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procession of flaming torches through the forest to the arena of seeing. And
there it will be done."
"And the rest of us can go free?"
Jorund nodded solemnly. "I have given my word as karl."
"Can we leave before the chilling?"
Ryan held his breath as the Norse leader considered the question. "No."
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"No? But you gave your word."
"And I shall keep it. But the sacrifice to the gods must be completed first.
You and the others, but not Jak Snowhead, may leave us at first light on the
morrow."
Ryan nodded. "Will you give us food and milk for our journey?"
"We will. And the wisewoman will instruct Jak in the ceremony. It is simple.
And the black one will feel little pain. It is swift."
"Glad to hear it."
"JORUND AGREED that we didn't have to actually go along and watch the
execution. Says he'll let us stay here in the hut, with just a handful of
guards to watch us."
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"Ryan?"
"Yeah, J.B.?"
"How many's a handful?"
"Not more'n six, I'd guess. I've promised we'll stay and wait until the
chilling's done. I gave my solemn oath on the bones of Odin himself that we
wouldn't try to escape again."
Jak had been taken out to be schooled by the wisewoman. By the time he
returned, the afternoon sun was already slipping away behind the hills.
"How d'it go?" Mildred asked. "Wouldn't want you to screw up and give me a
messy ending. Wouldn't like that at all."
"By the three Kennedys!" Doc said. "I fear that I do not find this a fit topic
for merriment. This is life and death for all of us."
Mildred patted him on the arm. "Simmer down, Doc. It's your life and my
death."
Ryan turned to Jak. "What did the old woman say to you?"
The boy looked down at his feet. If he'd been able to blush, Ryan suspected
there'd have been a pink glow to his cheeks.
"Wanted fuck. Grabbed cock. Lay down, legs open. Wanted."
Krysty grinned. "Gaia! That must be one of the sidelines of being the
wisewoman.
You get to lay every young god that comes by. What did you say to her, Jak?"
"Said too old."
Mildred laughed. "She must have loved that, honey. Way back when I was
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alive when I was first alive it got to be common for older women to take a
much younger lover. They were called toy boys. So the old bitch wanted a blond
toy boy, did she? Tough shit, lady."
"Said gods didn't fuck old women," Jak muttered embarrassedly.
"Good one. Ace right on the line for her," J.B. said. "But did she tell you
about tonight? What's going to go down?"
"Mildred's on altar. I cut throat. End story."
"Yeah. End of story," Mildred agreed.
THEY CAME AT DUSK, when the gray mist lay upon the sullen waters of the lake
and the sun had all but disappeared.
The entire population of the ville seemed to be there, other than a half dozen
grizzled warriors left behind to guard the outlanders.
Mildred's farewell to her friends was one of restrained emotion. She hugged
them all, one by one, finishing with Ryan. There were no tears from any of
them. The
Vikings watched approvingly, though the capering wisewoman couldn't hide her
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disappointment that there was no weeping and tearing of hair.
Jak stood aside from it, simply giving the black woman a cursory embrace, his
face set like carved ivory.
Jorund Thoraldson and the senior men wore their greatest finery: horned
helmets, the brass glittering like beaten gold; cloaks of leather, trimmed
with white fur or with layers of heron feathers; high boots, laced to the
knee; their best swords or long-handled war-axes, blades polished like
mirrors. But Ryan noticed that very few of them carried blasters to the
ritual.
He wondered whether all of their blasters were still stored in the longhouse
by the blazing bonfire at the center of the ville. The friends had their
knives, but against
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