Chapter Twelve
One third into thenext day’s run, Sk?ll called a regroup of Warlords, and Hati followed as his mate and Geri divided the running bond to swallow up six men on horseback. Their colorful clothes meant they needed no introduction. Also, the banner they rode with clearly marked them as the Sámi Rigr sent by the council that Elakdon had called upon landing in Troms?.
The six continued their pace, aided by Sleipnir, who ran closest to them to help lower the anxiety in the horses yet to figure out that the thousands of wolves weren’t there to eat them.
Two thirds into the run, riders on horseback and Vargr came toward them. Closing in, Hati could see that it was nine women riding with the Vargr. The swans in Marisol’s vision. The V?lve had joined them.
That excited Hati to no end on behalf of Marisol.
Geri, as the fastest, ran ahead to intercept them, his ember firing and pulling to lead them around and into the side of the band that V?lsung once again opened up and guided the newcomers into to ride with the Sámi Rigr.
Some of the Vargr that joined them had powerful embers, and they didn’t mesh clearly with Hati’s. That wasn’t important, though. What was important was that they offered their power and willingness to fight, and that that willingness was not against the embers of the Alphas of all. They ran with purpose like every other Alpha in the bond, and they’d responded to their ember pulls.
The final stretch was always the hardest, and all embers pulsated at their maximum strength. The vision Hati worked on perfecting stood clear in glimpses in his mind, interrupted only by those of his fellow Alphas of all.
Freki’s was to be surrounded by and trusting in competence for the greater good of his pack. As an Alpha of all, that meant all Vargr. Geri’s was to be content in not lacking anything in life and see his pack grow from prosperity. It meshed perfectly with Hati’s, yet it focused on adults in packs, so it greatly supported Hati’s as his was focused on the youngest.
And now the youngest of a colorfully clothed people.
No, those were not Hati’s to focus on, only aid as part of the bond.
Hati and Geri brought the vision for Vargr packs, and their mates focused on the how.
The scent of meat and bonfires caught his nose, and Hati relished the force asserted on the last stretch there. He loved the feeling of finding more power to give even at the end of every run to go harder. In the end, it would be the final stretch toward their goals that would be the hardest, and it was symbolized by what they were all willing or able to give on a daily basis.
More. Always more.
As always, the single Alphas, and often Beta Rasmus, too, ran to intercept them and follow the final stretch.
But something was off up ahead. There were too many horses.
Isbait galloped ahead, all fired up, so he’d noticed, too. Hati and the others followed as best they could until their lungs and muscles burned and screamed.
They reached camp, and Hati felt his legs wobble under him as he slowed down to waddle to the water basins set out. Excitement flittered through to his ember, and he looked up to locate Geri, whose ember was all over the place from giddiness.
Geri stood by Isbait, who stood with his forehead against that of a strange-looking Sleipnir.
Hati’s heart jumped.
The Matriarch had found them first.
Warlord Sk?ll shaded, and Sleipnir helped the Sámi with their spooked horses. With all they’d hoped to gather today, and more so, Hati joined the Warlords to hear what they could expect on the trails the following day.
Hati leaned into Sk?ll, relaxing.
“We reach our northern-most campsite tomorrow,” Sk?ll said. “The small town of Kiruna is preparing for our run there to cross the bridge. A feast has been prepared.”
“V?lsung are camped north of there,” Thorleif said. “With more than fifty Vargr and a few handfuls of humans.”
Sk?ll went there, and Hati followed. “Who’s the Warlord?”
“A Bitch I don’t know. She’s old and powerful. Hati, there are pups for you.”
Hati shifted to Vargr form. “For me?”
“The V?lsung run with pups. Eight Warrior Bitches run with pups.”
“How old?”
“Young enough for the mothers to run with Rigr and Cubi.”
Fuzzpups, Hati deduced. He’d better go see if Sleipnir would help carry them if needed.
Approaching them, Hati saw Geri standing with the new Sleipnir. And all the others, too. The Matriarch’s presence was of course exciting to them. To the old King, too, it seemed, but he and Randr stood at a respectful distance and watched with shimmering eyes.
Hati would leave the meeting with the Matriarch to the Sleipnir and not interrupt yet and instead go say hi to the new Vargr with Freki. They had time to figure out the problem with fuzzpups.
When Hati and Freki located the Vargr, Marisol already stood with them and talked to the nine women who’d arrived with them.
“Alpha of all Hati,” Freki introduced as Hati closed in, so he sped up.
The first Hati noticed was that the Vargr were thirteen in all. And some looked like siblings. They were definitely all Alphas.
“Welcome to the run of the North,” Hati said. “How did you find V?lve?”
“They live in our pack,” one said. “We heard the Chaos Stallion kick the ground to the North and saw the Matriarch lead her band there, so we followed with V?lve. Something big has to be happening for a gathering like this. The V?lve confirmed, and I ran point.” He held his paw out for Hati to slap. “Bragr. I’m the oldest son of the Pack Alphas.”
“How long until we’ll cross paths with your pack?”
“A few days, but we live almost secluded on an island. Had we not been hunting off island, we wouldn’t have seen the Matriarch.”
“I’ll get a map.” Freki walked off.
“Come eat.” Hati pointed to the fires, where the scent of meat provoked his hunger. On the way, Hati noticed that Rasmus and his sketchbook had joined the V?lve, and Hati listened in as he passed them to the nearest and least occupied fire, tended to by a few Rigr soldiers.
Marisol was asking a bunch of questions about V?lve, and Rasmus was taking notes, it seemed.
“How are the last three doing?” Hati asked the soldiers as he plopped down around the fire with the new Alphas.
“The hiker woke up. He was quite out of it, so they had to stop. They’re still on their way here.”
Hati stood again and ran to Sk?ll. “We have Sleipnir and the infected Rigr still inbound. Can you see them?”
Sk?ll turned his dusty gaze, and Hati waited. “An hour or so, I think. The hiking Rigr is on horseback. Another is awake, too. Warlord Magnus is following them with the Incubus, Navidon. Tell Steffen when to expect their arrival.”
“Yes, Warlord.” Hati dashed off to locate his Pack Alpha, finding him and Tristan not far from Elakdon and Randr, who were now greeting the Matriarch. “Stef, two of the Rigr are awake and arriving in about an hour. Warlord Sk?ll asked me to tell you.”
“I’ll talk to them when they arrive.” Steffen smiled and poked Hati, nodding with a grin toward the Matriarch. “She found us.”
Hati smiled at the sight of Randr standing with his eyes closed, forehead to forehead with the slender Sleipnir.
“Freki and I are saying hi to the Alphas who rode in with V?lve.”
“May we join you?” Tristan asked.
“Sure.” Hati showed the way to where Freki still sat with the thirteen, and they’d all shifted to human form. Probably because of the soldiers. Hati’s suspicion that some of them were siblings was confirmed, and two of the litters were identical quintuplets.
They sat bunched together, piling, listening to Freki’s story about how the Alphas of all ended up a weird mesh between Sk?ll Hati and Geri Freki and that all new Alpha mate bonds saw the same pairing. It rolled effortlessly into how Sk?ll had come to hold the Warlord form, too.
“And Paddy here brought the Cubi King, Nol-Elakdon, and the wild wolves,” Freki finished, flinging an arm out to introduce the huge Regional Alpha as he and Steffen found their spots.
“We know of Nol. I met him once.” Bragr nodded a hello to Steffen and Tristan. “I doubt he remembers me as I was merely passing by, while he was busy seducing a young woman.”
Freki grinned. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like him at all.”
Steffen and Tristan snorted and introduced themselves. They chitchatted and ate until Geri called them over to meet the new Sleipnir and the Matriarch, and by that time, Sk?ll had dropped shading and came to them in Vargr form.
Hati stepped up when she turned to him, and he smiled, feeling honored that he was part of something so big. He’d been a bit overwhelmed many times, yet with the story of the last Matriarch and Harro in fresh memory, Hati felt overwhelmed again, yet honored at realizing that he was part of history that would one day be told around bonfires to pups. Maybe pups and Sleipnir foals together? With fuzzpups keeping guard? He’d love that.
The cool feel of the Matriarch’s forehead did something to his ember, and it rose slowly to warm him, while his vision stood clear. It was represented in the mental image he’d just thought about. Him and Sk?ll lounging in peace and happiness as they told stories of a great run to a mixed bunch of youngsters.
A cool hand caressed Hati’s cheek. “Much work lies ahead for your ember to slumber, yet you find such pride and purpose in the struggle. I see why my mate rose with you. I, too, will work for you.”
“Thank you,” Hati whispered around a lump in his throat. The strength of the vision and pure heat in his ember clearly let him feel that she’d somehow raised it in him. He’d never felt that when greeting the newly arriving Sleipnir before. Not even Isbait, yet now he wondered whether that was due to Isbait having still been a regular stubborn Sleipnir foal.
No, they’d touched foreheads since, but embers had already been firing then.
The Matriarch held the visions, it seemed, and she directed Isbait.
She stepped back and smiled at Hati. “My name is Visnar. You and I will become good friends, I think.”
Hati smiled brilliantly. “I hope so, too.”
“I must urge him to work now.” Visnar stood tall and looked around. “We are far from enough to handle the tasks that need attention before we arrive.”
“What can I do?”
“Keep Vargr, V?lsung, Rigr, and Cubi together.” She stroked his shoulder as she passed him and went to Isbait. He looked happy and intense.
Elakdon came over and put an arm around Hati’s shoulder. “I feel as honored to meet her as I did Ortega and Regir.” Hati merely nodded, watching as the Matriarch stomped around Isbait and Geri. “At least there’s no fear of houses falling down this time.”
That part of the old King’s story stood clear in Hati’s mind. Now he knew what was about to happen. She was going to urge Isbait to fire up and kick the ground. That meant Hati had a job to do. Keep the allies together. To...stomp?
Hati looked at Elakdon. “We stomp with him. Gather everybody.”
“Yes, Alpha of all.” Elakdon dashed off, hollering for his Guards. Hati met up with Geri, and they went to their mates.
“You run with grand visions of work, my mate!” Visnar said. “Visions for futures outside pens. Of running free from borders! Run, all Sleipnir, run here! A worthy task needs your work!”
Hati had his back to them, so he didn’t see Isbait’s body fire up, but the first powerful kick to the ground could definitely be felt in his paws.
“We stomp with Isbait and the Matriarch,” Hati shouted.
“Stomp,” Sk?ll shouted. “Warlords, protect the band as they display the power of our unity to return Fenrir to home!”
Warlords seemed to march closer, stomping their way to the gathering of Sleipnir.
Hati noticed two foals, young ones, stagger around on their thin legs, as they backed toward the now rearing Stallions. He pushed through the Warlords and shifted to human form as he went to calm the foals. “It’s okay, young ones, the wolves close in to protect your work. Work, young Stallions, work! Work for our future to run free!” Hati joined in on the stomping, and the foals followed suit.
As the Warlords had made their circle, they turned their backs to the working Stallions, which seemed to appease the two foals a bit. Hati could understand why.
Isbait fired up harder and reared, his fiery body standing out among the many earth-toned bodies around him. This time, the ground shook harder, and shadows puffed up from the ground.
“Call to the distant corners of the world,” The Matriarch shouted. “Call them all to work. Show everybody what grand vision needs our attention!”
V?lve pressed through the V?lsung and spread out to encircle the working band of Sleipnir, and one held Marisol’s hand as she found her spot. She looked at Marisol and smiled. “Nine is our optimal power. Surrounding vision will strengthen it for us all.” She looked at Isbait. “Kick the ground and let us see, Sleipnir! Kick the ground until it groans so we may hear!”
The next impact of Isbait’s hooves shook the ground so hard that Hati nearly stumbled, and more smoke puffed from the ground. Again and again, the Stallions reared and hammered hooves against the stoney underground of the Swedish wilderness. The sound of stone cracking was answered by thunder from a lightning-free blue sky.
Sk?ll walked through the inner ring of V?lve, slowly and securely, one paw at a time to keep balance. “Warlords! Prepare to shade!” Shadows billowed up from the ground to join what seeped out of his body.
It looked magical, and Hati had difficulties taking his eyes off his mate. So powerful. So determined.
“Dig deep with our ally, Chaos,” Sk?ll shouted. “Focus and summon up all our gathered power. With the Matriarch as our ally, we will claim territory! For Fenrir!”
“Home! Home! Take Fenrir home!” the Warlords roared, stomping to the rhythm of their vision’s cry.
“The wolf of the sun shines in shadow, drawing in the sight of home!” a V?lve shouted.
Hati looked toward her, seeing the shading swirl around her legs. It did with all of them, except where Marisol stood. There, the shading billowed behind her to form swan wings, and it filled her eyes.
“Blood boils for the five-headed queen!” another shouted.
“A trail to home is carved anew!” a third shouted.
Hati noticed that the V?lve moved counterclockwise in their prophetic shouting, while Isbait fired up harder, and the clear blue sky answered every downstroke. Around them, Vargr, Cubi, and Rigr stomped, and rhythmic battle cries joined in.
“Rise, Rigr, rise! Rise, Rigr, rise!” Vestergaard walked through the inner circle of V?lsung, stumbling but advancing in a daze. He looked focused, nonetheless. As if nothing would stop him. Shade billowed around his chest, slid down his body, and across the ground toward Sk?ll. General Madsen followed, but he didn’t have shadow around him. He followed Vestergaard’s tempo as he began to stomp and clap his hands. “Rigr, Rigr, lead the Karls and kill the Thralls!”
“Winter, spring, summer, and autumn! Wolf runs!”
Alphas of all. Hati could decipher that V?lve’s cry.
“J?tnar blood burns, Rigr blood burns, Wolf blood burns, the Empress will rise and burn the Thrall!”
Hati was lost again. Somewhat.
“At the end of the earth, where water spills over the disk, deceit will go down in torrential rains of pain, and kingdoms will crumble in the hands of Thralls!”
Hati was completely lost.
“Fenrir! Fenrir! Watch your mighty sons and daughters. Come home!”
“J?rmungandr will rise from the blue to merge with green, and they will be plenty.”
“With spear and shield, he conquered power, flown by swan and coveted by eagles,” the last V?lve said, who stood with Marisol. “The snake showed him the tree of life, and the sun had a daughter. Rise will the sea, rise will the sun, rise will the mother swan!”
Hati fell over upon the next impact of Isbait’s power, but he kept slamming the ground. He wasn’t the only one falling over nor the only one struggling to get back on his feet. But Hati understood that one. Marisol. Sea and sun. He looked at her, and she let go of the V?lve to step forward, shade spilling out of her eyes to join the thick dune covering the ground.
Looking at his mate, Hati gaped as Sk?ll stood almost as black as Hati as the shade pooled around him and covered his huge Warlord form.
“The sons of Midgard rise,” Marisol shouted. “Darkness is the light, pain will be the pleasure of the pure, and Thrall will drown in nine veils. Valkyries, spread your wings, pick your warriors, Ragnarok will come with the return to home!
“Twelve stars fall, nine roots will become one when Nidhog eats them all, and the seven-pointed star will be whole once more when it counts nine.
“Rigr rise, Wolf run, Sleipnir work. Three people fight a three-pronged attack. J?rmungandr! It’s time to leave the sea!” Marisol shook. “Swans! It’s time to land for the eagles to fly!”
“Chaos, chaos!” Isbait reared, and the froth around his mouth spewed to land on the ground as magma. “Work for change!” His hooves touched down so hard that Hati’s body left the ground. The dune of shade was cleared by the impact, and the shade exploded from Sk?ll’s body, leaving odd shadowy imprints around them like the lingering burn on a retina from a too-bright flash. Of shadow wolves but also two enormous ones looming over them.
Fenrir?
“Roar, shade, roar,” Marisol shouted. “All who can will hear or see.”
The lingering yet quickly dissolving shade behind Marisol was that of a great black swan. As with the lingering shadows of the huge wolves, Marisol’s dissipated into the shade that spread and marked the territory of his mate, Sk?ll.
“What were those bursts of shadow that needed no force?” Sk?ll asked.
“Warlords joining you, Warlord,” Thorleif shouted. “Merging shadow with power!”
The ground slowly stopped trembling, and Hati could finally stumble to Sk?ll. “How big is our territory now?”
“All of the north, some of Finland and Russia. We doubled our territory. Scout it!”
“Warlord.” The many V?lsung stayed where they stood and looked around, clearly not there. Sk?ll scouted, too, so Hati took in their surroundings.
Marisol sat on the ground, looking dazed, while the nine V?lve crouched around her.
Vestergaard strode off with purpose, and General Madsen hopped to it to follow him, jogging to keep up.
Isbait looked tired, and he was being held by his mate. Sleipnir, in general, looked tired from all the working, and the two foals lay huddled together under a Stallion.
Steffen and Tristan stood not far away, holding hands and looking at Hati, so he went there.
“You look tired,” Tristan said.
“That was kinda draining, yeah.”
“I gotta get to Rasmus,” Steffen said. “He’s trying to keep the V?lve prophecies in order.”
Hati nodded and followed. It was easy to pass again because the Warlords had disbanded around the band of Sleipnir and spread out to scout. Hati petted Sk?ll as he passed, yet his mate’s dusty eyes told him he was scouting. He’d leave him to that task.
Elakdon sat around a fire with Randr, Rasmus, and Navidon, behind whom Warlord Magnus stood so close he could almost rest his head on Navidon’s. But he seemed to be scouting, too.
The old King was lost in a journal. He didn’t even look up as they joined around the fire. Considering Rasmus sat next to him, reading over his shoulder as he wrote, they were working on recording what had just happened.
“And the V?lve said...” Elakdon looked up, now seeing and recognizing them.
Rasmus held out a piece of paper and read out loud what Hati also remembered.
For the next half hour, they worked on that, yet Hati noticed they hadn’t mentioned the huge shadow wolves. Didn’t they see them?
At some point, the shading fell. Hati could see in shading, but it changed the ambiance and tone of nuances. And birds started chirping again. Shading seemed an odd vacuum devoid of the hum of life.
Sk?ll, Geri, and Freki came over in their Vargr forms. Sk?ll held something out for Steffen who accepted it and chuckled, then tossed it over his shoulder. Hati’s gaze followed the shiny thing.
“I told Isbait to kick gold out of the ground at home for Tanja, not here.”
Gold. Now Hati saw it, and there were several specks lying around. Some were tiny nuggets.
Sk?ll handed out more to people around the fire.
Hati wanted to see if he could gather enough to be smelted into a ring for Christel, but who’d carry it? Could be cool to bring gold from the run of the North, but he guessed it would only remind her of the time he’d had to leave her to tend to a pup alone—one he’d also brought home for her after a run. Would she look at that gold ring and feel it a bribe for their time apart? Or remember him for standing up for what he believed to be right? He wanted the answer to that, but he didn’t want to haul around a lump of metal to get it, so he tossed it to where Steffen had.
“Freki. I need you to go have a talk with that last hiker,” Sk?ll said. “I won’t because...my V?lsung is pressing to just eat him.”
Freki shot up to sit straight and stare at Sk?ll, while Rasmus wrinkled his nose.
“Me, too,” Thyra said.
“Okay!” Freki got up to turn around, slowly, cocking his head, listening. “Where is he?”
“Follow the grumbling Alphas,” Sk?ll growled.
Freki turned his head again, and Hati tried to listen in, too, but so many thousands of Alphas made it all run into a droned-out hum.
“Got it.” Freki stalked off.
“What’s up?” Steffen asked.
“The Thrall.” Sk?ll looked the way Freki had walked, giving Hati a direction to listen in on. And something was going on. Irritated voices and growling. “They hoard, and the last hiker is crawling around on the ground, all but digging with a microscope and telling people to move and not step on his gold.”
“And the richest Earl is naked,” Steffen mumbled, repeating something Marisol had said.
“Mother swan,” Elakdon mumbled. “Has to be the one that always follows Marisol.”
“And you think that’s her mother?” Rasmus shuffled through his drawings.
“I think Marisol is a very powerful V?lve.”
Hati stopped listening for whatever was Freki’s task and joined the fire and conversation. “The shading kinda indicates it.”
Elakdon’s dumbfounded expression said it all. Hati had apparently only seen it because he was mated to Sk?ll. Elakdon leaned forward in eagerness. “What did you see?”
“Shading filled and spilled from her eyes, while the shadow of a huge swan, unfurling its wings, stood behind her.”
“It came out of the ground and licked like tentacles up all the others,” Steffen said.
Hati looked at him and nodded. “You saw that, too?”
Steffen nodded, looking troubled. “I saw it spill from Vestergaard’s chest.”
“Me, too!” Excitement filled Hati, but it wasn’t just that. His view of his Pack Alpha had changed, and not for the worse, even though he’d had his struggles and been an asshole. No, his ember spoke differently to Hati’s. It promised way more support, and Hati’s trust in it had doubled. At least. “The shading joined the dune of billowing smoke to cross the ground to cover Sk?ll until he stood as black as me.”
“Yup!” Steffen nodded curtly.
“I didn’t see anything like that,” Elakdon said.
“So you didn’t see two humongous shadow wolves with the smaller ones our size?” Steffen asked.
Hati nodded, while Elakdon shook his head. But Randr nodded slowly from his usual invisible spot in the shadows of his gorgeous husband.
Magnus snapped his head around to look at Steffen. “Fenrir?”
Steffen shrugged. “Maybe? I’ll go find the Rigr who just woke up and see what they dreamed and just saw.” Steffen looked at Navidon. “You’ve arrived, so they have to be here, too.”
“That way.” Magnus pointed.
“Thanks.” Steffen and Tristan stood and left the fire.
Sk?ll plopped down by Rasmus. “Ela, with all your thousand years of knowledge, how much of what’s been happening the past week is new to you?”
“Ninety-five percent.” The old King looked at Navidon. “I feel like I don’t even know all there is about my own people.” The poisonous Incubus looked troubled by that. “And now Draugr.” Elakdon looked at his ugly husband. “I knew you were special when your tempered temper exploded and took you into the spotlight in my house to stand for what you believe in. I sensed such strength in you. Such honor and valor. Please, try to remember the friend whose dishonor cost him his life. What changed?”
Randr sighed and stared into the flames. “Only the beginning of our love and what drastic measures it prompted you to take reminds me of much in those times. It still saddens me that you’d...bury him with his face in his own ass, but he’d fallen to deserve it, too. When we were younger, he was a man of vision. He would gripe, and when others told him not to rustle the feathers, he’d challenge them to give him good reasons not to. Most never succeeded, and he griped to me about being too young to be respected.
“That’s why he went to the Draugr’s grave. An old earl’s, actually. One who’d all but killed our village until a man opposed him and fought him. The opponent died and was tossed into the sea on the surviving earl’s command, but the earl died from his wounds not long after. Sickness befell anyone who ventured there. A sickness of the mind that was said to continue the earl’s lust for power and gold.”
“Did your earl friend hunger for that, too?” Elakdon asked.
“Only power. He gave away gold, but at steep prices sometimes. The levels of loyalty he demanded in return were...” Randr swallowed. “I don’t remember most of what he said, but he felt entitled in ways he never had. Before then, he fought to be recognized as worthy of being listened to. After the fever, he demanded it and fought anyone who disagreed with his sense of place in society. What he fought for was still a good cause, even though I agreed less and less with his methods. He did bring around good results and raised the standards of our village and our local community’s power as a trading post, but...” Again, Randr shook his head, and his green eye glistened. “His usual respect for the villagers dwindled. He would ridicule people and only ever listened when I got really angry. Then he’d turn that venom on me. Better me than the villagers, so I suffered it. Later, he’d apologize and tell me he got carried away under the pressure of the responsibility, and he’d talk about his dreams. I still liked those.”
“So classic gaslighting of a narcissist?” Sk?ll asked.
Randr nodded. “I know those terms now, but back then, we didn’t analyze stuff like that.”
“So gold didn’t tempt him, but power did, and he used gold to buy power?” Hati asked.
“Yes. And those who didn’t want gold were given promises of better times in exchange for their support. To be fair, he always fought for that, but when he couldn’t meet it, he gaslighted those people and turned the blame of his failures on them for not providing the support he’d needed.” Randr looked at Elakdon with such sorrow. “As we closed in on your House, he said we were to gain a powerful ally. No, he didn’t say ally. I don’t remember the word he used, but it struck me the wrong way. The sons and daughters of the gods were not to be manipulated into a cooperation like that.” Randr looked at Sk?ll and Hati. “Your favor in work or loyalty is to be won by those who prove themselves worthy of your respect by visiting the same in kind.” A sour drag around the mouth thinned Randr’s lips. “And in his growing entitlement, he took it for granted. I loathed him for it, feeling like his dishonor was rubbing off on me. It hurt.” Randr put a hand over his chest. “Here.”
Sk?ll looked at Hati, then at Randr. “How close were you to the epicenter of the Sleipnir display of power just now?”
Freki returned to sit among them, staying silent.
“I stayed by my King’s side,” Randr said.
Sk?ll looked at Hati. “Could you see them?”
Hati tried to remember, but once it all went down, his focus had been on the V?lve and Sleipnir. “No.”
“What are you thinking, Sk?ll?” Elakdon asked.
“I’m thinking the blue curse that Randr saved his friend from is what the hikers and Steffen ran into. I’m thinking the Draugr in Randr’s past saw a true Rigr and a Karl, and only one lost the battle to whatever corrupts or is overcome by Rigr. I think Thralls are fallen Karls, infected and not strong enough to win the inner battle. Marisol said the Draugr here bowed to Randr as he charged into the valley they rule.” Sk?ll looked at Navidon. “And your burning hunger is for Thrall.”
Elakdon shook his head slowly and cupped it. “And this is where I feel like I fail as a King!” He looked up, his shimmering golden eyes trained on Navidon. “What is it I hold too little knowledge to understand about you and the Cubi people’s connection to the Thrall?”
Navidon looked quite moved, and his red eyes shimmered, too. “I don’t know, Nol. But...the woman hiker? She tasted so good when dosed. Now she tastes as fake as the dosed women of High Mother Aradin’s House. I don’t want her anymore if dosed, yet she finds such release in it. And she trusts my company, so she seeks me out, not other Incubi.”
“Meaning...you feel the need to balance that perfume with something with a sour twist?”
Navidon glared at Freki. “I will never take a woman,” he stated on a low growl.
Freki held up his hands. “Just asking because I don’t get this.” Freki smiled. “But I like the way you answered that. An Incubus rarely growls, and when they do, they usually mean business. I can respect that.”
“And the guy? You still want him?” Elakdon asked.
Navidon glanced to his left, but Sk?ll couldn’t see him. The Incubus didn’t answer, but he twitched, and a grimace of disgust crossed his features. “Very much,” he whispered. “And he needs to be kept away from her.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “From all females.”
“How does the Draugr curse or pollen have anything to do with Cubi feeding patterns?” Elakdon asked, but he muttered it to himself as if prompting himself to mull that one over.
“And what does the dose have to do with it?” Navidon asked.
Elakdon shook his head, staring emptily ahead. He looked lost. Then his face contorted with determination. “We will learn.” He looked at Navidon. “Never hold truth from me, Sir. We’ll need it.”