Warmagic

34 - A day to remember

How did my life end up this way? I thought as I stared at the crowd that chanted Bjarke's name loudly throughout Skal. The only quiet ones were me, Ivar and Dag who stood in the outskirts of the village and stared at the madness with empty hearts.

"So it's settled," Ivar whispered in disbelief, "they made him the new Jarl."

"After everything you've done for them!" Dag hissed through clenched teeth, "I can't believe them."

I grabbed their arms and pulled them with me through a narrow alley and into the small house where Freke and Vidar had slept once. "Remember the village we attacked?" I asked after I had closed the door properly and checked the windows and dark corners for eavesdroppers.

"You think he used his magic on them all?" Ivar muttered, "but that doesn't make sense, me and Dag are still on your side."

"We don't know anything about his magic," Dag said, "maybe he needs to touch us, or be alone with us to cast a spell, or make us eat something," he pondered out loud.

"I'm staying far, far away from that man from now on, that's for sure!" Ivar chuckled nervously, and I could relate to his feelings of anxiety and doubt.

"We all should," I agreed and sank down heavily on a stool, "I need to send a message to Vidar, we need him and his pack."

"Are you sure?" Dag asked with a hint of worry in his voice, "Bjarke has the whole town in the palm of his hand. That's powerful magic, are you sure he can help? Maybe it's better if we just flee to the wolves and hide with them?"

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table between dirty dishes and old baby food, hiding my face in my hands, "I would Dag, I would run this instant, but how can I leave them all in his clutch?"

"I would convince Noora to go with us, she'd listen," Dag insisted but Ivar shook his head.

"How can you be so sure, if she's bewitched as well, she might not even be in control of her own thoughts and actions, just like the birds Tyr mentioned."

I peered over at the sleeping bundle beside my bed. Only ten days had passed since we spoke like husband and wife in our home. Now everything had changed. Noora still lived in the hall – but with Liv and Bjarke. And a few days ago, she had left Ari in my care and never returned to take him back.

A part of me was happy that Ari was safe with me, but I was sad for him, his mother had abandoned him for a man that was the reason she despised her own child in the first place. If only she could see that.

"Listen to me Tyr," Ivar said in a hushed whisper, "you are not safe here, and neither is your son."

"Ivar is right, you should take him and run, run to Vidar and Freke and when you are strong enough, you can come back and save us," Dag said with a playful grin, but the seriousness of his words lingered in the air.

"Do it now," Ivar said suddenly and rose to his feet and started to pack a bag of supplies for me, "they're busy chanting and praising him out there. This is it. You need to go now."

I looked at them both and knew I had to make a choice right this instant. It was as Ivar said, it was now or never. My feet moved through the room and I picked up the sleeping Ari and a piece of cloth, trying to mimic how Noora used to tie him to her body.

"Sneak out while we distract the crowd, walk towards the shore, no one will be down at the harbour now," Dag said as he helped me with the child.

"And avoid walking near Bjarke's old hut, I'm sure the forest is cursed and the animals probably work for him," Ivar huffed, and that's when it hit me, Liv must have known Bjarke for a while now. Why else would she have stayed in Skal? She was the head of my hird and she should have joined us in the fight. But she knew Bjarke wouldn't be there.

"Did Liv know Bjarke before Brokk left you?" I asked and Ivar nodded quietly in response.

"We all knew him, but most of us didn't want anything to do with him," Dag assured me.

"Most of you? So they were friends?"

"I don't know," Ivar sighed, "but I do know that they're more than friends now. I've heard Liv shares his bed."

With a heavy heart I turned to Dag and placed my hands on his shoulders, "Look after Noora for me, please. Her heart is pure and she deserves so much better than this."

"You both do, brother," he said with a smile and patted my cheek, "now hurry to your wolves, and if we won't see each other in this life, may we meet in the next when we dine at Odin's table."

"I'll be back for you," I promised, but I left them knowing it was all in the hands of the gods now. I hoped I would see them again. They were my friends and I loved them like brothers.

Mere moments later I was sneaking out the door with a bag of food on my back, a short sword in my belt and my son in my arms. My heart rate was steady. I was a trained warrior and I knew when to hold my mind free from doubt. But just in case, I sent a short prayer to Odin, to Tyr and to Freya. To the woodland spirits around me, and the sea spirits below me. And last of all I prayed to the great mother-wolf for safe passage to her children.

I could hear the chanting and comotion from the village die down as my legs sprinted towards safety. I never felt any love for Skal, it had always been Freke who'd insisted that we'd go there, and sometimes I wondered why. Why would friendly spirits guide us here and put us through so much pain?

But I already knew the answer to that. Without Bjarke, I would never have met Vidar, and Freke would have been torn between me and him for the rest of their life. Everything had a purpose, and whether it was the spirits, we ourselves or the Norns who decided our paths, I knew in my heart that I was running in the right direction.