Fault (Book 1 of the Vikings Series)

Chapter 4

I climb back up to the ring and take one of the swords from the ground.
“Sword forms,” I repeat and nod my head thoughtfully. I’d watched Gunnar warm up with these for years and had never thought to actually try them for myself. Oh well, now’s as good a time as any. I start off slowly, just trying not to hit myself with the long rod.
About a half hour later, I feel comfortable with the motions but deep down, I know it’s nothing like battle. If this were a real fight, I’d have a shield for one thing and would be trying not to die.
“Elin?” A voice asks from behind me. I lower the sword and glance over my shoulder to see Saga walking up the path. She giggles as she gets nearer. Her face is still bright red where the rod had hit her but the line has mostly faded.
“Who would’ve thought you even knew how to hold a sword?” Saga laughs.
I shrug. “I don’t. I’m sort of just improvising.”
“Well you better improvise some other time. Singrid’s looking for you and she doesn’t seem very happy,” Saga informs.
“Uh oh,” I groan. I slide the rod into my leather belt and sprint down the path. Singrid paces around the village, appearing to be on a war path of her own.
“There you are!” she exclaims. “Where have you been? Did you forget that you were supposed to be at a council meeting an hour ago?”
I smack a hand over my eyes and slowly let my hand fall once again.
“I’m sorry! I forgot. I was..” Come on, convincing lie. Singrid realizes my pause and rolls her eyes.
“Don’t make a habit of this already,” she scolds. I hang my head low.
“It won’t happen again,” I assure her.
Singrid looks like she is about to leave but stops.
“Go check the traps, will you? Briar was supposed to do it but he hasn’t been getting to it until after dark.”
“Yes ma’am,” I agree.
A few minutes later, I’m riding through the woods atop Singrid’s prized horse, Adhi. I fly through the forest, checking the traps as I go. My hair flies freely behind my head and I relish the moments of pure freedom. None of the traps this side of the mountain have caught anything. Odd, I say to myself. This time of year is usually perfect for game. The next trap I see sets on the ground but as I get closer, I realize that it’s shredded. Could’ve just been a stag that was two large for the rope trap. I jump down from the saddle and gather it into my hands to bring it back to Havredal. Once again, I’m riding quickly through the woods. Finally, I see one of the traps hanging several feet off the ground. Inside, a pheasant hangs limp, probably having struggled itself to death. I cut it down and reset the trap. The wind rustles through the trees overhead and I stop to listen to the sounds of the forest. There aren’t any. Not a sound is made. I tie up the bird quickly and hang it on the back of the saddle. Still, not a bird chirps, no twigs snap. The usually alive forest seems scared silent. I take a few steps away from the horse and take a look around. That’s when I see it. A person hides, crouched in the bushes. Her blonde hair tosses itself in the wind. Our eyes meet for a moment and she immediately jumps up. She wields a long sword and rushes towards me.
“Adhi!” I call for my horse. Immediately, the animal comes towards me. Not quick enough. The warrior stands between us and swings her weapon. I duck and roll to avoid the blade. As soon as the metal passes over me I jump up into the air, feeling my hand just barely wrap around the horn of the saddle. I kick the horse as soon as I’m remotely on her back and she bolts. My heart pounds with adrenaline as the horse races me back to the village. We fly through the gates. People move out of our way as I head farther in towards the harbor.  I don’t pull back on the reigns until we’re right outside the meal hall. Dust flies into the air as Adhi comes to a stop. A few people rush outside to investigate the noise, one of them being Singrid.
“Other Warriors from Limerick, this side of the valley,” I stammer, still trying to calm down. I throw the shredded trap down on the ground. Singrid puts a gentle hand on my arm. I have to look completely down to see her face from atop the high horse.
“Elin, calm down. What happened?”
“They attacked me,” I say in a louder voice than I probably should’ve. Several more people have wandered into the square, Briar and Saga being among them.
“Alright,” Singrid nods her head, deciding her next move. She points directly at Briar in the crowd.
“You, get two horses ready,” she commands. Singrid looks back up at me. “Come with me.”
I slide down from the horse and follow my mother to the weapons shed. She takes one of the large shields from the wall and slides it onto her back. Singrid opens a large chest and starts dawning leather armor.
“Take one for Briar,” she instructs.
“What about me?” I ask.
“You’re staying here,” Singrid says.
“What?! You can’t expect me to stay here,” I protest.
“Going to talk with other villages is not something you want to do. Trust me.”
“Singrid, I’m the one they attacked. Pretty soon this village is going to mine just as much as it is yours. Let me learn how to protect it.”
Singrid ignores me and finishes tying off her leather sleeves. Just when I think she’s about to leave me, she grabs a short sword off the wall and hands it to me. I grin and she gives me a small nod. 
We leave the room to find Briar waiting outside with the horses. I hand him the shield and he shoots me a confused glance.
“Come now. Sunset’s in a few hours. I’d rather be back before then,” Singrid says, already mounting her horse. Briar and I mount behind her.
We ride through the forest in the direction of Limerick. After twenty minutes of riding, we pass the area I was attacked. We scout around a few moments and continue on towards their village. Finally, we come to a large bluff. Singrid slides off her horse and peers out over the edge.
“What do you see?” I ask.
“The ships are gone. By law, they shouldn’t be giving us trouble.”
“I don’t understand why we don’t just attack them,” Briar grumbles.
“Because I’m not sure you wan’t to start a war during winter. This season’s hard enough as it is,” Singrid replies. She swings her body effortlessly into the saddle and leads us to a small path that winds itself into the valley. I lead my horse out past the cliffs and get my first good look at the Limerick village. It’s small and appears to be less populated than Havredal. Several tall lanterns are already lit around the city, casting flickering shadows across the village. We enter slowly. I glance behind us as we ride through the dwellings and see a few people peak out of the houses. Instantly, I recognize the girl that had attacked me earlier. I pull back on my horses reigns.
“Elin,” my mother cautions.
“Give me a minute,” I whisper.
“Elin, we need to keep our focus,” she hisses.
“I am,” I reply.
I swing my leg off the horse and slide down to the ground. The girl doesn’t close the door, instead just stays halfway hidden by it. I stand a few feet away.
“Please, don’t hurt us,” the girl says quietly.
“Why did you attack me in the woods?” I ask.
“I wasn’t there to attack you,” she answers.
A shout echoes in the direction of Singrid.
“What are you doing on this side of the mountain?” A woman’s voice booms.
“I have come to ask you a similar question,” Singrid replies.
“Who is that?” I ask the girl.
“Chief’s wife.”
“Is she going to tell us the truth?”
“Probably not,” she whispers.
I turn my attention back to the stocky woman that approaches Singrid. Her hair is almost white, probably soaked too long in lye and the lady’s eyes are a piercing shade of dark brown that pop from her face in dramatic contrast to her hair.
“You think we would trespass on your pathetic plot of land?” She hisses.
Singrid remains calm. “You know the rules, Dranga. During Raid we don’t interfere with each other.”
“Then get out of my village, Singrid!” Dranga yells.
“Happily. Keep your warriors off our land,” Singrid says slowly.
Beside me, the girl opens the door and grabs my arm. I’m about to panic but realize the look on her face isn’t threatening, just concerned. I follow willingly into the dwelling, taking one last glance outside. Briar meets my eyes for a moment and I give him a small nod. Beyond him, Dranga still hasn’t moved her stare off my mother. The gap I look through becomes smaller and smaller until there’s nothing left to see through.
I turn slowly to get a better look at the house. It’s small, yet quaint. It’s nothing like the homes back in Havredal. Carvings are etched into the wood. I open my mouth in a gasp as I cross the room to get a better look at them. In awe, I trace a hand over a small carving of a dragon.
The girl stands next to me.
“My father does them. During the summer he’s a shipbuilder. At night, he would come home and do these,” she explains. “Most of them are of the adventures he used to have with my mother.”
She points to one that shows a carving of two people standing on the edge of what I guess to be the harbor. I glance around the rest of the room and see that the carvings are covering three of the walls. It doesn’t go lost on me in my sweep of the room that there are only two beds. Was it just the girl who lived here now that her father is on Raid?
“What happened to her?” I ask.
“She died,” the girl says quietly. “On Raid, two years ago in Antrapar.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly though on the inside I’m exploding with questions. What was her mother doing on a Raid? Antrapar? Was the girl just left here all alone?
The girl pulls me from my thoughts. “I love looking at all of these. They remind me of her,” she smiles.
“They’re beautiful,” I breath.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” the girl says, her green eyes mirror the apology. “I didn’t know you were Singrid’s daughter.”
“How do you know that?”
She chuckles. “You look just like her.”
“I guess you’re right. My name’s Elin.”
“Kori.” She holds out her hand and I grasp her forearm briefly.
“Not to sound rude, but can you explain to me why you were near Havredal?” I press.
Kori looks ashamed. “I was trying to take one of the traps.”
“Why?”
“A few days ago, the dock house caught fire. That’s where we kept all the traps,” she explains. Fire, the most deadly killer to ever hit any village. Whole villages could be engulfed in a matter of minutes. They’re lucky the dock house was the only thing to catch. And if their traps were all truly destroyed, I can’t blame them for trying to acquire more.
“That’s why I was there,” Kori repeats.
“You could’ve just asked us for some,” I chuckle.
“Dranga won’t let us,” Kori says, unnervingly serious. I bit my lip, trying to think of what Singrid would do in this situation. A plan starts forming in my head.
“Meet me tomorrow morning where you attacked me. Hopefully I’ll be able to help you,” I smile.
Kori grins. “Thank you, Elin.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I respond.