Star of Daylight (Book Two of the Viking Series)

CHAPTER ELEVEN - Vander

A/N: Writing Vander has been very difficult for me. I makes my skin crawl to step into his head, so to speak, but his ugliness is a necessary part of this story. When I sat down to write this chapter, Vander was simply pacing. I had no idea what that evil man was up to. This time he has shocked me more than any other POV of his. Warning: If you are tenderhearted, or cannot handle the destruction of innocence, do not read this. However, If you do read it, there will be a point to all this ugliness as the story progresses. Thank you for your support and my apologies for going off into the ether for such a long time. I now have my own internet and will be updating more often. Thank you,

Domri Stevens

Pacing back and forth in front of the hearth, I was overcome with frustration and impatience. She should be here already, I thought to myself. All I could do was imagine my hands closing around her throat and squeezing. Knowing I could not touch the puny pregnant savage either was not doing me any good. Her spirit taunted me, but Madhbh would not let me. She said that the little brown slug was the key to getting Kata where I wanted her, and if I hurt her or worse, killed her, I would lose the advantage I had gained.

I went further afield in my search for her replacement. I no longer looked for women that resembled my bitch of a sister. I wanted that untamable spirit that resided in her. I had killed a woman a day since our return, and it was still not enough. The fight was glorious, but they always seemed to fall short just as before. Mastering them was too easy, and more importantly, they were simply not Kata.

I could sense that she was on her way, hence my frustration. My dreams were so intense that they were coming upon me in the daytime. I could almost see her laughing at me from near the fire. The Great Hall closed in around me, and I escaped outside, but she was still there in my mind. If I could just kill her, I knew the dreams that plagued me would stop.

If I was not afraid of that old woman, I would do what I wanted. I would cut that baby out of that girl and feed it to the dogs as she watched. I would string her up and cut her like I did Valeria, though I would not rape her. I did not wish to defile myself with that ugly little creature. She was not a woman at all. She was lower than the dogs to me. She represented all I hated in Kata…all I hated in my father. He chose them. Sure, he came back, but he brought her with him and destroyed my life.

Sometimes, when I was feeling particularly rebellious, I would go to the shack I had her imprisoned in and taunt her through the walls. I would poke my sword through the rough stick frame and hear her squeal; though I know I did not slice her with its tip.

Through Madhbh, I learned her name was Night Moon, but a creature like that did not deserve a name. What did Night Moon mean anyway? What kind of name was that? More importantly, how did the old woman know the things she knew? Seeing them chatting on the ship had me wondering if I could trust Madhbh, but she said that she was only learning the girl’s language so that she could better judge what steps to take that would coincide with what she saw in her visions that were not so clear.

Madhbh never said more than she needed to. She kept her own counsel unless she felt it was necessary for me to know something or I was making a wrong step. I actually liked that about her. She was repulsive to me, but she seemed to have my best interest at heart, and so far, everything she told me had come to pass in exactly the way she foretold. It was quite eerie.

When I asked her why Kata was taking so long, she only told me that she would come and I needed to be patient. That was something I had never been good at, and it was rattling me now. Grunting out my frustration, I went to the practice yard. Several warriors were already hard at training. The clanging of swords and battleaxes was a comforting sound. Unsheathing my sword, I went after the first warrior to face me with a vengeance. I probably would have killed him if Cael had not interfered. Even he had been keeping his distance from me lately, saying I was too touchy. Whatever that meant, I needed my friend. As I was the leader of my clan, I could order anyone about, but not him. Technically, he did not owe any fealty to me. He was from another land and was not my vassal, but it was about time I demanded his presence.