Zephyr Chapter 15 #2
“What we don’t do is kidnapping, extortion, drugs, protection-for-hire, prostitution, arson, or those types of things. Other chapters tend to steer clear of these for the most part, but what other territories decide to do with their chapters isn’t our concern.
“We’re not angels, but we’re also not demons. There are those in the world who are far worse than us. The Grave Prowlers are a one-percenter MC. That means we’re into illegal activities. But we also do plenty of good. People are a mixture of good and bad. We’re flawed.”
I had sat for this first part. Bringing it to an end. I stood and walked over to the kitchen. I got out two bottles of water. I brought her one and opened it for her. Everlyn took it without a word. I took a long draw on mine before I continued.
“That is what we are now. Let me tell you what we used to be, well before becoming a Prowler. This part is unbelievable, but every word is true. I swore on my ring.”
I gestured to my oath-ring in her hand. She clutched it tightly in her fist, her knuckles white. Everlyn’s eyes glanced at it, then back up to my face.
“The story began one night in a small Algonquian Indian village in what is now Massachusetts.
The tribe was filled with peaceful, welcoming people.
They welcomed strangers and showed them how rich the land could be.
They were honorable and kind. They wanted to help the strangers live in harmony with the land and nature.
“Then, almost nine hundred years ago, one night, they were betrayed. The strangers they befriended turned on them. The visitors wanted to steal, kill, and enslave all to gain the riches they were told this new world contained. Men, women, and children were enslaved, raped, and murdered. In the end, almost the entire village was massacred.”
An odd sound broke from Everlyn’s lips. She leaned forward, her face stricken. I wanted to stop, but I had to do this.
“The Jarl, the leader of the group of Vikings who betrayed those Indians, was a man named Aksel. He was a cruel, hateful man. Some of the men and women with him followed because they were the same way, or they were eager for wealth. They didn’t care how they got it.
The rest were pledged to Aksel because they were farmers, merchants, fishermen, and others who lived and worked the Jarl’s lands.
They had been more or less conscripted to go with him to the New World.
“When the slaughter happened, the second group had no idea it was planned until it was already in progress. Everywhere they looked, there was smoke, screams of pain and terror, and the shouts of joy. Blood flowed like a river.
“It was during this carnage that some of the men and women decided to help the villagers they could to escape secretly. However, in the end, they didn’t turn the tables enough.
Standing in the middle of the village among the dead and dying, Aksel had his men bring out the villagers’ shaman in front of all his followers.
“The shaman was hurt and enraged. He shouted at them, although they couldn’t understand a word he said.
They mocked him. Suddenly, the shaman raised his face to the sky, raised his arms, and shouted angrily.
The air became tense, and the wind picked up.
Some of the invaders grew uneasy and stepped away from the shaman.
Aksel didn’t. He was angry and scared. He drew his sword, intent on killing the old man, when the night was filled with wolves' howls, lightning lit the sky, and the shaman fell silent.
He pointed at everyone surrounding him, spoke more foreign words, and then dropped to the ground dead.
“However, that wasn’t the end. As soon as he died, all the Viking invaders fell to the ground and blacked out.
When they all revived, Aksel screamed at them to continue with the savagery.
They had no idea how this act blackened their souls, and even those who helped others that night.
None were saved from the punishment, although none knew until weeks later what they had brought about. ”
When I stopped this time, I couldn’t seem to go on. I had to finish it, but the memories were choking me. I jumped when Everlyn’s soft voice broke the silence.
“The shaman cursed the Viking invaders, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did,” I admitted.
“And the curse that they discovered weeks later was that they couldn’t be killed, not by someone else’s hand nor by their own.
They had been left to roam the earth for eternity.
And as part of that curse, they couldn’t have children.
Anyone they cared about who wasn’t one of them would grow old and die.
If they fell in love, they had to live with the agony of knowing it was fleeting,” Everlyn said softly.
“How the hell do you know that?” I asked, hurrying closer.
Everlyn rose to her feet. She began to pace.
“The tribe of Indians was the Agawan, from what is now Ipswich, Massachusetts. The shaman did indeed curse them, as you said, but he did allow for a kind of redemption. If one of the cursed ones were to find someone who not only loved them, no matter their crimes, and the cursed one also felt the same, there was a chance. If they came together and pledged their lives to each other and the cursed learned to forgive themselves, they could achieve redemption.”
“What do you mean by redemption?” I croaked.
She faced me. “If that happened, and they gave each other a future, then the mortal mate would become immortal as well, so the Viking would no longer have to walk through eternity without their true heart and soul. And because they were joined out of love and forgiveness, they were granted the gift of children. And they could leave this world to go into the afterlife when they chose. The hope was they’d do good in the world and lead others to change their lives for the better. ”
I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. Astonishment didn’t cover what I was feeling. I stumbled to the couch and dropped down. I put my head in my hands. My mind was whirling.
“How do you know this?” I croaked again. The tension was so thick I could almost touch it as I waited for her to answer.