Star of Daylight (Book Two of the Viking Series)

CHAPTER SIX - Star of Daylight

I sat on the edge of the giant slab, my insides racing like a thousand bees. Somehow, I knew that this was not just a ceremony, but a telling, and its importance was paramount. Glancing nervously at Walking Clouds, I saw sympathy radiate from his gaze, and I looked quickly away, the tension building.

“What do you want me to do, Walking Clouds?” I asked him, certain the fear would show in my now tremulous voice. I never cried, but I certainly felt like it now. Admitting my trepidation seemed weak to me, but I knew I needed to be honest. “I am scared.”

“Child, this is not exactly normal circumstances, but I will need you to drink this and lie down there.” He pointed, indicating the slab I was sitting on and handed me a birch cup containing a thick black liquid. Sniffing it, I found it strange that it was a brew I could not identify, but I simply obeyed, too tired to argue and too scared to do anything else. A line of fire spread through my insides and settled into my womb. The baby quieted immediately and I began to feel quite drowsy.

I do not know how I managed to crawl across the rock and stretch across the painted symbol that graced the pouch around my neck, or even what Walking Clouds might be doing. Suddenly, it did not feel like cold rock that I was lying on, but warm water like what I bathed in before our meal. I was floating on a cloud, and Liberty was talking to me. “Listen,” she said over and over. I raised my arm to her, but she would not land there.

I reached out with all my senses and realized I could hear someone laughing maniacally. A chill traced itself across my heart and I knew it was Vander. “We are connected, you and I. I will take what is most dear to you, and I dare you to come and claim it, savage. Then I can kill you, and I will be free.” His voice was cold as ice, and as malevolent as a raging storm. His eyes flashed out evilly at me, and I could see the faces of people in eternal torment. Some of them I recognized; faces of women I had grown up with, though their countenance was frozen in a glassy stare and their visages were twisted horribly in death.

“No,” I cried hollowly.

“Yes,” he said cruelly. “And you will be next, you filthy abomination! Come if you dare.” His laughter chased me, and I ran from nothing. The scene had already changed.

The waves were crashing against the shore, and the wind was blowing in from the east. Storm clouds were rolling in at an alarming rate. I was standing on a cliff, but not in the land of The People. I was back in Iceland watching a ship battling the choppy sea as it headed out toward Greenland and my home. More laughter carried on the breeze, and then the scene changed again.

I was standing on the beach near the White Spirit settlement. Women were digging for clams in the sand, which was a staple among our tribes. Children were playing on the shoreline, and their laughter rang in my ears, delighting me. Hearing a familiar voice, I turned my head. My sister, Night Moon, was talking with a group of women behind me, her belly large with child. The smile on her face warmed my heart beyond measure. It was good to see her happy and vibrant after the difficult time she had had with He Who Cries.

No one seemed to notice me. So, I walked closer, intending to touch her arm, when I heard that laughter again. From the brush at the end of the beach, Vander strode confidently towards us, his eyes on me. “I told you I would take what you love. Come to me, Kata, as I cannot kill you here.”

“No!” I yelled at him, but he only smiled at me. The look in his eyes sent chills running through my body and made the child leap in my bulging stomach. Panicking, I turned to Night Moon. “Run!” I screamed, but no one seemed to hear me, but they did notice him.

“White Spirits,” one of the children cried out, and then they began to scatter. The women followed suit, but Night Moon was slower than the others. I tried to grab her arm and assist her, but my hand might as well have been made of air as it passed right through her. She stumbled and fell, and Vander was upon her in an instant. She kicked and screamed to no avail. It only seemed to give him pleasure.