Silence Deep as the Snow » Sihtric || The Last Kingdom

Cursed

The rain was relentless. It pounded down the dirt road to mush. Our horses slipped and struggled through the grime. It slowed our pace to a crawl. The merry spirit that had come from our night of celebration over Agatha's healthy birth dampened. I hugged myself hard till I felt the diamonds in my bodice dig against my breast, but I couldn't stave off my shivering. 

Thankfully, Ivar's body behind me gave me a little warmth. We were pleasant travel mates, despite his singing. I felt safe with him. He was definitely the most powerfully built of the group. And the fact that he had told me that he preferred the company of men in his bed made me feel more comfortable with our closeness. 

"Coming up to a river crossing here, little maid," he whispered hoarsely into my ear, his warm breath against my frozen cheek making me shiver. "Then we'll seek shelter for the night. I can't see Uhtred's men or my sister driving us through this for the rest of the day."

I could only nod and clench my teeth to keep them from chattering. Hopefully, he was right.

The trees cleared to a green bank. It was a ferry crossing. The river surged and gurgled with the heavy rainfall. It rushed from uphill in the forest and down a rocky crevasse beyond. 

Ivar scoffed. "This was not a wisely planned ferry crossing."

"No indeed," Finan agree, shaking his head. "We'll only be able to go over two at a time. By the looks of the storm, it's beginning to abate. We might make it over without going for a swim."

After my experience on the ocean, I was more than reluctant to face a raging river. But the others seemed confident that the ferry would make it across the stream as long as the rope on the other side was intact. We ate a quick meal of soggy bread that had been warm from Agatha's hearth that morning. 

Tola held out a wine skin to me that she kept in her back. "For a little courage."

I didn't argue. I knew I needed it. My hand shook as I took the skin from her. Sihtric noticed nearby and met my gaze. I took a swig and looked away, feeling the liquid burn all the way down to my belly. It didn't help other than make me feel woozy.

Tola and Turgan went first. The rain was drizzling now. Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as I was imagining. Tola kept the horses calm as Turgan used the pole to push them along the rope that hooked to the rickety platform. It bobbed and jerked against his strength, but he held them steady.

"Well done, lad!" Finan shouted, heaving a breath of relief. 

Osferth smiled up at me and I tried to return it. I sat on Ivar's horse. It had been decided that after Tola and Turgan, Ivar and Sihtric would go next. Sihtric would keep the horses calm while Ivar pulled us along. I was to remain on top of our horse, who was known for not panicking on water. Then Finan and Osferth would follow. 

Gingerly, Sihtric led our horses onto the returned ferry. Ivar checked the solidity of the rope then nodded to his half brother. The ferry lurched as we started. I gave a little gasp as the horse beside mine whinnied. Sihtric ran a calming hand over the animal's neck and whispered something in his own tongue to it. Though the words were foreign, they gave me a little comfort. He wasn't afraid, his stony gaze never wavered from the shore. I clutched the reins and prayed, hoping some deity somewhere would hear me. The sun started to break free of the clouds.

We were over halfway when a sound made us halt. It had been only the light sprinkling of the last of the rain on the river, the crows in the trees beyond. Now a distant roar made even Ivar pause in our crossing.

A breathless plunge of water and then a roar like a dragon from the tales Glynnis told. A wall of water had let itself loose from upstream where it had been held at bay. Now it was recklessly gushing, tumbling, toward us. It carried boulders and broken trees, tearing down the banks before anyone of us could think. 

Our ferry was hit before Sihtric or Ivar could do anything. I was thrown from the screaming horse into the deluge and sucked down to the bottom. Dragging along the river bed, I managed to open my eyes and look up into only dark water. 

I was cursed. It had to be so. And everyone that tried to help me was cursed as well. The witch that had stolen my father and tarnished my mother's memory, exiled me into oblivion. She was to blame for this. For the death of the sailor who brought me out of Cymru and now for the deaths of two men that were trying to help me.

My anger overcame my fear. I couldn't let her win. With my last shred of consciousness, rage like fire inside me, I pushed against the rocks below me and reached for a swirling branch. Caught in a swell, it miraculously brought me to the surface. 

I let out a scream of a gasp as I emerged, struggling to cling to the broken branch. The limb caught the edge of a rocky outcrop, bringing me to a jarring halt. But I didn't let go.

"Odin!" A man bellowed behind me.

I wiped the water from my eyes to see a dark figure in the water, struggling to stay afloat. Sihtric careened towards me. I was within reach, but I only had one chance to catch him before he was sucked down into the stone gully beyond and spit out into another surge of rapids.

He was a big man and after years of courtly life, I was far from strong like Tola. But I couldn't just let him go. I wouldn't let him die because of me. 

I pulled myself along the log to the farthest edge that I dared. The rapids threatened to take me, but I hung on. Odds were, we would both be sucked down into the gully. 

"Sihtric!" I screamed as he surfaced and managed to catch sight of me. I held out my hand to catch him.

"Don't!" He hollered back, his voice gurgling as he submerged once again.

Too late, I caught the back of his collar. It felt like my shoulder would pop out of it's socket. But I caught him. 

The limb where I was clinging gave a tremendous crack and then broke. Sihtric reached for me, his arm locking around my waist as we were dragged down into the frothing violence of a waterfall.