Mercedes Lackey - Anthology Read Online Free PDF Page B

women came through the fire, he lunged and sent the cloaked one sprawling.
                 His
blade followed his arm, and in the next moment he had the point at Harek's
throat.
                 For
a long moment there was no sound but the crackling of the flames. Then, from
the direction of the sunrise, he heard a raven's cry.
                 "You
won't get away with this!" snarled Harek. "Kill me, and you'll be
outlawed; spare me, and I'll have you killed!"
                 But
Bui was not listening. From the west the raven was answered, and from the
direction of the fell, and from the sea. From every direction ravens came flying; the bright air trembled with the sound of their
wings. Harek's rolling eyes widened as the black birds settled on the wall of
the garth, surrounding them.
                 Bui
began to laugh, and if there was a ring of madness in it, he did not care.
                 "Will
you accuse me before the Althing? Here are my witnesses! Or perhaps they are
hungry, and think your guts will make a good meal."
                 A
sickly stench began to pervade the air and he realized that Harek had soiled
himself. Hild stepped back, the anger in her face giving way to scorn.
                 Suddenly
Bui remembered how the king-raven had faced down an intruder, who cowered and
backed away.
                 I
have won! he thought in amazement. Hild will remember
this—they will all remember, and if he tries to attack me, someone is bound to
tell the tale.
                 He
laughed again, but now he was back in control.
                 "Harek
Ketilson, I accuse you of taking a free woman as a thrall and robbing me of my
inheritance. Will you acknowledge the wrong and offer me sole-judgment, or must
I take you bound in your filth to the Althing and seek an arbitrator
there?"
                 One
of the ravens spread its wings to their considerable width and launched itself
from the wall in a long glide to land beside his uncle's head. Without
surprise, Bui noted the white spot on its tail. Harek paled and closed his
eyes. The raven hopped closer, considered for a moment, and yanked out a strand
of hair. Harek recoiled with a squeak of anguish.
                 "I
agree—"
                 "Say
it louder," said Bui. "Do you all bear witness to his words?"
                 "Make
your own judgment," cried Harek, "but send that black-feathered troll
away!"
                 "That's
no troll, uncle mine, but Odin's bird, the best witness of all." Bui
grinned. The part of his dream he had forgotten was clear to him now, and he
understood many things. He felt the invisible weight of Huginn and Munnin on
his shoulders ,, giving him counsel.
                 "When
he took a mate, he did not drive off the birds who nest near this farm, but claimed a territory of his own, and so shall I. This
is the compensation I require—give me the upper part of the valley and the
slopes of Hrafnfjall. I will build a house of my own beneath the fells. I will
take my mother, and whichever of the men and maids she chooses, and the dog
Ulfr, and half of the sheep and cows. You will provide food and clothing and
weapons for me and my men, and everything we need to begin. But you will keep
this farm."
                 "Take
them—" whimpered Harek, weeping, " and may
Hella take you all."
                 Bui
glanced over at Torstein and Hogni, and saw wonder, and relief, in their eyes.
                 "Tie
him up—" he pointed at Harek, "and then put out the fires. And when
you have done that, bring us food. No—" he corrected himself as the maids
began to move. "Before you feed us, kill a sheep and put the carcass out
on the hill. I am Hrafn-Bui, and I will not forget what I owe my kin!"
                 His
mother came to him then, and he hugged her hard. A sudden