‘I-’
‘Why three ships? He has near sixty, you know. Well, fifty-nine after you relieved him of one. What can you do with three? Hit and run, no more. If he thinks Forkbeard is stupid enough to leave his treasure so near the shore then he’s not the Haarik I know. It was people he was after, if not you then those close to you. That’s why he went for the girl.’
‘How could he know about her?’
‘How do I know about you?’ Hemming shrugged. ‘Haarik doesn’t have a large network of spies but he has his methods, I’m sure.’
‘No Rygir man would dishonour his lord by spying.’
‘Yes, he would,’ said Hemming. ‘Or he’ll talk in drink at markets or to traders. Some with ambitions of their own will go further.’
‘Name the traitor, and if I see him again he will die.’
Hemming shook his head.
‘Well, I’d hardly be likely to do that, would I? The facts are these. Haarik wanted you. That’s the word I hear. You. Which is why you become important again. I mean, I might allow you to accept his hospitality, for a consideration. On the other hand, if I do that we all know that King Authun has his ravens too, and your mother Yrsa even more. If I hand you over to Haarik, I anger your father. While I have no doubt my men could crush the Horda in war, I also have no doubt your father would make us pay a high price for the victory. He may be sick, or that may be a bluff. Whatever, I think there’s a chance he would make a remarkable recovery and demonstrate his uncanny knack of finding the opposing king on the battlefield.’ He glanced at his bodyguard. ‘And it would be a shame to meet such a formidable, some say unbeatable, warrior and destroy the myth.’
‘Kings are for glory, not long life,’ said Vali, repeating the well-known saying.
‘Your father seems to have combined both to alarming effect. It would take a brave man — though needless to say I long for such a chance to prove myself in combat against such as he — a brave man indeed, to bet on ending either.’
‘I tell you this: Authun would let me die a thousand deaths before he gave you or Haarik so much as a coin in ransom. I am not so important. He can name an heir.’
Hemming tapped his knee.
‘I disagree. You are important. Line of Odin and all that. What do you do in the far north-east?’
The question surprised Vali, as it was meant to.
‘Nothing. I have been on one raid in the west but nothing further.’
‘To the land of the Whale People? Vagoy, the wolf island, or around there in Ultima Thule?’
Vali recognised the old name for the islands at the end of the known world. He shrugged.
‘What do you know of the wolf island?’ said Hemming.
‘Nothing.’
‘Haarik’s son was captured near there a year or so ago. I’ve wondered if that’s anything to do with all this.’
‘In what way?’
Hemming shrugged in his turn. ‘Haarik loves his son, though why I cannot tell. The boy’s an idiot. I don’t know. There’s always been a rumour about the Whale People keeping a vast treasure up there — maybe he went looking for that. He’s the rarest sort of fool if he has.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the northerners are as poor as prophets. There is no treasure. I’ve sent men up there myself to check, but it’s a flat cold rock, nothing more. Whatever he was up there for, he’s got lost, and Haarik wants him back. But then Haarik attacks the Rygir instead of going after him. It makes no sense.’
Vali was nervous. He drained the mead and the queen came forward with more.
Hemming went on: ‘He could have you, but quite frankly Haarik went against my advice in raiding the Rygir, so I’m certainly not rewarding him with what he wants. What to do, what to do?’
‘I intend to find the girl I’m looking for and live as a farmer,’ said Vali. ‘I want nothing to do with kingship.’
Hemming snorted. ‘Well, you’ll find that in this life what you intend rarely has any bearing on what you finish up doing, particularly as a king. If I let you go, you’ll become king or die. Whoever became king in your place wouldn’t want Authun’s son hiding like a wolf in the byre. You’d be dead, and your family with you, within a year. Intend. Intend! I didn’t intend you to come here. If you’d passed through Haithabyr without proclaiming who you were I would never have detained you.’
‘We feared attack by the townsfolk.’
‘Haithabyr is the world’s biggest port,’ said Hemming. ‘People are used to strangers. You could have come and gone as you pleased. It isn’t some farmstead where you have to sound your horn as soon as you’re in earshot or risk doing the dead lord’s dance.’
Vali felt stupid and angry. Why hadn’t Forkbeard allowed him one of these holy men — sitting on his shoulder, recording his orders so they couldn’t be forgotten, lost or argued about, and teaching him to speak like Hemming? Surely it was worth kneeling to their god for that, whatever you believed in your heart.
‘If you release me, you have my oath of friendship.’
‘Well, I had already considered that. I’d be something of a fool to let you leave without it, wouldn’t I?’ said Hemming. He smiled again at Vali. ‘If you and your friends could contrive to die in an accident then many of the problems this causes me would be solved, you know.’
Again, Hemming’s face lacked menace, though Vali could see the danger was greater than his manner suggested. He was businesslike and thoughtful. Forkbeard would have been screaming in Vali’s face or sucking up to him.
‘If your majesty releases me then I shall endeavour to do my best to fulfil his wishes,’ he said. ‘I intend now to go to Haarik and ask him for the girl.’
Hemming laughed. ‘Make sure you ask him when you’ve got your spear halfway through him or you’ve very little chance of a pleasant answer. Anyway, Haarik didn’t go home, so you won’t find him there.’
‘Where did he go?’
For the first time Hemming seemed on the edge of anger.
‘Should I tell you that so you can hunt him down and kill him, he who swells my coffers with chests of silver and gold? If you intend to use me as your raven, prince, the least you could do is throw me a little corn.’
‘I have none to give.’
Hemming turned his face away. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You don’t, do you? Go back to your quarters. I’ll decide whether to kill you, sell you or keep you by the end of tomorrow.’
He extended his hand and the priest passed him up a piece of parchment. Queen Inga took the drinking horn from Vali’s hands and a bodyguard led him from the hall.
31
On his way back from Hemming’s hall Vali came across Bragi and Feileg looking out at the small harbour, the wolfman seeming almost slight next to the bulk of Bragi.
‘Hemming’s men must have a thirst on them. Do you think we’ll get any of that?’ said Bragi as Vali came to his side.
On Skardi’s order the chain on the harbour wall was being lowered to allow a small squat boat containing five huge barrels of wine to enter. Bragi explained that the whole settlement had been talking about the delivery. A boy had arrived with a message from the town while Vali was seeing Hemming. Veles Libor sends his best wishes to the king, his finest wine a small token of thanks for all the king does for the people of Haithabyr, said the messenger.
‘It’s an apology,’ said Vali.
