Page 89 of Lord of Fire and Ice

“An elegant solution,” Arn said with a sly glance in Brandr’s direction. “There are those who wouldn’t fault him for it.”

“Hush.” Dalla frowned at the jarl as if he were still the ornery boy she’d raised. “Eric’s misdeeds earned him the name Bloodaxe, and he woke the gore-hungry spirits of that older time wherever he bided.”

“He’s not still alive, is he?” Brandr asked.

“No, he didn’t even reign long, there’s a mercy. He was banished, and I think he died somewhere on the Isle of the Angles.”

“Then why would someone say he was coming?”

“Who said that?” Dalla looked at him with alarm. “Tell me all.”

Brandr recounted Katla’s abduction and everything he could remember Tryggr and his cohorts had said and done. “‘Once the Bloodaxe comes,’ one said before his friend could quiet him. Do you think it means someone has taken up the name?”

“I think it means someone was born to it,” Dalla said. “Harald Fairhair wasn’t the only man to lie with more women than he ought. An heir of Eric Bloodaxe has set his eye on Hardanger Fjord.” She turned to look at the shattered remains of the figurine. “And it seems he means to wake the Old Ones as he comes.”

“Then we need to be ready when he gets here,” Brandr said. “I noticed on the way up from the wharf that the fortifications are lax here. We need to rebuild the curtain wall around the village and see that the signal fires are manned and ready to light should we need to summon aid.”

“Summon aid?” Arn curled what was left of his lip. “In case it’s escaped your notice, brother, you do not wear the Iron Crown here. I say what needs doing in Jondal, not you. I won’t have you and an old woman spreading fear among people who should be spreading seeds and working their land.”

Arn rose to his feet, swaying with effort.

“You have a new wife to bed, brother. And I have a jarldom to rule,” he said. “Let us both turn to the occupation we’re best fitted for.”

Arn waved them both away.

Brandr escorted Dalla from the massive audience hall. Once they cleared the carved doors, Dalla stopped him.

“It was well done not to argue with him,” she said. “Arn is tired and wouldn’t respond favorably to more pressure.”

“He’s not the only one,” Brandr said, rubbing the bridge of his nose to massage away the fatigue headache building there.

“And besides, Arn’s right. You do have a lovely new wife to bed, but judging from the looks of you, I advise only sleep for now,” Dalla said. “But when you wake, start building the fortifications and send emissaries to the other jarls in the fjord to warn them of the coming threat. ’Tis time to solidify our alliances.”

“Then you believe a battle is coming.”

“Not a battle,” she said, “a war. I have seen it. Your tale only confirms my vision.”

“Arn will be angry if I act in his stead.”

A dark shadow passed over her features. “Arn will not know. In less than a month, the disease will claim his mind. He will not be able to recall his own name.”

Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Though Arn had been cantankerous, even when he was healthy, and probably hadn’t been improved by his suffering, Dalla loved him with the fierceness of a she wolf.

“There will be a new jarl in Jondal before the season turns.” She patted Brandr’s shoulder and forced a smile. “Just when his people need him most.”

Chapter 31

The jarlhof was the largest dwelling Katla had ever seen. From the outside, the basic structure seemed like a gigantic version of her longhouse, a solid rectangle forming the main portion, but within those outer walls, the great hall occupied the center of the building. It was encompassed by a wide corridor all around, anchored at intervals with massive tree trunks that soared to the thatched roof high overhead. From this torchlit hallway, countless private chambers, all of them spotlessly clean, jutted out to the sides, including, to Katla’s amazement, an indoor latrine with a system of tiled trenches to flush the waste out with water from the adjoining well used exclusively for that purpose.

“There’s so much to tend,” Katla said, amazed at Hilde’s organization and industry. Many women with a sick husband would let other matters slide. Perhaps cleaning had been Hilde’s way of dealing with Arn’s illness. “You must have an army of servants.”

“Less than you might think. Of course, we have fewer courtiers and guests in residence, so there’s not so much work to keeping empty rooms tidy. Now that Arn’s sickness has…” Hilde gave herself a little shake. “It will be good to see these rooms in use. And good to have a bairn under this roof again. It’s been too long since there was life in this hall. You are most welcome, sister.”

“I thank you.” Katla gave her a quick hug, which seemed to surprise her. As Hilde withdrew, the wet nurse she’d summoned to the jarlhof arrived for duty.

Una was a clean, healthy-looking woman who’d birthed twins a month past, but the smallest of the babes had died. Fortunately, the young mother still had milk enough for two.

It was a perfect situation as far as Katla was concerned, because as soon as Linnea finished nursing, Una was happy to relinquish her to Katla and return to her own child. Hilde installed Una in the small chamber adjoining Katla and Brandr’s and the woman seemed more than pleased by the promise of silver for such light duties. She was especially happy about moving into the jarlhof, since her husband had set off on a voyage two months ago and hadn’t been heard from since.