Return of the Ravens (Ulfrik Ormsson's Saga Book 6) (11 page)

"They think we are doomed," added Gunther.

"Eskil poses as a leader of the Northmen under Count Amand. He has several others at work with him. I need you to go over to the Franks as if you were one of these traitors. Contact Eskil and he will arrange to help you deliver Vilhjalmer before his true name is revealed."

"Why not have Eskil free him?"

"It took years for Eskil to get into position, and he feeds me the information I need to keep ahead of the Franks. Had you not shown up, I would have no choice but to pull him out with my son. Yet tonight the gods granted me the favor of your return. With Eskil's help, you will see my son home."

Ulfrik leaned back and stroked his beard. Hrolf was not asking him to do this, but ordering him as if his oath were still in place. Yet death should have broken those bonds, even if he had not truly been deceased. To undertake such a risk, he needed a reward beyond saving Finn's life.

"The gods do seem to have sent me in your time of need. But how can you be certain I am the right one for it?"

"You were ever good luck for me," Hrolf said, standing now. Ulfrik felt compelled to stand as well. Normally the tallest man in any group, he was dwarfed by both Hrolf and Gunther. "Look how you managed to appear within a sword's length of me in my own hall. You have shown another side that I did not know before. This is just the sort of guile needed to get close to my son and free him while leaving Eskil and his men intact."

Ulfrik pretended to consider his options. Hrolf's swagger faded and he glanced at Gunther for help.

"What do you want for it?" Gunther asked. His smile was a shade less than friendly.

"I want to be made whole. I will serve you again, Hrolf. I want my lands and men returned, my fortunes restored. Bring me back to life in truth."

Hrolf sighed and his posture relaxed. "For my son, it is a small price. I have no lands yet to give, but return Vilhjalmer to me and I swear that all that you had lost will be yours again. I cannot force your former wife, nor your children. But gold, land, and men are mine to give, and I do so gladly. Do you swear to serve me as your jarl?"

Going to his knee, Ulfrik bowed his head with a smile. "My sword is yours to command. I swear on my life to deliver your son to your hearth."

Raising him up, Hrolf embraced him. "Welcome home, Ulfrik. But I fear I must send you into danger again at first light."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ulfrik did not sleep well, despite the comfort and warmth of Hrolf's hall. He arose with the first crowing of roosters and stumbled outside to let the morning air refresh him. The guards at the door nodded as he walked down the path in the rose-colored glow of morning. People were already about their business, moving between buildings or on the paths. Dogs barked and birds sang and the first plumes of hearth smoke fluttered out of smoke holes. Ulfrik had long missed scenes such as this, and it caused him to think of Ravndal. Realizing he would not see its hall again, he shoved the painful memory aside.

After lingering long enough to awaken, he turned back and ran into Gunther One-Eye who now stood in the door of the hall. The tall man rubbed his face, and wiped back a lock of grayed hair. "How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Not at all. Too much to think about. Has Finn been located yet?"

Gunther's single eye narrowed in confusion, but then he nodded. "Yes, your friend was well hidden, but they found him. He's with a healer now, and we can visit him later. But let's walk a moment before we do."

They turned together and began to walk along the road. Despite their years of friendship, Ulfrik struggled with his words. "How is Mord holding up?"

A long sigh escaped Gunther and he seemed to shrink as they walked. "He blames himself, which he should. Now he is trapped into acting like a spy, and he is too simple-minded for that role."

"I remember him being a smart man. I'm sure he will fool this Count Amand long enough for me to get inside and rescue Vilhjalmer."

"Maybe. He is a loyal man, and I hate to see this shake his relationship with Hrolf."

"But Hrolf must understand what happened?"

"He let an eight-year-old boy slip him, Hrolf's only son. That's--" Gunther bit off his thoughts, and Ulfrik did not prod him. He understood exactly what Gunther feared, and he touched his Thor amulet for his old friend, Mord. They walked to a pen where pigs clustered around a feed bucket. They both leaned on the fence and watched the animals snort and shove their faces into the bucket.

"What about your family?" Gunther asked. "Your return is going to shock them, and will cause a lot of trouble. I don't know where Hrolf intends to find land to give you as a reward. He can't be thinking of taking it from Konal."

"I would not accept that," Ulfrik said. "Such a complication would be troublesome, to say the least."

"Worry for that when the time comes," Gunther said. "For now, think about how you'll get to Eskil and that plan."

"It's not much of a plan. I can't go to Eskil directly, since he's too highly placed and I'd just arouse suspicions. I'll work with a lesser known crew, find Eskil in secret, then we'll free Vilhjalmer."

"Plan's a bit spare, isn't it?"

"Why plan anything more detailed when we both know whatever I think of now will just be blown to shit once I get inside? Eskil will know the best way to Vilhjalmer and the best way out of that mess. I just have to link with him."

Gunther shrugged and they studied the pigs in silence. A young woman came to fetch the bucket, but she melted away in shock when she discovered both Ulfrik and Gunther leaning on her fence.

"I see women still think you're ugly," Ulfrik said.

"Don't need to be handsome to get what I want."

They both laughed, and Ulfrik watched the smallest pig finally get his place at the bucket. "I feel like that one, the little piglet scrambling after what everyone else has left me. I had it all, Gunther. Now it's gone."

"Maybe not all of it. Your family will welcome you back."

"They will, but what shall I be to them? A ghost returned from the dead? I knew their lives would have moved on without me, and that I could not force my way back to them. You want to know something, old friend? I don't think I returned for them, but for myself. For another chance at glory. I could've finished my days in Iceland with a good woman and no one would've been the wiser here. Maybe it would have even better for them."

"You do realize it can still be so?" Gunther had to turn to fix Ulfrik with his only eye. "Do this thing for Hrolf, and he'll give you a ship and crew and gold enough to make you a Christian King of Iceland."

The thought hit Ulfrik like an oar slamming across his shoulders. He pushed back from the fence and squared with Gunther, his mouth open.

"You never thought of it?" Gunther shook his head, his thin gray hair falling across his face. "You really do lust for glory."

"There's just not been a moment to think ahead, but you are right. I could return to Iceland a richer man and leave my old family in peace."

"Aye, and maybe it's better for them as you have said."

Ulfrik turned back to the pigs. They had scattered and the bucket lay tipped on its side. How much suffering would he cause Runa to suddenly reappear to her? Konal had loved her in the past, and Ulfrik believed after his apparent death they had found love together again. He could only complicate their lives in the worst way. Moreover, he was nothing now but a poor wanderer. What shame would he visit upon his sons to show up like this? He shook his head.

"Maybe it's best to move on after Hrolf's son is saved. Still, I would like to at least see my family one more time, even if only from a distance. I want to carry away a memory of them all in happiness. Last I saw Runa, we had only recovered from a terrible argument the night before. I would like to replace that memory with a more pleasant one."

"You're good at moving in disguise. Last night you got close enough to give Hrolf a kiss before anyone stopped you. Maybe pay them a visit after this is done."

"No, I may have to leave quickly after that. I'd rather see them before I go. How far is their new home?"

"Hardly an afternoon's travel by horse. It's on the way to the Frankish border anyway. I won't mention that trip to Hrolf, if you choose to make it."

Ulfrik put his hand on Gunther's shoulder and squeezed. "Thank you for that. It will be good to see my family one last time before I leave them for good."

Gunther smiled. "Let's go see your friend, Finn, and let him know he'll be going home a richer man."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ulfrik approached Konal's fortress with his heart beating and his breath ragged. He wore his now-perfected disguise of a traveling wise man. The sky above the dark stockade walls was gray and threatening rain. A low rumble of thunder rolled out of the distance, and the wind blew strong and cool against his face. He did not wear a blindfold, wanting only to glimpse his family a final time before moving on. All his war gear and weapons remained in keeping at the last farmhouse he visited. Unlike the situation at Gils's farm, Gunther One-Eye had accompanied him and paid the farmers to care for Ulfrik and his belongings. The farm sat at the turning point south to Count Amand's lines, and so he would have to backtrack to it, making the farm a logical place for them to part company.

"Eskil will not know you," Gunther told him before they parted. "But if you tell him that you've heard of dolphins in the mouth of the Seine, he will know you come from Hrolf."

"Do you know I have heard of dolphins in the mouth of the Seine?" Ulfrik laughed and he and Gunther embraced before parting. "Take good care of Finn for me. It pains him to not accompany me on this adventure, but promise him greater glories for when I return."

The giant that was Gunther One-Eye left him with a clap on the shoulder and directions to Einar's hold. Locals were headed in with trade goods, carts of empty barrels and crates as well as stacks of furs, and Ulfrik was placed among them for cover. Now they all approached the open gates, and the group's leader turned to Ulfrik. "One-Eye says you have business inside that requires secrecy. So you're my dumb brother come along for the ride. Just look at me if anyone asks you questions."

Ulfrik gave a curt nod and stared up at the guards studying them from the walls. None of them smiled, and several set their bows in view.

"Never mind the show," said the leader. "Things are always tense on the border. They'll recognize us soon enough."

As promised, the guards relaxed at their approach, and three men at the western gates inspected their wagons and waved them through. A guard looked Ulfrik over, but his eyes slid past in boredom. He still felt hot and weak for the scrutiny, and began to think this bid to see his family was foolish. He already could not stand to see Runa with Konal, and so settled for a chance to see Hakon along with Einar and Snorri. Once inside the walls, he realized getting close would be impossible without arousing suspicion. He cursed his stupidity.

The carts rolled toward the central square, bouncing along the black boards that lined the main roads. Ravndal had been the template for Einar's fort, which locals called Eyrafell. Ulfrik could guess at where buildings like the forge or smokehouse would be and find he had been correct. A strange sense of both returning home and being among enemies overcame him. He pulled his hood over his eyes and lowered his head.

"Here's where you should go do whatever you need," the leader said. "It's not a long visit today, and we'll be heading back before sunset. Is an afternoon enough time to do your business?"

Ulfrik nodded, then slipped off the cart and took up his walking stick. The leader turned his attention to his companions and they began to unload their goods. Ulfrik wandered off into a side alley, no one caring enough for the passing of an old man. He let his feet lead him, taking paths that were familiar but strange. Sometimes a path did not turn where it should have or there was no path at all. A curious old woman stopped him, the mother of the fletcher, and gossiped with him until he grew restless to leave. He did learn, however, that both Aren and Hakon were here together and that Aren was prone to wandering on his own.

No sooner did he learn this information when he rounded a corner into a side path and stood face to face with Snorri and Aren.

Despite the changes in both of them, recognition was immediate. Snorri was softer, more gaunt and stooped, but under wisps of gray hair and beneath wild brows stared out the intelligent and alert eyes of his oldest friend. His arm was locked with Aren's for support and his other spotted hand held a walking staff much like Ulfrik's own prop. Aren now stood at Snorri's height due to his stoop, and his face was wide and clear. A beard had begun to sketch onto his chin and jaw, auburn hair like Konal's in his youth. He looked directly into Ulfrik's eyes, his expression grave and his eyes radiating a fierce intelligence. Looking into them, Ulfrik saw fear, anger, and disdain flash in their gray depths.