Chapter 9

Valerie and Finna were outside in the cool autumn air playing with Petal and Porky. They chased the animals around the field. Some of the villagers were a short distance away collecting wheat, while others were farther down the field. They were harvesting turnips and cabbage to help them through the long hard winter ahead. Valerie had insisted she could help, after all she had only started her second trimester and she wasn’t even showing. Hott demanded she rest. The only thing he wanted her doing was cooking and warming his bed.

Both men continued to make love to her, but it was sweet and controlled. Valerie missed their passion. She had found her sexual lust to be in overdrive. She couldn’t get enough. To her shame she had begged Ulfr one day to give in to his desire for rough sex and just screw her brains out. He had looked utterly appalled with the idea until she explained it was just a manner of speaking and her brains would remain safely in her skull.

He had then, more than agreeably, bent her over the table, grabbed her wrists, covered her mouth and took her like a wildman denied something he’d needed for too long. It had been bliss feeling his hard massive cock slamming into her ass. She screamed her muffled release over and over craving more, bucking against him until Ulfr had laughed and swatted her behind. Her ass had ached, but it had been worth it. Ulfr told her he would have her when she needed it, but once she was showing he would stop. She hoped she wouldn’t show until her ninth month.

Finna dragged her from her thoughts by squealing in laughter. Porky was stuffing his nose under her dress. Valerie chuckled remembering Ulfr howl one night when while during sex the piglet had stuck its cold nose almost right up his ass. Served him right! She giggled. She grabbed the piglet, which did his own squealing and tossed him aside. His little feet flailed for a moment before righting himself.

Valerie continued chuckling until she looked over at Finna. The young woman who had agreed to keep her company had gone a deathly pale. Valerie stared in the direction she was gazing. Barreling down on them fast was a group of men on horseback. Finna whimpered, and remained frozen in fear. Valerie screamed for Hott. She grabbed Finna by her wrist and dragged her into a dead run.

Hott was yelling. The other men raced towards them, but it was too late. A man reached down and yanked Finna away from Valerie, despite the girl’s kicks and screams. Another man pulled Valerie into his arms. She didn’t know whether to beat at him or hang on for dear life. In the end she clung to him, not wanting to risk the life of her child by falling.

Farther and farther the men rode until Hott was just a small speck in the distance. Soon he was gone. She could hear Finna sobbing and begging for her life. Valerie was also wondering what these men would do to them.

* * * *

Night had fallen, and Valerie sat quietly in a dirty hut. It had been thrown together days earlier she learned. The other women were quiet and moved about slowly and fearfully. The men who had kidnapped her had been the same ones who had killed Hott’s wife and baby. She asked one woman why they hadn’t just taken them too instead of murdering them. Another woman explained in a tiny tired voice that they had all been kidnapped by these men, and their babies had been butchered. These men had no mercy for their own offspring. If they cried too much they were considered weak and were left behind to die on the trails they wandered endlessly, always moving, always stealing, and killing.

They had attacked Hott’s village for the livestock. They had wanted the horses mostly. They didn’t need the headache of more women and children. In truth they had been killed because the idea entertained the men. Valerie and Finna had been taken on a whim, just to prove they could.

Finna rocked back and forth near where Valerie sat. She recognized one of the men who had killed her mother. He seemed to be the leader of the band of murderers. He was filthy and slovenly. He was also as big as Hott and appeared just as powerful. Each time he approached Finna, she screamed and cowered. Valerie wrapped her arms around the girl.

“Stop your wailing or I’ll cut your tongue out,” the man snapped.

Finna looked at him horrified. She sniffled, swallowed her sobs, and quieted but Valerie felt her shaking.

“All of you women finish what you’re doing, it’s time for bed.” The Viking gave a suggestive look at the men who smiled.

Each man moved to take a woman into their furs. The huge Viking grabbed a young woman to his chest.

“But there are others,” she protested.

Valerie could see the woman’s fear build as the Viking fondled her roughly.

The man grabbed her hair and bent her back to look into her eyes. “But you know what I like. I’m not in the mood to teach another right now,” he snarled.

It wasn’t long before Valerie heard the moans and grunts of many engaged in sex. For now she and Finna were spared from an assault.

* * * *

In the morning, Valerie and Finna were forced to cook and clean and help the other women with daily chores. There had been some surprise at seeing children milling about helping. Valerie hadn’t noticed any in the hut. Although upon reflection it had been dark and her concern was solely dedicated to her welfare and that of Finna’s. She wondered where they had been, yet dismissed the thought for a moment when another stunning realization hit. There were no supplies for when the colder weather would set in.

“How will you eat when there is nothing stored for winter?” Valerie whispered to a woman.

The woman looked hesitant to answer. Looking cautiously around, and seeing no men close enough to overhear she replied, “They steal what they want. They will bring more women to warm their beds as soon as the snow falls.”

“Why do you stay?” Valerie asked.

“They will kill us if we leave, and it’s not a pleasant way to die. They beat and raped one woman to death in front of us when she escaped and they brought her back.”

Valerie shuddered. She felt nauseous, and she knew it wasn’t due to her condition. She couldn’t imagine one of them touching her, let alone all twenty of them. She could see the men leering at her and Finna.

“Why don’t you fight? You outnumber the men,” she whispered.

“Fight how?” the woman asked with remorse. “One blow from a heavy fist would kill us. They have weapons.”

“So do you,” Valerie insisted.

“What weapons do we have?” the woman asked curiously.

“Surprise,” Valerie whispered and smiled.

It took a small amount of coaxing to gain the women’s trust. She could see hope and desperation in the eyes of the women who weren’t completely broken down. During the day Valerie took each woman aside, and taught her how to flip a man to the ground. She encouraged Finna to aid her. Soon the women were taking turns flinging each other to the forest floor. It was done good-naturedly and a few of the women found themselves laughing and smiling—something they hadn’t done in a long time. Their confidence built with some semblance of new power.

One woman asked what were they to do once the man was on the ground. Valerie thought for a moment. She looked around knowing they would be disarmed if they grabbed the men’s swords. If they scattered, a few hapless victims would be caught and killed. What would the children do? She strolled around the perimeter and was soon back.

“We have our own weapons,” she informed them. The women looked at her curiously. “Grab whatever pot or pan is closest and give them a solid whack across their murdering, raping foul heads!”

That night Valerie watched warily as Anki, the Viking leader, kept gazing over at Finna. There was no way Valerie was going to let him get his hands on the vulnerable girl. The women had agreed on a certain time they would stage their coup. Valerie told them they just needed to bide their time; she knew Hott would come. One of the women worriedly asked her if Hott and his men would kill them in retaliation. Valerie assured all the women Hott and his men didn’t wage war on women and children. A few women looked relieved as they pulled their youngsters closer.

Soon the children were gathered by the men and sent outside. Valerie had learned earlier that the children slept in another hut away from the adults, thus explaining their sudden appearance in the morning. She hadn’t noted the other hut in the darkness when brought in by Anki and his men. As it was, the hut housing the children was a ramshackle piece of work and set away from the main lodging. Anki didn’t want to be woken by some sniveling brats wanting their mothers. It was also odd that all of the children were close to the same age. Some were younger at five and six, most were between the ages of eight and ten. When Valerie asked why one of the women explained.

“The little ones cry too much and are of little to no use and are killed or left for dead on the trails we follow. The older ones were either killed in the camps on the raids or slaughtered when they reached camp if they were male. Anki doesn’t want anyone’s son taking revenge. The others are forced to work as hard as us women, and they are easy to control.” The woman pointed at a filthy child of perhaps five, he was sitting quietly near a woman. “He is Anki’s son. The boy is the youngest here, and he has been permitted to live. Although except for life, Anki shows him little mercy and barely tolerates him. The woman beside him isn’t his mother. His mother tried to run, and Anki killed her.”

“The woman who was beaten and raped to death?” Valerie asked appalled.

“Yes,” she replied sadly.

Valerie’s anger rose and her blood boiled. She wanted Hott to come and slice Anki’s foul head from his shoulders. But she waited, biding her time until the right moment.

* * * *

Finna sobbed when Anki approached her, and she huddled closer into Valerie’s embrace. Both women stood.

“She’s a child,” Valerie snapped at the man.

“Not when I’m through with her,” he drawled.

Valerie shoved Finna behind her. She put on her best flirtatious smile. She reached out and ran a hand across Anki’s chest. She slid her hand slowly down his bare chest to his groin and squeezed.

“Wouldn’t you rather have a woman?” she asked in a sultry voice. “I can do things that will have you falling on your ass.” She heard a quickly muffled chuckle.

Anki looked interested. “Show me here what you can do.”

Valerie gave a quick look to the other women who had strategically positioned themselves around the hut.

She took Anki’s wrist into her hand. “You’re so powerful,” she said. Her other hand gripped the same wrist.

The next thing Anki knew he was sailing in the air and landed onto the open fire on his ass. The women attacked. Anki had dumped a pan of cooking grease onto the fire when he had landed and he was howling in agony as his clothing caught fire. He ran out of the hut flapping his arms wildly while stripping. Valerie saw a woman usher Anki’s son out of the hut soon after. She should have known the boy was the man’s sooner when she had noted he was the youngest, and the only child allowed to sleep with the adults.

A man landed on his butt right in front of her with a hard thump. He began to rise with a growl of rage on his lips. He faced the woman who had tossed him with a snarl when Valerie’s finger tapped his shoulder. He turned, and she slammed the fry pan into his nuts. He screamed.

“Any head you hit is fine,” Valerie said before chuckling.

She then whacked the bent over man over his blond head. The warrior went down hard and was knocked out cold. Valerie smiled down at the pan and spun it around.

“A handy weapon in any century!”

Valerie heard a loud bong and turned to see Finna dump a stewing pot and its contents over another man’s head. The girl then walloped him again with a piece of firewood. Everywhere she looked men were flipping and flopping to the ground. She heard a tremendous battle cry from behind her that was cut short. She turned and looked into the stunned face of Hott as he and the other men barged through the open hut door. A man went sailing through the air, and Hott ducked as he flew by.

“They’ve all gone mad!” a man howled and tried to flee past Hott, who ran him through with his sword.

Valerie grabbed Finna and sent her into the waiting arms of her father. Valerie raced to Hott. Hott’s men overtook the renegades, and Hott dragged Valerie outside. She could hear the screams of the men as Ulfr and the others killed the raiders. A few escaped, but Hott looked unconcerned. Hott’s men had secured the horses and dispatched the few remaining raiders.

* * * *

Hott chuckled when he heard a few of the men grumble that Valerie and a bunch of women had spoiled what could have been an amazing battle. He didn’t care as long as his little Valkyrie was safe in his arms. Hott looked around at the women shuffling their feet uneasily, watching him. Valerie approached him.

“They’re a bit afraid you’ll kill them and their young for revenge. They were prisoners here. Used and abused, their children murdered in front of them. Please use your indoor voice when you speak to them,” she pleaded.

Hott rolled his eyes, thinking it one of her more annoying terms.

“You are all free to go!” Hott yelled as quietly as he could, he looked at Valerie who nodded with approval.

“Now wait a minute,” Geirr snapped. “I came here looking to find a wife.”

“I will wed you,” a woman piped up quickly, and stepped forward for his inspection. She was a full-bodied buxom blonde with a girl of perhaps nine clinging to her skirts. “I have no home to go to. I will give you many children, and I will warm your bed.”

Geirr looked pleased and went to her. He eagerly reached out and tested her breasts weight in his open palms. She immediately flipped him on his arse onto the dirt.

“Damn you, Valerie. Why did you have to go and teach them that?” he shouted, rubbing his behind.

“Welcome to my world,” Hott muttered.

A few of the men sniggered.

The woman looked down at the fallen man with a stern look. “There will be none of that in front of the wee ones,” she said. But when she held out her hand, he sheepishly took it with a shrug.

Most of the women were agreeable to accompanying the men to their home. A few wanted to go home and set out together as they were from the same village.

“What of him?” a woman asked. “His father is the one who murdered your wife and boy.”

Anki’s son stood sucking his thumb, swaying with his eyes downcast. Hott went and stood before him.

He squatted down. “What’s your name, boy?”

“He has no name,” a woman said sadly. “Anki declared him to be an idiot. He doesn’t talk, he used to at one time, but well with all he’s seen, why would he make any noise? He didn’t want his father’s attention. No one did.”

Valerie came over to place her hand on Hott’s shoulder. Hott picked up the child.

“Anki took my son, now his son is mine. We will teach him to speak, and he will be a great warrior.”

Valerie looked at Hott with a strange expression. He wondered if she were annoyed.

“And what will you name our new son?” she asked to his relief.

“Hrolf.” Hott lifted the boy high into the air under his arms for all to see. “My son, Hrolf!”

A cheer went up. Hott smiled at the boy when he lowered him onto his feet. He ruffled his hair. He kissed Valerie hard on the mouth, and she kissed him back. Odin was indeed smiling on him. He had his little Valkyrie, a baby on the way, and now a new son he could train to be a great warrior, like his father—him.