Read Online Storm at the Edge of Time by Pamela F. Service - Free Book Online

like it or not, we’re stuck with each other here. Let’s try to find those staffs and get this over with. Arni, since this seems to be your world, have you any ideas where we should start?”
    â€œBirsay, I guess. That’s where I’m from and whereEarl Thorfinn lives when he’s not off raiding or fighting other Vikings.”
    Tyaak was staring off into the distance. “Well, perhaps those horsemen can give us a ride to this Birsay of yours.”
    Arni spun around, clutching the dagger hanging at his side. “Sure, unless they’re enemies.” Quickly he looked back at his companions and the short daggers on their own belts. “Swords against daggers. No good. We’re better off if they don’t notice us.” He sprinted to hide behind a stone.
    Before Jamie could follow him, she realized it was too late. The three horsemen coming over the moors had veered toward them and picked up speed. Jamie pelted past the stones, scrambled through the ditch, and took off at a run toward a large grassy hillock. A burial mound, she remembered from the tourist placard, and if it was open like that one on the hillside, she might be able to hide inside.
    The air filled with yelling voices and the muffled thud of horse hooves. Jamie skidded around the mound, only to find it covered with unbroken glass. A shadow darkened the ground, and an arm reached down and hauled her roughly onto the back of a horse.
    â€œGot one!” the man clutching her yelled. “Is that the lot?”
    As Jamie struggled, the arm tightened and a coarse greasy beard scratched the back of her neck. One whiff confirmed that she was no longer in an age of mouthwash and deodorant.
    â€œLet me go!” she heard Arni yell. “I’m Arni Arnorson. My father is Earl Thorfinn’s skald. He—”
    â€œâ€”would be missing a son,” a deep voice interrupted, “if we’d been supporters of the late Earl Rogenvald instead of followers of Thorfinn, his killer. But have no fear, Arni Arnorson, your red hair marks you halfway across the island. We were only having a bit of fun. Besides, you and your friends ought to stay clear of this circle. You know what the priests think of these places.”
    Arni snorted. “Well, priests don’t know anything. And I am a person of power, a descendant of Eithne the Sorceress, so no one had better meddle with me.”
    The man laughed. “Oh, excuse me, most powerful Arni Arnorson. Will you use magic to waft back to Birsay, or would you accept a ride?”
    Arni’s voice shrank a little. “A ride would be appreciated.”
    The man laughed again. “And who are these other two, then? I don’t recall seeing them about.”
    Arni looked to where Jamie and Tyaak were each seated in front of another rider. “Uh, no…. The girl is the daughter of a trader from Caithness. And the boy … uh, he is a slave sent as a gift to Earl Thorfinn by someone he met on his pilgrimage to Rome.”
    If she hadn’t been so uncomfortable herself, Jamie would have laughed at Tyaak’s expression. She wondered if Kreeth tended to bite. This one certainly looked as if he could.
    The man holding the alien boy looked him over critically. “They do say there are odd-looking folk south of here. I’ll not doubt them anymore.”
    The others nodded, impressed, while Tyaak looked angry enough to explode. “Well, enough dallying,” theleader said. “The Earl needs to hear our news. It’s not likely that Rogenvald’s followers will attack before spring, but a warning will give Thorfinn the whole winter to prepare.”
    They jolted across the heather to a narrow dirt road. Jamie had always liked riding, though she wasn’t a horse fanatic like some of her friends, but this shaggy beast’s jarring gait did not make for a delightful ride, especially not when she was crushed between the animal’s neck and a