Being a one-eyed man, wearing a dark cloak and a floppy hat had its advantages—the inhabitants of the port town all knew who I was. The karls and thralls of the port town stayed out of my way when they could, and when they couldn’t, they bent over backward to help when I asked for it.
By the time Jane came around, and Sif pronounced her fit enough to travel, a day and a half had passed, and our party was scattered to the four winds. Even with the help of two scullery maids and three boys, it took an hour and a half to get everyone rounded up and ready to travel.
None of us had seen Althyof, who had disappeared in search of “supplies,” and it took forty-five minutes to find Althyof—and two of the three boys, plus myself—plus another forty-five minutes to make him sober enough to stay on a horse. I thought Meuhlnir would come out of his skin as we looked for the Tverkr. I’ve not heard such profanity since the last time Jane almost hit a car on I-590 back home. He hid his impatience about as well as a hyperactive four-year-old, and by the time we got Althyof straightened out, I feared for Meuhlnir’s life at the hands of his wives.
We’d ridden north on the field-stone paved coastal road from the port town at a slow pace, both in deference to Jane’s recovery and to Althyof’s woozy head. After a few hours, Sif had insisted we stop for the day and allow Jane to rest. The sea dragons followed us along the coast, cavorting in the waves, and hissing at us every now and again.
“Guess that answers that question,” grumbled Meuhlnir.
“My question is this…”
“Yes…Tyeldnir?”
“Funny,” I said. “If sea dragons have never been bound, how does the Dark Queen control them?”
Althyof grunted. “Control them? She doesn’t control them. She points them in a direction and tells them to go have fun.”
“But—”
“She gives them a target and, afterward, lets them do what they want. It’s much simpler than what I do. She doesn’t bind their wills at all; she gives them suggestions that are almost what they wanted to do in the first place. It’s a subtle change, like telling a child that they want to eat cake instead of pie.”
“Or cake and pie, instead of cake alone,” said Sig.
“Shaddap, you,” I growled at him, and he smiled.
“But, didn’t they have to travel to us? Didn’t they give up on hunting things they could eat to chase us down the coast this afternoon?”
“Of course, they did.”
“So…”
“Think it through. She convinced one sea dragon, and probably one that was already in the area, to attack the ship. We did battle; it sent out a call to its pod for help. It said, in effect, these people are hurting me, come avenge me. The pod came, and the Dark Queen only had to convince them to stick around until we left and shadow us up the coast.”
“And this is their pie? Following us all day when they know they can’t get to us?”
“Revenge is their pie. She tells them that if they follow us, eventually there will be an opportunity to take vengeance.”
“And they are dumb enough to believe that they will sprout legs if they swim far enough north?” asked Jane in a groggy voice.
“They aren’t dumb at all,” said Althyof. “They—”
“They are dumb,” insisted Jane. She shuffled out of camp.
“But she doesn’t understand—”
“Later,” I said and followed Jane into the darkness. She heard me coming and stopped so I could catch up without killing myself in the underbrush.
“You don’t have to follow me. To…to coddle me!” she hissed when I was close enough.
“I’m not coddling you, Jane. I know what it’s like—”
“You know what it’s like to be shot at by your husband?” she snapped.
“Did I… Did I hit you? When I was shooting at the dragon?”
“Well, I hope you weren’t shooting at me. Not that time, at least. And no, you didn’t hit me, but I felt the bullet go past my side. Do you know what that feels like, Hank?”
“You know I do, Jane. And you know I didn’t shoot at you. I shot in front of you because I couldn’t get your attention any other way, and Sig was behind you. Yowtgayrr already had him—”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
“I’m only saying I didn’t mean to hit you, ever, but I had to distract that damn sea snake, or it would have gotten you or Sig, and ring or no ring, I don’t think you would survive a dragon’s bite.”
She stood there, fuming but not talking, close to tears. It wasn’t about the shooting. She knew how proficient I was with my pistols, and that Kunknir had been enchanted for accuracy. It was about killing the dragon—about Jane killing the dragon.
“Hon, I know you didn’t want to kill it. You never wanted to kill anything, but the choice was—”
“Between Sig and the stupid sea dragon,” she said with tears in her voice.
“Yes,” I said and waited.
“Oh, Hank, I don’t want to kill things with…by… I didn’t even think about it! But I did it…I just did it! I…I…I—”
“Had to, to save the life of your son. Jane, you had no choice, and it would be no different if a man attacked Sig, and you had a pistol. You’d have shot him—protected Siggy—only to feel bad about it like you are now.” She took a step closer and burst into tears, so I held her while she cried.
“I don’t like it,” she said after a while.
“Don’t like what, Jane?”
“I don’t like being…”
“An action hero? Too late, Supergirl.” That earned a chuckle. “You know I love you, no matter what you do.”
“Even if I make you eat burnt kale?”
“Well, let’s not get all crazy here. I mean, burnt kale?”
“You’ll eat it and like it, Mister!” She was still crying a little, but she chuckled deep in her throat.
“Better now?” I whispered.
“Not better but getting better.”
“Good, because all this coddling you was starting to cramp my style.”
“If you weren’t already broken, I’d hit you right now.”
“Why do you think I’d risk talking to you like that? You know if you punch me you’ll have to take care of me all the more.”
“Who says I’m taking care of you now? I only need you healthy until we get back home, and then I’ll collect the life insurance and move to Tahiti.” She stepped back, wiping her eyes.
“Toledo, maybe.”
“Toledo, Spain.”
“They wouldn’t take you. Your accent is horrible.”
“If you have finished making a fool out of yourself, Hank, let’s go back and see what’s in the cook pot. Besides, my legs are shaking, and my head feels like Althyof’s face looks.”
I draped my arm over her shoulder, and she snuggled against me. “What do you suppose the miraculous Yowrnsaxa has in store for us tonight?”
“It doesn’t smell anything like kale.”
“Thank God!”
We walked back into camp, and the Isir all did their thing of pretending nothing had happened. A moment later, Yowtgayrr and Skowvithr also came into camp, one on each side of us. Jane glanced up at me, and a blush crept up her neck. I gave her a squeeze and mouthed the word “Elves”, and she grinned. Of Althyof, there was no sign.
We sat on the logs Mothi had dragged close to the fire. He and Sig were locked in a conversation that involved a lot of hand gestures and funny faces. “He’s a big kid,” whispered Jane.
“Not around Svartalfar,” I said, remembering the damage he’d done to his own hands while shoving them down the throat of a Svartalf that had attacked Veethar’s compound.
“What?”
“Never mind,” I said. “Mothi likes Sig, and will entertain him, but when push comes to shove, he’s no child.”
“Are you hungry, Jane?” asked Yowrnsaxa from across the fire. The Isir woman was bent over the pot, inhaling the scent, and stirring its contents with a long-handled wooden spoon. She peeked at Jane, and her eyes darted away again.
“Starved, and whatever is in that pot smells like heaven.”
Veethar grunted his agreement.
“Eat double tonight, dear,” said Sif without looking at her. “I will be watching.”
Frikka came and sat on the other side of Jane. She didn’t look at her, but she took Jane’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You know of the troubles the Black Queen has caused here.”
“Yes,” murmured Jane.
“Did you know we fought a war to get free of her?”
Jane nodded. Around the campfire, silence descended as everyone turned to listen, even Mothi and Sig.
“During that war, we fought our friends, our families,” said Frikka in a quiet, restrained voice. “We did…many things.”
“Frikka, it’s okay. I’m—”
“She caused so much pain—even in the getting rid of her. I made my first kill in that war, but I should have killed sooner than I did.”
Yowrnsaxa passed out bowls of steaming roasted vegetables in a thick beef broth. She paused next to Frikka and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed, and then turned back to her task.
“Before the war, we all thought we were hardened skyuldur vidnukonur—shield maidens. The men believed their duties as vuthuhr trohtninkar—the Queen’s Guard—prepared them, but, nothing can prepare one for war…”