“Helga shrieked. ‘It is a demon! A witch!’
“ ‘Nay,’ said the king. ‘It is you who are the demon and the witch, both you and your weak sister. As of this moment, you are no longer my daughters. Your husbands are no longer my sons-in-law. All of you are banished as of this day. Go and be damned, all of you!’
“Helga felt fury wash over her. She raised her arms to the sky and shrieked, ‘Demons, come to me now! Strike down the man and the child! Kill them!’
“But no demons appeared. The Viking warrior was there, standing suddenly before them, radiant and shimmering, as if the sun were shining behind him. Helga cried out and stepped back.
“The warrior raised his sword high, kissed its finely worked iron handle, then said, ‘What is due you, Helga? You are the evil one, Ferlain is only weak, her powers enhanced only by yours. As for you men, you wretched husbands, you are pitiful. What should I do with you?”’
Laren quieted and looked down at her feet. There was utter silence. She slowly raised her head and looked at Merrik. “If you were the Viking warrior, what would you do, Merrik?”
“I would kill Helga and banish the other three.”
Laren smiled. “Do you agree, Oleg?”
“Aye, spit the witch on his sword!”
“Aye! Aye!”
Even the women yelled to kill Helga.
Laren waited until they quieted again. “All of you are right, in a sense. The warrior didn’t spit Helga on his sword. He walked up to her, stared down at her, and spoke softly, very softly, strange words that even she had never heard. It sounded to the king like a strange benediction. The warrior’s voice was so very smooth and steady. He raised his hand over her head, just held his hand there. She didn’t move, didn’t say a word. It was as if she were turned to stone. In the next instant, she began to fade away, growing dimmer and dimmer until naught remained but an armlet of solid gold that suddenly fell to the floor, thudding loudly. No one said a word, even her husband, Fromm.
“The king once again told the others to leave and so they did, grateful that they hadn’t been made to disappear like Helga. The Viking warrior walked back to the king and Ninian. He said, ‘I have gained my freedom now. I will return to you, Ninian, but as a man. I will still guard you, but it will be with a mortal’s life and a mortal’s strength. Lo
ok for me, Ninian, for I will come back.’
“With those words, the Viking warrior, just like Helga, paled into nothingness, at last simply clear air against the whitewashed wall.”
Laren raised her hands and said finally, “It is over.”
“But did the Viking warrior return as he promised?”
Laren grinned toward Merrik. “Aye, he will return, and he will protect Ninian.”
When Merrik lifted the woolen blanket and eased down onto the box bed beside her, he said, “Are their names really Helga and Ferlain?”
“Aye.”
“I am the Viking warrior.”
“Aye, you are.”
“Why didn’t Taby say anything?”
“I told him not to.”
“Ah. Do you truly believe it is Helga behind your abduction?”
“I don’t know. Her dislike of Taby and me was the most obvious. The husbands aren’t quite as stupid as I made them out to be, or as innocent. Fromm is a huge man, ugly and vicious. Cardle is weak-chinned with stooped shoulders. He whines when he doesn’t get his way. No two men could be more unalike than they.”
“I will see, won’t I?”
“Aye, we will see together, Merrik.”
He held silent, frowning into the darkness. “Nay, you will remain here at Malverne. It is now your home, your responsibility. Besides, I would keep both you and Taby safe. It was my vow to you.”
“Nay, I must come with you. You do not know these people. I do. I could protect you. We will leave Taby here.”