Macha's Journey

He realized the others defeated his party. If he did not kill Tyr soon, they would be on him as well. The steam from the geyser caused his skin to bubble, but he continued on. His halberd swung out and struck Tyr in the arm. He felt his blade slice through Tyr"s armor and hit the bone beneath.

Tyr"s continuous spell casting drained his energy. He did not know how much longer he could maintain the aggressive pace. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that Luna was hurt badly, and he wanted to end the fight to check on her.

He decided to leave himself open and allow Jarnvid"s attack to hit so he would finally catch up with the man. As Jarnvid"s blade sliced through him, Tyr hardened his bones. At the same time, he increased the size of the nearest geyser and boiling liquid flew up around them.

In the rush of water that hit them, Tyr saw Jarnvid grit his teeth. The halberd"s blade pushed further into his humerus and he moved his hand to stay the attack. If it went any further, his arm would come off. Tyr"s eyes narrowed as ten javelins hurled down from the sky and impaled his opponent from all directions.

Jarnvid released the handle of his weapon. The raging water that rushed around them pushed it to the side. He saw Tyr"s hand snake out and pull him near. The man"s eyes were frosty and full of hatred.

The geyser stopped gushing, and the boiling liquid fell to the ground. Tyr threw Jarnvid"s body into the snow where it skid before stopping. Water dripped from his bangs and he flung them back. As the hot liquid cooled in the cold winter air, steam rose off of his armor.

Aži flew down to watch the end of the fight. He did not worry about Jarnvid any longer. Death was beginning to take hold of the man.

Tyr said nothing and waited for Jarnvid"s last words. His black sabatons crushed the frosty earth beneath him as he made his way to the fugitive. When he stood above him, he stopped and stared down at the man who caused him so much pain the past few years.

Jarnvid spit a mouthful of blood onto the snow. His voice came out unsteady, while he scowled, "I hope Freyr is happy. Ma.r.s.eille will go to war soon and he"s killing some of his best fighters." He heard rumors of Phocée"s recent actions. A battle seemed unavoidable, so the King coming after him now had been a strategically poor decision.

A sneer formed on Jarnvid"s face while he thought how life had always been unfair to him. His family was not the richest or the most powerful in Ma.r.s.eille. They remained in the middle and had no influence or power.

People like Tyr, who always had the best tutors and education made him sick. He hated this world. The man in front of him was so rich that he could afford to not even use his money. Jarnvid closed his eyes and swallowed his bitterness as he reflected on how that was what real wealth was.

Tyr remained silent, watching Jarnvid slowly die. He wanted to let the man reflect on how terribly he lived his life.

A groan escaped Jarnvid"s lips. "f.u.c.k you, just kill me already," he croaked. He did not understand what Tyr waited for. The sight of Tyr"s arrogant face being the last thing he would ever perceive vexed him. Since his death was inevitable, he did not want to be around the a.s.shole any longer.

"As you wish." Tyr took out a knife and hacked Jarnvid"s head off. He needed to bring it back as proof of the execution.

A little while later, the sun rose fully into the sky and Tyr fell back onto the snow. The fight took longer than he expected and it left him exhausted. The rest of the javelins he summoned disappeared and the original one flew down, landing in the snow beside him.

He turned to look at Jarnvid"s head, which now rested on the snow. The black mark stood out more now that the blood was draining from the man"s decapitated head. Tyr thought about how the man"s escape, led to other people dying. It was a waste of life. Especially because in the end, the escape only made Jarnvid"s death come sooner. Tyr"s voice was distant when he spoke to the lifeless head, "You could have lived for a few more hours if you stayed in Ma.r.s.eille."

****

Ullr sat at the dinner table. His father, Thor, yelled at Magni for embarra.s.sing them at the trial today. His father always found fault with Magni for one thing or another so this incident was not a big deal. He felt his father"s ire lost its effect a century ago.

Magni"s face was swollen from the beating he received earlier. The slaves had given him twenty lashings followed by his father"s fists. Now, he regretted going to the sentencing and blamed Macha for the abuse he suffered. The woman did not belong at the courthouse, and he yearned to get his revenge.

As Thor struck Magni, Ullr"s thoughts wandered to Macha. He wondered how she met his brother. There were many things he did not know about her because he tried to keep their meetings about light seduction and lessons. If he was honest with himself, he spent more time planning how to make Tyr angry than focusing on her.

Wanting to continue his meal, Thor stalked back to his seat. His youngest son was a disappointment, but his eldest did not live up to his expectations either. Thor turned his attention to Ullr, who repeatedly seemed to take his time with matters.

He pointed a finger at his eldest son and bellowed, "You"re not innocent either! How long has it been since Hrod asked you to seduce Macha? Today the two of them came arm in arm. Why do you always take your time? Your mother told you, just make that woman your wife. We need an heir already! You can divorce her after." The children in his house gave him so much stress. None of them seemed to aspire to greatness. Thor lamented at how Ullr was smart and handsome but did not have drive.

Taking a sip of his wine, Ullr thought about what his father said. He sighed, "You see this as an opportunity to kill two c.o.c.katrices with one stone. Have you ever considered how I"m expected to get Macha to fall for me?" It was not like he waited for her to pursue him. He made an effort to chase her, she just did not take the bait.

A soft laugh sounded from further down the table. Magni"s mother stared at Ullr as if he were a child. In a throaty voice, she declared, "Who said love has anything to do with marriage?" The ideas that children had nowadays made her laugh. In their day, love was an afterthought to marriage. You married for power and found love on the side.

Ullr disregarded her and turned back to his father. "She and Tyr are in a relationship. I cannot get her unless I convince her to fall for me. This isn"t an easy matter. For now, I"m getting close to her and will wait until he messes up. I can"t make him too angry because he"s still the head of the Valois estate since Hymir died. I don"t want to ruin any business deals we have, despite the favor we owe to Hrod." Sometimes he thought his father forgot that the person in charge was not Hrod or Hymir anymore, but Tyr. The man owned over sixty percent of the Valois family"s funds since the elder Lord Valois died.

Thor chewed on a piece of meat and ruminated over the situation. In a gruff voice, he conceded, "Fine. Hrod hasn"t brought it up yet, so continue to do what you"re doing. You"re good at reading social situations, anyway. Just make sure you keep Macha interested in you. I don"t want Hrod to be upset, she helped us many times over the years."

The next day Ullr sat in the office and Macha came in alone. She looked tired as if she did not get much sleep. He stood up, "Good afternoon. You look beautiful as always. How are you today?" Since Tyr was not with her, he thought about taking her out for lunch to practice eating in public. It was also a good way to sneak in a date in disguise.

Macha gave a weary smile to Ullr. "You don"t have to lie. I know I look terrible. I didn"t have a very good night. Tyr went to chase after Jarnvid. He escaped last night." A yawn threatened to escape her mouth, so she turned her head and used her hand to hide it.

When Ullr heard of what happened his mood lightened up. With any luck, Tyr would be gone for days. "You"ll always be beautiful, with or without sleep. Let"s go out for lunch. I can see your progress in a more realistic setting." He thought about where they could go to eat and remembered the beautiful garden high above the city that his family owned. It was a restaurant known for its secluded dining and many coupled liked to share kisses while eating their meal.

Getting out of the office sounded good to Macha, so she agreed. The fresh air would be beneficial for her and it would help get her mind off of her concerns for Tyr. Ullr was always a pleasant conversationalist, and she did not worry about the meal being awkward.

The only concern was that Tyr did not like her being around Ullr that much. It was a problem she could not avoid since he was her tutor. Ullr had always been flirtatious, but it seemed like he only did those things to annoy Tyr. She viewed it as a game between the two. Unfortunately, the tense dynamic between the men left her unsure of how to manage her relationship with her tutor.

When she and Tyr had the misunderstanding on Boreas"s Day, Ullr acted like a complete gentleman at the lake house. His support had been helpful for her during that time. Now she viewed him as a good friend. "I suppose we can do that," she replied.