Shield of Lies (20 page)

Closing his eyes, he shook his head at the news. "How I wished it was a pock-faced, coward of a man instead of my son's first love. I never realized Throst had a lover. What a fool I've been."

"I've not met the girl, but Throst got word from her only yesterday. He explained our role in the scheme. Astra will lead Gunnar outside with the promise of a good fuck. I guess your boy hasn't got around to doing it yet, and so the promise of it will be a strong lure. I can't imagine Gunnar being dumb enough to fall for this, but I guess if his prick is leading the way it is possible. Anyway, you can imagine the rest. We overtake him as he's getting ready to mount the bitch then drag him off to Clovis."

Listening with his eyes still closed, Ulfrik imagined each step in the plan. He recalled when he was Gunnar's age and how every glimpse of a calf and every skirt that hugged a woman's curves would drive him wild with lust. Those urges, particularly if restrained, would defeat any caution when the moment came to fulfill them.

"How is she getting in and out of Ravndal?"

"I asked Throst the same question, but he would not answer. His sister was more forthcoming, and apparently a hole under your north wall is just big enough for her to wiggle through."

"Like a damned mutt digging her way out? Such a simple thing, and yet I hadn't thought of it."

"Sometimes it's the easy things we see last," Konal said. "No one else considered it, either."

The two sat in silence, and Ulfrik's mind began to form plans. Suddenly he realized this was an opportunity and not a disaster. Konal frowned in confusion and Ulfrik began to pace with his hands locked behind his back, uncaring of the cold night air that billowed into his cloak.

"How confident are you of overtaking Throst and his men?" he asked as he paced. "What do you make of Throst?"

Konal tucked his head down and considered the question. "If we act soon, I am confident we can kill them to a man. They only need to sleep and us to remain awake." He drew the edge of his hand across his neck. "Then it's a slaughter. As for Throst, he is smart and knows how to control his men. They fear him, and I've heard he killed their former leader in a duel using his left hand. I've not seen him fight, but I've not survived this long because I under-credit my enemies. What makes him dangerous is his youth. He thinks with a young mind, one that is selfish and vengeful. I cannot say what he will do next, and I expect he might not even know himself."

"What about his relation with Clovis? Does the Frank trust him?"

Konal shrugged. "I cannot say. It seems Clovis gave him silver to seal their bargain. To a Frankish lord, it might not be much, but Throst stores great value in it."

Silence resumed as Ulfrik stopped pacing to consider his options. His instincts railed against his thoughts, but the chance to smash his enemies was too great. "When we first planned to bait Throst with your betrayal, we expected to uncover the traitors then tear them down. I did not expect to find more to exploit."

In the wavering light, Konal's head cocked to this side. "I can free Hakon this night. In fact, we must act before tomorrow or the trap with Gunnar will force my hand."

"Such was our original aim, but now I have new information." Ulfrik bowed his head and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palm. "It pains me to use my sons, particularly Hakon, but they will be key to smashing Throst and Clovis at the one blow."

He smiled and immediately felt shamed for it, recalling Hakon's smooth face and innocent smile. He continued, straightening himself and focusing on the plan. "Astra is feeding Throst information, but we can control what she knows. Let her give him information valuable to Clovis, so valuable Throst will want to pass it on for a reward."

"You want to bait Clovis into a vulnerable spot?" Konal asked, folding his arms. "But what of Hakon?"

"I give you responsibility for Hakon's rescue, and I will reward you and your men with gold. You will have to coordinate your timing with great care, and if at any point in your judgment Hakon is in danger of being killed or maimed, then you must save him."

"Of that you have my word, and I need no encouragement of riches to do so. I knew him when he was a babe, and have grown fond of him since my return. Your family is as my own, Lord Ulfrik; there is no one else left to me."

"But your men will be motivated by riches, and so they will have them. There is no price too high for the safety of my son. Do what you must to prove your loyalty to Throst: curse me, beat Hakon, swear yourself to Clovis, anything to strengthen the ruse, and after three days from tomorrow you kill them all and bring Hakon home."

"You do not want Throst alive?"

"If possible, but with Clovis involved now, Throst is a bug to be crushed under heel. Deal with him as the moment dictates. I will be grinding Clovis into bonemeal while you are cutting the legs from under Throst."

Both men laughed, and Konal grew serious. "Now how will you use Astra to get Clovis to where you want?"

"You will encourage Throst to contact Clovis after Astra makes her report." He put his arm on Konal's shoulder and drew him closer. "Now let me tell you how it will be done, and you may offer suggestions to improve the idea."

Chapter 30

Gunnar stared at his father in the early morning light slanting through the open smoke hole above the hearth. The words spoken could not be true, yet his father's sad eyes fixed on him and he nodded with a barely perceptible finality. Gunnar shook his head, felt a sudden quake in his knees and heat in his eyes. Now he was grateful that his father had cleared the hall and forbidden even his mother from entering, for unmanly tears threatened to flow.

He wanted to hate his father, to call him a liar and accuse him of a lame attempt to control him, but he could not. He could see it for himself now. Astra had strung him along and he had been willing to overlook every question: how she suddenly appeared to him after the hanging of Throst's father, the vagueness of her history, her lack of family in Ravndal, her interest in his father's activities. All of this he had glazed in a dewy, foolish infatuation with a woman who seemed to always speak whatever he needed to hear and always hold what he most desired just out of reach. So many other girls had hoped to catch his eye, but Astra had done so effortlessly and he could not understand how.

"It hurts worse than any blade, I know. She was never worthy of you," Ulfrik said, his tired voice warm with understanding. Gunnar looked at him again, seeing a haggard face so unlike the vigorous man he had grown up idolizing. Did he really understand? His father always won every battle and succeeded in every venture. How could he know failure like this?

Faint sounds of Ravndal waking to the new day reached into their awkward silence in the morning-bright hall. Laughter floated through a window, and Gunnar wondered how anyone could laugh at such a time. Enemies within and without worked to ensure ruin for all, and yet men still found laughter. Would he laugh again, he wondered. Did he deserve it, being such a fool?

"I wish there was more time to heal," Ulfrik said, stepping through the shaft of white light and into the darkness with Gunnar. Both stood at the center of the hall, no other person within, not even the servants and slaves, and faced each other. His father placed a cold, rough hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "But your brother's life hangs on our next move, and you must be the one to save him."

He frowned in confusion at his father, who nodded solemnly. "How so? Haven't I been the fool all along, bringing this disaster into our hall?"

"Foolish words," Ulfrik admonished, bowing and shaking his head. Again he squeezed Gunnar's shoulder before letting his arm drop. "This won't be the last time your trust will be betrayed, my son. When it happens, you will curse your blindness and swear to never trust again, but this is wrong. Trust is at the heart of all things. You cannot stand in a shieldwall without trust in the men at your sides. A jarl cannot lead his people if he cannot trust them to obey their oaths. My son, many shields at your side will falter and many oaths will be spoken in ill-faith, but no matter. You are not to blame nor can you always know when trust will be broken. You will bear no shame for it, though stupid men might call you a fool. You will stand aside from those who soil themselves with dishonor, and not even the hem of your cloak will be dirtied for it."

Gunnar nodded and chanced a smile. He loathed how he still felt like a child, even at sixteen years of life, but his father's words soothed him and exonerated the shame he placed on himself. Still, he craved a way to demonstrate he could carry himself as a man and make wise decisions. "You say I will save my brother?"

"You will, but more remains to explain." Ulfrik began to pace, as he always did when excited for something. He revealed the trickery he and Konal had plotted in secret, dreamed up in a single afternoon. A surge of shock, relief, and dismay filled Gunnar as his father described the careful setting of place and time for contacting each other.

"I struck him in the face," Gunnar said. "I wanted to kill him."

"A perfect accent to heighten the ruse," Ulfrik said, then smiled thoughtfully. "He richly deserved it as well."

"So is none of it true?"

"All of it is true, except that Konal and his men were not drunk and he is not banished. His men only knew they were forbidden to drink that night and had to follow him no matter what. He had only revealed the details to them moments before he launched into his act. It was well done."

"So Aren is not your son."

"He is not my blood, but he is my adopted son. Konal's return makes no difference, and he has agreed. Time will reveal how wise that choice is, but I trust Hakon's fate to him today."

Gunnar's elation at no longer needing to hate a man he had admired all his life crumbled when he thought of his mother. She had been shamed and embarrassed, and her desperation heightened daily. "Will you tell mother?"

"In time, but for now only you and I will know the truth. Deceiving your mother is a heart-pain unlike any other I have ever felt. Your Uncle Toki will be brought in, as you will see in a moment, but all others must remain ignorant until the moment the twin blades of my trap cut down both Throst and Clovis."

Ulfrik sat on a bench and leaned back against a table, then began to explain how Gunnar would rescue Hakon. As his father relayed the plan, Gunnar sat attentively on a bench across from him, leaning in to absorb the details of the plan.

The plan was based on continuing the ruse Ulfrik and Konal had begun. Gunnar's role was to feed Astra vital information that would ruin Throst's plans while creating an opportunity for him to redeem himself with Clovis. Ulfrik planned to send Gunnar along with Toki and his men to seek aid from Hrolf the Strider. The supposition being Ulfrik needs more men to comb the land for Throst while still defending against Clovis, and that since Ulfrik cannot leave he would send his oldest son to represent him. Gunnar would leave this day, and deny Astra the chance to lead him to danger.

"Once you tell Astra this news," Ulfrik said, his eyes bright with excitement and leaning forward on the bench, "she will head straight to Throst with it. If he doesn't see the opportunity himself, Konal will encourage him to inform Clovis that you are with a small band of inexperienced men. You are the bait in the trap, Gunnar. He'll come for you, and I will lead a force to hit him from behind while you and Toki double-back to catch him between us."

"This seems risky. Won't Clovis know you have left with your army as well? His scouts are as shrewd as ours."

"Night will mask us from scouts. Once I have seen Astra return, she will be captured and I will lead half of my men under the cover of darkness into the woods. Footing is treacherous, but the woods are not far. By sunrise we will be following behind you and Clovis as well. No one will have observed my warband exiting Ravndal, and Clovis's spies will still see men on the ramparts. They will have nothing to report."

"Then what of Hakon?"

"By this time Konal and his men will have either killed or captured Throst. They are an even match to Throst's men, but Konal and his crew are warriors and not witless bandits. They will prevail and bring Hakon home. In two strokes, both of my enemies will be destroyed. Clovis will either surrender to me or I will kill him in battle. His overeagerness to avenge his son will be his undoing. He cannot think clearly when his mind is addled with vengeance."

Gunnar considered everything his father had said, and realized his role in it had been exaggerated. His father sat back with a look of supreme satisfaction, but Gunnar did not share it. "I am merely a piece of cheese to lure out the rats. Where is there glory in this? What if I were to refuse?"

Ulfrik's smile dropped and he wiped his mouth as if to forestall a curse. "Clovis's cavalry is destroyed, and he won't leave his fortress undefended. He'll take just enough men for the battle and no more. You needn't worry about success."

"I'm not worried about success," Gunnar interrupted, nearly as shocked as his father to find his voice raised against him. "You are using the promise of my life to gain an advantage over your enemy, and you are proud of it? Is this why not even Mother can know this plan?"

They stared at each other for long moments and a tremor developed in Gunnar's legs that made him thankful he was already seated. Neither man wavered, and Gunnar knew now more than ever he had to prove that he could stand up for himself or forever remain in his father's shadow.

"Son, the plan has been set and Hakon depends on this."

"No, this has nothing to do with Hakon. I am not a child, Father, no matter how long you want to deny it. I can think with a grown man's mind. You just said Konal will free Hakon on the third day, and that happens whether or not you've shoved me in front of Clovis. You just called me bait."

"Yes!" Ulfrik snapped with such sudden force that Gunnar flinched. "So it is true. I've been charmed by my own plan, and placed it before you."

His father seemed to age before his eyes, slumping deeper into his seat. His golden cloak pin glinted in the reflected light, winking and glittering in contrast to the dull and dispirited man wearing it. He put his rough and scarred hands over his face and exhaled a long and weary breath.