Wolf Child - Lìfa-saga Book 1

VI.

As the first rays of sunshine peaked over the horizon, Lìfa woke up from her sleep and lazily tried to stretch her body out. She had to realise that something heavy over her inhibited her from doing so, and when she turned her head to the side, she saw Finn sleeping next to her with his arms wrapped around her and their legs tangled together. The memories of last night came back to her and with a small smile she snuggled up closer to Finn, burying her face into his neck and hair. Her movements roused Finn from his sleep too, who greeted her with a small, sleepy smile and pulled her closer under the warm wolfskin coat.

They spent the morning hours in a sweet silence, only cuddling, not feeling the need to say anything. They wanted to enjoy each other’s company as long as they could before they finally sail out to fight their own wars. Both of them knew that probably this was the last time they saw each other, and they just wanted this little magic between them to last a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, this idyll didn’t last long as heavy footsteps approached them, followed by a harsh voice shouting, breaking the peaceful morning silence:

”Lìfa! Lìfa Einardottir, where the hell are you?”

Lìfa quickly crawled out under the fur and jumped up. As she scanned her surroundings, her eyes got caught up on Magni. The huge form of the berserker was marching right toward her and Finn with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

”Ah, there you are! I spent hours searching for you. But now I understand where have you gone so suddenly yesterday.” he shot a playful look toward Finn, making Lìfa blush a bit ”Okay kids, say your goodbyes because we have to go. Now.”

Magni folded his all tattoed arms, and turned away, giving the youth a moment of privacy. For a second they just stood in front of each other, not knowing what to say. Finally, Lìfa gave Finn a quick hug:

”Hey, don’t you dare to die unworthy! You owe me a mead in Valhalla!” with this she turned to Magni, signaling him that she’s ready to go.

”See you there, I promise!” she heard Finn’s words, as they were already hurrying away through the field, leaving the boy behind. On the way back to the Silver Fox, Magni told Lìfa everything she needed to know.

In the morning Ivar noticed Ingolf’s ship harboring by the docks of Heilaholm. Since then the crew had been keeping an eye on the ship, waiting for something to happen. Probably Ingolf was here to gear up before the rush to the treasure, but they didn’t know for how long the ship had been there and Egil wanted to know more about his plans. Also, they had to be ready to set sail at any minute, just in case.

When Lìfa and Magni reached the small hill from where they were watching over Ingolf’s ship, the crew was all excited and nervous, because in the very same moment another ship harbored next to Ingolf’s. Lìfa and Sveinn immediately recognised it. The one that came to burn down Thornvik, their home.

As Ivar’s sharp eyes could make it from such a long distance, Ingolf was waiting for that ship and its captain. They greeted each other warm-heartedly and made their way to the city centre. If they wanted to know more, now was the chance. Egil chose Vidar, the scout to spy on the two men and he also ordered Lìfa and Sveinn to go with him, which idea Vidar clearly disliked. He didn’t understand why the two newbies would be useful for him, but Egil took no questions. It was his final word and Vidar had to obey his jarl.

As the three of them headed out to follow Ingolf and his man, Vidar tried to teach Lìfa and Sveinn some things about sneaking and spying. He showed them how to blend in the crowd without drawing any attention, how to pretend to admire the merchants’ work while still keeping an eye on the target, or like what was the ideal distance to follow someone without being seen. No matter how much Vidar disliked Lìfa and the way she got into the group, he had to admit that she and Sveinn learned fast and that they were quite acceptable mates during their mission.