12. Erik

1000 YEARS AGO

Life was easy at last. The village we had discovered was filled with simple farming folk. They were adept at craftsmanship. Their houses were stone and square, interspersed with crops, the dwelling sitting right at the base of a large cliff, surrounded by a lush forest and sheltered from the world. It was a haven and it wasn’t long before we’d gained the people’s respect.

We kept them safe from enemy tribes, and any predators who crept up on their children soon regretted it. After a few months, they had built us a temple of stone, large enough to shade us even in the midday sun. Andvari had long stopped assisting us with the gifts of clouds, so our lives were lived in the moonlight.

I sat on a throne of gold, shifting a beautiful obsidian blade between my hands, gifted to me by the village people.

Before me was a steep set of steps leading down to the exit where a trail led down into the village. Every side of the temple contained a room like mine. One for each of us. The four gods. Or so we called ourselves now.

My gaze lifted as a young woman in a thin white dress hurried up the steps with her head bowed low. They sent the most beautiful women in their tribe as if they thought they would appease us most. Blood was blood, to me. I didn’t care whose vein it came from.

The woman knelt at my feet, laying a wreath of white flowers there before placing her wrists on my knees in offering.

I took her left hand, eyeing her bronzed skin with a hint of desire lighting the darkest corners of my mind. It had been so long since I’d allowed myself to indulge in a woman. Unlike Fabian who often cavorted with members of the tribe. Or Clarice who was growing a sizable harem of men. Miles would even sleep down in the village at times with his favoured men, but I was the one they feared most. The god who never spoke to them. The one who never walked among their people. The beast who stalked under the moonlight in quiet contemplation.

This human was beautiful. Young, but not too young. She was past the age of womanhood. I’d fed from her since she was eighteen. But today, I could see she was in her twenties.

“What’s your name?” I never asked them that. But today, I made an exception. Because today felt different to most. My monotonous existence broken by a singular curiosity. One which would likely pass me by as quickly as it had come. Though I might as well indulge it while it remained.

She glanced up at me in surprise then quickly bowed her head. They rarely looked at me. Sometimes that infuriated me. Other times it suited me well. But I didn’t want her at my feet today. It seemed wrong to make the humans bow, though my siblings didn’t share my sentiment in that.

“Name?” I growled in her tongue. We’d quickly learned their language since our arrival. Another gift of our immortality. Something we could do without much thought. Within days, we had been able to speak with them as easily as if we had spoken their tongue our entire lives.

“Kuwanlelenta,” she whispered.

“Kuwan- forgive me, what?” I balked.

She laughed softly and it was the sweetest sound I’d heard in a very long time.

“You may call me Kuwana, if it is easier?” she offered, her eyes still downcast.

“Kuwana,” I tried out the name, liking the feel of it in my mouth. “Stand, Kuwana.”

She did, but kept her head dipped low.

“I have noticed the women in your clan do not bow to men, so why is it you bow to me?” I asked.

“You are a god, it is a sign of respect,” she said.

I leaned forward, taking her chin and forcing her to meet my eyes. A feather hung in her dark locks and a line of white paint was marked across her cheeks.

“Beautiful,” I breathed, drinking in the sight of her warm, golden flesh. How I wished I could still feel what she could: The beat of a heart within my chest, the rush of heat within my veins, the blaze of the sun upon my skin. She was an enviable creature, just as they all were. But this one, I desired a deeper bite of.

“You are too kind,” she said, her lips trembling and revealing her fear.

A coldness washed through me as I remembered what she saw when she looked at me. A god she believed me to be, but one of wrath and blood. Her terror was well placed.

I released her, sitting back. “You don’t like coming here,” I stated.

“Of course I do,” she said quickly, holding up her wrists to me again. “I wish to make you happy more than anything else, oh great one.”

I snorted a laugh and she looked at me with fear sparking in her gaze like she thought she had said the wrong thing.

“I am not great,” I muttered, though I knew I was breaking my siblings’ rules. We had to uphold the idea that we were deities. But I craved some normality. My life was lonely and too quiet. I wanted to run into battle again, I wanted to chase after women, attend feasts and drink ale. I wanted to enjoy myself for once.

She bit her lip, seeming unsure of how to answer.

“Are you married?” I asked.

She nodded meekly. “Yes, to an old warrior. He is quite the bore.”

“Is he now? Tell me about him,” I urged, and slowly she started opening up to me about the oaf who had claimed her as his bride. I knew the man, he had come to me many times praising my name and asking me to bestow gifts on the town. Begging for rain for his crops, for his animals to grow fat, for the enemy tribes to stay away. The few times the village had been attacked, the four of us had seen them off anyway. It was easy. We were their protectors and so they worshipped us. But I was growing very tired of being worshipped.

“Sit.” I patted my lap and Kuwana shook her head in alarm. In truth, I only wanted to feel the warmth of her skin again. I wanted to take a bite out of life. And the only way I could was by getting as close to it as possible. “But only if you wish to,” I added and she hesitated a moment before dropping onto my knees.

I pulled her to me, tracing the line of her collar bone with my finger and breathing in her earthy scent. She was a tantalising piece of humanity, coiled in my arms. She shivered as I inspected her, taking in the hue of sunlight in her flesh, the scent of life upon her. I wanted more. I wanted her heart to beat life through my own veins, to offer me just one more moment in humanity.

“God, you are great and kind, but I am afraid of you too,” she said, her warm breath floating over my neck and intoxicating me.

“Don’t be afraid. I would never hurt you.” I lied. One she bought easily into thanks to my seductive aura that always worked to lure in my prey.

I shut my eyes, leaning closer to listen to her beating heart. My mouth grew dry as the bloodlust rose in me, my hands tightening on her, her life caged in my arms. I could take it from her so simply. A crack of her neck, a bite that drove too deep.

She began to caress me, her hands sliding tentatively into my hair and our eyes met, lust making her lips part with want. But I wasn’t sure what I craved anymore. Her life, her body, or her blood. My lust for her was already fading though, and the thirst was rising above it all. The momentary desire for her faded and boredom set in once again. No one ever drew my gaze for long.

“Excuse me, brother,” Fabian’s voice pulled me from my trance. He walked out from a door to the right of my throne, shirtless, his hair long and loose and red markings were painted on his chest. He loved to take part in the village ways, his role here suiting him perfectly. I couldn’t say I felt the same.

Kuwana sprang from my lap, dropping to her knees and flattening herself to the floor. Fabian stepped past her, acting as if she wasn’t there at all.

“We have a problem,” Fabian growled and I sensed a tension in his posture that concerned me.

I snapped my fingers at Kuwana. “Go,” I commanded and she scampered away, darting down the golden steps out into the growing light of dawn.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rising from my throne.

Fabian took a measured breath, his brown eyes struck with woe. “The slayers are coming.”

A beat of silence. Two.

I came undone, grabbing Fabian by the shoulders as the world tipped upon its axis. “How do you know this?”

“Some of the villagers have been fishing at sea the past three days. They returned just moments ago and speak of a great fleet heading our way. They say a fierce tribe of warriors ride in it. They fear for their own lives, but it is ours I am more concerned about.”

“How could they find us?” I demanded, anxiety scraping my insides.

“The goddess, of course. No doubt Idun has led them right to us.” Fabian rested a hand on my shoulder, giving me an intense look. “We will face them together, brother.”

“And we will lose,” I snarled. “Unless Andvari helps us, we cannot beat them now that they are gifted with Idun’s power.”

“Then you must speak with Andvari,” Fabian begged. “You are the only one he listens to.”

I nodded, floored by his words. I wondered how long we had until the accursed barbarians arrived. No doubt Magnar Elioson and his brother would be among them. They hungered for my death like madmen. If only they could see the control Idun had over them. That they were a slave to her like we were to Andvari.

“Let’s go to the holy Kiva, the Shaman has a pane of polished glass. We can use it to speak with Andvari.”

Fabian nodded then suddenly wrapped his arms around me, taking me by surprise. I patted his back as he clapped mine. “We will always protect each other, won’t we?”

“Of course,” I swore. Despite our differences, our bond had never faltered in all our three hundred years of friendship. “No time exists where we shall not stand together as brothers.”