Daughter of Fire and Ice Read Online Free PDF Page B

the trees. I’ll be safe. Your mother and Sigurd need me.’
    My father turned to the slave. ‘I know you, don’t I?’ he asked. ‘You’re Hoskuld’s storyteller. I’ve heard you speak and recite poetry more than once. Are you man enough to look after my daughter and win your freedom?’ he asked him, a trace of his fierce, proud self returning to his voice. ‘It’s a sacred trust.’
    The slave bowed slightly, acknowledging that he knew my father.
    ‘I will protect her with my life,’ he said. He turned to me. ‘Though I don’t even know your name,’ he said, the faintest of smiles disturbing the solemnity of his manner.
    ‘I’m Thora Asgrimsdottir,’ I told him. ‘And you?’
    The man looked at us both in silence, and then gave a short, rueful laugh.
    ‘It seems that I am Bjorn Svanson,’ he said. ‘Now, let’s dispose of that dead slave.’

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    My father and I swiftly put Svanson’s body into the slave’s bloodstained clothes, weighted it with a rock and threw it over the cliff, as he had threatened to do to us. The distant splash as it hit the water far below us made me feel sick.
    The new Bjorn pulled fresh clothes from the saddlebags and dragged them on. The tunic was too long, it looked like a woman’s. As I picked up Svanson’s sword to pass it to him, I paused, recognizing it. I withdrew it a short way from its scabbard and ran my finger along the engravings on the blade. My father saw and gasped with recognition.
    ‘Foe Biter,’ he said, reaching for it.
    ‘That’s a fine sword,’ said Bjorn, suddenly interested. He leant forward to look more closely. ‘That’s not homemade iron. That’s traded steel. It must be worth a fortune.’
    My father took the sword, touched it lovingly and then pushed it back into the scabbard. ‘Foe Biter was my sword,’ he said. ‘My most precious possession. Svanson took it from me.’ He held the sword a moment longer and then held it out to Bjorn. ‘Take it,’ he said. ‘I’m an old man and have no more use for such a weapon. I can no longer wield it with honour. Use it well, and defend my daughter. She is more precious to me than life itself.’
    Bjorn took the sword almost reverently, buckling it to his waist. Then he clasped my father’s hand. ‘I swear to you, I will honour your trust,’ he said.
    We could hear the sound of marching clearly now and my father shifted uneasily.
    ‘You must hurry, my children,’ he said. ‘May the blessings of Thor and Odin go with you. Thora, send me word if and when you can.’
    I embraced my father, and found I couldn’t let go. I was clutching at him with all my strength. My healer’s training had taught me to conceal emotions, but that was all forgotten now. Tears ran unheeded from my eyes.
    ‘I can’t leave you, dear father,’ I sobbed. ‘Please, don’t ask me to.’
    ‘You must, Thora,’ said my father sternly. ‘You must survive. Go.’
    When I still didn’t move, he spoke to the slave.
    ‘Take her with you now whether she will or not.’
    I felt the man’s hand gentle on my shoulder but shrugged him away. ‘Leave me alone,’ I told him, and I sensed him backing off, giving me the moment alone with my father that I so desperately wanted.
    ‘I’ll go,’ I wept. ‘But father! Tell mother and Sigurd that I love them. And take this purse,’ I said, pressing it into his hand. ‘We found it in Svanson’s saddlebags. It’ll help you restore the farm. And one more thing,’ I lowered my voice to a shaky whisper, struggling to master my emotions. ‘This man, he is the face I have seen in my visions. This is meant to be.’
    My father pulled back and looked into my face. A look of relief came over him. ‘Thank Thor,’ he said. ‘I’ve only ever heard good of him. And we have no choice but to trust him.’
    My father led me to the new Bjorn, who’d caught the horse. He swung himself onto it, riding bareback. My father hugged me and kissed me one last time and then