Gift
“I did my best to keep my face blank. ‘And what would that be?’
“‘I have a friend of your kind.’ Ivar raised his shriveled hand to his collar. He pulled down his tunic, revealing two thin puncture wounds, the blood on top barely dry. ‘Tell me, do you always drink your victims to the last drop? It doesn’t have to be this way. You can take only a small sip, and the experience can be pleasurable for both. Because of my condition, I cannot find pleasure with a woman or a man, but I can find it with a vampire.’
“I stared at him, at this powerless boy decades younger than me, who had played with me like a cat with a mouse.
“‘I could kill you,’ I said.
“‘Of course you could,’ he said. ‘But everyone knows I am here with you. They will know you did it. They cannot hurt you, but you will be unable to raid with my people again. You will need to leave.’
“He was right about everything. ‘Very well,’ I said. ‘Suppose I wish to help you. How? I have no influence over your brother.’
“His smile returned. ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something. You need to learn to influence people if you are to survive through the many centuries that await you.’
“I did need to learn. And right now, this boy wielded this skill far better than I did. ‘Why me?’ I asked. ‘Why didn’t you speak to Callisto? She is the leader of our company.’
“‘You are the youngest, and that makes us closest in age,’ he said and winked at me, probably guessing what I was thinking. ‘You wonder how I know that? You are obviously the most human. As the years pass, you will forget what it’s like to be human. You will forget what it’s like to be alive.’ His face grew serious. ‘Don’t. Remember today and what you thought and felt. Remember all you went through as a human. Relive it every night in your mind and heart and don’t let it fade away. This will anchor you to this world. Never let it go, or you will never find your way back.’
“I shuddered, and he smiled. ‘Don’t look so gloomy. We are standing on the doorstep of something big. My mother, Queen Aslaug, is expected to arrive soon, and once she does, we will hold a ceremony to appease the gods, and then we will be ready to set sail. I’ll make arrangements to ensure you and your companions have shelter from sunlight during the day. All I ask in return is that you support my claim.’”
“The night of the ceremony came, and Callisto, Lucien and I made our way to the camp. Queen Aslaug had arrived during the day, so it was the first time I laid eyes on her. And once I saw her, I could not look away.
“She was dressed in a simple white linen gown and stood barefoot on the cold grass. In spite of her age, her knee-length hair was pure gold with a hint of red and not a trace of white. She was almost as tall as Björn, with a narrow face, pointed chin, high sharp cheekbones, and upturned green eyes.
“Shaking, I tore my gaze from her and turned to Callisto, who rolled her eyes at me. ‘No, my love. We’re not making her one of us. We need to be more picky with the children we choose.’ She gave me a sidelong glance. ‘I, for one, should have been more picky.’
“I laughed. ‘Come now, my sweetest, we both know you are happy you turned me.’
“‘I wouldn’t be so certain,’ she said, but there was a smile in her voice and in her eyes. ‘Now, be quiet and look. The ceremony is about to begin.’
“Tall candles, made of oil from boiled whale blubber, burned all around the meadow, filling the air with a heavy, meaty smell. Grilled fish and roasted seagull, seal, moose, horse, whale and walrus meat covered the table. Vikings poured mead and ale into curved horns. A man passed me a loaf of rye bread, and I turned it over in my hand.
“Dark and dense, so different from the white and fluffy bread I had grown up with, made of the luscious golden wheat that grew all over the Danubian Plain, all the way to the very shores of the Black Sea. No wonder these people had to raid other lands in search of better farmland.
“A few Vikings stood at the edges of the gathering, playing music on strange instruments—pan flutes, made of cows’ horns and sheep bones, horn pipes, harps. The melodies were slow and relaxing and blended perfectly with the lush green candlelit woods that surrounded us.
“As the feast neared its end, Queen Aslaug stood up from her seat and disappeared into the woods. A few men left after her and returned shortly, leading a magnificent white stallion and a hunting dog. They tied both animals to a tall birch. Then one man brought a stool underneath the tree, climbed it, and tied a noose around one of the thicker branches.
“‘What is happening?’ I whispered.
“‘Be quiet and watch,’ Callisto whispered back.
“The musicians started to chant. Slow at first, and then faster and faster. It made my head spin, and my breathing grew rapid. The music changed, no longer relaxing, but energizing, and the chanting grew more intense.
“Queen Aslaug returned, and I gasped. She wore a long red robe that trailed behind her, and her entire face, neck, and bare arms were painted in red and black. Her hair was braided into multitudes of braids with strands of golden and red thread. In her left hand, she carried a metal bucket. In her right hand was a large dagger.
“‘Odin Allfather!’ Queen Aslaug cried, and her voice carried easily above the music and the chanting. ‘Bring us victory and give death to our enemies!’
“She walked, tall and proud, her long robe sweeping the grass behind her bare feet. She approached the tree, and the dog started barking and growling, but she paid it no mind. She raised her dagger and in a single move slit the horse’s throat. She placed the bucket down, and the thick red blood poured into it and onto the grass.
“‘Accept this gift, Allfather, and deliver us the revenge we deserve!’ Aslaug cried. She then lifted the bucket with both hands and poured it onto her head. The thick, sticky blood flowed down her hair and face, soaking her robes.
“The chanting grew faster and louder. ‘Frigg, mother to all!’ Aslaug called. ‘Protect us in this war and in the wars to come!’
“She walked to each warrior, one by one, and muttered blessings, smearing everyone’s face with the blood still left in the bucket. When she smeared the blood on my face, I shivered. ‘May this blood save you from death,’ she said. How little she knew that blood was indeed what gave me life.
“‘Thor, bring us quiet skies on the way, and may lighting strike down our enemies!’ the queen called and walked to the dog. It bared its teeth and growled, but she approached it fearlessly. She threw her dagger, and the blade found the animal’s head, sinking deep between the eyes.
“Aslaug knelt on the bloodied grass, placed one hand over the dog’s body, and pulled out the dagger. She then cut the animal’s torso open, reached inside with her left hand, and pulled out its heart.
“‘O, Odin Allfather!’ she called. ‘We have prepared the gift you have asked for!’
“The chanting was so loud now, I could not hear my own thoughts. The crowd parted, and a young man walked to the queen. His torso was bare and painted with blue and black runes. I tried to read them and frowned at the words. Odin, accept this gift. What gift?
“Queen Aslaug walked to meet him and smiled softly. ‘You are blessed, brother,’ she said, and her voice still somehow carried over the music and chants. ‘Tonight you dine with the gods.’ She raised her hands and pressed the bloody dog’s heart to his forehead and painted a rune. The man smiled back.
“He looked at the tree, and his smile grew. He stepped on the stool, placed his head inside the noose, and jumped.
“I gasped and dropped my horn of mead, and the sweet fragrant liquid soaked into the earth. I heard his neck snap. He hung there, dead.
“The chanting stopped suddenly, all musicians falling still all at once, so that the sound changed from deafening to complete silence in an instant. I turned wide eyes at Callisto.
“‘What was that? He walked to his death willingly? Why?’
“‘It’s not over yet,’ Callisto said.
“‘Follow me!’ the queen called. ‘It is time we learn whether this voyage will bring us victory.’
“I felt lightheaded as we followed her into the darkness. What more was to come?
“We stopped before a small well, surrounded by a circular stone wall. Aslaug placed her hands on top of the stone. ‘The waters run deep,’ she said. ‘Who will serve as our messenger?’
“‘I will,’ a man said.
“The queen smiled. ‘Very well. Go and learn the will of the gods.’
“The man walked to the well and jumped inside.
“‘The water must be freezing,’ I whispered. ‘What is he doing?’
“‘It is a way to foretell the future,’ Callisto said. ‘If he returns, we will lose. If he dies, we will win.’
“We waited by the well for an hour, but the man never returned.”