Ulric's chest swelled with pride and adoration. Not for the first time in the past several days, he was reminded that there was far more to her than the quiet and meek woman she at first appeared to be.
"Well, I'll be damned...she's not as timid as she looks, is she?" Magnus's eyes widened, and his mouth curled into a smile. He quietly observed the pair before stating with a shrug, "I've decided I won't refuse your request. Just wait here a moment, and I'll be right back."
He disappeared behind the curtain and emerged a few moments later, holding an envelope of material and a dagger. "Would the two of you face-"
Ulric and Ingrid turned and smiled wide as they faced one another.
"You either read my mind just now," Magnus quirked a brow as he unfolded the cloth, "or you've done this before, which is it, because if it's the latter, then this ceremony can't take place."
Ulric chuckled, "Neither. We were witness to my brother's wedding yesterday."
"In that case, I won't need to explain since you two already know a little of what to expect. Which is ideal since it means I'll be rid of you all the sooner." Magnus briefly looked at Ulric and Ingrid, then said, "Take each other by the right hand."
Ingrid slightly trembled as Ulric took her hand in his. When she met and held his gaze, her eyes shone brightly with an emotion that, before last night, used to terrify him with its intensity. Now that he understood what it meant, he was humbled and amazed at how it soothed the loneliness deep in his soul for the past fifteen years.
Magnus opened the cloth over their arms to reveal it was nearly identical to the one Erasmus used and said a series of old Norse words as he wrapped it around their hands up to their elbows.
He then took the dagger and placed it atop the cloth as he asked Ulric, "Do you choose to bind your heart to this woman and no other, promising to love, cherish, and protect her till the end of time?"
Ulric kept his eyes locked with Ingrid's, wanting there to be no question that he meant his answer. "Yes."
Ingrid clutched his hand tighter, her eyes glittering with tears.
Magnus smiled at Ingrid and said, "Do you accept this Berserker as your mate?"
"Yes," Ingrid nodded, never taking her gaze from Ulric.
The instant that single word fell from her lips, a heady and powerful surge of energy flowed through Ulric's entire body. It stole his breath and caused his soul to soar. There wasn't any imaginable force, on earth or in the heavens, that could tear them apart now.
Magnus continued, "And do you choose to bind your heart to this Berserker and no other, to love, honor, and cherish him till the end of time?"
"Yes," Ingrid replied without hesitation.
Magnus picked up the blade and murmured several more words as he ran it over the cloth, drawing forth blood from Ulric's elbow across to Ingrid's, leaving the material undamaged.
The blood then pooled over their joined hands as though pulled by an unseen force, where it formed into the Berserker symbol. When the symbol was complete, it sparked and ignited before disappearing altogether.
In the next instant, the entire cloth started to glow with great intensity and illuminated Ulric and Ingrid's faces. Suddenly, it disappeared, leaving swirling light streams around their joined hands.
Next, the light settled upon them, sinking into their skin with pleasant and comfortable warmth that steadily grew and hovered on the verge of pain, somehow continuing to glow from within.
"Now," Magnus said, motioning them together, "you two must kiss to seal your bond."
Ulric threaded his fingers through the hair at her nape and brought Ingrid's mouth close, claiming her lips in a searing kiss.
Ingrid clutched his shirt in her fist and pulled him closer. The magical, incandescent light flared, becoming blindingly bright even with eyes closed. It encompassed them completely until it pulled in upon itself and vanished, leaving only the heat of its presence as they ended the kiss.
Magnus sheathed the dagger and nodded approvingly. "Henceforth and forever, your souls are bound, never to be alone throughout all of time and the eternities."
Ulric placed one last tender kiss on Ingrid's lips just as the faint smell of burning fabric reached his nose. Within the next few seconds, tendrils of smoke could be seen, oddly accompanied by a painful heat a few inches away from his groin. Ingrid pulled away and gasped, slapping at his hip and thigh where flames had suddenly burst forth.
Magnus shouted and threw the contents of a pitcher at Ulric, quickly dousing the fire. But the charred remnants of his trouser pocket gave way and allowed the red-hot amulet to clatter to the floor, where it landed in the puddle of water with a hiss.
Ulric stared at the metal disc in mounting confusion. What the devil?
"What is that?" Magnus asked, bending down to pick it up. He turned the amulet over in his hand, staring at it in disbelief before looking at Ulric with eyes full of fury. "I should have known you were one of those murderous radicals!"
Ulric bit back a curse and opened his mouth to explain but was suddenly thrown across the room and crashed through the front door. It would appear Magnus was not in a conversational mood at the moment, which was perfectly fine since neither was he—being thrown through a door tended to do that to a person.
Ingrid cried out in alarm and rushed after him just in time to see him land—rather gracefully, in his opinion —in the snow amid the wreckage of the door. Before he could get to his feet, which seemed to be stuck somehow, Magnus hauled him up with one hand, landing a mighty uppercut with his other that caused stars to explode before his eyes.
Rage, mixed with a desperate need to protect Ingrid from potential harm, filled him as Magnus landed another blow that dropped him to his knees. It was all a bit excessive, Ulric thought in irritation between several more punches.
Being thrown through the door was one thing, but being pummeled like a rag doll—when first of all, he hadn't asked for it, and secondly, he'd done nothing to deserve it this time—really was too much to forgive at the moment. Giving in to instinct, Ulric released a ferocious growl and called forth his Berserker.
Muscles and veins bulged with infinite power. His hearing and vision sharpened. Colors muted and shifted, allowing him to focus on the threat immediately before him. Within a single heartbeat, he had Magnus by the neck, seconds away from crushing his throat and hanging several inches off the ground.
Instead of surrendering to the urge to kill, Ulric dropped Magnus and dismissed his Berserker, surprised at the speed with which he was back to his usual self.
Magnus staggered to his feet and held a hand to his throat, his brow creased with a heavy frown as he croaked, "You have some explaining to do."
Thirty minutes later, Magnus repeated with a raspy voice for the third time, "Blood magic?" A dark purplish bruise in the shape of Ulric's hand marred the flesh of his throat.
Ulric nodded for the third time and remained silent, having already explained what had transpired within the last two weeks that led to his current predicament and new abilities.
Magnus tipped his wooden goblet to his lips and drained its contents before sitting back in his chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, he studied the amulet where it lay on the table. "You say Erasmus gave this to you?"
"To offer a measure of cont-"
"Control. Yes, yes, I heard you before," Magnus interrupted with a wave of his hand. He looked at Ulric with a mixture of doubt and confusion. "Does it work?"
"A little..."
"Liar," Magnus said as he rubbed his throat and grimaced. He stared at the amulet, "What if I told you its purpose was to enhance rather than control?"
"You're saying Erasmus lied about it?" Ulric scoffed.
Magnus shrugged, "Or, perhaps, he was himself misinformed...either way, it doesn't change the truth."
Ingrid gripped Ulric's hand and leaned forward. "And what is the truth?"
Magnus' eyes sharpened as he picked up the amulet and held it for them to gaze upon. "What do you see?"
Ulric quirked a brow and held his tongue.
"Humor me for a moment, would you, and answer the question." Magnus waved it back and forth and repeated, "What do you see?"
Ingrid glanced at Ulric before answering, "A snarling wolf?"
Magnus nodded and turned the amulet over. "And now?"
Ulric drummed his fingers on the tabletop, "A standing bear."
"Very good. Are either of you familiar with what these two animals mean—for a Berserker in particular?" Magnus asked expectantly.
Ingrid frowned and shook her head.
"Do you want us to make-believe we're back in school and you're the teacher?" Ulric heaved a sigh and pretended to read from a textbook in his hands, "Bears are a symbol of danger and destruction. Wolves are also dangerous but intelligent creatures, meant to keep the bear in check."
"You're mostly correct," Magnus grumbled as he set the amulet on the table and sat back in his chair again. "Both the wolf and the bear are symbols commonly used to represent berserkers in legends of old. The wolf is cunning and dangerous, and yet it is also teachable. The bear is wise and formidable—when combined, they are the perfect warrior, just like a Berserker."
Magnus drummed his fingers against his thighs and gave a half-hearted shrug, "There's more to their symbolism, but you get the point."
Ulric tapped a finger against the rough wood of the table and stared at the amulet. "You said that it's meant to enhance berserkering?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
Magnus studied Ulric for a moment, "Why do you ask?"
"If Erasmus was misinformed, how do we know you haven't been as well?"
"Rest assured," Magnus said with a confident smirk, "I'm not."
Ulric sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you have any proof of what you say?"
"As a matter of fact..." Magnus said, standing. He disappeared behind the curtain partition and reemerged a few minutes later with an old leather book. Thumbing through almost half of the book, Magnus finally arrived at the correct page and set it on the table.
Holding it open, he motioned to the illustrations. "You'll notice that rather intricate drawing of what appears to be an amulet identical to your own." He ran his finger across the paper and then pointed to a group of text further down the page, "And here, proof that I do know what I'm talking about. I'm not typically one to shout, 'I told you so,' but something about you makes doing so irresistible."
Ulric quietly read the passage, his stomach clenching and dropping to his toes as questions began to swirl within his mind. Had Erasmus been misinformed? Everything he was learning seemed to point that way.
Or, was it possible the old man lied? Was it possible he intentionally placed Ulric in a predicament where countless innocent lives, most especially Elsie's, would have been—Ulric cut the awful thought off before it could fully form and clenched his eyes shut. The very idea sickened him. It had to be nothing more than a simple mistake, and until proven otherwise, he'd forbid Magnus from alluding to any other possibility.
"Is there any mention of why it would grow hot," Ingrid softly asked, "Or catch fire?"
"Hmmm, let's find out, shall we?" Magnus turned the book to face him and read silently, flipping through several pages before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no." He returned to a previous page and murmured, "Perhaps it's a reaction between the blood magic coursing through you and the runes engraved upon it. Some amulets have been known to do that occasionally, although they're usually for healing."
After another moment of silent reading, he looked up at Ulric, "Was this the first time you've experienced that particular outcome since having it in your possession?"
"The bursting into flames part, yes," Ulric replied as his hand unconsciously rubbed at the burn on his chest.
Magnus leaned forward, his eyes widening with what could only be excitement. "It's marked you, hasn't it?"
Ulric glanced at Ingrid before nodding.
"Will you show me?" Magnus asked, sounding far too eager for Ulric's liking.
Ingrid took Ulric's hand and squeezed, giving him an encouraging smile.
Keeping hold of her hand with his left, Ulric sighed and pulled his shirt up with his right for a few moments before letting his shirt fall back into place to hide his scars from view. "Well?"
"Curious..." Magnus said with a frown. Muttering under his breath low enough that Ulric couldn't hear, he glanced between the amulet and Ulric's covered chest. "The very fact it was capable of marking you-" He shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he stared across the room. "What did you do after it burned you?"
Ulric looked down at his chest as though he could see the mark through his shirt. "What do you think I did? I tore the damn thing off."
The room grew quiet until Magnus murmured, "It makes no sense." He plopped back down in his chair and rested his elbows on the tabletop, supporting his chin on his steepled fingers. "Berserkers are immune to fire—or at least you were before encountering that witch."
"What are you getting at?" Ulric asked suspiciously.
In answer, Magnus stood and retrieved a stick from the fireplace. Without saying a word, he thrust the flaming twig against the bare skin of Ulric's neck. "Anything?"
"Nothing," Ulric shook his head, annoyed. "Are you done yet?"
"Just about..." Several seconds later, when it still failed to sear flesh, Magnus cursed and returned the stick to the fireplace before resuming his seat. His brow was creased in deep furrows as he rested his chin on steepled fingers again and sat back in his chair, crossing an ankle over his opposite knee. He was lost in what appeared to be deep thought for several long moments.
Ulric picked up the amulet and stared at the wolf engraving. The metal instantly became warm to the touch. "Was it warm or cold when you held it?"
"Cold," Magnus replied absently, tapping his finger against his chin.
"I wonder," Ulric murmured, calling forth his Berserker as he clutched the amulet in his fist. The instant his Berserker was released, what had been pleasant warmth from the metal became excruciatingly hot. Ulric dismissed his Berserker and held his breath, amazed when the amulet cooled to its previous warmth. "Too bad there's not another Berserker around."
Magnus looked up, a curious expression on his face. "Why is that?"
"Because it'd be interesting to see if it reacts this way with any Berserker or if it's just the blood magic," Ulric said, placing the amulet back on the table.
"That's an excellent idea," Magnus muttered as he stood and walked to the damaged doorway. Throwing aside a broken board, he glanced over his shoulder, "Are you coming or not?" He didn't wait for their answer before he disappeared outside.