Chapter 14
Dag started to panic. He was trembling thinking of what they could do to Asa, and to the house. But what were they searching for? Why were they there?
When the first one got closer to the door, Dag took courage and came out of his hiding:
"Hey you! Stop! What do you want?!"
His voice was trembling, and so his hands.
All four men looked at him. Dag was scared and didn't know what to do.
"Well, what we have here…wait. We met you before, you were walking on the road. Come out from there, come closer…" said the man with the dagger.
"This is my house, and I'm a warrior. I suggest you turn back and go away" answered Dag, clenching his fists, still trembling.
"Ahaha! Did you hear him, Alf? He is a warrior!"
Three of them started laughing, the last one didn't even flinch. He must be Alf, the man was referring to him.
"Pick that rat"
The knifed man pointed on Dag, ordering the other two to catch him.
They had a sword, Dag was unarmed. He started to run towards the house, but one of the men crossed in his direction and tried to catch him, extending his arm.
Dag dodged him and continued his charge, but this time against the man with the dagger. He got over the two men and jumped, aiming that man.
The man tried to parry the hit, but Dag deftly punched him in the face. The man stepped back, slamming on the wall with his back.
In the meanwhile, the other two reached Dag and grabbed him from his jacket, blocking his arms. He could not move.
"Let me go, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! What the f.u.c.k do you want here?!"
The daggered man, after recovering from the punch, punched back Dag, right on his face.
"Leave m…" said him desperately, when the man punched him again in the stomach. Dag fell to the ground.
"Now you die, insect"
The man grabbed Dag's hair, raising his head and put the dagger on his throat, ready to cut.
At that moment, the door opened, and the man was..h.i.t with energy.
He fell down, tumbling.
It was Asa.
The two swordsmen left Dag on the floor and
It was the sword Asa used in her battles, when she fought as s.h.i.+eldmaiden.
One of the men tried to hit her, but she parried the stroke and hit back the man on his leg, cutting him on the thigh, then again on the calf.
The second man swung his sword from the top: she easily dodged him moving sidewards, then turned on herself and slashed on his back. Right after, he turned around against her, but quick as the wind, she resected his head with precision.
The other one, was on the ground, with his leg bloodied.
Dag, in the meanwhile, succeded to get up, grabbing a sword, fell right in front of him.
The man with the dagger attacked, but this time Dag parried him. Nevertheless, the man punched him again on his side.
Dag crouched from the pain, but when the man tried to stab him on his back, Dag raised the sword, impaling the man on his throat.
The man coughed up blood, then fell lifeless on the ground.
Dag was shocked: he never truly killed somebody.
The last man just stood there, motionless in the same position. He started clapping:
"Well, they said to me about a s.h.i.+eldmaiden, but they also told me she was old and weak"
Asa answered gasping:
"who are you, and what do you want here?!"
"Brann" answered the man
"I'm looking for his weapon. It is extremely powerful, and needs hands that know how to use its power".
Asa looked at Dag. She didn't know that Gridd told him about Brann when they were kids.
Then she looked back at the man:
"who are you?"
"Alf, of the Lies Of Loki. Bring me that sword and I'll go away, n.o.body will get hurt" he said.
He was a skinny man, with short, grey hair.
His eyes were yellow as gold. He had no beard on his face, that was covered by scars.
"Who told you about me, surely told you that this won't happen. That weapon belongs to this place" answered Asa.
Dag clenched the sword in his right hand. The Lies Of Loki, he remembered that was the Clan who killed Gridd's father. He saw that weapon, that axe.
"Ok then…"
Alf started to talk when he heard a voice coming from behind
"Hey you piece of s.h.i.+t! Leave my wife alone" Stein yelled to him.
Eirik was on his side. They were back from the wood.
Stein drew his woodman's hatchet from his back and walked towards Alf.
"Stein! Stop! Go back, It's all under control" said Asa, frightened.
Eirik tried to stop his father, with a hand on his shoulder: he probably felt something powerful coming from that man.
Stein charged him.
The man didn't move, his hands were steady on the side. Stein tried to hit him with a cleave, but when he succeeded, Alf vanished, as if he was made by gas.
In a second, he reappeared behind Stein.
"No! No!"
Asa ran against him.
With a fast move, Alf wrapped his arm around Stein's neck and cracked it.
The hatchet fell to the ground. Stein dropped to his knees. His eyes were looking up.
He collapsed on the ground, dead.
Eirik and Dag were petrified. Eirik knelt down desperate.
"Nooo!" Asa yelled as under possession, crying.
The wind moved Stein's red hair among the gra.s.s.
She charged Alf.
"No, mother, wait!" said Dag.
The man disappeared again, teleporting near Asa.
A long dagger appeared in his hand and he tried to hit her.
Asa promptly parried the dagger and her sword started to glow of heavenly light.
The parry catapulted away Alf, that flight for tens of meters before impacting on a tree.
Dag was astonished.
Was that some Freya's power?
Asa's eyes turned into light blue.
Alf stood up, he was wounded. One of his arms was completely b.l.o.o.d.y.