Page 28 of A Song of Ravens and Wolves
It was not his gentleness that worried me. It was their inspection of me and whether their searching looks would see into the depths of my soul and know that I was impure.
‘What of those men?’ I said, eyeing them, stiff and terrified. ‘Will they be with us?’
He gave a deep laugh. ‘It is to be consummated with no uncertainty, how else would you have them check?’
‘I do not know, but surely the marital bed chamber is for a wife and husband alone?’ I tried to steady my rising anger.
He stared at me unblinking, which infuriated me more. ‘Do not worry about it.’ He patted my hand dismissively. ‘First, you must see the Volva,’ he searched around for the right word. ‘The seeress.’
He clapped his hands and Halldora appeared.
‘Come, Lady Olith.’ She smiled holding out a hand. ‘It is time.’
Outside it was beginning to grow dark. My wedding gown was inadequate for the weather on the isles. I shivered and pulled my furs tighter. Two ravens sailed against the dusk, eyes fixed on us in silent contemplation.
‘Huggin and Muninn,’ Halldora pointed. ‘They are taking messages to the All-Father, he is watching over you.’ She pulled up her hood against the draft. ‘It is a good omen.’
I wasn’t so sure.
The small dwelling looked as though it had been carved from the granite of the earth, twisted and gnarled and slick with rain. Halldora pushed open the door and waited.
‘She is expecting you.’
The Volva wanders our world connecting our lives with the will of the gods. My life has been connected to the gods for as far back as I can remember.
‘Will you not come?’ I pleaded with her, terrified.
‘It is for you, and you alone. I will be there to interpret.’
I ducked inside, pushing through drapes of heavy material that engulfed the entrance. The air was thick with a heavy musk of coltsfoot and marsh marigolds. The volva sat before me draped in a cloak of black. I could not make out her face. She held a long staff of elm, that twisted and contorted to a fine point. She had surrounded herself with a group of young women. The only light came from two candles, sat high up on the wall. It was not of God. It was something much darker.
She spoke evenly and deliberately.
‘You want to know what the future holds.’
I nodded.
The drums began to beat an ethereal tattoo. It did not seem real, that these girls could make such a beautiful and unholy noise. The seeress became dazed by their reverie. The drums became louder. Beating faster and harder to the rhythm of my frightened heart.
With the last thump, it went deathly silent.
She scattered a handful of bones before her.
‘Lady Olith, your name will be spoken for as long as men have tongues.’ Her fingers moved slowly over the sticks. ‘You and your only son.’
I inhaled sharply.
‘One son?’ Surely, she must be mistaken.
‘Only one and his father will die before he sees the child.’
Then, I did not know how right she would be. Then, it was no more than a lie. A trick. A slight. I did not believe in anything but the one true God. To believe in anything else was blasphemous.
Her hand uncurled again, hovering. Try as I might, I could still not see his face.’
‘You will rule as Jarl until your son comes of age. All this and more I have foreseen.’
All lies. I was sure that I would never rule a Kingdom. I would never be a Jarl. I would go to Alba and I would stop my sister’s marriage or die trying. I did not need a seeress to tell me of these things.
