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Chapter Seven
“Who dares, wins.”
—The Saga of Hrafnkel Freysgothi
“So what do you call those undead uglies?”
The black-haired male, Ere, as Eir came to know, had not stopped asking questions since the four of them got back on their steeds and continued to head north.
“Draugar,” Eir and her warrior replied at once.
“You know them too?” Ere asked the male at her back, intrigued.
“Aye,” he answered. “I have come to this place and time before.”
“What are they?”
“Humans who have been greedy, vengeful, or evil while living,” Eir replied. “Cowards, liars, jealous skinflints. Those we do not choose for a peaceful or heroic afterlife.”
Ere shuddered visibly before the golden male named Sorin upon their shared stallion.
Eir was pleased to note that thoughherwarrior could have ridden upon his own steed, he chose to remain with her. His great bulk was like a roaring bonfire at her back. She felt the wintry climate not at all.
“They were like all the horror movies I’ve ever watched about zombies wrapped in one,” Ere muttered with a disdainful twist of his mouth.
“If I ever see one again it will be too soon.”
He looked to Eir again with those inquisitive, bright turquoise eyes.
“How is it that our animals crossed safely to the other side? Why were we the only ones the Draugar tried to pull down into the bog?”
“They are jealous, I mentioned,” Eir said, giving the two males riding together on horseback a head-to-toe visual sweep.
“You are beautiful and strong, full of life. Even when the Draugar were human, they could never have matched your glory. The animals mean nothing to them. They have no need for such creatures. All the Draugar care about are treasures to hoard. But when they sense rare creatures like you venturing into their domain, they will try to make you join them.”
“Are you saying that if we were ugly and weak, they wouldn’t have bothered?”
Eir paused for a moment to give this question some thought.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. You are still living, after all, while they are dead. Life, and especially the vitality of youth, makes all creatures beautiful.”
She gave Sorin a thoughtful once-over.
“They wanted you in particular, warrior.”
Both males stiffened as one at her dire words.
“Something about you calls to them. We almost couldn’t get you out.”
“We did,” Ere said determinedly. “That’s all that matters.”
She gave a thoughtful nod.
“Take care of your Mate,” she advised Ere. “The Draugar have been known to haunt the living’s dreams. Especially one they desperately craved who got away.”
“Well…” Ere murmured, a flash of panic streaking across his features before he forcibly smoothed it out, “It’s a good thing you came to our rescue.”
He speared her with that shrewd, considering gaze.
