Fault (Book 1 of the Vikings Series)

Chapter 13

Hardly a line between bravery and stupidity. The longer I spend aboard this rocking ship, the more I feel that they are simply one in the same.
Despite contrary belief, mostly on the part of Briar, I’m given plenty of work. Most of my time is spent below deck, counting things we collected from the village. I hear that we will be stopping at one of the trading islands after Gamgin. It won't come soon enough. The tension between Briar and Vern is enough to make the ship explode. I choose not to say anything to Briar. There's too much for me to lose if he decides I'm the enemy.
The night that we reach Gamgin, Vern puts me on watch with specific instructions to watch the flagship. And watch I do. The bitter night air seeps through my bearskin cloak and I cuddle further into it. Gusts of wind play at my hood, pulling it off my head every so often. I squeeze it over my mouth and squint at the flagship through the darkness. Suddenly, the light it casts begins to dim as the lanterns are put out. One light remains and it flashes several times before it too is extinguished. I rush to the helm and report to Vern what I saw. He gives the command to the men to do the same on our ship and shortly after we're floating in darkness. Someone goes to wake Östen and he appears on deck a few minutes later. Östen takes the helm and Vern leads me down into the weapons room where many of the men are already getting suited up for battle. Many of them carry axes that weigh probably as much as me and hold even larger shields. Vern hands me a long sword and my shield that I had used on the first Raid. As he gives it to me, Vern pauses.
"Please, don't get hurt," he whispers. Briar suddenly reaches through us for something, pushing us apart.
"I'll try dear," Briar snorts, rudely. Welch is already there too.
"Want me to hold your hand, Shorty?" Welch teases. I roll my eyes and smile.
"Up on deck!!" A voice booms through the corridor.
I strap the sword around my waist and follow the herd of people headed up to the long boats. As we filter through the doorway, I fall into step next to Vern. My hand finds his and I squeeze it briefly. He glances down at me with a small grin. The lantern light plays across his eyes just before he returns his stare straight ahead. I take a deep breath and step up onto deck. They usher me down into one of the longboats and I'm separated from Vern. He watches from deck as the men start rowing us towards the small group already assembled by the flagship. I find the heads of Briar and Welch in the crowd. Welch sneaks a look back at me but is forced to focus on rowing along with the other men. I pull back on my own oar, letting the other men do most of the work. We row around the other side of their wall in a blind spot of their watch tower. I jump from the boat along with the rest of the Vikings into the knee deep water. My boots sink down into the soft sand as I struggle my way up the beach. The pack of people stays together and I purposely stay in the center of the group. By the time the watch tower finally sends the war call, it's too late. We storm through the gates and plow deep into their stone streets before the their fighters even have a chance to react. Despite past events, Briar stays close to me along with Welch and they never let me get too far over my head. The siege of Gamgin lasts a little under an hour. Their chief surrenders on a few conditions. Immediately, Vern and a few others head for the maps but I stay with the majority of us in the square. Several of the chief's female slaves are negotiated into the deal, among which his daughter is somehow included. They are all pushed out of a nearby building and all the Vikings around me start to jeer and whistle. The women are pulled towards the group and I follow the chief's daughter with my eyes. She's probably my age, if not a year or two younger. The sheer resemblance of the two of us makes me sick. That could be me just as easily had I not left Havredal. The girl stumbles through the crowd, her brown hair twists behind her like a halo. She starts to run as more of the men surround her. Finally, she's caught by none other than Tarben. He kneels beside her and pulls her close to whisper something in her ear. Her eyes widen. I don't need to hear whatever my father had just said, I'm already appalled. Tarben looks up in my direction.
"You!"
I glance around and realize that I'm the only one around them.
"Take the lovely Lyric back to the flagship," Tarben instructs, taking her hand. I sheath my sword and approach them with my head down. He passes the girl off on me roughly in comparison with his previous attitude towards her.
"Oh," Tarben calls my attention back for a second thought. "And find Gunnar. Make sure he gets his present."
Tarben grins and I feel bile rise in my stomach. I rush Lyric away, hoping I get out of view before I slouch to the ground in the stone street and lean against the wall overcome with sickness. Lyric seems confused.
"Shouldn't you be holding my wrists or something?"
I glance up at her, unbelieving.
"Did you not hear Tarben?" I ask in disbelief. "You should be running!"
I cough, still fighting the urge to throw up.
"I can't run," Lyric says quietly.
"What?"
"If I run he might burn the town," she explains. "Why are you acting this way? If it were anyone else-"
"Hold on! I just," I can't have this conversation. It's terrible. Awful. Completely barbaric. People as, what? Yes, we had Thralls but this was just a whole different kind of servitude. I.. Ugh, and I thought I hated Tarben before.
"I'm so confused," she mutters. "Are you taking me to the ship?"
"I.. Um.. Yes. That's what I was supposed to do," I stammer. Lyric nods awkwardly. I glance at the harbor to see that the flagship has already been tied up to the small docks. I lead her down the dock and bring her to the small brig. After leaving her, I return to the deck and find Gunnar. I keep my head down and tell him what had happened in the village in as few words as possible. He looks hesitant, dreading almost. Slowly, Gunnar walks down to the brig and I follow. He opens the door and immediately Lyric cowers further into the corner. Gunnar approaches slowly and gently pulls her to her feet. They pause a moment, fingers loosely intertwined, simply staring at one another.
"Go," Gunnar says quietly, breaking their stare. He points to the door.
"Excuse me?" Lyric asks.
"But, Tarben will-" I start but stop at Gunnar's glare.
"There is no way I'll condone this in my lifetime," he says.
"But, sir, Tarben will burn my village if I don't do what he asks. It's part of the deal he made with my father."
"Yes, and then he'll use you and sell you on one of the trading islands to who knows what fate. That's why I'm telling you right now, go.” Gunnar says it as if it’s just another fact that he’s come across.
"I can't!" Lyric cries. "Gamgin will be destroyed!"
Gunnar runs a hand through his shaggy blond hair. It takes every ounce of my self awareness to keep my jaw from dropping. This was now my brother? I don't think I've ever been thankful for his stubborn personality until now.
“Tarben will be the death of me,” Gunnar sighs in frustration. Me as well, I think. At least we could have a double funeral. “The siblings of discord,” they would remember us by. Or worse.
“I’m just confused,” Lyric mutters. “Why would you two go back on your chief’s word?”
I feel the noose start to slip over my head. Nooooo. This wasn’t how I would go down.
“What’s different? We have morals,” I hiss in a low voice. Gunnar turns to face me as if he’s just realizing I’m there but he quickly returns his attention to Lyric. Gunnar takes her hand softly.
“Your courage is inspiring, but it is also foolish. If you stay, it is because of that that I will try to keep you safe.”
A small smile resides on her face.
“I don’t think either of you understand what happens in Gamgin. Taking me and selling me would be far better then leaving me here. Wherever you’re from, it must be some kind of utopia,” Lyric says in a small voice. I watch Gunnar rub the back of her hand with his thumb.
“I’m beginning to think that as well,” he replies. “Though, everyone changes when they’re beyond the harbor.”
“I agree. But some can change for the better,” Lyric smiles and her eyes light up. Gunnar gives her one last grin and then drops her hand.
“Thrall,” Gunnar refers to me. “Stay here until daybreak. No one comes in here. And if I find out you so much as lay a finger on her, consider yourself dead to the sea.”
I nod and Gunnar disappears up onto deck. I close the door behind me and sit down atop a large wooden crate. Lyric returns to her place in the corner.
“You’re related to him,” Lyric says, shattering the silence between us. My eyes widen. 
“What would make you think that?” I ask.
“Your voice. Your face,” Lyric explains. I purse my lips.
“I’m not going to tell him. It’s obvious you’re trying to keep it a secret. The question is, why?”
I climb down the crate and sit on the floor across from her. Slowly, I pull the hair out of my face and twist it in a small knot to the side.
“Shield maidens, they don’t exist where we’re from. Hidden, I stay safe.”
“But the Chief, he’s your father?”
“Tarben? Yes, by title only.”
“I know the feeling,” Lyric smiles sadly. She traces a finger along the wooden boards, following the grooves.
“Is that your brother?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I nod.
“You both remind me of someone else that came through Gamgin a few days ago. A ship full of women, they stopped for supplies.”
My gaze snaps toward her. 
“Women? Can you remember what any of them look like?”
“Umm.. Their leader looked like you. A ginger, our age,” Lyric says.
“Saga,” I breath. I jump to my feet.
“Where were they going?” I ask.
“I have no idea. Maybe the trade islands? They were looking for something.”
I grab the handle of the door and rush outside.
“Wait! I thought you were supposed to stay with me?” Lyric exclaims.
“I need to go! Trust me, Gunnar isn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
“But what if-?”
“Lyric, I promise,” I smile. To be honest, I’d be surprised if Gunnar wasn’t guarding the hatch.
I sprint up to the deck before Lyric can mutter another word of protest. I mess up my hair once again and pull the hood of my cloak low on my face. The sun is just starting to rise on the village, showing the true magnitude of the damage we had caused the previous night. Their wall lies in ruins and smoke rises from a few of the buildings in the distance. I rush towards Östen’s boat, trying to get as well hidden as possible before Tarben learns that Singrid is out here somewhere.
“Shorty!” Someone calls. I spin to see Welch waving in my direction. He runs up to me.
“Tarben’s on board,” Welch whispers.
Sure enough, Tarben does find out about Singrid’s past visit, though he, nor anyone else in the village, seem to have any clue why she wasn’t in Havredal. When we set sail for the trade islands, Tarben orders us to make nearly impossible time. We arrive at the crowded islands within two days at sea.
“Search the island for signs of anyone from Havredal!” Tarben commands.
A group of around fifty of us leave the ships to scout the island. Gunnar and Vern lead at the front of the men but I hang further back in the group. When we reach a more crowded area of the island, I sneak away from the group and take a different alley lined with merchant carts. My feet pound on the cobblestone streets as I rush away from the rest of the vikings. Foreign smells fill my nose and unknown languages echo in my head. The moon casts strange shadows on the small island. I stop and crouch behind one of the carts. The noises of the island fill my ears and I try to clear my head. Suddenly, strong hands grab me from behind.

I struggle against the grip and draw my sword. Almost instantly, it’s knocked from my hand. They grab my hair and yank back, forcing me to look to the sky.  The hood is pulled from my head and something sharp is pressed against my neck.
“Don’t move,” a voice hisses.
Footsteps pound towards us followed by the clash of metal. Several shouts and the sound of a weapon falling to the ground.
“Who are you?” a rough voice asks.
“My name is-” I start.
“No! Don’t tell-” A familiar voice yells. Vern. He’s cut off, his mouth probably covered by one of the men.
“Tell us or the boy dies,” the voice threatens.
“Elin. We’re from Havredal!” I say immediately.
“About time we got the right one. I told you she’d show up,” one of the other men growls.
“It only took fifty tries,” the man holding me says bitterly.
“Who cares. We’ll all be rich men when we get her to Antrapar.”
My eyes widen. Antrapar?
“Kill the boy and lets get going,” the grumpy man hisses. I struggle and feel the blade press at my throat.
“No!” I shout.
“Yell again and you’ll be joining him,” my captor growls.
“No Ishtar, we need her unharmed,” someone else scolds.
“How do you suppose we do that when she won’t shut up?”
“Please,” I beg. “I’ll go with you if you let him go.”
“No! Elin you-” I guess someone punches Vern as he groans pathetically. The man holding me lets out a sigh and releases me.
“Come on. It’s time to go.” The leader motions for the other three men in the alley to follow. He takes my arm and starts pulling me behind him. I glance back and see them drop Vern to the ground. He struggles forward but grabs at his stomach.
“Elin!” Vern yells.
The man holding me yanks me forwards. I get my first good look at my captor, the man they call Ishtar and to say he looked ragged would be an understatement. Growing up amongst Vikings, I’m used to unusual appearances but this was something completely different. A large scar runs along the side of his face and his black hair looks as if it had once been braided but has since become a giant knot. An obnoxious piercing protrudes from his lower lip but seems like its been pulled too far down creating a gap in his lip. The man’s weapon finishes his barbaric look. It’s long and jagged. He stops and turns to the men. The leader nods at them and they sprint off the way we had come.
“Where are they going?” I ask. In response the man just yanks me forwards.
Ishtar leads me onto a small boat into the bottom of the storage cellar. I wait until I’m alone  and completely scour the cellar for any escape. By now, Vern should be somewhere safe giving me free reign over my own escape. Yes, I want to go to Antrapar someday but something in my head nags that being delivered onto their doorstep won’t end well. The longer I look around the room however, the more likely that fate is seeming. A few hours later, the small ship starts to sway. One of the men comes down to the cellar awhile later with a ration of food. He’s about to leave but I stop him with a question.
“Are we going to Antrapar?” I ask.
“We should be there within a few days,” the man answers. He seems surprisingly more excepting to the conversation than expected.
“Why are you taking me there?”
The man stares at me for a moment, trying to read my expression.
“You really don’t know?”
I shake my head. He grins a sinister smile.
“You’ll be finding out soon enough. Oh, and Ishtar wanted me to let you know that your little pal from the alley is no longer going to be a problem,” he laughs. My mouth drops. I shoot to my feet and clench my fists.
“What did you do to him?!” I shout.
“Why would I bother?” he scoffs.
I throw a punch towards his stomach but the man simply catches it and twists my arm backwards at a painful angle.
“Don’t bother, girly. You have nowhere to go on this boat and I wouldn’t suggest testing Ishtar,” he hisses. Finally, I’m released and he slams the door behind him.