Chapter 24 #2
She seemed to really think about his question, rolling it over in her mind before she nodded.
He could feel a knot inside of him ease at her approval of what he had made, and then she placed a hand on his arm.
“It’s beautiful. I just don’t know how to thank you for something that was made by such a talented hand. ”
“There are no thanks needed from you. Merely seeing you in this is thanks enough.”
It was a memory that would be burned into his mind for many years to come.
“Come,” his mother said, gesturing with her hand. “Sit with us, Astrid. Now that you look the part.”
He could see the little furrow in her brow, and the confusion at what his mother was even suggesting. But she sat, and that was something that he could admire about her. At least she didn’t let their oddities bother her too much.
She sat down next to him, her legs so close they could have touched if he moved.
He almost did until his mother sent smoke billowing in their direction.
Both of them coughed, and he tried to move the smoke away from them with his hands.
But there was so much of it coming off the fire, it was hard to get any fresh air near them.
Svala approached them through the smoke, pricking their fingers with jagged needles before disappearing. And then there were the bone readers. It was all he could hear, the rattling of the bones in their hands and how they threw them onto the ground.
“Aha!” Lykke shouted. “Not one of us after all! But similar. Close enough that it would be difficult to tell. Powerful, indeed. I haven’t seen a match like theirs in a very long time.”
“You think you saw something?” his mother muttered. He saw her blow in their direction, another wave of smoke making it hard to even see the other women. “Oh. You’re right. There it is. How did I miss that?”
One of the bone readers shook the bones in her hands, and he saw one of them fling near his foot. She must have thrown them hard. “From Hugr to Fylgja, it’s not unheard of. Just uncommon.”
“What are you all talking about?” Bjorn coughed, trying to clear the smoke a bit more so he could at least see his mother.
With a snap of their fingers, the smoke cleared.
Astrid and he were left staring at the six women, the sudden silence making it hard to do anything but focus on them.
His mother leaned forward, clasping her hands together with her elbows braced on her knees.
“She is not one of us, Bjorn, although I can see why you might think so. Her power affects the Hugr, the mind and emotion of all souls. Your magic is outside of your body. You can speak to and control animals if you wish. Combined, your gift could become very powerful indeed.”
But they were here to break that power, not encourage it. He didn’t want to know what they could do together if they remained as they were.
Apparently, Astrid did not share the same thoughts. “What do you mean? I know Bjorn said our magic would mix the longer we’re bonded, but...”
She trailed off. He wondered if some part of her was concerned about what she would reveal if she went down this path. But his mother immediately jumped into the conversation as though she had been hoping for Astrid to ask.
“Every bonded pair amplifies each other’s magic.
You are a unique pairing because you are both strong in magic.
Given time, and practice, you would be able to access and perhaps even control the Fylgja.
They are guardian spirits, often in the form of animals, that guide every living being in our realm.
Many cannot see them but will know what they are. ”
“The Fylgja?”
“Have you ever stood in the middle of a field and heard crows that weren’t there?
” His mother asked. “Have you ever sat on a stream and listened to frogs croaking that you could not see? These are spirit guides. Guardians who lead us through our lives, sometimes even determining how long we live. You could affect them. Pull them out of people. Use them to your own advantage. You could wield those creatures like weapons, if you wished. Your own and others.”
Astrid’s eyes grew larger and larger. Even Bjorn wasn’t sure if he enjoyed the thought of that. Together, they would be rather impressive if they continued to allow their magic to mix.
“And if we sever the bond?” she asked.
“None of it will come to be. You will return to affecting emotions. He will talk to animals. It will be as if nothing happened.” With a shrug, his mother stood. “But the things I see in the smoke... I would suggest you keep the stronger magic, dear ones. You are going to need it.”
“Why?” Astrid asked, her voice shaking.
“You said you don’t want to know your future. I will respect your wishes.”
As the women stood and left the fire, all Bjorn could think was that they had done this on purpose.
The sly look in his mother’s eye, the way the other smoke breather held that baby who behaved so well, the other four who had only been there to underline what his mother and the other smoke reader had said.
They were here to try to convince them to stay together.
His mother winked at him as she left with the other smoke reader and then mouthed words he had no idea how to read. But he knew that this was meant to help them. This was meant to push them in the right direction of staying together.
He was weak enough to accept the help. Bjorn wanted her, damn it. He wanted Astrid to stay with him, and if this was how he got her to do so, then that was what he would do.
“Come with me,” he said, standing and ignoring the pain blistering through his body.
“Where?” She took his hand and stood, a furrow between her brows. “And why? Shouldn’t we get this bond dissolved and then leave? My sister needs us, Bjorn.”
“Your sister is safe under the mountain.” And he needed to buy himself time. He needed to think and wonder and beg her to stay with him if that was what it took.