Page 41 of Heart of Fire
But Haakon felt eyes on him, and noticed Andri was staring at the pendant in his hand. Slowly the boy’s eyes locked on his, a shock of black hair falling over the youth’s forehead and highlighting those dangerous blueeyes.
Just a lad, barely past the threshold of youth. But Haakon felt something shift inside him as their eyesmet.
Even a boy could be dangerous, and he almost wanted to demand to know what putthatlook in Andri’s eyes—as if the sight of the pendant stirred something heated in the lad’schest.
A foolish thought, for the boy had no connection to Arja. He would have been in short pants when she first swept into Haakon’s life and turned his world upsidedown.
“Tomorrow,” Magnus echoed, slowly sinking onto the bench beside his brother, his hawk-like features sharp with some unfettered bloodlust. He had no love of dragons, ordreki, or whatever they bloody wellwere.
“I want to mount that dreki’s head on a spike,”the man had said the first time theymet.
Andri’s lips thinned, and then the boy looked away from the pendant that had held him captive for longmoments.
Haakon curled his fist shut over it and sank onto his chair, just as the boy’s head tilted toward the door. Sliding the pendant into his pocket, he picked up the sword he’d been polishingearlier.
The door to the tavern banged open and Benedikt appeared in the doorway, his plump cheeks full and his mouth turned upside down. He spilled inside from the night, as if Hel’s three-legged horse, Helhest, were on histrail.
Something had upset the little farmer, Haakon thought, sliding an oiled rag along the length of hissword.
Conversations lagged as the mercenaries all noticed the pampered brat. Gunnar locked eyes with Haakon, and then spat in the reeds. He’d already voiced his thoughts on their benefactor and the way Benedikt seemed to think he’d boughtthem.
“I don’t care what the little lordling thinks,”Haakon had replied coldly.“He’s paying for the men and the ballista, and I need them to get my wifeback.”
Looking the worse for wear, Benedikt slammed a pouchful of coin on the table in front of him. Haakon’s gaze locked on it, then slowly lifted to the would-belordling.
“I’m not paying you to sit on your ass and polish your sword,” Benedikt snapped. “You’ve been here four days, and you’ve barely done athing.”
Gunnar lowered his tankard as Haakon shifted forward in his seat, putting both feet on the ground. Standing up, he loomed over the petulant man-child, then slid his sword into its sheath at his hip with a steely rasp. Conversation died. His men shifted in their chairs as they craned their necks towatch.
They weren’t the only ones who were hungry forblood.
And Benedikt might be paying them, but there were certain insolences Haakon wouldn’ttolerate.
Haakon rested his knuckles on the table and loomed forward, so they were of a height. “You know nothing of hunting dragons,” he said quietly. “And this is no ordinarydragon.”
He’d seen it circling Krafla two days ago, sunlight gilding its goldenhide.
His heart had caught in his throat at the sight, and every instinct within him urged him to scale the mount and launch a full-scale assault upon thedreki’slair. He’d thought of Arja in that moment, begging any god who listened for her to still bealive.
“The volcano seems empty and the entrance is barricaded by an invisible door, or perhaps magic,” Haakon continued. “To scale the mountain, we must take a narrow route, which leaves us vulnerable. I’m not throwing men at thedrekineedlessly until I can figure out how to get it to meet me on myterms.”
“You want the dragon?” Benedikt snapped. “I know how you can lure itout.”
Stillness slid through him, and his knuckles ached as he clenched his fist. “How?”
Benedikt stomped his boot on the trestle seat, then reached down to peel up his trousers. “It visited me in a dream.” There, around his leg, were the unmistakable red marks of a set ofclaws.
No wonder the little bitch was bleating sohard.
“What did it want?” Haakon demanded. Here was his chance, he just knew it. He’d stared past that invisible barrier to thedreki’slair and called his wife’s name in desperation, hoping she wasinside.
If he could just break the spell on the door, or bring thedrekito him.... Maybe it was madness, but heneededto discover if Krafla’s wyrm had stolen his wife. Being here, so close to the shadow of the mountain was sending him mad with pure want. Arja haunted his dreams all night, pleading for him to rescue her, until he didn’t daresleep.
Patience be damned, there was a feeling tingling through his veins as if fate rushed to meet him. This was it. This was the dragon who’d taken her. He knewit.
“It wanted to warn me,” Benedikt said, smiling a little, as if he could see Haakon’s need on his face. “It wanted me to stay away from Freyja Helgasdottir, or it would killme.”
The blood rushed from Haakon’s face, leaving his cheeks cold. “Then Freyja is the key to luring itout.”
