Avelynn (40 page)

“Where is everyone?” I spoke under my breath.

“Alrik has them all detained. He is offering them as ransom for your freedom. The slaves and freemen are being held by the gates, the women in the stables.”

“The women?” I turned, scanning the fury. “My friend Ealhswith is here!”

“He means to harm no one, save your betrothed.”

I didn't bother mentioning that the priest had married us three days ago.

We skirted around the far side of the manor, opposite the route I had chosen for escape. Several armed Vikings stood sentry as we rounded the stables.

“Hail,” Cormac called.

“Who's there?” one of the Vikings called.

“Cormac.”

“Who's with you?” One of the guards stepped closer.

“Alrik's woman.”

The guard stopped his forward momentum.

“Where's Alrik?” Cormac asked.

The Viking pointed ahead. “Can't miss him.”

My heart pounded, my pulse racing ahead. We passed a weaving shed and a cow byre and then stopped. A line had clearly been drawn. Fully armed Saxons and Vikings stood apart from one another.

“Demas! Coward! Face me!” Alrik's deep, throaty voice boomed as he paced in front of the Viking line. He wasn't wearing a helmet. Blond hair brushed his shoulders as he moved. Chain mail, shining in the fire's light, strained to contain his broad chest. Widow Maker hung from his right hand. A round shield was gripped in his left. “I will destroy this maggot-infested dung heap. Bring me the woman Avelynn!”

“Alrik!” I ran. “Alrik!”

The large cloak flapped about my shoulders. My entire body trembled with each step, but it was no longer the cold causing me to quake. “Alrik!”

All eyes were trained on me. The sea of Vikings parted, and I ran headlong into the tallest, biggest Viking of them all. “Alrik,” I cried, and collapsed into his arms.

“Avelynn?” He stared down at me as if I were an apparition. He set me away from him. His eyes traveled over my body. “Are you hurt?”

“I'm fine.” I wanted to bury myself in his embrace, breathe his scent, take him into me until I dissolved in his arms.

“Avelynn?” Alfred shouldered his way to the front of the line. “I can't believe it!”

Osric rounded the wall of Saxons and threw the lifeless body of Adiva on the ground. “You killed your chambermaid and attempted to murder your husband. It wasn't enough that you tried to kill him with his own knife in your wedding bed, but you cast spells and spewed foul curses on his inert form.”

“Lies!” I yelled.

“You are a traitor and a witch!” He spat in my direction. It fell far from my feet. “Viking whore!”

My blood boiled. I still had Cormac's sword, but Alrik put a stop to any rebuttal and pulled me sharply back, deftly unarming me, the sword slipping from my grasp.

“Let me go.” I squirmed. He held me tight.

“You got what you came for, Viking; now leave,” Osric said.

“I will take one of your women for safekeeping.” He nodded to a Viking behind him.

“Ealhswith!” Alfred's panicked voice preceded his body as he lunged. Several men moved in to restrain him as the entire line of Vikings stepped forward.

Ealhswith had been gagged, her hands tied behind her back. In my shock, I had stopped struggling, and Alrik let me go. He grabbed Ealhswith's arm and placed his axe across her chest, the edge inches from her throat. “To ensure you do not follow, she will accompany us as far as your Christian house in Swanage. If we stay unmolested, that is where you shall find her.” He pushed Ealhswith to a companion and lifted me in his arms.

“She's my friend!” I tried to get down, to help her.

He turned his back on the fuming, helpless Saxons and whistled. Several archers let loose a stream of fiery arrows into the surviving buildings.

“She is not in any danger. This was her idea,” he whispered in my ear as we strode in front of a cheering, laughing band of pirates.

“Her idea?”

“When I came to find her, she felt it best to come up with an alternative plan, should the messenger not reach Halfdan in time.”

Ealhswith and her plans! I had never been so happy in my life. I wrapped my arms around his neck. I never wanted to let him go.

The Vikings packed the ship with precious metals, livestock, kegs of ale, sacks of wheat, and crates of salted meat and bread. Apparently, Ealhswith and I were not the only Saxon property they were absconding with.

A tent was erected in the center of the ship, and Cormac led me inside to where Olaf had laid Edward. He was turned, his back to us, his breathing uneven. He was not asleep, though he pretended to be. I felt it best to leave matters alone for the moment.

Alrik placed another woolen blanket over him. “There is much to share,” he said.

“Yes,” I sighed. I didn't even know where to begin.

He lit an oil lamp and loosened some of the floor planks, exposing a crammed hold below. He rearranged several crates before settling on an ornate chest, which he placed on a squat wooden barrel. He lifted the lid and held up a pale yellow kirtle. He laid it upon the bed. As captain, Alrik slept on a raised bed in the center of the tent. His men slept where they rowed, each on a bench under the stars. He pulled out a heavy cloak lined with wolf pelts, woolen socks, and ankle-high leather boots.

“When you have changed, give the dress to Cormac. He will cut the pearls from the bodice and toss the rest overboard.”

“Thank you.”

He fingered my newly shorn hair.

“Is it done?” he asked.

“They were Christian words. The ceremony meant nothing to me.”

“Did he … have you?”

“No.”

He kissed my forehead. The tent flaps closed behind him, and he bellowed out orders, taking command of his ship. The sail was furled, and the oars dropped into the water. The boat surged forward, the sensation disorienting and exhilarating, and I planted my feet wide to maintain my balance as we pushed away from the shore.

I stared at the beautiful kirtle. I hoped Demas's wounds festered. I hoped he died an agonizing death, but if he did survive, I hoped to be there when he took his last breath, and I prayed to the Goddess it would be at the end of my sword that he fell.

I peeled the ruined wedding dress off my shivering body and stepped into the dry clothes. Fully dressed and wrapped in the cloak, I moved next to a cauldron hanging from chains attached to a beam jutting out from the mast overhead. The cauldron held a blistering fire and for the first time all night I felt myself warming.

Sometime later, I stood at the stern, watching the horizon until the faint light from the fires of Wareham faded into the night.

“Are you going to miss it?” Ealhswith asked. Her restraints had been removed as soon as we were well out of sight of the shore.

“There's nothing left here for me now.” I forced a weak smile. “Are you well?” I looked her over. “Where's Aethelflaed?”

“She's safe and sound back in Windsor with the nursemaid.” She sat on one of the many crates littering the deck. “And I'm fine. Alrik is a complete gentleman, as is his second-in-command.” She waved flirtatiously at Tollak.

I gaped at her. “Ealhswith!”

“What? He's handsome.”

I laughed and shook my head. She patted the space beside her, and I sat down. We were silent for some time, watching the dark shadows of the forest skim by.

“I'm sorry,” she said quietly.

“For what?”

“Alrik had hoped to get here sooner. He could have stopped the wedding.”

I hugged her fiercely. “I'm grateful he's here at all. I feared Edward and I would both die tonight. I don't know how I can ever repay you.”

She pulled away. “Repay me? I merely removed you from one fire to drop you into another. Both you and Alrik are homeless, traitors. I don't know where you can go, or what kind of life you'll have.”

“I can't think of that yet.”

Our first stop would be Swanage, to leave Ealhswith with the monks. Our second stop was Avalon. No one knew about the hidden island, though it was easily accessible by boat along the River Parrett, and they certainly wouldn't be expecting us to return to England. The Saxons would most likely assume we would head to Francia, as would the Vikings. The detour would buy us time. After that, only the gods knew our fate.

“But an exiled Viking and his crew are clanless—rogues—worse than fleas on a dog's back. Tollak left nothing to the imagination when he told me what could become of them.” Ealhswith's eyes were pained. “Anyone who brings down an exiled traitor and his ship will bring honor and riches to his house. You will not be given a moment's reprieve.”

I sighed. “No, I imagine not; yet the Vikings are only part of our concerns. Demas will not rest knowing that Edward and I are still alive. He risks losing Wedmore, and Osric all of Somerset, if the truth were to surface.” Though in honesty, I didn't know how we could prove their deceptions. I'd already failed once to sway the Witan, and that was before I had absconded with the enemy. But land and holdings were only part of the perverse picture. After all the pain I'd inflicted on Demas, if he survived his wounds, he would hunt Edward and me to the ends of the earth. Nowhere would be far enough away for any of us. I shrugged, looking at Alrik. “We'll come up with something.”

Even in the moon's faint glow, I could make out Alrik's strong cheekbones as the wind pulled the hair away from his face. We would have to face what lay ahead, but not tonight.

“And what of Edward?” she asked.

“I don't know.”

“What if he came with me?”

“After everything I've done to protect him? I can't leave him here.”

“But no one would know. To all but Demas, he's dead. I can hide him away, send him to my foster sister Angharad in Wales, or maybe to my aunt Godgifu in Mercia. I would make sure he is safe.”

I had to concede to Ealhswith's point. Edward was only ten. What kind of life could I provide for him as Alrik and I ran from our enemies? Demas would assume Edward stayed with me. Perhaps he would be safer here, out of sight but deceptively close, right under his nose. The thought of sailing away without him made my stomach churn—to be unaware of his welfare, to face the harsh silence of uncertainty as I had when he'd been ill in Francia—I didn't know if I could go through that again. “I'll consider it.” I squeezed her hand. “I'm truly grateful for everything you've done. Thank you.”

“I wish I could have done more.”

“I have my life, Edward is safe, and I have Alrik,” I said, admiring his stature as he worked the steering board. “It's more than enough.”

Alrik felt my gaze and without missing a beat, Tollak took his place at the helm.

“Can I interrupt?” Alrik said, resting his hand on my shoulder.

Ealhswith stood and arched her back, stretching. “I was just heading to bed.” She looked back and forth between us and grinned. “Good night, Avelynn. Alrik,” she said, bowing her head.

“Thank you,” he said.

She squeezed my hand and slipped inside the tent where Alrik had set a cot for her beside Edward.

He sat beside me. “She is a good friend.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “She risked her life trying to save mine. If anyone were to find out her deception…”

“No one here will talk.”

“You had a weasel on your ship before,” I noted dryly.

He straightened. “Yes, and he lost his tongue before I drove my sword through his spine.” He stood up. “Gods, woman, I don't know whether to shake you or kiss you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “All that I have done, I risked for you. To know what my brother did to you and be unable to stop it, to know what that bastard Demas did and not be able to kill him with my bare hands! Aye, I had a traitor on my ship, and it was my fault that you suffered so.” His gaze traveled over the sparkling water. Calm, as if it were a sheet of ice. His shoulders dropped in defeat. “I failed you.”

“Gods.” I scrambled up off the bench. Reaching out to him, I drew his face to me. “Alrik, you saved me. You didn't fail me. What I did, I did on my own. They were my choices, and I accept full responsibility for my actions and their consequences.” I let my hands fall to my sides. “I've made so many mistakes. I wish I could retract them, but I can't, and dwelling on them doesn't serve me.” I searched Alrik's face. “But when I needed you most, you were here. Against all odds, you came. You saved me.”

He wrapped his strong, calloused hands around mine.

“Let's not dwell on the past,” I pleaded. “There are far too many painful memories. I can't bear to look backward.” Standing on tiptoes, I kissed his lips softly. “I thought you were dead, and I never want to feel like that again.” I kissed each of his eyelids. “You were taken from me, and now I have you back.” I kissed the bridge of his nose. “That's all that matters to me now.” I pressed my mouth against his, inviting, offering absolution.

He opened his mouth to mine. Hunger, pain, loss, and fear, each emotion in turn played across our lips as words of yearning, forgiveness, relief, and surrender—unspoken yet acknowledged—coalesced around our bodies. He lifted me in his arms and cradled me close. I rested my head on his shoulder. No matter where we went, no matter what happened next, in this moment I was home.

*   *   *

By morning, we reached Swanage. The monks were reasonably flustered at the appearance of a Viking longship on their shore.

Ealhswith held my hands in hers. “Be careful.”

“I will.” I pulled her close. I would miss her terribly.

Edward hobbled out of the tent, a satchel slung over his shoulder. He cut a wide berth around the Vikings nearest him and stood beside Ealhswith.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He stood straighter, leaning on a staff. “I'm going with Ealhswith.”