CHAPTER FORTY-NINE ELVAR

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

ELVAR

E lvar walked out through the stone gates of Wolfdales and into the pale blue of winter. She pulled her bearskin cloak tighter about her. Ulfrir and Skuld walked with her, along with Uspa, Vol and Iva, a Seier-witch thralled to the Bloodsworn. Also with her were the Berserkir Thorguna, Orv the Sneak from the Battle-Grim, and a hulking, black-skinned man called Taras, another thrall of the Bloodsworn, though he seemed to be tasked as Iva's guard, as he followed wherever Iva the Seier-witch went.

The river was choked with longships and knarr, made up of her fleet and those like Jarl Logur who had joined her since they had come here. Elvar strode to the stone bridge that arced across the river. A timber gate with a palisade and towers had been built across the bridge, and Elvar walked to it, stepping over small trenches that been dug into the earth. Thick timber struts had been sunk into the ground and tied; the gate closed with two heavy bars of oak. Elvar climbed a stairwell up to the palisade, walked past a pile of head-sized rocks that had been stacked neatly, and stood there, looked across the bridge and river to the forest beyond.

Somewhere out there is a dragon, coming to try and kill me. Somewhere out there my warriors are fighting for me, dying for me.

She had sent more warriors into the tunnel, more groups to snap and claw and bite at Lik-Rifa's war-host as they wound their way through the Iron Wood towards her. These new attacks were charged with burning the supply wagons. For a moment Elvar thought she could hear screams and smell smoke drifting on the wind.

"A good spot to put some arrows in the enemy," Orv the Sneak said, standing on the walkway and looking out over the palisade and bridge. "Or drop some rocks on their heads," he added, looking at the pile of rocks beside them. There was another pile on the far side of the walkway, and larger piles set on the ground behind the gates.

"Aye," Elvar agreed.

The bridge would be a chokehold for any who tried to cross, and the gates looked like they would hold out against the thickest of rams.

She looked left and right, a new ditch dug running along the riverbank, all of the earth from it thrown up into embankments that were piled against a new timber wall, all built since they had arrived here. It was a considerable achievement and looked formidable.

"It is impressive," Elvar said.

"It will hold Lik-Rifa's war-host, at least for a while, and allow you to slay many of them," Ulfrir said.

Elvar nodded, imagining the far banks seething with her enemy, imagined them swarming across the bridge, building rafts to cross the river, could almost see her warrior's hurling spears, loosing arrows and dropping rocks onto their attackers. Could almost hear their screams.

She also remembered Glornir's description of Lik-Rifa, of the destruction she had caused in the Iron Wood.

"But it will not stop a dragon. If she can rip trees up by their roots, one swipe of her claws would tear this gate to kindling."

And Skalk and Estrid have told me what the dragon did to the hall and fortress of Darl. Smashed it to splintered wood and rubble. She could do the same to these gates, these walls.

"She would destroy this gate, the towers and wall in as much time as it takes for me to speak these words," Ulfrir said.

Elvar looked from Ulfrir to Skuld, Uspa, Vol and Iva.

"Can you do what I have asked?"

"We can," Ulfrir said.

Uspa, Vol and Iva walked down the stairwell to stand behind the gates, within the carved circle, Ulfrir and Skuld remaining on the walkway. With a snap Skuld beat her wings and took to the air, hovering over the gates, leaving Elvar standing with Ulfrir, Taras and her guards.

" Gue blóe, úlfablóe, heyreu kall okkar, finndu mátt okkar, " Ulfrir called out, Skuld and the others echoing Ulfrir's strange Seier-words, and Elvar felt a tingling shift in the air around her, making the hairs on her arms and neck rise. Sparks crackled in the air around Skuld and Ulfrir.

Vol stepped over the new trench dug in the ground, no more than a handspan deep.

" Snaka, alfaeir í mínum ?eum, fylltu tennan staf af krafti tínum, " she cried out, and a sharp-angled rune flickered to red light around her fist, like a glove. Vol dropped to one knee and punched it into the trench. A flare of sparks and hissing, and red flames ignited and crackled along the trench like red-molten metal poured into a cast. Elvar saw a pattern appearing from her position over the gateway, a half-circle of flames hissing along the shallow ditch, forking into new channels and ruts, red runes appearing, like spokes in a wheel leading to the centre of the wooden gate, passing under it and flaring into red-flamed life on the bridge beyond the gate. More lines of fire ran into the fresh-dug ditch to either side of the gate, running before the new earthworks and palisade that spread along the riverbank.

" Blóe Snaka, kraftur í ?eum okkar, heyreu okkur núna, " Vol called out, more runes appearing around both of her fists, and still kneeling she plunged her hands into the molten stave-line.

" Blóe Snaka, kraftur í ?eum okkar, heyreu okkur núna, " Uspa called out, a sparking of flames in the air around her fist, and she knelt, too, pushed her fist into the red-hissing ditch.

" Eelur blóe, kraftur í ?eum mínum, heyreu okkur núna, " Iva chanted, runes of pale fire bursting to life, then bent to one knee, thrust her rune-glowing hand into the molten channel.

" Snertu tessa veggi ú r furu, " they called out together, " tessi hlie af eik, gefeu teim styrk, gefeu teim kraft til ae standast afkv?mi titt. Kraftur til ae standa á móti drekanum og rottunni. "

Ulfrir pulled a seax from his belt and drew it along his palm, cupped his fist until blood welled. Skuld did the same as she hovered over the gateway.

" úlfablóe, guesblóe, verndar okkur fyrir drekanum, verndar okkur fyrir rottunni. Verja tessi hlie, verja tessa veggi, " the two of them cried out as Ulfrir cast his blood into the air, Skuld, too, red droplets glistening. In a flare of white light, they burst into bright incandescence above Elvar and fell in a shower of sparks.

Taras gasped as the droplets floated down around them like snowflakes, laughed as some of them settled on his skin.

"They do not hurt Taras," he said, even as some of them touched Elvar's cheek. They felt warm, almost comforting, as they melted away. When they touched the timber of the gateway, though, they flared bright, hissing and crackling, and Elvar watched, mesmerised, as they floated down into the rune-channels. Where they touched the carved rune-wheel ditch they burst into bright light, rippling through the rune-channels and flowing out into the ditch before the embankment walls.

Slowly the rune-fire faded, became a soft glow like embers cooling in a fire, a final flicker and they were gone.

"It is done," Ulfrir said, looking at Elvar, "the gate and wall will hold against my sister and brother now."

"My thanks," Elvar said.

"Perhaps it will even give them a bite or two," he grinned.