered a lot more to keep the one I love.

Speaking of that, I checked the sky. I was due to meet Trig soon. I left the carving I made before the altar, checked once to see no one was watching, then slipped into the trees.

Two

WITH EACH STEP, the weariness of today’s journey melted away as anticipation sank in until I hardly felt the weight of my satchel at all. The thick trees were difficult to track through, but I found my way west until reaching the small cave overlooking the fjord.

Trig was already there.

---