Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) (77 page)

             
Stig shook his head and threw it over his shoulder.  Alodie’s heart plummeted as she heard it rattle to the floor some yards away.  What a dilemma, she had backed up as far as she could, had a rampant troglodyte intent on raping her, and now she seemed to have lost her only means of escape.

             
Stig was leaning over her, holding her arms with both hands, pinning them agonisingly to the boards and was effectively trapping her legs under his, if only he had not been so incredibly strong.  She decided to try the only trick she had left to her, the oldest one in the book.  She stiffened and forced a look of fear into her eyes, which was not in the slightest bit difficult.  “Stig, what’s that behind you?  Oh my God!!” she shrieked.

             
Unbelievably, it worked.  Stig jumped and rolling off her turned round.  That was all she needed - as quick as a cat she leaped onto the floor and before Stig’s slow wits realised what had happened she had scooted toward the dark far end of the hut where she thought she had heard the bracelet fall and crouched down behind the nearest sack.    “Waar leddy?  Waar leddy?” Alodie could hear Stig’s nasal grunts as he looked around for her, then gasped as she heard him begin to throw the sacks out of the way.

             
In panic Alodie began to grope round for the bracelet, not daring to make too much noise.  She could hear the dwarf coming closer, smell the filthy feral reek of him.  Trying to curl herself into as tiny a ball as possible she shuffled backwards until her back came up against the wall.  Suddenly the sack in front of her was twitched away and Alodie screamed as the bloated shape of the dwarf reached out for her, scrabbling for her shoulders.

             
In her terror she rolled to the left then leaped to her feet and in a crouching spring somersaulted over the sack in front of her, by chance landing on something small and hard.   “Oh, please God, let it be..................” she muttered, and bending down she lifted up the object on which she had landed  - it was the bracelet!  The lumbering dwarf turned round, his hideous face showing anger now as the object of his desire, instead of being the usual terrified child, was a woman who seemed to be, for the first time in his experience, fighting back.

             
Frantically, Alodie flipped the green button and checked the setting was ‘stun’ then, as the manikin, his slow reflexes finally coming into play, lumbered over to her, she pressed the button.

             
With a crash Stig hit the floor like a felled oak, raising a cloud of dust which choked Alodie, but only for a second.  Drawing herself up to her full height and brushing herself down, she ran her fingers through her hair, straightened her shoulders, and, stepping over Stig’s recumbent form, walked toward the door.

*****************

             
With grim determination, Alodie walked up the track to the hideous castle-like structure which brooded over the village like a monstrous eagle guarding her chicks.  It was a strange edifice which seemed to be carved out of the dark cliff itself and, as Alodie approached, unchallenged by any of the villagers, she found her way barred by a gate made of very dark wood which, as she came closer, she discovered was carved with faces, some male, some female, some even children, all obviously in the throes of torture.  She felt her mouth fill with bile, the carvings seemed so hideously lifelike.

             
“Aye maiden, well may you gasp” she spun round, her hand instinctively flying to Herger’s bracelet on her wrist (she had temporarily disabled the autodoc function).  Strange, she thought of it now as Herger’s bracelet, not Luke’s, it was as if Second Navigator Owen had never existed.

             
An old man was standing behind her, leaning heavily on a stick, she was slipping, she had not heard his approach “What are they?” she croaked.

             
“The faces of our loved ones, that one, there........” he pointed to a middle aged woman whose face was carved into a hideous screaming mask “was my Bertha, my beloved wife and that one.....” he pointed to a child of not more than five years with what, to Alodie’s horror, looked like empty eye sockets “that was my niece Thora’s little girl.  Her crime was that her father, Rollo, tried to get them both away from here.  Olaf the Black left him alive but my niece’s likeness is there, he had them both killed and left poor Rollo alive to suffer”

             
Alodie was struck dumb, she had known Olaf the Black had been evil and vicious but this.........how could anyone....  “How long has this been going on for Christ’s sake?” she whispered.

             
“The Christian god eh? Well I’ll try anything that would release us from the curse of Olaf -  the slayings have been going on for years, ever since that cursed monster came to power, but the carvings, they are done by Toki Skallagrimmson, a good lad and a wonderful carver.  He has to do it, he has no choice, Olaf has his wife and child as hostage.  He’s called in whenever there is a death, he draws all the faces and carves them into the wood.  It is all the idea of that evil Saxon bitch, Emma, she is as bad as Olaf - nay, worse, you would think a woman would be softer, have more pity”.  The old man smiled in a melancholy way, “strange, it was not always like this.” he continued “I remember when the old lord was alive, now he was a kind..........”

             
“Olaf’s dead, you are free” cut in Alodie, sharply.

             
There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the melancholy cry of a gull, then the old man stepped back, a look of amazement on his face.  “Nay, t’is not possible” he stuttered.

             
Alodie smiled grimly.  “I killed him old man” she said softly “and believe me, Emma of Bredond has no pity in her for man, woman, child or beast, now go tell the villagers.”

             
“I - I don’t believe you” he muttered  “the man is an evil sorcerer, able to spit flames from his fingers at a long distance, how could a young lass like you kill him?”

             
Smiling, Alodie again set the psi gun to medium blast.  Low would probably do but medium would certainly prove her point.  She needed the villagers behind her.  “I too spit flames from my fingers old man and I think you will find my flames are stronger.....” the gates exploded in a crash which echoed round the valley.  When the smoke and noise had died down Alodie turned to the cowering old man.  “Go, tell the villagers that another sorceress has come and you are free.  I just have Mistress Emma to deal with and a captive to rescue from the dungeons and I will leave you all in peace to rebuild your lives and find what happiness you can”

             
Gulping, the old man turned and tottered down the pathway toward the settlement.

             
Alodie watched him for a moment, smiling as she saw doors opening all over the village, then taking a deep breath she walked through the shattered gates, picking her way over the debris.  In front of her was a massive door, carved from the same dark wood as the gates which, as she approached, opened to reveal twenty or thirty armed warriors with drawn swords.  On seeing her, the leader, a man in his forties, beckoned them forward and, with a blood curdling yell, they began to rush toward her.

             
She smiled, re-tuning the psi gun to ‘stun’, then held up her hand, palm outward.  To her amazement the men stopped and formed a line in front of the door, looking at each other in seeming confusion.

             
“Turn around sorceress and leave” shouted the leader, making the ‘T’ sign with his fingers.

             
Alodie smiled again and shook her head.  “No” she said simply.  “I have come to rescue my father and will not leave without him”

             
“Have you any idea of the power of Olaf the Black?” he continued, after a moment “He could fry a little nithing like you without breaking sweat”.

             
Alodie laughed   “What is your name, my good warrior?” she asked.

             
The man looked puzzled “Burgin, why?”

             
“Well, Burgin, I have to tell you that your great sorcerer, Olaf, is dead.  I killed him and left him on an island on the other side of the world for buzzards to pick at; my magic is greater than his, you see.  I came to tell you that you are free”

             
The warrior sneered.  “You lie, witch” he snapped then turning his back, on her he waved to his men. “Kill her..............” he shouted, then his voice tailed off as he was hit with a blinding blue ray, his eyes glazed and he crashed to the ground.

             
“Anyone else?” asked Alodie sweetly.

             
The men reacted as one - they dropped their swords and ran, some going back into the hall and some running to the left or the right - within ten seconds the castle of Olaf the Black stood open and undefended before her.

             
Stepping over the unconscious Burgin, and taking his sword for effect, she walked into the castle.  Before her stretched a long gloomy corridor which was lit by flickering torches thrust into brackets along the slimy dripping walls.  The place smelled of death.

             
Wrinkling her nose she followed the passage until, on turning a corner, she came upon a broad flight of steps leading upward.

             
As she began to ascend, the light grew stronger, and on reaching the top she found herself in a large hall with what looked like a throne on a dais at the far side.  The light, to Alodie’s surprise, came from numerous glassed windows running along each side of the room and, sitting on a small cushion at the base of the throne, was Emma, she was stroking a cat and seemed to be alone, the stones of Alodie’s bracelet winking on her wrist as the light from the windows caught them.

             
Alodie decided to come straight to the point.  “I believe you have something of mine, Emma” she snapped.

             
Emma glanced at the bracelet and then looking up at Alodie smiled.  “So I do, I think I’ll keep it actually, it suits my wrist”

             
“Emma, don’t make me kill you like I killed your lover” snapped Alodie in reply.

             
Her head shot up.  “You’ve killed Olaf?  I don’t believe you”

             
Alodie sighed and walked toward her.  “I am not really worried whether you believe me or not” she replied, trying to remain calm but itching to smack Emma’s smug face.  “I have just scattered your soldiers and relieved their officer of his sword, now be a good girl, give me my bracelet, show me where my father is then get out of here before I decide to kill you too, you child torturing bitch!”

             
Emma glanced up again then shrugging, climbed to her feet and removing the bracelet handed it to Alodie.  “Come on then” she said quietly.

             
Alodie was immediately on her guard, Emma had given in far too easily.  Dropping the cat she headed toward a small door to the left of the throne and ducking, went through it.  Swallowing audibly and fastening the bracelet onto her wrist, Alodie followed her, dropping the sword with a clatter.

             
The door led onto a tiny narrow spiral staircase which headed downward and was lit by slits cut into the walls.  After what seemed like an age but was in reality probably only two minutes, they reached the bottom, a dark circular room again lit by torches set into sconces.  Almost half the floor seemed to be taken up by a trapdoor.

             
Taking a torch Emma
drew back the bars sealing the door “You’ll have to h
elp” she muttered, gripping one of the large iron rings.  Alodie took the other ring and pulled, with a creak the doors slowly opened.  “He’s down there” said Emma, pointing at the gaping hole in the floor from which a faint light emanated.

             
Alodie was stunned.  “He can’t be alive, not having been kept down there for
ten years
! God, Olaf’s death was too quick!”

             
Emma looked up and smiled a particularly evil smile.  “Actually, he was Olaf’s honoured guest.  It was only after Olaf left to kill your husband that I had him - er transferred down here, he has light, food and water”

             
Alodie felt a great anger begin to build up inside her, it started in the pit of her stomach and crept upward, she had never before felt anything quite like it, she blinked, and for a second the room rook on a red hue, whilst a sixth sense told her that she was physically stronger now than she had ever been at any time in her life, murderously strong.  Her hand shot out, claw like, almost of its own volition and connected with Emma’s throat, the torch fell with a clatter onto the floor, the coals rolling over the stones.  Clawing at Alodie’s arm, the woman made mewing croaking sounds and her face began to turn blue.

             
After a couple of seconds, Alodie felt the anger begin to ebb and with an almost negligent movement she released Emma who fell into a crumpled heap at her feet, gasping for air.  “Get him out of there now, you bitch!” she hissed.