To Find a Viking Treasure (Norse Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

life?
    Heart racing, she flexed her trembling hand. Hemmed in on all sides, she wished for a weapon to wield at these men who took their might for granted. The vegetable knife rested beside the leeks. She’d never learned how to fight or defend herself the way some Viking women did. The want to grab the knife was foolish. Sven held the power here, yet haggard lines etched the skin under his eyes. Could it be a sign he paid a hefty price for betraying his friend?
    “Jakob decreed his father can live. The old king will spend the rest of his days at your Gotland ringed fort.” Sven’s black stare met Lord Hakan’s. “I pledge the same to you and your family if you help.” 
    “The boy can’t make that decree. He doesn’t have control. Gorm does. And false oath or not, you dance to Gorm’s tune.”
    “We were ready to make Jakob king.” Sven slammed a fist on his thigh. “A peaceful transition. And it was for a time. That’s why we waited until you journeyed to Frankia.”
    “Because you know King Olof is the true king.”
    “And you’d kill for him,” Sven said, slowly. “Because of that, Olof accepted exile. He wants no more violence.”
    Helena inhaled soft and quick, the trifling sound enough to draw her husband’s attention.  His ice-blue eyes flickered when he looked at her, and she nodded, a secret passing between them. A bond tethered them implicit in what remained unsaid.
    Sven cleared his throat. “As you know, the Dane returned with a few berserkers and laid claim to the throne. Men got nervous.”
    Helena shuddered under Sestra’s arm at the mention of the fierce breed of warriors. One had attacked her late spring. Her quick thinking saved others that day, a show of courage the people of Uppsala wouldn’t forget.
    “Now you want Gorm gone,” Lord Hakan said. “If I cooperate with you, my family and I live peacefully on Gotland. Is that it?”
    A grin split Sven’s bushy beard. “You always were quick to see the lay of things. Of the two problems on my hands, Gorm is one you can solve.”
    “If it means killing him, I’m ready.”
    The words slipped easily off the White Wolf’s tongue. Sestra had heard whispers of a long-standing hostility between Gorm and Lord Hakan, the kind that dug in deep and wouldn’t let go.
    “I thought you’d be interested,” Sven chuckled. “Word’s already spreading that you’re back.”
    “Where is he now?”
    “Far north of Uppsala. He’s moving south, farm by farm. Anyone who doesn’t bow to him sees their farm burned.”
    “Still setting fires.” Bitterness threaded Lord Hakan’s voice. “What do you need me to do?”
    “Keep him from burning more farms.”
    “And not kill him?”
    Sven folded his arms comfortably over his girth. “When the time is right, you will. He has too many men. We need reinforcements from Aland first.”
    “You want me to lead him on a chase to buy you some time?”
    “Yes. He’s so blinded by his hate for you that he’ll chase you through every forest and take half his men to do it.”
    “Leaving fewer warriors in Uppsala,” Lord Hakan’s voice rumbled deep and amused. “You want to divide his forces, easy targets for the kill.”
    “‘ Never walk away from home ahead of your axe and sword .’” Brandr. His rough voice quoted Viking wisdom.
    Every male in the longhouse nodded. The words straight from Odin were bred in them with mother’s milk.
    “No,” Helena wailed. “You can’t do this.”
    “Shhh. It’s the only way.” Hakan soothed her, scooting closer to her on the bench. “We’ll never live in peace until Gorm’s dead.”
    “We must have control before the other berserkers arrive,” Sven explained. “The Black Wolf of Hedeby and his men are coming. Gorm has promised them much wealth if they fight for him.”
    An uneasy current spread, each man looking to the other. Brutal to the bone, the cold-hearted Black Wolf was known far and wide. Born of outlaw parents, he roamed Viking