Ragnar & the Slave Girls (Ragnar the Dane) (14 page)

Ragnar bit his lip and tried harder to escape the rope bindings. He looked upwards in despair. “Odin! If I’ve ever needed your help, I need it now!”

Kjartan put forth silent prayers too.

With a mighty effort, Ragnar wrenched at his bonds, and they gave way. He gasped. “He answered!”

He turned and undid Kjartan’s bonds. They slapped each other on the shoulder, then to their dismay, a pack of wolf men came in and dragged them out to the main cavern.

*  *  *

“
No one’s seen Ragnar or Aelfwyn since this morning,” said Bjarni to Steinar, who removed his eye patch and scratched the itch caused by the fur. “And it’s now evening.”

“
Odd.”

“
We need to do something.”

“
Do you think they’ve been murdered?”

“
No, I think they’re in trouble.”

“
Why?”

“
My - someone told me they’d seen it.”

“
Someone? A prophetess you mean?”

“
Er - yes. She said it’s something to do with stone or rock.”

“
Caves? Are they trapped in the caves? It’s easy to get lost there.”

“
That's it! Of course!”

“
We’ll get the men together.”

“
But which caves?”

“
It must be the ones near the hills, past the stream." He patted Bjarni on the shoulder. "Don’t worry, we’ll save them.”

*  *  *

The sorceress stood over a prone Aelfwyn, sprinkling water and herbs over her, waving her hands back and forth. She forced some of the mixture into Aelfwyn's mouth, even though she tried to avoid the bony hand.

Kjartan and Ragnar's guards bound them again and moved them to the side, while the others waited at the side of Aelfwyn's crude bed, pushing each other and muttering.

“
So much for Odin,” muttered Kjartan.

“
Is she doing what I think she's doing?” Ragnar stared at his wife, who lay ominously still.

“
If you mean preparing her for those men to fuck her, yes.”

“
Leave her alone!” Ragnar yelled, struggling yet again with his captors.  “She’s my wife. You can’t take another man’s wife!”

The wolf men laughed and made crude gestures at him.

“
Ignore him!” roared the sorceress. “She will be one of us soon.”

“
She’ll die if she has another child!” shouted Kjartan, also struggling with his guards. “And so will the child!”

Ragnar chewed his lip. Looking up, he noticed Ljotr with Saehild on a ridge of rock at the side of the cavern, a little higher than the others. He lay on top of her with his wolf head mask on the back of his head, fucking her. Bile rose in Ragnar’s throat. Why had his sister-in-law got involved with these people, these creatures?

*  *  *

Steinar gathered the Huskarls at the training ground again as the sun set in an orange glow.

“
They're all yours now," he muttered to Bjarni. "They wouldn’t listen to me, so you try your luck.”

It wasn’t the type of evening to stir men into battle; it was more the time to relax and prepare for bed, but he had to try.

“
Ragnar and Aelfwyn are missing," began Bjarni. "I think they’ve been taken by the murderers. We need to find them.”

The Huskarls muttered amongst themselves.

“
It’s just drawing bad luck on ourselves for something the English did,” said one.

“
It’s not. These are our people. Ragnar is your friend, you should be glad to help him. And Aelfwyn is his wife.”

“
An English woman, though,” said another. “She’s -”

“
Well, I’m in,” interrupted Solmund. “We need to find them.”

Bjarni smiled. He could always rely on Solmund, even if just to cause him injury.

The others conferred among themselves and arguments began, the two opposing factions throwing punches at each other. One group, headed by Solmund, favoured an expedition to save Ragnar. The other preferred staying to guard the village.

“
Oi!” yelled Steinar, banging his sword on his shield. “This is getting us nowhere. We should be united in finding our lost comrade.”

But they continued arguing as Steinar and Bjarni exchanged infuriated glances.

*  *  *

The sorceress left Aelfwyn and moved over to the Danes. Her fur clothes hid her feet so she seemed to glide across the floor.

“
So, Loki’s son, you are here,” she said to Kjartan, lifting his chin to inspect him.

“
I’m not Loki’s son. My name’s Flokisson, not Lokisson.”

She laughed and turned to the wolf men. “All this time he has been here and you didn’t think to tell me.” She nodded at his guards.

“
Come with me.” She beckoned him with a smile.

He weighed up the situation. “Only if you let her go.” He pointed to Aelfwyn. “And him.” He indicated Ragnar.

The sorceress considered this. “Yes. Take her to the waiting room. We have a better plan.” She drooled in a way that made Kjartan’s blood chill.

She clicked her fingers and the guards lifted Aelfwyn off her bed. They untied Ragnar and as a couple of wolf men brought her towards him. He managed to catch her as she fell.

“
I am the goddess. I have power over all,” she mumbled, her eyes huge and dark.

Ragnar picked Aelfwyn up.

“
I won’t fight you. I have to look after her,” he said to the wolf men, who nodded and led them away to the smaller cave.

The sorceress led Kjartan to the makeshift bed and laid him down.

“
Prepare him,” she ordered. Her accomplices tied his hands above his head, bound his feet together and stripped him to the waist.

“
I’m ashamed of you.” She turned to the assembled wolf men. “Did you not realise when you saw the colour of his hair? He is the Chosen One. He will be the father of the clan.”

Fear twisted in Kjartan’s stomach.

The sorceress turned.

“
He will provide me with the source of life, then he will be our greatest sacrifice yet!” she exulted. “I must prepare myself.” She swished through the ranks of men, leaving them standing in a circle staring at Kjartan.

“
If you wanted to see me naked, you didn’t have to sacrifice me,” he said to them. One laughed, but another glared at him and he fell quiet.

Two women came to him and started washing his chest with cold water, marvelling at his white-blond hair. They marked lines across his skin where the cuts would be made.

He shivered.

*  *  *

“
Men!” shouted Bjarni, tired of the arguing. “I think Ragnar and Aelfwyn have been captured by Kjartan Silverhair.”

That brought them to a halt and they watched him in silence.

“
Ragnar thought he was in charge of the murders. He has a grudge against Byrnham and this is his revenge.”

Excited talking replaced the silence.

“
It must be him!”

“
He turned the English against us!”

“
We must punish him for all he’s done!”

Steinar nodded at Bjarni. “Arm yourselves. We’re going.”

“
Where?” asked Solmund.

They all turned to Bjarni.

“
The caves near the river,” he said, picking up his sword. He’d kill Kjartan if he’d hurt his friends. He slashed the sword at the grass, imagining it was the white-blond Dane’s head.

*  *  *

Ragnar stumbled down the passageway with Aelfwyn in his arms. The sounds of thumps and groans arose from behind him and he turned to see one of the wolf men fighting the others, knocking them all out.

“
Go, brother,” he panted. “This is madness. We have to stop them.”

“
Th-thanks. I’ll do my best. What are they going to do to my friend?”

“
Sacrifice him. Go. Save your woman.”

“
Thanks.” Ragnar didn’t wait for a change of heart, but set off with his intoxicated wife.

“
You’re a god. Are you Thor? I know about Thor. I’ve heard of him,” she gabbled.

“
I’ll be Thor if you want me to.”

She gave a little moan of admiration, twining her fingers in his beard and stroking his lips. Perhaps whatever drugs she’d been forced to take weren’t so bad after all.

*  *  *

As Bjarni strapped on his sword, Ifay appeared in front of him, her pale shift dress almost shimmering in the fading light.

“
Master,” she whispered.

“
I said not to call me -”

“
Sh!” she hissed. “You are mistaken. Silver is on the side of good, not evil. Do not destroy it.”

“
What?”

“
To destroy silver will be to bring about destruction.”

“
What?”

“
You must hurry or we will all be lost.”

“
What’s a slave doing here?” snapped Steinar. “Get back to your work, woman. We’ve got men’s business to see to.”

Ifay smiled at Bjarni, and hurried away into the darkness, leaving him wondering what on earth she meant.

*  *  *

The sorceress approached Kjartan. Now wearing a red linen dress, it revealed her scrawny figure, sagging breasts, wrinkled arms and cleavage. He thought she must be over forty.

“
It’s time,” she intoned.

The wolf men began murmuring a chant. They passed a bowl around from which they drank in turn. The contents took effect immediately, and they groaned and fell back against the rock wall. But their lethargy only lasted a moment, then they grabbed unwilling women and began fucking them. The men without women carried on the chanting, louder and louder. As moans rent the air, the temperature in the cavern rose, becoming muggy and oppressive.

Kjartan watched these scenes with interest so he didn’t notice the sorceress moving closer.

“
Take this.” She pushed some ground-up leaves towards his mouth. He moved his head to avoid them but with no hands to protect himself, he couldn’t prevent her from thrusting them between his lips, forcing him to chew and swallow the bitter leaves.

She stood over him, her wrinkled flesh and sparse hair making him feel sick. But then she began to change. Her hair became thick, black and lustrous, her skin smoothed, and her breasts swelled abundantly. She ripped down his trousers and climbed on top of him, fitting his now erect cock inside her. He pressed upwards, she ground down and they moved together.

How lucky he’d been to find a woman as beautiful as she.

“
Ah! You will father my children. You will start a new race. Oh! Oh!” she groaned. “You will make me a queen! Oh!”

What a great idea. He’d always known he was special.

The overwhelming gush of orgasm surged up and he let it go, let it rush inside her, panting with release. An air of invincibility overcame him; nothing could stop him.

“
And now you must give yourself to me entirely- oh - you must give yourself,” she moaned. She beckoned a wolf man and gave him a long and lustful kiss, after which he presented her with a dagger.

She raised it above her head. Kjartan struggled to think clearly, but the blade was gleaming in the light, distracting him. He blinked hard and shook his head, then gazed round to see the wolf men kissing their women, fucking them, women sucking their cocks, and even a few men kissing or fucking each other. But no one moved to help him and he wriggled, trying to escape.

“
Stop!” roared a voice.

*  *  *

Kjartan twisted his head round to look and in the process, upset his assailant’s balance. She struggled to stay on him so he wriggled more. His chest was slippery with sweat so clawing at it made no difference and she fell to the ground. His whole body sweating far more than usual, he needed water.

Bjarni and his group of Huskarls rushed into the cavern, armed to the teeth. Bjarni took on the first man to challenge him and struck at his head. The man raised his arm and blocked the sword, not seeming to notice the cut he received.