Bones of the Dragon - Margaret Weis [104]
Skylan drew back. The woman was already behaving like a wife!
“I made the vow,” Skylan said gruffly. “I must make amends.”
He limped off quickly, before she could insist on going with him. She made him feel uncomfortable, and he couldn’t explain why.
Skylan walked over to where Norgaard sat on the deck, nursing his injured leg, massaging the scarred flesh.
“Father,” Skylan began awkwardly.
Norgaard grimaced and glanced up at him. “You do not need to say anything, Skylan. I understand. Garn made me see that you were doing Torval’s will.”
Skylan glanced at his friend in astonishment.
“Torval spoke to you,” Norgaard was continuing. “It was right for you to listen to the god. You will make a good Chief of Chiefs. Better than a cripple—”
“Don’t say that, Father,” Skylan protested, ashamed. He could not look at Garn, who was sitting some distance away, watching. “I will rely on you for advice, counsel—”
Norgaard smiled a brief, tight smile. “You fought well, my son. You made me proud.” He continued rubbing his leg. He closed his eyes, pretending to rest. The conversation was over.
Skylan sat beside Garn. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Garn said. “I did it for your father, to spare him shame.”
Skylan was silent a moment; then he said, “Now that my stepmother is dead and I am leaving, my father will be alone. He needs someone to look after him. Will you stay with him?”
“Of course,” said Garn. “It will be my honor.”
Skylan nodded. They made the rest of the short journey across the waves to Vindraholm in silence.
The dragonship arrived back at Vindraholm to cheers from the Heudjun people, all of them eager to welcome their new Chief of Chiefs, eager to put this shameful incident behind them. Torgun and Heudjun warriors splashed into the water together to help guide the ship ashore.
After the new Chief of Chiefs and the Kai Priestess and the others had disembarked, an uncomfortable silence fell on the crowd. Horg’s corpse was still aboard, and no one knew what to do with it.
Horg would not be given the farewell ceremony due to a fallen hero. That was out of the question. He had distant relations in another clan, and he could have been buried on his family’s land, in their traditional burial mound, but his cousins had disowned him, refused to claim him.
Several warriors, led by Sven, offered to carry the body off the dragonship. The Kai Priestess intervened.
“Leave him where he lies,” Draya ordered. “The matter is out of our hands.”
Draya stood on the beach and faced the dragon. She bowed low. The dragon’s carved eyes flashed a fiery red, and the people watched in awe to see the dragonship sail away of its own accord. No crew manned it.
The Venjekar, bearing Horg’s body wrapped in the bloody mantle of the god’s judgment, sailed due east, heading into the vast waters of the open sea.
The people stood in silence, watching until the dragonship was lost to sight.
The Venjekar returned.
Horg was never seen again.
BOOK
3
THE GHOST SHIP
CHAPTER
1
The wedding was an important ritual among the Vindrasi, for it marked the end of one portion of a person’s life and the beginning of another. No matter what his age, a boy was not truly considered a man until he became head of his own household. A girl was not a woman until she was married. Thus the need for haste in marrying Skylan to the Kai Priestess. No matter how many battles he had fought and men he had slain, Skylan was not considered a man until he had taken a bride.
Weddings were customarily planned well in advance. Preparations for the ceremonies and the feasting to follow would often take weeks, if not months. For Skylan and Draya’s wedding, such preparations had to be rushed, completed in less than a day and a night.
The people of the other clans who had come to Vindraholm for the Vutmana stayed for the wedding. They cheerfully pitched in to assist the Heudjun in the work. The mood was festive. Torval had made his choice, and though some privately had doubts as to the god’s decision, none stated them