Return of the Ravens (Ulfrik Ormsson's Saga Book 6) (30 page)

No one paid attention to him outside the tent. He stood amid a tiny city of white and blue striped tents that had sprung up in Count Amand's courtyard. The front gates were open, people passing in and out in groups, and over the tops of the tents he saw Amand's fort equally unguarded. Ulfrik's heart pounded with his excitement. In the post-battle chaos, he could grab Vilhjalmer and leave. Now was his final chance before Amand's captain fetched him away to imprisonment. He marched through the maze of tents and headed straight for the entrance to the inner courtyard. Four nuns were already passing through the gate along with a half dozen workers following behind. Ulfrik caught up to their numbers and passed into the courtyard unnoticed.

He kept his head down as he walked, the ground wobbling underfoot for a half dozen strides, but he shook it off. Once through the gate he slipped to the side, hugging the left wall. The entrance to Vilhjalmer's tower was around the corner, and he slid through the shadow until he came around the other side. A steady stream of people moved back and forth across the courtyard, and he did not see guards at the other towers. Most would have been moved forward to fill gaps in defense or assist with the dead and wounded. Once turning the corner he decided if a guard was posted he would cut across the inner courtyard as if on other business, then try to lure the guard away before entering. He could not attack him in full view of the foot traffic.

Poking his head around the corner, he found two men in conversation before the door. One was a short guard in ill-fitted mail and helmet, a shield too large for his arm. Talking to him was a richly dressed older man, a gold cross set against his red shirt and a white, swooping mustache. Count Amand looked directly at him and Ulfrik's hands went cold. Their eyes locked, and rather than flee he stepped out with a confident smile.

"The nuns said you would be here," Ulfrik said as he strode up to Amand. His heart crashed against his chest and he felt out of breath, but he tried to conceal his nerves from Amand, who peered at him with a scowl.

"Truly they did? Even I did not know I would be here."

"I mean the nuns passing through the courtyard said you were here with the guard."

Amand nodded and began stroking his mustache. "And so you've found me. What business do we have?"

"Well, I took a hard blow to my head and have been laid out in a tent," Ulfrik said, looking between Amand and the boyish guard, who stared at Ulfrik as if he were a giant of legend. "I'm actually hoping to be taken to those quarters you promised. That bed's a lot better than sharing a tent with three men leaking their guts out."

Amand wrinkled his nose at the image. "A terrible loss yesterday. That damned Einar Snorrason has set everything back."

"I expect that was his goal," Ulfrik smiled, his mind a blur of activity. He hoped Amand would hand him off to another before he went to his prison. His ears roared with the throbbing of his blood. Something about Amand's searching eyes frightened him. Had he been caught speaking to Einar, even for such a brief time?

"Well, enough chatter. Too many good men were lost in a pointless fight. Einar may have delayed me, but he hurt himself just as badly. It's what you get putting a hand in the hornet's nest. Go back to your tent and I'll send for you later."

Ulfrik tried not to let his relief show, though his mind was buzzing with a dozen conflicting plans for his next step.

"Ulfrik Ormsson?"

He turned around, faced Grimnr, Vigrid, and five more of his hirdmen armed with shield and spears. Grimnr's face was taut with hate, a cut on his cheek open and dribbling blood onto his chest.

"By Odin's one eye," Ulfrik said. "I can't believe I answered to that."

"I can. Put your hands up and no tricks. Believe me when I say one threatening move will give me the pleasure of ripping your head off."

He blinked stupidly, astounded that a moment's inattention had cost him everything. Vigrid shook his head and lowered his spear to touch Ulfrik's neck while others forced his hands to his back. "You played me like a fool."

"I did. Nothing personal."

"I'll be the one to set your head on a spear next to Eskil and the other traitors."

Ulfrik's mouth was dry and his hands clammy, but he steadied his voice. "Don't count on it yet. I've been killed once before, you know."

Vigrid spun his spear around and drove the butt into his chest, driving him back into the men at his back. Grimnr stepped forward, drawing his sword.

"I've got no cheer left over for a trial. I'm going to take his head now."

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Runa watched the men from Eyrafell hurrying up the road toward Hrolf's hall. She stood in the doorway, holding her brown cloak tight against her fears. Her temples throbbed at seeing the urgency of the five messengers. The guard beside her leaned on his spear and spit in the dirt.

"Looks like dire news. Heard Jarl Einar led an attack that Jarl Hrolf was none too pleased with." The guard was a thin, morose man Runa had come to know as Smiling Lunt. He picked his teeth and leaned back against the wall.

"Did Einar win the battle? Is he all right?"

Smiling Lunt snorted and swallowed. "What do you call winning? I take it he's alive, but got banged up by some Danish monster, Grim the Rock or something like that. It's all the fucking same. Just a lot of blood and bodies everywhere. Only the ravens win."

Runa rolled her eyes at Lunt and watched Einar's men fuss with their weapons at the hall door. "I think I should go to hear what they've to say."

"It's a fine thought, but tuck that one back into your head. You can't barge in on Jarl Hrolf's audience. That'd be plain rude, and probably get me whipped."

"What's happening?" Finn appeared behind Runa, stopping when he followed her gaze to Hrolf's hall. "Looks urgent."

"News from Eyrafell. I think we should go."

Aren now joined them, standing beside Finn. "It might be time to share our own news with Jarl Hrolf."

"Hey, the lot of you get back inside," Smiling Lunt said, never moving from the wall. "Is this how you repay me for the kindness I've shown you?"

Runa bit her bottom lip in thought. Days after Aren's arrival and nothing more had been learned about potential threats from Hrolf's men. She had underestimated the effort such spy work required and neither she nor the others were suited to the task. Perhaps under the stress news from Eyrafell someone might reveal more than intended.

"Let's go," Runa said, pulling the hood of her cloak overhead. She stepped out with Aren and Finn behind her.

"Wait a moment. You can't leave the hall." Smiling Lunt hurried after her, then blocked her path.

She smiled at him, shaking her head slightly at Lunt's empty hands. He had left his spear behind. "Step aside. Jarl Hrolf will want to hear what news I have."

"News? That you've chased all the rats from his guest hall? What news could you have?"

Placing her hands on his smooth cheeks, she held him still. "Dear Lunt, you are a good man, and I am grateful for you kindness. You'll make a fine husband to the right woman one day."

She kissed his forehead, then moved the blushing, stunned man aside like setting a jug on another table. Aren and Finn filed past her, and she released Lunt to mouth voiceless protests.

They approached the hall and the two guards set their spears across the doors. Runa sighed as both Finn and Aren stopped. The freckle-faced young man had recovered into his full, youthful vigor and stood ready to barrel through the guards if she asked it of him. She understood why Ulfrik would have bonded with the optimistic youth, but for this effort she slowly shook her head. He stepped aside. Aren, with his face still swollen, shared a knowing smile with her.

"We need to enter this hall and see Jarl Hrolf," she said. "Save your threats, as I know you must prevent me."

The two guards glanced at each other. Both wore helmets with faceplates and light brown hair to their shoulders, making them appear as twins. The one closest to Runa addressed her. "That's right. So save your pleas otherwise."

He smirked at his own wit, hitting his partner's shoulder in a show of pride.

"There's an easy way and a difficult way to do this, but I will be inside that hall with my two escorts. So either announce us to Hrolf or we do this the hard way."

"Are you going to tell us what the hard way is first?" the second guard asked.

"That's a special surprise if you choose it." Runa winked at him.

"Well, the hardest way is facing Hrolf's anger," said the closer guard. "And I can't imagine you will do worse than him."

"Shall we find out, then?" Runa spread her arms as if inviting them to test her. "At the very least he will be sorely upset when you interfered with the delivery of important news."

The twin guards frowned at each other. The second guard rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. "She has a reputation, you know. Runa the Bloody. Maybe we should just ask?"

"You fear a woman?" The closest guard turned back to her. "Sorry, you can't go inside unless Hrolf has summoned you."

"I rather hoped you'd choose the hard way. I've been bored." She reached into the folds of her blouse, but the second guard halted her.

"I'll check for you. Your news better be worth it."

The guard disappeared inside while his companion stood with his face turning red. Runa and Aren shared another small smile, but Finn stood with his mouth open and cheeks drained of color. He blinked at her in amazement.

The guard returned, slipping back outside the door. "Jarl Hrolf will see you now. Whatever you planned to pull out of your shirt, leave it outside the hall."

Runa smiled and withdrew a cloth she used to wipe her hands. She tossed it to the guard as she passed him. "It needs to be washed."

Inside the front room, the other guard inspected them for weapons, his face bright red and lips drawn tight in anger. He showed them to the entrance to the main room and returned to his post. Finn tugged at her cloak.

"What was the hard way?"

"I don't know," she said. "Sometimes a confident bluff is the best threat of all."

Inside the sprawling hall, she recognized the faces of the five men from Eyrafell. Their faces glistened with sweat as they turned to face her. A savory, smoky scent lingered from a recent meal and the hearth fire still blazed to engulf the room in heat and haze. At the high table sat Hrolf with Gunther One-Eye at his right, and he raised a ring-laden hand to summon her forward.

She stood behind the men of Eyrafell, two who smiled in recognition. Aren and Finn flanked her, and all went to their knees before Hrolf.

"Off your knees," he said. "I've just received hard news that brings me great joy and concern in equal measure."

A fire set in Runa's stomach, and she feared the worst even as she attempted to preserve her dignity by remaining cool. She smoothed her skirt after standing. "I too have news that I must share with you, having only just learned it from my son, Aren."

The lie slipped out easily and she hoped it would pass. However, a great jarl such as Hrolf was not easily deceived, and his expression grew dark. "Then I shall hear it now. But first, let the good men of Eyrafell complete their message."

The leader, a stout but strong man with a wild, black beard whom Runa knew as Thororm, bowed to Hrolf and spoke in a clear, sharp voice. "Jarl Einar's attack has crippled Count Amand's force of traitors and cast his camp into disarray. The Frankish cavalry is still intact, but otherwise the count will be disadvantaged for weeks. Jarl Einar himself was injured in the battle, taking an arrow to the back of his leg during the retreat. However, he was able to make contact with your spy inside the traitor forces."

Both Hrolf and Gunther One-Eye leaned forward. Hrolf's mighty hands balled into fists. "What news did the spy have for Jarl Einar?"

"He said that Amand's army is sick and they will soon be at half strength. But there was another message Jarl Einar entrusted me to deliver directly. Your spy said that Eskil and all the others are dead. The spy is alone and under suspicion. He needs swift help."

Runa's knees buckled at the news, and Hrolf leaned back with a terrible frown. Gunther One-Eye glanced at her, his single eye full of sympathy.

Thororm concluded with a bow. "That is all of the message."

Silence held the hall in an uncomfortable grip. Runa stared at the floor, imagining the horror of being among so many enemies without any chance for help. Then she thought of Konal and the fire in her stomach became a blaze, yet it also bolstered her courage. She determined to get help to Ulfrik even if she had to go herself.

"Jarl Hrolf, my news is more urgent upon learning this," she said, flashing her eyes at Thororm. Hrolf's frown deepened, but he waved at Thororm.

"I will hear this news in private. You five will be shown to the hall where you may rest and be fed. Tonight you will dine with me so that I may better express gratitude for you haste."

Once Thororm and the men from Eyrafell were shown outside, Hrolf extended his hand to her. "Tell me your news, though I wonder at its late timing."