Ship of the Dead Read Online Free PDF

you being so much more knowing than me, sir,” Grelf said wisely, “how can it be otherwise?”
    A smile of supreme pleasure appeared on his master’s face. “Ah, Grelf, how I have missed you.”
    â€œAnd I you, sire,” said Grelf, laying it on ever thicker. “And I certainly would care to hear your explanation of your new—uh, undeadness.”
    â€œWell, you see, there’s being alive, like you—laughing and singing and being in the pink of good health. There’s dead, as in stiff as a stump. Long gone. Expired. Extinct. Bereft of any animating spirit. And then there is a curious state of being somewhere between those two. It is rather fascinating, actually. Though one’s body is dried up and devoid of any vital fluids, it is able to move about rather well and perform most of the daily tasks necessary to carry on the work at hand. One feels powered by a strange kind of potency. A devilish pep, let’s call it. One doesn’t feel , exactly; the undead have no feelings. We have urges. Brute impulses. Which we can satisfy only by performing the deeds she who has sent me wishes performed.”
    Despite his fear, Grelf was aching to ask his master how it was that he had died and become undead. And who, he was curious to know, was this “she” he was referring to? But though he was ever curious, he was crafty as well, and said only what would appeal to Thidrek’s selfish conceits.
    â€œIt’s certainly wonderful to see you again, my lord. What is this ‘work at hand’ you are involved in? It certainly does sound interesting. It must be nice to have something to occupy your time with—in your condition.”
    But Thidrek was in no mood for small talk as Grelf felt the heat of his gaze.
    â€œGet your things, Grelf. We’ve work to do.”
    A cold panic crept up Grelf’s spine.
    â€œW-work, sir? I’d be delighted to serve you again, your lordship, really I would—nothing would please me more. But you see, I have a new master now, a rather nice one at that. Not as nice as you, of course—who could ever replace you? What I mean is, I’m his now. It wouldn’t be fair to just jump ship and leave. Besides, he has big plans for me, sire, big plans. I’m to write his memoirs, the story of his life, and he’d be lost without me, really he would. He’s become quite attached to me, sir, quite attached, and so you see that’s why I can’t possibly go with you.”
    Thidrek’s hand shot forth, seizing Grelf by the neck and, with inhuman strength, lifted him straight off the floor until they were face-to-face.
    Grelf gulped. “I’ll get my things.”

Chapter 4
A Daring Decision
    D ane made his way down the mountain path in a daze of despair. All hope of reuniting with Astrid was dead. She could not break her oath to Odin, and he could not pass through the gates of Valhalla as a coward who chose to die. Only by accepting their fates to be apart would he ever see her again.
    Astrid said that if he lived his life with courage, he would pass into Valhalla. Courage, he knew, was not just on battlefields. It was displayed daily by ordinary people who lived decent lives, facing hardship, providing for family and friends. His father, once a warrior, had become one of these people, finding true happiness in the simple pleasures of a peaceful village life. Until Thidrek the Terrifying had come and murdered him.
    Dane awakened from these thoughts to find he had returned to the meadow near the golden grove. The trees were engulfed in fog, and drawing near, he spied Mist’s horse, still feeding on the high grass. But every time he came close, the horse trotted farther away, leaving the grove of golden-leafed trees and moving into an adjoining one. Dane followed the horse, calling to him as he gave chase, but the animal seemed not to hear him as he moved on, disappearing altogether in the fog.