Empty Altars (28 page)

"You're horrible!" But Diana couldn't help it. She laughed, as Freya had intended her to. The tension that hung in the air disappeared. It was a relief to shed thoughts of Griswold. "I don't have much to go on. I
am
the maiden goddess, you know, but that kiss could singe a girl's hair."

"I knew it. Bet he's a demon in bed."

"I'm not listening to you!" Diana waved her remarks away. But thoughts of Tyr, holding her close, touching her, kissing her, made her breath quicken and her pulse throb. She stopped to pick a wild flower and breathed in its sweet scent. Was Tyr still thinking about her? They hadn't walked far, and she squinted between the trees, trying to see the village. Too many branches.

Freya looked at Inga. "What about you and Jorunda? You looked properly rumpled after you brought him back to health."

"Freya!" Inga blushed. "When this battle's over, we're to wed."

"It's about time. You're almost an old maid." Freya laughed at Inga's horrified gasp. She was gearing up for more fun when Diana sniffed the air.

"I smell fire."

Freya stopped to sniff too. She pointed. "It's coming from that direction."

"Audun's farm!" Inga started to run, glancing up at black smoke billowing in the distance. "We'll never reach it in time. It'll burn to the ground, just like Snorri's."

"But we might be able to save someone." Diana raced after her in a direction they rarely took. Pine needles slid under her feet. Branches slapped at their faces. They skidded to a stop when they saw a young child running on the path toward them.

"Kolli?" Inga called to the boy.

"Run!" His footsteps never slowed. He dodged past them toward the village. A tear gaped open on the arm of his tunic, exposing a deep gash and dried blood. Dirt streaked his face, and he fought back tears. "Giant hounds…."

"Your family?" Inga cried.

"Gone. Everything's gone." His voice caught for a moment, but his feet never slowed.

The women turned and ran after him. Diana was amazed that a five or six-year-old could be so fast.

Diana cussed under her breath. How did the hellhounds scale the cliffs without falling? Why didn't the ground toss them back to Giantland? And why did no bird see them? She should have gathered more wolfbane. Hounds could cross the line of salt that protected each farm's property, but she should have been warned. She should have known they were coming.

When they reached the clearing, the boy kept glancing over his shoulder, as though expecting a pack of drooling hounds to pounce on him. The women stayed close behind. If anything broke out of the trees, they'd turn and deal with it.

A call went up from the guards on the catwalk. The gates opened, and Tyr and Jorunda raced toward the boy.

Diana looked overhead. Not one bird in sight. The runes in her pouch pulsed a warning. The energy buzzed through her jeans pocket. "Stop!" she yelled. "No one move! Keep your distance."

When the boy hurtled toward them, Tyr stepped in front of Jorunda and put up a warning hand. "Stay, little one."

The boy fell to his knees in the grass. Sobs shook his small frame. "Please. Help me."

"You're safe with us," Tyr said. "There's nothing to fear."

"My parents… My brothers and sisters…." Tears fell faster, streaking his dirty cheeks.

Jorunda moved to reach for him, but Tyr shook his head. "Not yet."

Diana walked toward them, Freya and Inga close by. She knelt beside the boy. "You have my sympathy, but I have to know what happened."

Griswold strode from the gates with Jon at his side. He looked at the boy and glared at Diana. "The boy's hurt. He's afraid. Have you no heart?"

Diana bit back her retort. Like Griswold had any compassion! Instead, she

repeated, "You said that hounds attacked your farm. Did you hear anything before they came? Did the cliffs crumble or the ground shake?"

"No." The single word was a terrified squeak.

"Your spell didn't work! Audun had no warning!" Griswold glanced toward the trees that surrounded the meadow. "The hounds could be running to the next farm to kill the family there. All of your salt and magic didn't save them."

"Come to me, child." Diana held out her arms for him.

The boy cringed away. "Don't let her take me!"

"Let him be!" Griswold yelled.

"She's a friend," Tyr said, kneeling beside Kolli.

"She's a witch. My mom said so."

"But a good witch." Tyr brushed golden hair back from the boy's face. "She helps us."

New tears fell. "She didn't help
us
."

Griswold grunted impatience. He scooped the boy into his arms and turned to Jorunda. "Here. Take him to the village. Let him wash and eat."

The instant the child was cradled in Jorunda's grasp, he shifted. His coils bound Jorunda's arms. His head flipped back, ready to strike. His fangs dripped poison.

Diana grabbed the viper's neck, just behind his head. With her other hand, she gripped the body, stretching it tight. "My knife."

Tyr pulled the hunting blade from her belt and, in one slice, hacked through scales and bone. The snake's fangs opened and closed. The tail writhed. And dying, the snake shifted. Diana gripped the boy's body in one fist, his head in the other. She flung the carcass away from her. The boy stared at her, and his lips moved. "She said you couldn't kill me when I shifted." He sounded surprised, betrayed. Then his eyes glazed, unblinking.

"Shit!" Diana shivered. Quickly, she dropped the head next to the small corpse.

Griswold stared, his mouth open.

Inga ran to Jorunda. The warrior's pallor worried her. "Diana?"

Diana touched her hand to Jorunda's arm and pumped a steady flow of low energy into him. Soon, his color returned.

"Did it harm you?" Diana asked. She'd seen serpents whose skin poisoned people with only a touch.

"No, I'm fine." The warrior grimaced, embarrassed. "I saw the wolf shape-shift, so I know it can happen, but to see a small boy become a snake…and then to kill him…."

Freya pointed to the boy on the grass. By now, the giants and witches, and even the wolves had gathered to see what had happened. "Does anyone recognize him? He no longer looks like Kolli. That was a disguise too. Does he have a family? Does he live in the meadow?"

No one spoke.

Finally Jon said, "A baby went missing years ago, carried off by wolves."

"Heid's hellhounds." Freya's expression darkened like a gathering storm. "How low can the witch sink to send a child to die for her?"

"He believed her," Diana said. "She told him he couldn't die when he used his magic."

"What did he become?" Tyr asked. 'What kind of reptile?"

"A viper."

"Its poison acts fast?"

"Too fast to administer an antidote."

Tyr turned, eyes narrowed, to study her. "How did you know the boy wasn't Kolli?"

"I didn't, but my magic never fails. Hounds can climb the cliffs, but we'd have heard them. And my birds would have sounded a warning. The runes pulsed. Something wasn't right."

Jon exhaled a deep breath. He looked almost as rattled as Jorunda. "Thank you, goddess, for all of your spells and chants."

She waved his words away. She sank onto the grass and closed her eyes. The boy's death bothered her as much as it had the warriors. It was a cruel, senseless waste. She took a deep breath and looked at Freya. "You're a seidr. You can shift. Are there any ways to tell if a person's in his true form?"

"Not that I know of," Freya admitted. "But if there is, Peta will know. The seidr learned their magic from the dragons."

"Dragons?" Griswold stared. "You know a dragon?"

"I'm a goddess," Freya said. "I know more than you can imagine."

Diana hurried to her feet, suddenly remembering. "The farm! The fire!"

Tyr glanced at the sky. Smoke hovered over the treetops in the distance. The sun was getting low. "Jorunda and I will walk with you to Audun's. It's getting late. We'll stay with you and return to the village in the morning."

"Who'll protect
us
during the night?" Griswold asked, alarmed.

"You show no faith in gods or magic. Rely on your warriors." At Jon's worried frown, Tyr added, "I'll let Donar know I'm not with you. He'll send someone."

Griswold pointed to the giants and witches. "You there! Stay alert. You owe us your allegiance."

Ormr grunted and turned back to his camp. His friends followed, the wolves nipping at their heels.

As Tyr crossed the meadow, he laced his arm around Diana's waist. "You saved us once again. No wonder Gudrun had such faith in you."

The seer's name saddened her. Diana leaned closer. "The shifter made me think. Even with a warning, we wouldn't make it to most farms in time to save them. You need to bring the families into the village. It will only be for a few weeks, and it will probably save their lives."

Tyr nodded. "Done. I'll go with the warriors to fetch them tomorrow."

Their footsteps dragged as they walked to Audun's farm. Whatever happened there was finished. Diana dreaded what they'd find. They went a fair distance before they saw the remains of a huge bonfire in a leafy glen. Large, dead branches had been piled higher than her head and set on fire.

Tyr glanced skyward at the smoke that lingered, caught in the highest boughs. "We might get lucky. All the boy needed was a plausible story so that we'd trust him, accept him."

"Audun and his family might be safe." Inga pulled at Jorunda to walk faster. "If the boy set this fire, the farm could be untouched."

They all hurried now. Hope lent their feet speed. When they reached Audun's longhouse, moonlight beamed on a turf roof and wooden walls. A cat sat on the front stoop and narrowed its eyes at them.

"Blessings, friend," Freya called to it.

The cat curled back into a ball, standing guard.

"Thank Woden." Tyr hugged Diana to him. His relief flowed into her.

A dog came around the side of the house. Before it could bark, Freya said, "No need to wake them. Let's go."

They turned and started back to their marble home. Tyr didn't release his hold on her, and Diana smiled, nuzzled to his side. She enjoyed Tyr's closeness. Even though she relied on herself and needed no protection, there was something to be said for comfort. And friendship. She rarely bothered with those, thought they'd prove a hindrance. Maybe she was missing something.

Chapter 24

Peta raised his head when they neared the house. He changed to human form and said, "I owe you thanks. Three witches came for me today, but couldn't cross your line of salt or the talismans on the nearby trees."

Diana frowned. "Could they capture you? Is their magic stronger than yours?"

"They thought they could." He rubbed his stomach. "One of them made a tasty meal. But they're growing bolder."

"Or desperate." Tyr scowled, glancing around the clearing. "They had to know your house would be protected. You and Freya both use magic. What did they hope to accomplish?"

Peta answered that. "They hoped to bespell me to do their bidding. It might have worked on a younger dragon, but I've been practicing seidr for a long time."

"Not a bad idea. Heid knows she can't enter here, but if she could use Peta…" Freya faltered. "What would she do? Even a dragon can't burn down a marble house, and even if he did, Diana would just replace it."

"Commanding a dragon is no little thing in itself," Tyr said.

"True. Should we guard our house better?" Freya went to the marble porch and sank onto one of its benches. "I didn't think Heid would dare show her face here."

"They said their chant, then commanded me to bring them Diana's spell book," Peta said.

Diana laughed. "If she could steal my spell book, she'd have a rare prize."

"But it's not here," Inga said. "And she can't read mine. The words disappear for anyone but me and Freya."

"She doesn't know that." Diana shrugged. "Heid is over sure of herself. If she opened mine, she'd regret it."

"Could she steal it, though?" Freya asked.

"She could try." A wicked smile twisted Diana's lips.

Inga shivered. "You don't sound concerned."

"My books have spared me many a bother." The witches who were clever enough to find them were too clever for their own good. "I've charmed them so much, most witches don't survive touching them."

"But what if an innocent….?"

"No worries. There's a spell surrounding each to keep them safe. Only black magic can undo it. No innocent would know the chant."

Freya shook her head. "Devious Diana, I'm glad you're our friend. I'd never want you for an enemy."

"Likewise." The goddess of love and beauty showed more layers of magic and warfare than Diana had ever expected.

Inga sighed her frustration. "I don't understand. Why won't Heid just leave us alone? Why does she keep trying to kill my Jorunda? Why won't she just wait? If she stalls for a month, the runes said her chances of winning are better."