Page 59 of Storm of Desire
Árdís pointed over his shoulder, and he looked up. Massive white clouds boiled on thehorizon.
"Adrekistorm?"
"Worse. Adreki.I can see him flying in the skies. He’s flying back and forth, as if he’s looking forsomething."
He couldn't see a damnedthing.
Sleipnir nosed at the reins as if he wanted tocontinue.
"We cannot take this road," Árdíswhispered.
"I thought you said they'd be looking for you in the skies? Wearingscales?"
"They will be," she snapped. "But they're not stupid. And they have better eyesight than an eagle. If they see a strange pair of travelers riding this road, they might overlook it. There have been enough farmers and riders to make us unusual, but not extraordinary. But they also might not. And while I can drag the hood of my cloak up, if they catch even the slightest glimpse ofme...."
His hands tightened on the reins. "Dúrnir's village is along thisroad."
"And so is thedreki."
"We need to go north," he said. "Gunnar's given us a week at most, and we need to get to Hólmavík and confront my sorcerer beforethen."
The problem was the roads. The center of Iceland was one large inhospitable mess to traverse, which meant the best way to travel was a circular path around the coast. Practically the only way. That meant they couldn't diverge. It would add days to the journey, and with few roads there was more chance they'd be seen, but they had nochoice.
Árdís's hands tightened on his hips. "He's looping toward the coast. If we cut acrosscountry—"
"Do you have any idea what the terrain islike?"
"No, not at all. It's not as though I fly regularly. Or have spent decades in these skies. Why, I spend all my time lounging around at court, or counting the coins in my collection of gold and jewels—impressively collected over the years, might I add. Sometimes, when that grows wearisome, I venture into the world of mortal men to find some particular fool toseduce."
He turned in the saddle and stared at her. Árdís stared back, one eyebrow rising in a challengingmanner.
"It's not difficult to find one," she added, unnecessarily. "A fool, thatis."
He was not going to answerthat.
"It's different on horseback. Put one foot wrong, and we're walking to thecoast."
"These beasts are frustratinglydelicate."
"Would you prefer towalk?"
One ear flickered back, but Sleipnir largely ignoredthem.
"We're staying on the roads," Haakon said, straightening up and taking the reins once more. "He's heading toward the coast. There haven't been a great deal of other riders to hide among, but we can avoid thedrekiif we keep our eyesopen."
"You cannot even see them until they're on top ofyou."
Haakon ground his teeth together and nudged Sleipnir into a trot that should silence her for at least a minute. "Then perhaps you ought to stop arguing, and start keeping an eyeout."
11
It doesn't feel veryfair of me to take the bed again," Árdís protested, as Haakon rolled out the bedroll thatnight.
"Are you offering to take the watch and doze in my cloak?" hemuttered.
His wife looked at the fire, and the cloak he'd been wearing. Dark shadows dwelled under her eyes. She took a crippled step toward the cloak, and then slowly dragged it over her shoulders. "I can sleep here tonight," she said, moving with slow, careful steps as she aimed for the boulder he'd been planning to rest his backagainst.
His eyes narrowed. Every time they'd dismounted today, she'd hobbled. He knew she wasn't used to the saddle, especially perched so precariously behind him, but she hadn't breathed a word of protest. Instead, she'd merely rested her forehead against his back, and held onto his waist, growing quieter with everymile.
