Bear Naked 4: The Sons of Garm

Chapter 56

Amanda woke stiff and sore. Connor was out next to her, both of them curled up in the side of the boat. Amanda set up, her elbow aching from laying on the cold metal bottom.

It was still dark. It must be close to morning, she thought. Johan was now steering their boat with Sofia resting next to him, her head in his lap. Johann has switched from mead to coffee after his celebratory toast and was still sipping a cup with his free hand while he watched the river.

Ahead of them Amanda could barely make out the second boat, Courtney at the bow. Around them the trees were thick and it looked more like a Louisiana bayou now than southern Missouri. Trunks stuck out of the water in places and she thought it must be shallow here. The water was sluggish and Amanda couldn't tell if they were going up or downstream, but she suspected they had passed back up stream and were close to the conclave. Or at least, her aching body hoped that was the case.

Birds began chirping and Amanda thought the darkness was slowly lessening. Connor sat up next to her, stretching as best he could. So did Jonathan up in front of them.

"Is there food?" Connor asked, helping himself to the basket. "I'm famished."

"There should be breakfast in there. It's not much, but we are close," Johan said.

Amanda, Connor and Jonathan all looked at Tanner. He was curled up near the front of the boat, snoring. "That's a first," Amanda muttered and the three of them shared a laugh as they sorted through the basket.

The boat rocked slightly as a dark black form rose out of the water, clinging to the side. The otter looked at them uncertainly and then climbed in.

Amanda looked to Johann as if to ask if this was an otter, or a shifter. "Ghost," was his answer.

She looked back to find a tall thin man perched on the edge of the boat, regarding her, his eyes intent and curious. She wasn't sure how to deal with his stare. So she found a piece of smoked fish and offered it to him. "Hungry?"

He took the fish without saying anything and sniffed it.

"Ghost, what do you say?" Johann prompted.

"Thank you, Amanda," the man said.

Startled, Amanda looked back and forth between Ghost and Johann. How did he know her name? She opened her mouth to ask but he had transformed back to an otter. His prize clutched in his mouth, he slid into the water and swam away.

"Daft bastard," Sofia said sleepily. "Don't mind him. He's not right."

Johan called out to the boat ahead to slow down. He pulled past. They were mostly awake as well, Courtney, Jay, Erica, Myrna and Brianna all staring at them as they went passed. "Nearly there," Johann said with a yawn. "I should lead the way."

He led them forward another couple miles, the fog growing dense around them again, dawn's light filtering through and making the world gray. Johan turned into the current suddenly, heading for the bank. The boat slid between two huge trunks. Just when Amanda expected to hit the bank, ground reared up on either side and they slid through a narrow canal into a wide, shallow lake.

On the far edge of the lake the land rose up out of the fog. Numerous boats, ranging from rowboats, fishing boats, canoes and flat bottomed skiffs, lined the banks. There was a wooden village of sorts higher up the bank, tiny cottages in a circle around a longhouse. Amanda's breath hitched. It seemed a magical place, something out of an old saga.

A man was sitting on a stump near the shore, waiting for them. Up closer to the village a few people were moving about but mostly the village was still asleep.