Lord of the Runes Read Online Free PDF Page A

see to him for a time. He might not trust anyone else.” He studied her.
    Her stomach dropped and she swallowed. “I will. I know my obligations to all who pass this way.”
    â€œHis care won’t involve looms, needles, or cooking pots, so you should do all right.” Leif gave her a soft smile. “He thinks you’re his wife. He misses her, wherever she is. I think his love will keep you safe.”
    A chill crept up her back at his words and she glanced to where the man slept. He lay still, his face turned toward the fire. The glow played across his fine, high cheekbones and straight nose. He was no longer so pale. Now that his hair was drying, it had become a lighter, richer gold, but his brows remained a bit darker. His mouth, though, even in sleep, held a touch of grimness, as though he’d seen much of the world and the brutality it held.
    As she watched him, a warmth spread through her body from deep within, and the muscles in her thighs relaxed. What was that? She shifted on the bench. It had never happened to her before. Uneasy, she looked away from him.
    Magnus watched, as always, concern plain in his eyes. She forced herself to smile.
    â€œI’ll be fine. Right now, he poses no danger, and once he’s well, I’ll return to my work and not have to cross him again.”
    A serving girl approached the table, two small bags in her hands. “Jarl Magnus?”
    â€œYes, Birgitta? What is it?”
    â€œWe went through his bags to dry his things. We found clothes, a fine sword, and this pouch.” She set it on the table. It clinked like coins. “And this.” She handed Magnus a small leather sack.
    It was of unmarred deerskin. A skilled hand had sewn gemstones and gold charms onto it, and it was closed with a silk cord. Such material must have come from beyond distant Miklagard. Only a man of great wealth could possess such a bag.
    He pulled open the drawstring, looked inside, and his eyes widened. “Runes. He carries a magnificent set of runes.” He tilted the bag so they could see into it.
    They were beautiful, carved of oak, intricate and painted in brilliant colors. Many men carried a crude set and could read them well enough to know what the next battle held for them. But this was no common set. Only a rune master could have runes of such beauty.
    â€œHe carried no staff.” Asa leaned back, away from them. “They always do that. Even our old rune master carried one until the day he died.”
    â€œHe might have lost it in the storm.” Magnus drew the bag back to him.
    â€œClose it,” Leif said. “No one but he must touch them.”
    â€œI know.” Magnus retied the bag and set it on the table between them.
    They all stared at it. This changed everything. It was more imperative than ever that he survive. If they let any harm come to him, it might unleash the anger of the gods against them. Those who read the runes were especially blessed and they held powers no one else could understand. She glanced at the sleeping traveler.
    Now, not only his welfare was at stake, but the welfare of them all.
    * * *
    Wrapped in a shawl, Asa stepped into the common room. It was quiet and dark, except for the light from the dying flames in the longhearth. The servants would never allow it to go out completely, but they were asleep and there was no sense in rousing them. Their day would start soon enough.
    Her brothers had sought their own beds some hours before. Many of the warriors who had remained at the village for the winter slept on the benches pushed up against the walls in the hall. She wasn’t alone.
    She hadn’t been able to sleep. Her small chamber had grown so cold, and thoughts of the traveler had continued to roam through her mind. Could he truly be a rune master? What would happen to them if he died?
    His survival might depend on her. If she failed, at least the gods would know she’d tried her best. That had to