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"Are you sure this is a good idea, auntie?" he asked, eyeing the steaming contents.
Shala sucked on her pipe and grinned. "Why? Are you scared, magi?"
"Cautious. Someone did try and poison me less than a week ago."
Shala blew out some smoke and shrugged. "Then you leave her to find her own way out of the labyrinth of her nightmares and risk losing her forever."
"Iwon'tlose her." Khan lifted his cup, his brow furrowing. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
Shala only smiled. "Probably, but the hangover will be a worthy price to pay if you can save her."
Khan drank the tea down in three mouthfuls. He took Fen's hand and lay down beside her.
"I'm coming, my seiðr," he whispered.
Shala's brown wrinkled face hovered above him. "I'll watch you and bring you back if you need it."
"Thank…" Khan's vision began to blur. Fen's bright golden hair was the last thing he saw before his world went dark.
* * *
Khan stood in front of a small wooden house. The air was heavy with freezing mist and smoke, the soft hushed sound of lapping waves breaking the silence.
"Fen?" he whispered.
Fires burned in a square, and Khan walked closer to get a better look. Carved wooden statues stood in a circle, bowls of offerings placed at their bases. Eyes looked down on him, and the hair on Khan's neck rose.
He studied the statues in the flickering light and started recognizing them from Fen's stories. Freya with her cats, a sword in her hand. One-eyed Odin, his ravens on his shoulders.
Blood and honey and smoke burned on Khan's tongue, a rush of heat and a roar of battle song in his veins.
Fen's gods are here.
Whispers on the wind and the rocks grinding on the shore snapped Khan back before the magic could drag him under. Torches appeared through the fog, a sheen of moonlight on metal.
The raiders.
Khan hurried back to the tiny house and opened the door. A fire was burning low, and Fen was curled up underneath a cloak and a pile of furs.
Khan looked behind him at the raiders creeping through the village, getting closer. Fen had said that she had woken in the raid and saved the others, but she was sleeping so deeply…
"Fen! Wake up!" he shouted. He tried to reach for her, but his hand passed through her shoulder. "Fen, please. You need to wake up, or you'll die. You will never save your sisters, and I will never meet you."
Hot magic seared through him. He reached for her again, and this time, just for a moment, he could feel the soft blue cloak over her.
He shook her hard. "Wake up, Fen!"
Gold eyes snapped open. She was on her feet and grabbing two axes by the door before sleep had left her face.
Khan ran after her as she opened the doors of more small huts and houses, waking women and children and whispering quick words to them. Screams pierced the night, and Fen ran on.
"All-Father, guide my blade," she panted under her breath.
Khan froze in fear, watching as she threw herself into the raiders. She was screaming at them, her words harsh in her own language. Other raiders called out to their companions while Fen drew them away from where the other women were fleeing.
Gods, my brave Fen.
Ravens cawed loudly, and the hair on Khan's neck rose at the magic building in the air. He whirled around, and standing in the light of a burning hall, he saw two figures. A stunning woman with golden hair stood with a sword and shield, a brilliant necklace of gold around her neck, and a cloak of falcon feathers fastened to her shoulders.
