“It wasn’t your skills that stopped me; it was my sister. The two of you must have been born the same year, and I saw only her face whenever I looked at you. I did my best to merely subdue you instead of taking your life.”
Much of the bluster seemed to leave his stance. “We had a sister once, though I don’t remember her as well as Leif does. But I remember well enough, and I know what happened to her.” His hands clenched into fists. “That was why I stowed away against Leif’s wishes. I am her brother, too, and I should have a right to avenge her.”
I touched Arin’s arm. “It’s a terrible thing to lose a sibling.”
“She was murdered by the j?tnar,” he said in a snarl, as though I had said nothing at all. “Her body was the only one that wasn’t just a splatter of blood and gore. They wanted us to know they’d slaughtered her.”
A jolt of apprehension raced through me. “Why would you think that—that the j?tnar wanted your sister to be found?”
“Because it was obvious. She was the only one left. Why do that if they didn’t want us to find her?”
“Yes, but why your family? Why single you out?”
Arin stood a little straighter. “Because my father, and now Leif, are the greatest raiders in the north.”
I could understand how they’d think the j?tnar would challenge them in such a way, but there was something that made me think it was more ominous than that . . . a feeling that skittered up my spine.
“I’m young still,” Arin continued, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t want my chance to defend my own family.”
“It’s a worthy quest.”
Arinbjorn looked almost eager. “Then you’ll convince Leif I should be part of it? That I, as Finna’s brother, also have the right to hunt them down?”
I smiled and shook my head. “You overestimate my influence on your brother, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t think I do. I have never seen Leif treat a girl as he does you. It’s almost like—”
A terrible scream, agonizing in its intensity, rent the stillness of the stable. Arinbjorn and I froze, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
It came again, a keen ending in a strangled breath.
I ran toward the source of the sound. Just outside the stable, a trail of blood darkened the hard, packed earth. I glanced back at Arinbjorn, who met my look with a grim expression of his own. The blood had splattered the side of the barn, and drops of it pointed the way to a dark corner.
With a cold dread gripping me, I followed the trail, careful to mute my footfalls.
There, in a dark corner, was one of the strange men from last night—the one with the nose like a snake. He loomed over the prostrate body of a young girl, his back to us. I stepped closer, Arinbjorn just behind me. The girl’s hair had broken free of its pins, and it spilled around her. Her soft brown eyes were glassy and unseeing, and with a start, I realized it was Aideen.
A crunching noise brought my attention back to the man. He turned, and in his hands was an arm, torn from Aideen. The hand was curled into a fist; she had fought before it was torn from her shoulder. Chunks of flesh were missing, and I reeled with horror when I realized why. Blood dripped from the snake-nosed man’s mouth, staining his teeth red.
Leif and I hadn’t been sure these men were inhuman, but now it was clear this was no mortal man. Though large by any human standard, he still wasn’t the size of a giant. His monstrous appetite, however, seemed to prove he was, no matter his size. I reached out with my mind but grasped at nothing; his gaze went everywhere but my eyes, and I needed that connection. I spied a nearby pitchfork and grabbed hold. Brandishing it before me like a spear, I said, “Leave the girl, or I will run you through.”
The Northman fixed me with a grim smile. “Why? I think we both know you can do little to stop me. Besides, she is already dead, and her flesh is sweet.”
Behind me, Arinbjorn retched, and my own stomach roiled. This was truly the work of the devil. “I cannot allow you to desecrate her body.”
He dropped the arm with a sickening thud and spread his own arms wide. “Then let us pit our strengths and see who is the stronger.”
Before I could move, the Northman launched himself at me, faster than should have been possible for a man of such size. He knocked me to the ground. I barely had time to raise my makeshift weapon before he was on me again. He landed three blows across my ribs, and I felt the bones bruise but not break. I forced myself to my feet again. Still he avoided making eye contact with me, as though he sensed my intentions.
The Northman circled me like a shark, and Arinbjorn caught my eye, stalking toward him out of the darkness. Abruptly, the man turned, fixing the boy with his gaze. He charged like a bull, slamming into Arinbjorn’s middle. The breath was knocked from Arin in a rush, and he lay on the ground, stunned. I ran toward them, the tines of my pitchfork aimed toward the Northman’s gut. Before it could make contact, he dodged as agilely as a dancer. He used my own momentum against me, grabbing my arms as I ran by and flipping me onto my back.
Arinbjorn shook off his daze and tried to push himself up.
“Run,” I shouted at Arinbjorn. “Find Leif.”
I pushed myself upright again, furious at the thought that I’d been knocked down not once but twice. I gave the stubborn boy a shove toward the castle before meeting another head-on assault from the Northman.
I felt his flesh give way to my sharp pitchfork, and I stumbled back. He glanced down at the protruding wood from his side and pulled it free as though it were merely a thorn. After snapping it in half, he threw it on the ground at my feet with a taunting grin. His eyes locked onto mine, finally giving me the opportunity I needed to reach out with my mind.
It was like being plunged into pitch-black darkness, like finding myself lost in a strange wood during a moonless night. A flood of vile emotions crashed over me: loathing, hunger for flesh, bloodlust. He wanted to tear me apart and eat the flesh from my bones.
I struggled to maintain control of his mind, but it was as slippery as an eel. And strong. There was no way a mind this strong was that of a mere mortal.
His hands shot out and wrapped around my slim throat. He lifted me until we were eye level, my legs kicking uselessly. I clawed at his hands. I pried at his fingers. My lungs burned, desperate for air.
I will not die, I shouted in my mind. I will not be eaten.
I clung to the weak hold I had on his mind until the pain in my head was like repeated blows from a hammer. Black spots appeared on the edges of my vision. I would lose consciousness soon, and then it would all be over.
My eyes closed against my will.
Then a great door appeared in my mind, bright light shining behind it. It was a dying girl’s hallucination, but I was still drawn to it. All at once, I remembered the seer’s words to me: that my power was a door. I still didn’t understand, but a part of me reached forward, the darkness all but taking over my vision, my body dying for lack of air. I wrenched the door open.
I drowned in a sea of light.
But then I could see in startling clarity. Again, I was above it all, looking down upon the carnage like a bird. I watched the Northman choke the life from me. I watched my legs continue to kick to no avail.
My body was lit up like the sun, but the Northman was darkness itself. His body was smoke, black and fathomless. But in the very center was a pulsing red spot. I was drawn to it as I was drawn to the door. The arms of my body had no strength left, but this form, this floating ghostly form, had limitless power. I reached into the very core of his chest and grasped the red energy. It beat against my hand like a frightened bird, and I squeezed, crushing it in my fist.
In a rush, I returned to my true body. The Northman’s hands fell away from my neck, and I hit the ground, gasping for breath.
With a groan, I rolled to my knees, only to collapse again with a coughing fit. After a moment, I forced myself up again and stumbled toward the Northman.