Fault (Book 1 of the Vikings Series)

Chapter 10

“Since when do we duel the Thralls?” Briar tries to save me. Vern sighs, looking like he’s about to give up hopes of the fight. I relax.
“Someday,” Vern smiles. The group gives mixed reactions: most are joyous at the promise of another break from work, others depressed at the prospect of going back to work.
“Fun’s over!” A voice shouts from the helm.
I get thrown into a pile of work immediately, despite the few mere hours of sleep I got. Scrub the deck, wind the ropes, keep an eye on the horizon. All the while trying to stay away from anyone that might recognize me, especially Vern. I’ve known Vern since I was a child. We grew up with each other and if there was one thing he holds above all else it was us keeping our word to each other. This was about as far away from that sentiment as I could leap. But this wasn’t about Vern. This was about discovering secrets. Besides, it wasn’t as if I was planning on living on Raid for the remainder of my life. To be honest, I find a certain amount of counsel in the work. It helps take my mind off things.
I don’t go to any meals, instead just sneak my way into the supplies room every so often. Four days on the ship pass by and I’m almost entirely adjusted to my life on the sea. The night air sends a chill through my clothes as I stare out over the open sea. That’s when the shout from the mast echoes from the mast. Vern swings down from the rigging and rushes up to the helm. He speaks to Östen for a moment.
“Men!” Östen shouts. “Prepare for Raid!”
Everyone around me drops what they’re doing and starts preparing for what appears to be nothing short of an all out war. I don’t do much. All the armor that some of the men wear is enough to make me immobile. Instead, I take one of the shields and strap a sword to my waist before heading to the front of the ship. Up ahead, I can just see the outline of our two other ships hidden in a small cove just out of view of the village’s harbor.
“Ashen!” Vern shouts my fake name. I head towards him at the helm. Briar is already there.
“The three of us are going to find their maps. I figured we’d ease the two of you in gently.”
Briar spins his sword in his hand.
“Please, me? Gently?” he says cockily. Vern rolls his eyes.
“With Tarben around, just be happy we don’t throw you in the shield wall.”
“Fine, take me on your secret mission. What’s the plan?” Briar asks.
“We land to the east of the village and climb up over the ridge,” Vern points up at the mountain ridge that surrounds the east side of the village. It’s just a dark shadow in the moonlight.
“Vern!” A shout comes from the deck. The men have a small boat hung over the side of the ship.
“Come on,” Vern instructs. He grabs his bow and quiver and climbs into the rowboat. I sit in between Vern and Briar as they row us to shore. As we move farther away from the larger ship, they begin to snuff the lanterns out one by one until it’s nothing but a faint silhouette blocking out the stars on the horizon. I turn my attention to the village that appears to be unaware of our presence.
Briar groans behind me with effort.
“Why isn’t Shorty here rowing?” he complains.
“Shorty?” I growl.
“Midget sound better?” he responds. I think through my response, trying not to give myself away but still get under his skin. Vern’s already one step ahead of me.
“It’s a wonder my sister tolerates you,” Vern mutters. I scan the shore, finding their watch tower. A single lantern is lit at the top of the structure. It moves. The wind, maybe?
“What did you see?” Vern asks me. I point out at the watch tower. The light moves again.
“They see something,” Briar supplies. Vern urges him to row faster. We pull the boat up on shore and it makes a crunching noise on the sand. Vern takes the lead, setting a fast pace to the top of the ridge. Here, we have a good view of the watch tower . A single form is illuminated in the open window.
Vern stops in front of my and pulls an arrow from his quiver. He pulls it back and aims carefully. A second later, the arrow splits through the air and the person in the tower falls.
“You killed him,” I whisper.
Vern gives me a look. “Yeah. What did you think Raid was?”
I don’t respond. Vern continues moving along the ridge.
“They’ll have the ceremony of the fallen in a couple days. He’ll be part of it,” Vern explains, climbing over rocks as he speaks. His voice isn’t strained at all. I struggle to keep up.
“Boats. Fire. Flowers. You’re right Vern, why doesn’t everyone just die for the joy of the ceremony?” Briar says sarcastically, queueing us in on his disgust with the whole concept.
“Shut up and focus,” Vern hisses. I glance back at Briar and he gives me a cross look.
We continue around the ridge into the back part of the village. It’s bigger than Havredal, but not by much.
An ear splitting scream pierces the night followed by several shouts. The first of the warriors are already fighting their way through the gates. They show no mercy. Quickly, the wave of shields rushes into the village.
“Shorty!” Briar steals me from the sight. He’s already a good distance below me, trekking down the rock. I catch up to him and Vern just as they slip past the first building.
“Any idea where the map room is?” Briar whispers. Vern shoots him a glare. He loads an arrow into his bow and sneaks around the side of what I guess to be a barn.
The three of us move silently through the back side of the village. The streets are completely empty. Vern peeks around the corner into another alley but quickly ducks back. Footsteps pound on the dusty ground accompanied by the sound of labored breathing. It gets louder and louder until they’re no doubt feet away. Vern suddenly lunges forwards and grabs the person, covering her mouth. He pulls the small girl back behind the building. She thrashes in his grip, her face is already wet with tears. Vern doesn’t release her small frame.
“I’m going to uncover your mouth and you are going to answer one question. Don’t get any ideas of calling for help either because if I had to bet, I don’t think you’re faster than my arrow,” Vern threatens. The girl’s choked sobs continue. “Where do they keep the maps?”
He lets her go and she pauses a moment, staring at him. Her eyes flicker to my right and she purses her lips. I glance behind me to see a small shack. No windows line the outside and it’s made entirely out of stone, a perfect place to keep paper. I face the child once again. The girl turns and bolts in the opposite direction.
Vern raises his bow. No, the word echoes in my head. He draws the arrow back and aims. Stop! I react before my mouth has time to form the word. I kick sideways, catching the bottom of the long bow just as he releases. The arrow goes sailing into the sky, away from the girl. My moment of relief only lasts seconds before Vern grabs my shoulder and throws me into the wall. The impact rattles my head.
“What was that?!” He growls. “Do you want to get us all killed?”
I shake my head. I’m worried for a moment that too much of my face is visible and turn my glance to the ground. I rip his hand from my shoulder and point in the direction of the building.
“That’s what you’re looking for,” I whisper.
“How do you know?” Vern asks.
“Who cares?” Briar exclaims, happily trotting to the door. Vern groans in annoyance but follows anyways. Briar opens the door and disappears inside.
The room is lined floor to ceiling with maps.
“Nice work,” Vern says to me. “Look for anything to do with Antrapar or Havredal.”
“What do we do when we find it?” Briar asks.
Vern ruffles through some papers but stops to answer the question. “Burn it.”
My eyes widen. Burn it? No wonder there aren’t any raids on Havredal, no one can ever find it. But Antrapar?
I flip through pages and pages of maps. The smell of burning paper already hangs thick in the room. I pull a small page from one of the bound books. Antrapar. I glance to make sure Briar and Vern are busy before stuffing the sheet in my pocket. About ten minutes later, Vern gives the order to leave.
“We need to get out before they start burning the village,” he says. Vern pushes the door open and freezes in the entry way. I peer through the small opening. Beyond him, at least ten grown warriors stand, all heavily armed. They shout something that I can’t understand and rush forwards. Briar and Vern burst outside to meet them. I’m rooted to my place inside the room. Somehow, I manage to take the first step outside. I hold the shield in front of my chest as the first attacker rushes towards me. It’s a woman. She swings her sword down and I duck under my shield, sweeping a leg out to trip her to the ground. The next man is already rushing towards me. Duck. Block. Swing. Nothing I do seems to make a difference. He swings his sword and I block it away. In the same motion he connects his shield to my side. My back thuds to the ground where I roll to a stop. The shield is still strapped to my arm and I throw it to the side in an attempt to push him away. Instead, he laughs. The man takes a step forward and plants a foot on the side of my shield. He stomps down hard. I cry out as my arm bends at an awkward angle. Something in my elbow pops. He stands over me now, wearing a satisfied smile. I cringe with every movement. 
“What are you going to do now?” he sneers. The man’s sword catches the moonlight. My sword! I reach for the weapon with my good arm and thrust it upwards. I’m hit with a warm sticky spray and the man falls instantly, clutching his stomach. I struggle to my feet to find that Vern and Briar are still getting ambushed. I stagger towards Vern, the shield hanging limply by my side. He fights off two warriors at once. Suddenly, one sprints towards him from behind. I lunge forwards. The sword feels awkward in my hand as we clash and I abandon it. Using my good arm, I move the shield in the forms Briar had attempted to teach me. The man’s blade hits it multiply times but I’m unharmed behind the wooden. I land a well placed kick and smack him in the head with the wood. My elbow feels like it’s on fire and I can’t move it any longer. I kneel to the ground in pain. Several other people rush onto the scene and start fighting alongside us. Vern drops to the ground beside me and unclips the shield from my arm.
“This is going to hurt,” he warns. I clench my fists and squeeze my jaw closed. Vern yanks my wrist down and pushes my elbow back into it’s place. If my mouth hadn’t been locked close, I’m positive everyone would’ve thought that I had died right there. My muffled scream is enough to gain a single look of sympathy from Vern. I look around. Most of the fighting has been drawn away from us, back towards the harbor. My first battle was over. Weakly, I turn my head to look behind me at the structure that is now entirely engulfed in flames. Two thoughts run through my head; What did we even accomplish? How could that have been worth all this pain?