Shield of Lies (25 page)

"Ulfrik will be looking for a man, not a girl. If you are discovered, lie to them about why you have left. Maybe you are fucking a farmer's son behind Gunnar's back. Is that so unlikely? You worry overmuch. Besides, I have one last blow to strike at Ulfrik. I want you to bring the third son to me, the strange child. Let Ulfrik lose all his family for the way he took my father from me. All three of his brats, wouldn't that be something!"

Astra reflected his smile, then frowned. "But what if the boy really is Konal's? Maybe he won't care."

"He's raising the brat, isn't he?" Throst pulled her arm away, but held her hand. "Anyway, our time here will be at an end. We turn over his children to Clovis for a good price and then the two of us will slip away to live a better life. Justice will have been done, and we will be richer for it."

Her smile widened and she hugged him in excitement. The soft warmth of her distracted Throst, and he wished he had more time to indulge his lust, but he had to act before Konal could.

"Go now to my sister," he said as he pulled back. "We will not meet again until all is done. Here, this is my cloak pin which I'll place under this rock. When you have Ulfrik's third son or you need to meet me, retrieve this pin and I will know to seek you in your mother's home village in the east. If the pin remains, I will wait nearby for you to show."

He slipped the pin under the rock and pressed it down with his boot. His cloak slipped from his shoulder, and he wrapped it into his hand. He might need it in the fight he expected upon his return to the hideout. Astra's eyes shimmered with tears and she kissed him gently. "I do not know how I will capture Aren on my own, or take him from Ravndal, but I will do all that I can."

"Do your best. If Clovis has all three sons, he would command Ulfrik's life and pay me well. But this youngest one seems less dear to either of them. Perhaps it would be better if you killed the brat outright. That Ulfrik suffer is more important than squeezing out the last bit of gold from Clovis."

Astra blinked and stared expressionless at him. Throst suppressed a smile, knowing his offhand request for murder hit her like a stone. He wondered at her loyalty, and enjoyed learning how far she could be pushed. For so long she had been as pliable but as unbreakable as a green sapling. Yet would she murder a child for his pleasure? It was an interesting question, and if so then what did it mean for his control over her? Would she even be interesting to him any longer, having so thoroughly dominated her?

"You could do that for me, couldn't you? You promised to be my agent in places where I could no longer go. Remember that terrible day I was torn from your side, barely a moment to say farewell. You told me those very words."

"I ..." Astra blinked again and her voice trailed off, though her wide eyes never left his.

"If you cannot kill him, then bring him to me. But do not return without achieving either outcome. Now, go. We waste time here, and I have to act before Konal and his men do."

Chapter 37

Throst and Astra walked in silence until close to the hideout, and then she peeled away to warn his sister and mother. Throst watched her disappear into the trees with the grace of a doe, and he wondered if the girl really understood her talent. He regretted that he might be throwing her away too soon, but she could best serve him inside Ulfrik's hall. Should she be caught and the truth beaten out of her, then after this morning it would not matter anyway.

Dawn was yellow and cold, and brown leaves rolled across the dead grass. Silent footing was a precarious thing in autumn, and he would have liked more of it, but his revised plans did not require stealth. That was Astra's purview. He was going to enjoy handling Konal and his men in a way they would never expect.

Despite having no rooster to crow the arrival of the new day, men were already loitering in the yard before the hall. He was surprised, though he should not have been. Konal and his men were gathered together, with the pretense of collecting wood for the hearth, though too many hands made their task unconvincing. Throst noted how they strained to ignore him, only Konal successfully feigning he had no other thought but to kindle the morning fire. But all of them wore swords, giving away their clumsy performance.

"Good morning!" Throst called to them. "You are all gathered together. This is good. I've got news for you."

Konal flung the wedge of firewood back to the pile and turned, his hand reflexively reaching for his hilt. Throst never flinched as he approached, acting as if he did not see Konal barely gaining control of his killing reflex. Astra's news had come none too soon. Throst had but only an instant to make everything work in his favor.

"And where have you been?" Konal challenged him, his hand brushing past the hilt of his sword.

"Getting word from my contact in Ravndal, of course. It seems we've lost our chances at Gunnar."

Konal's men stood straighter, and Throst immediately guessed he had spoken the signal they had expected. His eyes did not leave Konal's, which seemed to glitter with a malevolence befitting his nightmarish scars. In the moment Konal reached for his sword, Dan exited the hall with Olaf behind him. Both men were unarmed but their sudden appearance gave Throst a lucky break.

"I want you to take Hakon to safety for me," he blurted out. The offer had the intended effect of stunning Konal and his men. He continued to surprise them, making their betrayal easier. "It's not safe here, not with Clovis knowing our hideout, and I'm about to deliver bad news to him. Hakon is our only play against Ulfrik for now. Konal, you and your men take him to the caves where we hid from Ulfrik. I will send all of my men with you, but Dan and Olaf will go with me to deliver news to Clovis."

Konal shared a bemused look with his crew, and stances relaxed. He had just offered them everything they wanted, except himself. "I want this done immediately, for Ulfrik may have had someone follow my contact. I can't have the two most powerful men in these lands seeking me at once. Now Konal, I know I promised we would get your son and revenge at one stroke."

"That you did, and I'm not ready to leave without both." Konal's hands flexed and veins stood out from his neck. He certainly relished his acting, Throst thought.

"I've a plan for that as well." He looked at Dan and Olaf, and between the two of them he had some wits and some brawn. They would have to do. "I will tell you in a moment, in private. But first, gather all the men and let's get ready to move."

Throst smiled amiably as Konal nodded, pretended to calm himself, and barked at his men to assemble as the others prepared. Thus far, his plans were coming together, but the remainder of it trusted to Astra warning his sister and for Dan and Olaf to follow him on faith alone.

The instant Konal turned away, Throst grabbed them both and tugged them close. His voice was a faint whisper. "Konal and his men are traitors. Get Hakon, forget the others."

He released them and the quick exchange seemed to pass unnoticed. To his surprise, neither Olaf nor Dan betrayed any surprise. They shared an expressionless glance, and Olaf melted away as Dan stepped up to Throst's side. He had expected confusion from him at least, but maybe they were even more astute than himself. He would consider it later, for now he had to get away with Hakon.

The others were still bleary with sleep and they trudged out to the cold morning with curses and belches, scratching lice-infested heads and stumbling into each other. Another night of stolen ale had rendered them useless, and it was no great loss to sacrifice these fools. Konal looked them over, then his eyes brightened.

"Where's Olaf?" he asked sharply.

"Gone to fetch Hakon and my family." Konal smiled and wrapped his cloak tighter into his hand. "I can tell from your face you don't trust him. Then let's both get Hakon and I can share my plan as we walk." He held his hands wide and saw Konal scan him for a weapon. He had only a small knife, nothing compared to Konal's sword. He wanted Konal to be completely confident in a fast kill.

"All right, let's go. Dan stays here."

"That's right, it won't be a secret if Dan comes with us."

The other farmhouse sheltered Hakon with his sister and mother, and the entrance was fortuitously out of sight around the corner. Hakon remained tethered to the columns inside, like the puppy he was. He had not been mistreated, except by Throst's mother who exorcised frustrations on him. In fact, over the weeks, Hakon and his sister were developing a friendship that only children seemed able to make.

Despite knowing Konal could whirl on him in an instant, Throst had no fear. His pulse had quickened, but that was all. He did not question the confidence, but welcomed it. This was going to work. Konal was going to strike the moment they rounded the corner. At the same time, his men would hack the others to ribbons. After all, Throst had neatly arranged them in the yard and then distracted them with travel preparations. Hakon would be awaiting freedom and only mousy Olaf stood in the way, a trifle to Konal. Throst had all but extended his head to be hacked off.

Neither spoke about the plan Throst had offered, and that should have been warning enough to Konal.

"I think you'll find my plan a bit confusing at first," Throst said as they approached the corner.

Then he swept his foot before Konal and shoved him over it. He tripped forward and, fast as a cat, Throst was on his back. He slapped his cloak over Konal's head like a bag and yanked it down. He had only just begun to struggle as Throst wound it tighter. Konal's free hand sought his short sword, the sax, used for close fighting. But Throst's left hand was as nimble as his right, and in one deft motion he snatched the blade out of the sheath.

"The rest of the plan should make sense to you now."

Throst rammed the blade into Konal's side and his scream was muffled by the heavy wool cloak. He drew the blade back for a second thrust, but Olaf stumbled out of the house dragging a kicking Hakon with him. Screams from behind told Throst that the slaughter had begun. Dan came running like a frightened moose.

Olaf stared wide eyed at him. "What do we do now? Your mother ..."

"They've gone to hiding," Throst stood up from Konal, who rolled over and moaned into a widening pool of blood. He had no time to finish the deed nor did he care for Konal's fate. "We're getting out of here now. Give me the boy."

One heavy slam with the pommel of Throst's sword and Hakon went limp. He shoved Hakon at Olaf, who slung the boy across his shoulder. They sprinted into the nearby woods to lose pursuers in the ever-shifting landscape of fallen leaves and woodland streams. Throst was laughing.

Chapter 38

Astra ambled along the track leading to the northern gates of Ravndal. The sun was setting and the cold of nightfall matched the chill in her heart. Keeping to the cover of darkness no longer mattered and crossing the expanse of cleared fields demanded nothing of her in the light. Once on the track worn through the widest spaces between stumps, she only had to drag her feet with enough speed to reach the gates before nightfall.

Black forms of men patrolled the ramparts and she imagined their surprise at finding her outside their carefully guarded walls. The fools had let her come and go so often. Walls were only suited to halting stupid men blustering with their swords and spears. The small and unimportant burrowed under them, sneering at their bravado and mocking their vigilance. Knocking on their front gates would be worthy of laughter, if she could remember how laughter felt.

The shapes on the walls melded together, no doubt conferring on what threat lay before them. Finally the smile emerged on Astra's lips. They would never guess her threat, never consider she carried a blade taken from Throst. She would be mocked, ridiculed, cursed, and in the end she would be free.

Would she kill the boy? Could she? The sheathed knife at her hip clapped against her skin as she walked. She had the tool for murder. Did she have the heart? Even owning success, she left herself no means of escape. She had no intention of escape.

Throst had been her whole world, everything that furnished her life with meaning. Her father had been a tender man, but he spent his life fighting the Franks for Ulfrik. Her mother's people. Though her mother had gladly accepted her father's blood price from Ulfrik and remained to serve him, from that day she hated Ravndal and all Northmen. She loved her own daughter less for being half Norse. Even so her mother's death had plunged her into a drowning loneliness from which Throst had rescued her. For one year, he delighted her and loved her. He had dallied with other girls, but always returned to her. They would be married one day. Throst always dreamed of greatness and she believed in their future together.

Then Ulfrik ripped him away, just as he had discarded her father's life. She swore to follow Throst into the uncertain future, but he had asked her to remain behind to take his vengeance. Even in the chaos of his banishment, he had the wits to plan for the future. She admired that brilliance, was enthralled and mystified by it. Their parting kiss had afforded an expectation of joy, even when the future appeared so bleak. She had done all he had asked of her and more, all for the promise of living within Throst's dreams.

Ravndal drew closer now and the shapes on the wall resolved into men who watched her with arrows set to their bows. If they fired upon her, she did not care. What did it matter? Throst had commanded her to die, after all.

By the time she realized she could flee, she had already come within sight of Ravndal's walls. She had stumbled back in a daze, too stunned from his ultimatum to even consider what to do. Kidnap or kill Aren on her own, with no one left to help her.

And not return to Throst unless one or the other had been accomplished.

Death was what he had sent her to find.

Men hailed her at the gates, calling down from the wall in rough voices. Warning arrows were fired, thudding into the ground around her as she approached the gates. She did not flinch, but drifted forward to bang on the rough-hewn logs of the doors.