Viking Wrath (9 page)

"And that is enough. Erik, take us back to the jetty. We have much to do," Already my mind was working. My family was not safe yet but they were not dead! Our enemies would not know that we knew where they were. "Aiden, find out where they will be on Ynys Cybi. If they tell me they shall live and not be enslaved!"

Erik had the ship turned around and the men began to row us back down the river. I saw the questions on the faces of my Ulfheonar. I could not answer them yet but I now had more hope than I had had when the sun had set.

As we nudged to the jetty I said, "Erik, lift the mast. I want us to be ready to sail."

"Aye Jarl."

Aiden joined me. "There is a sacred grove close to Caer Cybi. They have a hill fort there and the men believe that they would be taken there."

"Do you believe them?"

He smiled, "Jarl as soon as they knew who you were they would have sold their mothers into slavery! They told the truth."

"Good then get a map drawn from their words so that we can sail there and rescue our family. If they cooperate then they will live"

I stepped ashore and waited for Wolf Killer and his ship to join us. Haaken and Cnut clambered over the side. "Well?"

"They are on Ynys Cybi. The High Priestess took them there. I know not why but it means they are alive still."

The relief was obvious on both their faces. "What will we do?"

"We have time now. First we punish this Mark of Tintagel."

"How?"

I smiled. I had spent the long hours waiting for the tide to turn thinking of this. "The only way onto the castle is by the bridge. We destroy the bridge. They will not die but they will take many days to escape. I will not forget this Mark of Tintagel and when I have killed his sister I will give thought to how I might destroy him. We send the ship with the grain and the slaves back to Úlfarrston and we go to Ynys Môn and the holy island of Ynys Cybi. They will think that they are safe. They are not!"

My son was distraught when he landed, "They are not on board the ship we took! They must have drowned!"

I shook my head and put my hands on his shoulders. "They were not aboard the two ships which sank. They contained grain. The fishes will eat well this night! Our family is on Anglesey. We will go and find them."

"We sail tonight?"

I smiled, "There is no hurry for the longer we delay our arrival the more secure they will become. First we deliver a message to Mark of Tintagel and then we sail north."

I had the captives loaded aboard the grain ship and had ten of Arturus' warriors crew the ship. We sent them north to return home. We had enough warriors left to do what we had to do and I wanted my people to know that there was hope for Kara and Elfrida. The men of On Corn Walum would be sent to work in the iron mines and those they replaced would be given their freedom. That was my way.

I decided to leave at dawn to travel to Tintagel. This would not take long. Snorri had told us that there were less than twenty men guarding the entrance to the bridge over the gorge. In the mood my men were that would not be a problem. It took us almost two hours to reach the bridge. Snorri and Bjorn the Scout led ten Ulfheonar and they waited, unseen, close to the two wooden towers and gatehouse. We could have used fire arrows to destroy it but my four new Ulfheonar were keen to prove themselves. The six of them crept close to the wooden structure and waited.

When I saw that they were in position I stood as did all of my men. The Ulfheonar all wore wolf cloaks and had painted faces. As the twenty men within the gatehouse peered in horror at the sight of my warriors which greeted them the six scouts leapt forward and using their shields threw Snorri and Harald up on to the walls. The two of them created chaos as they raced along the ramparts. Bodies fell as they ruthlessly killed the defenders. The other four then clambered up after them. We raced forward towards the wooden gate and panic set in amongst the guards. There were only six men but they were hard fighting warriors and they laid into the defenders with ruthless efficiency. By the time we reached the gates it was over. Six had fled across the bridge. The rest lay dead.

"Make fires. I want this gatehouse burning. Sigtrygg, cut the ropes on the bridge. When that is done then rain fire arrows on the castle. They will put the fires out but they will use their precious supply of water to do so and the only way out of there until they repair the bridge is down the cliff! The need for water will madden them."

My men enjoyed the irony. Their security was their doom. We could not take the castle but they could not escape without losing many men. Their only saviours were already sailing back to my land. When they did manage to escape from their own prison they would find a land without people. I had begun to punish Mark of Tintagel. But it was only the beginning. I had a long memory and I did not forgive hurt to my family.

I walked to the edge of the cliff, "Mark of Tintagel find a hole in which to hide. Make it deep and far from here. When I have killed your sister than I will return and all of you will be destroyed!"

In answer half a dozen arrows flew towards me. I took them on my shield.

I turned my back on them to show my lack of respect for them and walked back to my cheering men. Even Wolf Killer nodded his approval.

We set fire to the port and the jetty. It could be rebuilt but that would take time and Mark of Tintagel would have time to reflect on his folly. Our biggest problem was of our own making. The two ships which had sunk in the estuary meant that we could only leave at high tide and we had to edge our way around the wrecks. Until they were cleared they would have to find somewhere else from which to set sail. My sailors who passed by the following year discovered that the port was abandoned. Our wrath had had a greater effect than they could possibly have expected.

When we had negotiated the obstacles we set sail. I sat at the steering board and pored over the newly created maps with Aiden. We already had some information for the Romans had had a fort at Caer Cybi. The witch would not be there but at an ancient hill fort on the mountain which rose above the town. They called it a mountain but I had sailed along that coast and knew that it was not; it was a lump of rock which rose high above the island. My home in Cyninges-tūn was higher. The lowest slopes of Old Olaf's mountains were higher. It was, however, a special place. Those who had fought the Romans, the Druids, had made their last stand at the hill fort. The spirits watched over it. The Romans had destroyed it which meant it had to have been rebuilt. From what we had been told by the terrified few survivors when Angharad had landed she had headed in that direction. Mountains, however small, were always the centre of the power of the Mother. Kara was a volva and if they wished to harness her power then they would take her there. We knew where we had to get to.

"The problem we have, Jarl Dragon Heart, is twofold. There are few places to land unseen and the warriors of Gwynedd are fierce fighters. They drove the Saxons hence from their sacred island. They are not weak like the men of On Corn Walum."

"There is a third danger. We have to approach this coast in the dark and there are many rocks and shoals to rip the bottom from an unwary ship."

Erik had been listening as he leaned on the board. "Josephus told me of that coast. He had sailed there when he served Rorik. He said that the currents were so strong that even with a full crew rowing the ships could still be pulled on to the rocks. The mighty Josephus feared the island."

I stood and walked to the front of the ship. I put my hand on the dragon prow. Bolli would need to repair it once we returned to Cyninges-tūn. However the familiar carvings helped my mind to work and I began to formulate a plan. I tried to visualise the coast. I had sailed it before but I could not remember the details. Certainly I had not landed on that coast. The rocks were, indeed, terrifying. As I felt the power of my ship beneath my hands I also saw that this strength and its size were a weakness. We needed something which was smaller. We had not time to build. We would need to raid.

I hurried back down the middle of the drekar. Aiden smiled as I approached, "You have an answer, Jarl."

It was a statement and not a question. I nodded. "Erik, if memory serves there are some fishing villages on the southern side of the land of Wyddfa."

"Aye, Jarl, there are a number of them. We saw them fishing when we rested at Ynys Enlii but if you think to raid them then you should know that they have defended them. They have learned from our attacks."

"Then we shall find them when they fish."

"Why do you want fishing boats?"

"You are right Erik, '
The Heart of the Dragon'
would be dashed on the rocks if we attempted to land using the drekar but fishing boats could ferry us ashore no matter how small the gap." I picked up the map. "Look here, there are three beaches where we could easily land: Aberffaw, Trearrdur and Porthdafarc. All of them are on the south side of the Ynys Cybi or close enough to reach the mountain."

Aiden shook his head, "Aberffaw is on the main island and the King has a castle there."

"Exactly and that leaves the two beaches."

This time it was Erik who shook his head. "They have towers on both of their beaches. We could land but our presence would be known."

"Precisely."

I saw that I had confused them both. "Then you are saying we are doomed to failure before we start?"

"No, Erik. I am saying that there have to be small beaches elsewhere and closer to the mountain but they are so small that no one thinks to guard them for they would be inaccessible. If we have fishing boats then they become accessible to the Ulfheonar who will land and be as ghosts. They will appear from the bowels of the earth and be unexpected. It is what we do."

Aiden shook his head, "Wolf Killer will not be happy."

"We have a choice, we use the Ulfheonar to rescue Kara and Elfrida or Wolf Killer is happy. I am Jarl and it is my decision. Erik head for the fishing grounds. It is not far from the course we would have taken any way. If we can reach them tomorrow night then we have the chance to capture them. We need but two."

As we altered course I knew that my son, on the
'Josephus'
, would wonder at this deviation from our plan. When night fell and we hove to I would tell him; part of my ideas, at least. We pulled in close to a deserted beach on the west coast of Dyfed. The people there were allies, of a sort, but it did not do to make our presence known. While our men hunted shellfish and the eggs of roosting birds I explained to my son what I intended.

"If you take just two fishing boats then it will take a long time to land all of our men."

"I know but we cannot tow more than one fishing boat each. This is not the perfect plan but it is a compromise. When you are leader you will have to make such decisions."

He looked at me with the same look he had had as a boy when he had done something wrong. "I have not been behaving as a Jarl have I?" I said nothing. The silence was my answer. "How did you deal with it when Kara, my mother and I were kidnapped?"

"I did not rush in blindly and throw caution to the wind. We scouted, we planned and when we executed the plan. We rescued you and none were harmed." He nodded. "This is slightly different for your wife is with child and you know not the effect on her." His look told me I had struck the mark. "Aiden has not dreamed such danger. I know he has not the power of Kara but the blue stone and the closeness of Wyddfa increases his power. The closer we get to Ynys Môn and your sister the more chance we have of knowing if they are in danger."

"Why did they take Kara? I do not understand."

"Nor do I, at least not fully. I am guessing that they wish to make her one of them so that they can increase their powers. The cult of the Mother was powerful on Ynys Môn. My own mother followed it."

"But would Kara abandon us?"

That was my worry. I shrugged, "I know not. She is not fully grown yet. This High Priestess appears to exert an influence on those around her. She certainly impressed Kara."

As he prepared to return to his own drekar he said, "But Elfrida was not taken in, I think. Angharad made the same comments to my wife but she was not impressed. That is why I fear for my wife more than my sister. This priestess may see Elfrida as a threat."

"Then we will soon resolve the matter. We capture the fishing boats tomorrow and the next night we land on Ynys Môn. This is all speculation at the moment but once we are close then our warriors will do what they do best. None will live when we have recaptured our loved ones."

The wind came from the east and we made good progress as we sailed north the next morning. We saw the grey smudge which marked the mountains around Wyddfa and the peninsula which jutted out into the sea. We lowered the sail and waited. We could not see the fishing villages and so we assumed they could not see us. When it was dark we would sail north. We wanted the fishermen to sail west before we approached them. That way they would find it difficult to get past us. We knew where they would head, Ynys Enlii. We had seen them there on our way south. These fishermen were not our allies. They followed the banner of the King of Gwynedd and it was that king who had granted sanctuary to the priestess. His people would pay for that mistake.

We rowed slowly north until we saw the pinpricks of light which marked the fishing village. We then lowered our sails and headed west, side by side. The ship's boys straddled the mast and kept watch. It was they who spotted the lights of the fishing boats. We approached them silently. The lights they used to lure the fish to their nets meant that they did not see us until we suddenly loomed up out of the dark. Their sails were down. As luck would have it or perhaps it was the work of the Norns, two fishing boats were between us. The three men in each boat jumped overboard and began to swim east as soon as the dragon ships appeared. I hoped they would be good swimmers for it was many leagues to land. Our ships boys dived into the sea and swam to the two boats. After we had thrown them ropes, they tied them to the rear of each drekar. Erik laughed as he pointed to the other fishing boats, "They have picked up the fishermen. I wonder what tale they will tell."

"I am just pleased that we did not need to hurt them. They can always build more boats."

We headed west past Ynys Enlii. I looked over the stern at the boat we towed. Although there had only been three crew it was large enough for eight men. It would be crowded but we would fit. It meant I could take eleven others with me. I would not overload the two of them. My intention was to capture the tower at Porthdafarc and allow my two drekar to land my men. The bay, which we had seen before, was well protected by two headlands. The eastern wind continued to push us towards the island. We saw masts in the distance but their lookouts must have recognised our long ships as Vikings and they steered clear of us. We kept out to sea until twilight and then Aiden pointed to the island and guided a nervous Erik closer to shore.

We saw the waves crashing into the cliffs and I could not see the cove which Aiden seemed to have found. "Jarl, I cannot stay here long. It is too dangerous."

He was a seaman first and foremost. "You are right, Aiden, we will go closer and hope that the smaller boat can survive. Ulf, Snorri, Bjorn the Scout and Harald Long Legs you come with us."

The two new Ulfheonar were both pleased and surprised to be asked. "Why us Jarl? We are honoured but…"

I smiled although in the dark they would see nothing, "Because of your strength Ulf and because Harald is the tallest man on the ship. I may need his height!"

"Do we need mail?"

"We will not risk it. Leather byrnies only. Haaken, take command. I will send the fishing boat back if we find this cove. Send ashore ten men when we do so and then sail south and lie off the bay. We will signal if we succeed."

He nodded and then said, "And if you fail?"

"Then Wolf Killer will be Jarl and I will watch from the Otherworld!"

Snorri chuckled, "That is a cheering thought!"

Ulf was the first to descend for he was the largest of us. Aiden and I were the last. The fishing boat seemed tiny after the drekar. With the wind from the east we could use the small sail and, while I steered Harald and Ulf lowered it. Aiden crouched in the bows peering into the dark. He waved to the left and I put the tiller over. The wind seemed to make us fly and I shouted, "Ulf shift your weight to counterbalance us!"

We raced towards the cliffs and then Aiden's arm moved to the right. Suddenly I saw a black hole before us and a maelstrom of whirling white water. It looked like we were going over the edge of a waterfall. He held both arms up and I tried to keep us straight. The sides of the channel seemed to be almost touching us. I found myself struggling to hold us straight. The tiny boat was tipping precariously close to the rocks and we were in danger of sinking. "Snorri!"

Snorri had been a ship's boy and he added his weight to mine. Between the two of us we managed to right the boat and steer a reasonably straight course. I had no idea where we were going. One wall of rock appeared to bend over us so that it was like going into a tunnel. The sail flattened as we entered the chasm and the wind died. We were in danger of begin swept to our deaths. "Bjorn the Scout! Ulf, Harald, grab an oar and row as though your lives depended upon it!" The side of the flimsy fishing boat ground next to a rock. Ulf used the oar to push with all of his might and we found the channel once more.

As I peered ahead I saw a light patch in the darkness of the cove. Snorri had taken an oar and he was rowing with the other three. Ulf's strength meant that we crabbed a little but when Aiden leapt over the bow I knew that the white I had seen was the sand of the small beach. As the bottom ground on the shingle and sand we all clambered over the side grateful to have reached land once more.

I clapped Aiden on the back. "Well done Aiden you were right. There was a cove."

Harald pointed up. The cliffs appeared to be sheer. "But how do we climb that?"

I laughed, my laughter drowned by the crashing of the waves on the rocks. "That we will discover soon enough but be grateful that you are neither Aiden nor Ulf."

Ulf looked at me, "Why?"

"For you two have to go back to the drekar and bring the other boat and more warriors ashore!"

"That is impossible!"

Aiden took Ulf's arm. "The tide is receding, all I need to do is keep a straight course. You can scull with one oar. Once we leave the chasm we can use the sail. It will be easier the second time. I know where the entrance is." I could see that Ulf was not convinced but, to give him his due, he climbed back aboard the tiny fishing boat.