Lord of Raven's Peak - Catherine Coulter [48]
“ ‘Now we are far away from your homeland and mine. What is this place? Where are we? You cannot be Grunlige, for he stands not tall and proud anymore. He is pathetic, probably dead now by his own hand.’
“Grunlige stared down at him, unmoving, and smiled. ‘Shall I tell you, Parma, exactly what I am and where we are? What would you like to hear first, you vile coward?’
“ ‘I will fly away from you, and then I will come back and slay you!’ Parma jumped to his feet, flapped his arms, but nothing happened. He climbed atop a high rock and jumped off, flailing his arms wildly, kicking his feet. He heard Grunlige the Dane laugh, a laugh as wicked and frightening as a laugh from the Christians’ hell. Parma didn’t soar into the heavens, he fell hard once again at Grunlige’s feet. He screamed with rage, ‘It is the witch again! She has stolen my powers. Damn her for all time!’
“Grunlige said very softly, even as he raised his foot above Parma’s head, ‘Heed me, fool. You have no powers, only vanity and guilt and a stupid man’s arrogance. Now you will gain what you deserve.”’
Laren stopped. She smiled at the men and women and children, all of whom were staring at her, their attention focused solely on her. Cleve was smiling and nodding at her, Taby asleep on his lap.
“Continue,” Erik bellowed. “I grow tired of your waiting! Damn you, what happened? What did Grunlige do? Did he send his foot into Parma’s skull? Where in the name of the gods are they?”
She shook her head. “I am but a woman, my lord Erik, and must rest now. Forgive me. My brain and my throat are sore and need to recover. Perhaps by tomorrow night I will be able to continue.”
There were murmurs of protest, and Erik looked as though he would explode, for even as a child, he would sit before the skald listening so intently that their mother could call him and he would not hear her. Merrik laughed as he rose, and said quickly, “Nay, all of you be quiet. It is her way. She stops not because she has any supposed weakness of a woman, nay, she leaves you purposely dangling, hooked like bait on a fishing line. Don’t wriggle about. Yawn and tell her she did fairly well but you really don’t care what happens next. It will drive her mad with doubts and make her less arrogant in her skills.”
He laughed again and turned to Erik. “Well, brother, what do you think of my new skald, my female skald?”
Erik just looked at Laren. Suddenly, Merrik didn’t like the way he was gazing so intently at her. He didn’t want that kind of trouble. By all the gods, he didn’t want to have to quarrel with his brother, tell him to leave her alone, but he would have to if Erik decided he wanted to bed Laren. He didn’t know why he would have to, but he knew he would. He looked at Sarla, who was, in turn, staring at her husband. She knew, Merrik thought, she knew. Indeed, it was difficult for her not to know. Two of Erik’s bastards were here in the longhouse, both boys, although the youngest had not yet gained a year. But Kenna was strong and healthy and the very image of his father. And their mothers were there, too, and as far as Merrik knew, both Megot and Caylis still shared his brother’s bed.
But Sarla had no children as yet. She and Erik had been wed for two years now and as yet her belly hadn’t swelled with child. Merrik sighed. He didn’t like this. He walked to Cleve and held out his arms for Taby.
He gathered the child to him, then went to search out some blankets, Taby held securely in the crook of his arm. He saw Laren looking at him. It was the first night he had kept Taby with him. He walked to her and said, “I will