Redeeming Her Viking Warrior

‘You don’t know where we’re going.’

‘Good point.’ He made a face. ‘Then we go side by side. Together.’

He readjusted his clothes and they set off again, more slowly and carefully this time, without crossing any more precipices. Tove and Halvar rejoined them after a little while and they remained undisturbed by the Gaels, though he had a suspicion there were eyes watching them on several occasions. Sissa was right; it was a much longer route, but it was far easier to admire the rugged beauty of their surroundings from below. The black peaks looked forbidding and magnificent at the same time, starkly striking as if the earth had been stripped back to its bare essentials, leaving an impression of raw power.

* * *

It was halfway through the afternoon when he noticed that Sissa’s footsteps were slowing and he guessed they were almost at their destination. There was a faint tang of salt in the air, too, as if they were approaching the other side of the island and the sea again. At last she stopped altogether, pointing towards a rocky overhang in a sheer cliff face.

‘That was where Coblaith found me five summers ago.’ Her voice sounded tight. ‘I was curled up in a ball, sheltering from the cold and rain, shivering so hard I remember my teeth ached from chattering. I doubt I would have survived the night if she hadn’t come along when she had. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to survive, but I suppose I must have, mustn’t I, to have taken shelter in the first place?’

He nodded, walking towards the overhang and placing one hand against the rock. It felt cold and abrasive beneath his fingertips. He had a feeling that saying the wrong thing now might change her mind about showing him more, but the curiosity was almost overwhelming. Perhaps if he asked indirectly?

‘What was Coblaith like?’

‘She was hard to describe. She never showed a great deal of emotion, but she was kind to me. I think she must have been very beautiful once. She was still striking as an old woman and she never stooped, though her black hair was streaked with white. The first time I saw her I thought she must be a witch. She must have come to see what was happening, what all the noise had been about...’ She walked over and put her hand next to his on the rock. ‘I should have been afraid of her since I’d been taught never to go near Gaels on my own, but I was beyond fear. She was my only hope.’

‘So she saved you?’ He moved his hand sideways, touching the tips of his fingers against hers. Somehow just that touch made the rock seem warmer.

‘Yes.’

‘From what?’

Chapter Fourteen

‘From this.’ Sissa set down her pack on the hillside, pointing to the half-collapsed, half-burnt remains of her old village below. She hadn’t answered Danr’s last question, merely leading him to this spot, looking down on to the plateau and beach. He’d told her his story the day before and now she wanted to show him hers—her home, the place where she’d been born and had lived for thirteen years, before she’d fled in horror.

‘This was a village.’ Danr looked at the scene and then back at her.

‘Yes. My village. That was our house over there.’ She gestured towards a dilapidated timber construction as she made her way down among the ruins. She hadn’t visited since the previous spring and, as usual, nature had reclaimed even more of the site in the intervening months. The few remaining buildings were empty shells, held up and almost completely strangled with plants. ‘There used to be a dozen or so families living here. Farmers mostly and a few old warriors, though not enough to fight off the raiders.’

‘Raiders?’ His voice was leaden.

‘Yes.’ She strove to sound matter of fact about it. ‘A group of outlaws by the look of them, though I never knew who they were or where they came from. They just arrived one morning, landing their ships on the beach as if they knew there wasn’t much we could do to stop them. Which was true. There wasn’t. Our menfolk tried to defend us, but it was no use...’ She clamped her lips together for a moment, getting her emotions back under control before continuing. ‘They took the little coin we had and all our food supplies for the winter. We might have given it to

them if they’d only threatened us, but they were already mad with drink when they arrived. It was as though they were determined on bloodshed.’

‘Bastards.’ Danr reached down and picked up a small metal object. It looked like the tip of an arrow, the shaft long since rotted away. ‘Did they take any prisoners?’

‘No.’ She had to make a conscious effort to unclench her jaw. ‘Everyone was slain. I only escaped because I was coming back with my mother from the river at the time. We saw what was happening from a distance. Then Tove started barking and a warrior noticed and started to run towards us with his sword raised, like this.’ She swung her arm above her head, the memory of a battle-crazed warrior flashing through her mind with horrifying clarity.

‘What happened?’

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, lowering her arm again slowly. ‘My mother picked up Tove and pushed her into my arms. Then she hugged me and told me to run away and hide.’

‘She didn’t go with you?’

‘No. She picked up some rocks and started to hurl them at the warrior to give me time to get away. It worked. I did what she said and fled up the mountainside. When I looked back, she was already lying on the ground.’ She paused for a moment and swallowed. ‘I watched the rest from the trees. The outlaws stayed for two days, getting more and more drunk on our ale before loading their ships, burning most of the houses and leaving.’

‘Leaving you all alone.’ He clenched his jaw. ‘It must have been terrible, Sissa. To lose your whole family like that...’

‘My parents, yes, but I was their only child, born long after they’d given up hope of having any. I suppose that’s a good thing, that I had no brothers or sisters to mourn, but the whole village had been like a family to me. I mourned everyone.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘So am I.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your family, too. I didn’t express it well yesterday. I couldn’t. It all sounded too familiar.’

‘At least I still have my brothers. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be all alone. How long was it until Coblaith found you?’