Page 15 of Bats Out of Hell (Vikings Rock #1)

K enna half-slid and half-slipped down the icy bank. She had no intention of going back to the village. She’d catch some food and make herself at home in a cave until Haakon gave up on her and went back to whatever hellhole he’d come from.

With her bow slotted over her shoulder, she glanced right and left and held up her gown so she could see her boots. The stepping stones were just visible above the freezing water. If she could get to the other side, she’d be able to run along the bank and hopefully lose her tracks in driftwood debris.

Because that was how he’d found her, and it proved what an addled state her mind was in that she hadn’t thought to cover them.

“Kenna!”

She couldn’t see him, but she could hear him.

Tentatively, she stepped onto the first stone. It was slippery underfoot, but she had good balance and reached for the next, arms outstretched to steady herself. Her ears filled with the sound of the water racing around her, competing with the tempo of her racing heart.

As she’d lain fractious in bed all night, feeling sure he’d come and claim her in the most brutal of ways, a plan to escape had formed.

It wasn’t a good plan, or one that went far into the future, but perhaps if she could escape for a few days, she’d come up with a better one. Maybe travel east and join another community, pretend the marriage had never happened. After all, it hadn’t been consummated, so in the eyes of God, the deal had yet to be sealed.

She sensed a shadow at her side and looked up.

He was there on the bank. Big and looming. His eyes wide and his nostrils flaring. “Kenna, the water is too fast. It will take your feet.”

“Leave me alone.” Urgency gripped her and she leaped to the next stone, wobbled for a second, then regained her balance.

The river was deep here, too deep to see the bottom or even guess where it was. A branch whizzed past her, bashing against a rock, spinning around then disappearing downstream.

“Be careful!” he yelled over the noise.

“Leave me alone.” She eyed the next stone. It was farther away than the last.

“Kenna! No!” The wind buffeted his shout. “Don’t do it. I beg you.”

A rush of determination gripped her and she leaped into the air, the bow bouncing on her back.

But no amount of determination could land her safely. The stone was suddenly deluged with a torrent of water, disappearing completely, and when her toe did hit it, the mossy surface meant there was no chance of grip.

The next thing she knew, she was flailing in the air and looking up at the angry sky. When the cold mountain water wrapped around her, it bellowed into her ears, rushed up her nose, and spiked her with a thousand daggers of ice.

And then she was rushing downstream like the branch had done. Battling for air, she pushed to the surface and grabbed a lung full.

She’d survive—she could swim. She just had to…

The water spun her around. It was disorientating, breath-snatching and freezing. The inside of her nose stung and the ball of her ankle hit a rock, pain lashing up her leg. Her gown tangled around her limbs, making it harder to swim—if she was swimming at all, that was. It was more like being stolen away.

Again, she struck out, hoping to find something to cling to. But it was just rushing water all around—fast, violent, malicious.

“Kenna! Grab my hand.”

She spun downstream and spotted Haakon. He’d anchored himself to a fallen tree and was holding out his arm at full stretch and half-hanging over the rushing water.

“Grab it!” he yelled. “I will save you.”

She swallowed a mouthful of water, spluttered, and tried to angle herself toward him. The river widened over a steep fall soon; she had to get out before she hit that. She wouldn’t survive the drop.

Haakon’s hand was suddenly a beacon of hope.

If only she could grab it.

In a sudden rush, his outstretched fingers were above her. He was above her. She reached out desperately. Their fingers brushed for a split second, then she felt a firm grip around her forearm and she was being pulled.

It was as if a giant had reached for her. She shot upward, the water falling away and her clothes clinging to her body. On and up, she went. The fallen tree creaked and then strong, pincer-like arms were around her torso.

“You’re safe. I’ve got you,” Haakon said into her ear, his breath hot on her icy skin.

She was breathing hard and fast; her heart beat so wildly, she felt it would fly from her chest. But she was alive. She was out of the water.

Her new husband had saved her.

“Get off me,” she said, pushing at him. But her strength had gone. She had no fight left in her.

Haakon ignored her feeble wriggling and scooted with surprising agility back along the tree trunk and set her, and himself, on the snowy bank.

She pushed her wet hair from her face as a full-body shiver attacked her.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, cupping her cheeks and staring into her eyes.

Her ankle throbbed and the cold was like a thousand midge bites. “I’m fine.”

“You could have been killed.” He frowned and shook his head. “What in Thor’s name were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I’ve married a heathen, something you’ve just proven.”

“What?”

“In Thor’s name. That is what you said.”

He paused. “I meant in God’s name, what were you thinking?”

“That I had to escape. Get away.”

“From me?”

“Aye.” She turned and hitched her gown above her ankles. Her bow and arrows were long gone.

“But I didn’t hurt you. I didn’t come to you much, as I wanted you. I let you rest last night and—”

“Ouch!” Her ankle gave way, the one that had bashed up against the stone. Pain sliced through delicate flesh and bone.

Instantly, he was there, his arms around her again. “What is it? Where are you hurt?”

“Nowhere… I…” She dragged up the sodden material and saw that her boot had been torn by the sharp rock and a bloody cut gauged through her flesh. “That stupid rock.” She huffed. How the heck was she going to walk home now? It felt like it had been twisted around on a millstone.

“You are hurt,” he said, “and freezing cold too.”

“I… I’m not too cold.” She shivered violently.

He made a frustrated, grunting sound then stooped and took her into his arms. He swung her upward and against his chest.

“What are you doing? Put me down.”

“You can’t walk and you’ll freeze to death if we don’t get you back to Tillicoulty soon.”

“I can walk.”

“You can walk as well as I can recite that God book of yours…”

“The Bible.”

“ Ja . The Bible.”

She frowned and studied the determined look on his face as he strode along the snowy riverbank, retracing the way they’d come.

“And if the wolves smell blood,” he said, glancing around, “that won’t be good, either.”

“The wolves stay higher in the mountains.”

“Not the one I heard—it was close. Too close for comfort when there’s an injury.”

It was as if she weighed nothing at all. Haakon took ground-eating paces, holding her tightly, his breath huffing in front of him.

She looped her arms around his neck, glad of the warmth of his body, though it did little to help with the shivers that were rattling up her spine. Had she ever been so cold? So chilled to the bone? She didn’t think so and the damn northern wind wasn’t helping at all.

“You nearly got that pheasant,” he said gruffly. “You are a good huntress.”

“My father… taught me and Hamish… when we were young. I have had many years… practicing.” Her jaw was practically frozen in place.

“And your trap was a good design. I was surprised you caught nothing.”

He was complimenting her skills? She hadn’t expected that from him. Wasn’t he only interested in bedding her and planting his seed? Taking what he could from the village and the villagers? “It is a lean month… for meat. Though I did get a boarlet… a few days… ago.”

He raised his eyebrows and ducked back onto the forest track. “This time of year?”

“A late brood. Foolish of the… mother.”

“I agree.” He paused. “But it is good to know there is meat to hunt here all year round.”

She was quiet. He really had gotten his feet under the table. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Suddenly, he stopped and his breath hitched.

“What?” With her teeth chattering violently, she looked in the direction he was.

Her heart skipped a beat and panic soared through her body. Fight or flight.

Staring at them was a sandy-furred wolf. Drool dripped from its bared fangs and its blue eyes were set on them. With its ears pricked forward and hackles spiked upward, it appeared intent on attack, brave with it.

“I told you it was close,” Haakon said, glancing around. “But I can’t see any others.”

The creature let out a low growl and a threatening snap of its sharp teeth. It then took a step forward, its big pads digging deep into the snow.

Kenna grabbed at her waist with numb fingers. “I… I haven’t got my dagger.” It must have fallen off her belt in the water.

“I have mine.” Slowly, he set her down. “Can you stand for a moment?”

“Aye…but…” She adjusted her weight onto her good leg and gripped a lichen-covered tree trunk. “What are you…going to…?”

“It’s not a problem. I will get rid of him.”

“He’s hungry…and dangerous.” She cursed her chattering teeth. They were out of control.

“Not as dangerous as me.” He winked at her, gave the cockiest grin she’d ever seen a man give, then took out his dagger and raised it above his head.

Then with a roar she didn’t think a human could make, he raced forward, charging at the wolf with his furred cloak flapping and his feet thumping through the snow, kicking it up this way and that.

For a moment, the wolf just stared at him. Confusion seemed to flash through its glacial eyes. Then it sprang into action, lunging forward at Haakon.

Haakon flapped his arms, roaring louder, and the weak sunlight glinted off the dagger.

The wolf, seeming now to be a fraction of Haakon’s size, suddenly had a loss of courage and its tail slunk between its legs and it shifted to the side. For a heartbeat, it stilled, head lowered, then it turned and took off into the shadows of a fir tree.

“ Ja , that’s it. Be gone. Be gone, wolf. There is nothing here for you!” Haakon yelled, shaking the tree branches and creating a small snowstorm.

“He’s gone?” Kenna asked, peering into the darkness.

“ Ja , and he won’t be back. He knows I’ll kill him.” Haakon was at her side, his dagger once again on his belt. “My love, you are so pale.”

“I’m…I’m cold.” She could barely think of anything else. Her fingers, toes, and limbs were numb and her belly a tight knot of ice.

“Here, wear this.” He took off his fur and threw it around her shoulders.

Instantly, the warmth of it penetrated her skin. For a moment, she closed her eyes.

“We need to get you warmed up back at the village.” He swung her into his arms. “It will not take long, my beautiful wife. I will get you there.”

Kenna closed her eyes, lost to everything except the pain in her ankle and the cold that seemed to pierce into her very soul.

Haakon rushed through the forest with her tight in his arms. She didn’t like that she felt so helpless. In fact, she hated it. But what choice did she have? She was freezing to death and couldn’t walk. If he hadn’t plucked her from the raging torrent of water, she’d be dead by now. In the name of the Lord, if he hadn’t been carrying her back to the village, she’d have been dead too.

A spark of hot anger gripped her. If Haakon hadn’t chased her and forced her to cross the river using the stepping stones, she wouldn’t have been in this position at all. She could have been in a little cave with a fire, alone, forming an escape plan.

She balled her fists and clutched his fur tighter. The sounds of the village were approaching and she wasn’t sure how they’d gotten there so quickly. A dog barked—Lass, she thought—and someone was chopping logs.

“We are here,” he said. “Soon, I will warm you and all will be well.”

“What has happened to her?” A woman’s voice.

Kenna cracked open her eyes. Astrid was pacing beside them. Dagger on her belt and her hair flicking in the wind.

“She fell into the river, and her ankle is cut.” Haakon kept pacing.

“Her lips are blue—that’s not good.”

“It would have been less good if she’d gone over the fall. I could hear it. She was moments away.”

“The waterfall goddess, Saga, nearly took her?” Astrid exclaimed. “She is always hungry for the weak.”

“Kenna is not weak.” Haakon growled. “She fought hard. That is why she is here.”

Astrid huffed.

“She is also an accomplished hunter and trapper.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Haakon scowled. “Be of help, will you? Run ahead and stoke the fire in our bedchamber.”

“Can’t your new god do it for you? Seems to me he’s all-powerful.”

“Astrid. We haven’t got time to argue.”

She sighed, muttered something in a language Kenna didn’t understand, then disappeared.

“We are here now. Soon, you will be warm.” Haakon strode under the watchtower.

“Kenna! Oh, what is wrong with her?”

“Mother?” Kenna said, but she felt too weak to open her eyes.

“She fell into the river. She is cold, but I will warm her up.”

“And her leg? Is that blood?”

“It is a clean gash. I will bandage it.”

“No, I will do it. Bring her to our home.”

“She lives with me now and the fire is being stoked in preparation for her.”

“But… Mother. I want my mother.” Kenna tried to reach out, but her cold arms wouldn’t work.

“I can and will care for her,” Haakon said firmly. “And if I do not do that to Kenna’s approval, I will walk away from Tillicoulty.”

“You’ll what?” Noah said.

“You heard.” Haakon huffed. “And I am a man of my word. If Kenna says that I have not cared for her, my men and I will leave your village and never return.”

“And if she dies?” Noah asked.

“She will not. I will not let her.”

Kenna whimpered and was aware of the light changing. They were inside the Great House now. The scent of the feast and sweet ale still hung in the air. And the air was warmer. Fire troughs were glowing.

“Do not fear. Your ordeal is almost over,” Haakon said.

Kenna found herself being laid on the soft bed. She shivered and tried to move her bitterly cold limbs. They weren’t working.

She could hear the fire crackling, logs being stacked. Smoke and ash tickled her nose.

“This needs to come off,” Haakon said, pulling at her gown.

“Okay, but…I can do it.” She tried to sit but couldn’t. “Oh…”

“Your blood has all but frozen to ice in your veins,” Haakon said. “This wet gown needs to come off before you can get warm.”

He was peeling it over her head, exposing her nakedness beneath.

“How you thought you’d survive with so little clothing on…” he muttered.

“The fire is lit,” Astrid said.

Kenna cracked open her eyes. Astrid was standing at the end of the bed, hands on her hips, frowning at Kenna’s naked form.

“Good,” Haakon said, shucking off his tunic. “Go and warm broth.”

“Huh, I’ll tell her mother to do it.”

“No.” Haakon stooped and pulled at his boots. “I’ve told them I will care for her. I need to prove that I can, that I always will.”

“This nonsense will have angered all the gods,” Astrid said, shaking out the gown then hanging it on a hook. “You will get what is coming to you.”

“And I will take it. Remember the runes? I am following the path I was shown.”

Astrid frowned and folded her arms.

“Please. Broth,” Haakon said, shoving at his pants so that he too was naked.

“What? No, please,” Kenna managed. “Not now?” Not when her trembling was uncontrollable and she couldn’t feel her hands and feet? Surely not. Surely, he wouldn’t take her now.

“Oh, in the name of the gods,” Astrid snapped. “I’ll get the broth.”

She left the room.

Kenna crossed her arms over her naked breasts. Her nipples were tight and chilled. “Please, I…I need…”

“You need body heat,” Haakon said, climbing onto the bed and shifting furs around. “It is the only way to warm you. The quickest way to warm you.”

Kenna gasped as he pulled her close, wrapping her in his big, hot arms, settling her against his chest, then coiling his legs with hers as though trying to touch as much of her as he could at once.

A fur settled over them, then another as he dragged the soft material upward.

“Oh!” she said, the longed-for heat finally touching her skin. “Aye…oh…that’s better.” She closed her eyes, knowing that the cock resting against her hip would get hard, would then be demanding of her.

“Shh.” He kissed the top of her head and smoothed her tangled hair. “Rest now. Soon, my heat will be shared with you and you will stop shivering.”

As he spoke the word ‘shivering,’ a particularly violent tremble went up her spine and over her scalp.

“It’s not a problem,” he said softly. “Nothing is going to happen except you are going to get warm. You will be well. I promise.”

“My ankle.” It was throbbing with more intensity now. “It…hurts.”

“When you are warm and the danger is over, we will examine it properly. Astrid bandaged it.”

“She did?”

“ Ja .”

Kenna realized she must have been numb with cold, for she hadn’t felt a thing.

“But try not to sleep,” Haakon said. “Stay awake. It will be better.”

“Better?”

“For then I will not fear you have been taken to another realm before my heat could revive you.”

“Another realm? Don’t you mean…heaven?”

“ Ja , that is what I mean. Your heaven. Our heaven.”

“You have a lot to learn.”

“I am not afraid of that.” Again, he smoothed her hair. It was a gentle caress that calmed her heart rate.

She could feel his heartbeat too, and his breaths blowing warm on her head. If he was true to his word and this was about putting life back into her body, perhaps being naked in bed with him wasn’t so bad, after all.