Return of the Ravens (Ulfrik Ormsson's Saga Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the tracks back and recapture our belongings. Kill Gils's sons and rape his wife and daughters until they go mad. After that I'll probably burn Gils alive in his barn."
    Ulfrik continued to scrub his face, letting Finn stare at him in stunned silence. As Ulfrik patted off his face with the hem of his cloak, Finn finally relented. "Well, I was asking what you were going to do about me, not our stuff."
    "You? Mistakes happen. Sometimes our mistakes get us killed or worse. Just think of what a more ambitious man could've done with us. Have you seen a slave market before?" Finn shook his head. "Well, today you could've been seeing one directly from the selling block. Fortunately, we were robbed by dumb farmers with no imagination. So take your lesson, because the next time we're probably not escaping this easily."
    Finn's freckled face was sunburn red, and he lowered his head in shame. They continued to clean in the river, Finn clearly mulling his thoughts until he turned to Ulfrik again. "Are we really going to rape and kill?"
    "Of course not. I used to rule these people, and I intend to rule them again. Make no mistake, we're getting our possessions back, and if they give us a fight I've no hesitation to kill. But I just want what is mine returned, and have no interest in terrorizing them."
    "You're taking this a lot better than I am."
    "After all I've been through, this is not so bad. We'll wait until they think we've moved on, but by tomorrow night we'll have everything back. Mark my words."
    Finn was restored to his good nature and the spring returned to his step. Ulfrik was glad for his company, and believed everything he had told Finn. Yet deep inside he burned to take revenge for the insult of being laid low by a farmer and his idiot sons. If they provoked him at all, blood would follow.
    And he would not mind being provoked.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    By the night of the second day after being robbed, Ulfrik and Finn crouched in silence behind trees surrounding Gils's farm. He watched their stout dog with concern as it yipped and danced about the legs of Gils and his son. Though they remained upwind of the animal, hounds had uncanny danger sense and if exposed now, Ulfrik's plans would fail. The sun had set and a bright yellow light flowed out of the open door to the family home. The four other men had not yet been seen, and Ulfrik figured they were friends summoned from neighboring farms. They would have all taken shares from their theft, but Ulfrik had plans to get them to return their spoils without having to track them down.
    At last Gils, his son, and dog all entered the home and closed their doors. Ulfrik crept back from the tree to where Finn waited in the rear, gesturing him near.
    "They've gone inside for their meal and will be to bed soon after. Go back to the gully and kindle the fire and I'll watch. If I call for you, come running."
    Finn nodded and slipped back into the trees. With their striking steel stolen along with everything else, they had to rely on dry kindling and friction to start a fire. Finn had been a woodsman with his father, and knew how to survive without any tools, a skill Ulfrik greatly valued. Tonight he needed fire, and Finn would bring it.
    He camped beside the tree and watched the house. It was a sedate evening with no noises coming from the house, nor any visitors approaching. As full dark drew over the landscape, the bright yellow thatch turned blue in the dim moonlight. Clouds hid the crescent moon from revealing their proximity. The dog barked, but Gils shouted the animal to silence. Once the outline of yellow light shining around the door faded, Ulfrik knew they had retired for the night.
    Threading a path halfway to Finn's position, he stopped and whispered his name. He did not want to travel woodland paths in the dark, fearing a turned ankle in the uneven ground. A small point of orange light answered, and grew larger as it bobbed in