Read Online The Sirens - 02 by William Meikle - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: William Meikle
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hunter. Surely Odin himself would not take so much in his nets."
Now Ragna, who cared little for the ways of the gods, grew boastful,
"No disrespect to your father, lad, but he is a land hunter. No one is better on the water than I. I can catch anything that swims," he said.
Now Ragna's daughter, Myrna, was a great beauty and Loki had his eye on her throughout the feast. So when Ragna made his boast, Loki laid his trap, for he had seen a way to take the girl, yet still explain himself back in Valhalla.
"I have a wager for you, King Ragna," the god said. "On the morrow we will take to the boats, and I will show you what I wish you to catch. If you succeed, I will promise to tell Odin himself that Ragna is the King of all Fisherfolk."
"And if I fail?"
"If you fail, I take the hand of your daughter Myrna, in marriage," the god said.
Now Ragna saw this as a wager where he could not lose, and the King and the god shook hands on the deal.
On the morrow they took to the water in the boats, and all the menfolk of the people went with them.
Loki took them to the south, to land's they had never before fished, in seas they had never before sailed. And great was the bounty in the waters, where the shoals of herring stretched for miles and the whales dived in their hundreds.
"And what is it you wish us to catch, my lord," Ragna said to Loki. And Loki smiled, for he had a secret.
"I have a special catch for you this day, King Ragna." And suddenly, all around their boats, the heads of seals bobbed in the water, their plaintive cries echoing across the water.
"But these are no sport," the King said.
"Nevertheless, these are your wager," Loki replied.
So the fisherfolk went to it with gusto. They sang as they hauled the catches in, and soon their nets were full to the busting with the screaming seals. But their songs soon turned to wails, for as their catch left the water the seals began to change, into wives, and daughters, into mother and sister, the womenfolk of the fishermen, now all gasping for air.
"Like fish out of water," Loki said and laughed.
King Ragna ordered the catch put back, but he was too late, and the bodies of the dead floated around them. All save one, a single seal that sang a plaintive song of loss and sorrow as the men in the boats wept.
"It seems you have lost the wager, King Ragna. It seems I have to tell Odin I am a better fisherman than you, for look...I have got myself a sea wife, your daughter, Myrna."
And Ragna, in his rage, lifted Loki from the deck, but the god merely laughed and changed his form to a huge black crow, whose cawing laugh echoed long after it had flown to the north.
And Loki returned to Odin, and told a tale of how the fisherfolk had thought themselves above even Odin himself, and how he, Loki, had tricked them. But he did not tell of the deaths of the womenfolk, and although Odin knew there was a lie in the tale, he could not separate the big lie from the smaller one, and in time the affairs of Asgard took precedence over the affairs of men.
"Far away in Midgard, Ragna made a new home, there where his daughter swam and sang. And great was the sorrow of the people, for without the womenfolk they grew old and died, and none followed them.
"And it came to pass that when King Ragna was an old, bent man, that he was the last of his people. And with his dying breath he called down a curse on the sons of Loki...that they would come when one of Myrna's blood called, that they would be father and protector of Myrna's children, that they would be cursed to serve the very line that Loki had tried to erase.
"And high in his halls, great Odin heard, and now he knew of Loki's perfidy. So he sent to Myrna a song, a lay that would entice the sons of Loki. And even as King Ragna's eyes were closing for the last time, he heard the song, and saw on the beach, a man called to be the first, first of the sea-husbands."
* * *
John Mason stopped, and stared out to sea.
"And?" I said.
"And what?
Now Ragna, who cared little for the ways of the gods, grew boastful,
"No disrespect to your father, lad, but he is a land hunter. No one is better on the water than I. I can catch anything that swims," he said.
Now Ragna's daughter, Myrna, was a great beauty and Loki had his eye on her throughout the feast. So when Ragna made his boast, Loki laid his trap, for he had seen a way to take the girl, yet still explain himself back in Valhalla.
"I have a wager for you, King Ragna," the god said. "On the morrow we will take to the boats, and I will show you what I wish you to catch. If you succeed, I will promise to tell Odin himself that Ragna is the King of all Fisherfolk."
"And if I fail?"
"If you fail, I take the hand of your daughter Myrna, in marriage," the god said.
Now Ragna saw this as a wager where he could not lose, and the King and the god shook hands on the deal.
On the morrow they took to the water in the boats, and all the menfolk of the people went with them.
Loki took them to the south, to land's they had never before fished, in seas they had never before sailed. And great was the bounty in the waters, where the shoals of herring stretched for miles and the whales dived in their hundreds.
"And what is it you wish us to catch, my lord," Ragna said to Loki. And Loki smiled, for he had a secret.
"I have a special catch for you this day, King Ragna." And suddenly, all around their boats, the heads of seals bobbed in the water, their plaintive cries echoing across the water.
"But these are no sport," the King said.
"Nevertheless, these are your wager," Loki replied.
So the fisherfolk went to it with gusto. They sang as they hauled the catches in, and soon their nets were full to the busting with the screaming seals. But their songs soon turned to wails, for as their catch left the water the seals began to change, into wives, and daughters, into mother and sister, the womenfolk of the fishermen, now all gasping for air.
"Like fish out of water," Loki said and laughed.
King Ragna ordered the catch put back, but he was too late, and the bodies of the dead floated around them. All save one, a single seal that sang a plaintive song of loss and sorrow as the men in the boats wept.
"It seems you have lost the wager, King Ragna. It seems I have to tell Odin I am a better fisherman than you, for look...I have got myself a sea wife, your daughter, Myrna."
And Ragna, in his rage, lifted Loki from the deck, but the god merely laughed and changed his form to a huge black crow, whose cawing laugh echoed long after it had flown to the north.
And Loki returned to Odin, and told a tale of how the fisherfolk had thought themselves above even Odin himself, and how he, Loki, had tricked them. But he did not tell of the deaths of the womenfolk, and although Odin knew there was a lie in the tale, he could not separate the big lie from the smaller one, and in time the affairs of Asgard took precedence over the affairs of men.
"Far away in Midgard, Ragna made a new home, there where his daughter swam and sang. And great was the sorrow of the people, for without the womenfolk they grew old and died, and none followed them.
"And it came to pass that when King Ragna was an old, bent man, that he was the last of his people. And with his dying breath he called down a curse on the sons of Loki...that they would come when one of Myrna's blood called, that they would be father and protector of Myrna's children, that they would be cursed to serve the very line that Loki had tried to erase.
"And high in his halls, great Odin heard, and now he knew of Loki's perfidy. So he sent to Myrna a song, a lay that would entice the sons of Loki. And even as King Ragna's eyes were closing for the last time, he heard the song, and saw on the beach, a man called to be the first, first of the sea-husbands."
* * *
John Mason stopped, and stared out to sea.
"And?" I said.
"And what?
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