Free Viking Ecstasy by Robin Gideon

before.
    He released her hair and, turning to his men, announced, "Let's get this over with quickly. Keep your wits about you, your eyes and ears open. This seems harmless, but we've all heard the stories of Ingmar's murderous treachery."
    "Aye, we've all heard," Sven agreed. He was the only one of Tabor's men who dared interrupt —or was allowed to. "But what can that bloody Northman do?
    He's left all but a handful of men behind. There are thirty-five of us."
    Several Vikings voiced their agreement.
    "He has seemed to leave himself defenseless, and that's one of the reasons why I don't trust these talks. There are many men who would love to see Ingmar dead. Why would a man with so many enemies leave himself so vulnerable to attack?"
    Sven withdrew a deadly-looking dagger from a sheath at his waist and twisted the handle so the early morning sunlight reflected off its flawless, silver blade. "If you give me the word, we could be rid of Ingmar."
    "A tempting offer" Tabor said, "but murdering him here in Hedeby, when he has come ostensibly for peaceful purposes, would not be honorable. It wouldn't be the Viking way."
    Tanaka shuddered as she watched Sven brandish his dagger. His offer to murder Ingmar, she knew, was genuine. Yet he had also been polite to her. Tanaka wondered if Sven would cut her throat if Tabor gave him the command and suspected that he would. It reaffirmed her belief that she had to convince Tabor that she could please and be of value to him. That insight was still with her when Tabor commanded everyone to lift their trunks and bags of goods and start for Hedeby.
    ❧
    Ingmar squinted, trying to see better through sheer force of will. He was standing atop the wench's hut, staring out to sea. Off in the distance, just specks upon the sea, were ships. He could not yet make out their design, and since they were being rowed against the wind from the north, he could not identify them from the size, shape, and color of their sails.
    But it had to be Hugh, returning from Medworth. It had to be.
    In his mind, Ingmar could envision what had happened in the small village of Medworth, the home of Tabor and his men. Three ships and nearly one hundred twenty men would have landed at dawn the previous day, descending upon thirty-five Vikings, their women, and their children. It would be bloody hand-to-hand combat. Axes, swords, daggers. The kind of fighting that Ingmar himself avoided. He preferred his powerful bow, a quiver full of iron-tipped arrows, and plenty of distance separating himself from his intended victim.
    The fighting would be fierce, for Tabor's men were the best. Perhaps that is why Hugh was late returning to Hedeby, Ingmar thought. For only a second he wondered if it were possible that Hugh and all his men, despite their enormous advantage in numbers, had failed to destroy Tabor's Vikings. What if it were Tabor's men in the longboats making their way slowly against the wind to the port city? The moment Tabor learned of his treachery, Ingmar would be as good as dead.
    "Hugh is a fool, but even a fool would taste victory with my plan," Ingmar said aloud. The sound of his own voice, especially when he spoke in a confident tone, always reassured him.
    Turning, Ingmar looked inland. Just barely visible beyond the high protective wall that completely surrounded the city, a queue of men were making their way toward the village, led by a tall, broad-shouldered blond man. Ingmar cursed. He turned back toward the sea, and now he recognized his own ships. Hugh, and what was left of the fighting force he'd attacked Medworth with, would soon be in Hedeby, attacking Tabor and his men. Judging the distance and speed, Ingmar guessed that Tabor would be inside the walls of Hedeby for an hour before Hugh would arrive. As long as Ingmar could keep Tabor occupied for an hour, victory would be his! Just one more hour, then Tabor, Son of Thor, thorn in Ingmar the Savage's side, would be dead!
    ❧
    Tabor sat on the long