The Valhalla Saga 01 - Swords of Good Men Read Online Free PDF Page B

if you shut your mouth,’ another voice replied. The oars kept up their silent work as the boat moved on towards its destination.



STENVIK
    Geiri leaned against a support beam in the corner, eyes closed, arms crossed. One hand rubbed and pinched at his brow. Without opening his eyes, he spoke.
    ‘Let me see if I understand this.’
    ‘Please. I know. I’m sorry. I said already.’
    ‘No. No, I want to understand.’
    Ulfar paced back and forth restlessly in the cramped hut. ‘I don’t—’
    Geiri cut in. ‘Two years. From the south of Svealand to Holmsgard, from Hedeby to bloody Aldeigjuborg and halfway to Smolensk and back. And we have only one town to see before we can go home, when your debt of honour will be repaid and we can inherit what our fathers have built. Only one town.’
    ‘Geiri, I—’
    ‘One town. With one provincial chieftain that we need to see and impress once, so he’ll continue trading with our fathers and then with us. One stinking town. And you go and get your head all wrong over a girl .’ Ulfar winced but Geiri didn’t notice. ‘Leaving your brain in your pants and your tongue on the pier. Leaving me to make some half-cooked introductions which I made a mess of—’ Geiri took a deep breath, scowled and tried to control his temper. ‘Your head wasn’t there, cousin. Your mind was down onthat pier. Because of a girl. A girl. You know, I stopped counting a year ago, Ulfar. Every port. Every market. Twice, sometimes three times. Sisters at one point. You’d have had them on the ships if you could. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a school of seal-women trailing us coming here. And then you let me down like that over one stupid cow.’
    One moment Ulfar was standing a few feet away, the next he’d thrown a jab directly at Geiri’s jaw.
    He stormed out as his friend crumpled to the floor and stalked down the wooden walkway stringing together an impressive list of colourful curses. Fresh, cold autumn air and morning drizzle did little to improve his mood.
    It had been inevitable, though. Geiri had not spoken to him all of yesterday after the disastrous meeting with the old man, and the tension had been building between them. He could understand that his friend would be a little annoyed, but he took it too far by a ship’s length. It was one town. One town! Who cared? Ulfar kicked at a stone and missed. Those greybeards would not have had any time for pleasantries or trade talk anyway. Besides, he doubted that even his best performance would have swayed that particular chieftain. From the looks of it the only thing that would have impressed him in the least would have been walking in holding the man-sized jaws of the Worm of Midgard, and even then he’d probably ask what you’d planned for the rest of the day.
    That being said, Geiri was right. It had been an absolute disaster. They’d looked like foolish boys. Geiri had simply not been prepared to speak for them yesterday, and he himself had been in no mood.
    That woman. Girl. Woman.
    Thinking of her made him shiver.
    He had moved in, brimming with confidence, opened his mouth to speak, looked in her eyes and simply lost himself.
    She’d seen right through him. At least it had felt that way. He had tried to turn up the charm, but inside he’d felt increasingly naked and vulnerable. She’d undressed and disarmed him, without so much as a word.
    Those eyes.
    Even thinking about her felt strange. His scalp tingled, his eyes felt blurry and his heart beat faster. What was this? Witchcraft?
    Ulfar ambled between huts, trying to walk the annoyance off. His feet took him through the south gateway and into the market square of the new town. The people of Stenvik were out and about, most of them seeming intent on getting in his way. He noticed the blond blacksmith they’d seen in the longhouse on the first night. This time he was wearing a leather apron and carrying firewood into a smithy. Ulfar found himself moving away from