Halla smiled, pausing at the edge of the fog. "You came after all. I waited this morning and didn't find you. I thought you wouldn't show."
"The journey here took longer than I guessed with only two sets of oars."
Halla looked as radiant as he remembered. Her hair was woven into two tight braids hung over her shoulders. She wore a summer dress of green and brown. He noticed the hem of her skirt had been soiled from dragging over the wet grass. Her slave, Dana, looked as though she could have been Halla's sister but for her shorter chin and wider face. She wore a dress of raw cloth, dirty but not tattered, and her hair was cropped short to mark her as a slave.
"Lucky we found you. You're going the wrong way. Homes are just over those rises. I thought I told you to travel down slope?"
"I wasn't going down slope? This fog is more confusing than I thought. But we are together now, and you can show me where we were supposed to meet."
Halla giggled and walked up to Toki. Her closeness quickened his pulse, and her smile led his mind to imagine her laying back in the grass for him. She took his hand into her cool, smooth grip. "I'll be glad to show you. Dana, follow us but not too closely please."
Toki ignored the slave, and simply stared at the young beauty holding his hand. She started forward, giving him a gentle tug. He followed, anxious to get to Halla's secret location.
They traveled in silence until Toki saw the standing stone he had searched for earlier. No runes marked it. It appeared out of the fog like a giant sentinel in a lichen vest. They both stopped in the weak shadow of the stone. "What is its purpose?" he asked.
"No one knows. It was here before my family. Maybe the Irish monks placed it. Or maybe giants."
"Giants more likely. The monks are still here and would've told you about this old stone."
They moved on in companionable silence, then arrived at the secret place Halla had described. She had not overstated the beauty of it. A slender path folded down into a steep drop. Peering through the fog, Toki saw a large basin shimmering with seawater. He guessed an underground cavern fed it. The water lapped a thin strip of sand that yielded to lush emerald grass. As they descended the path, the earth rose around them. Once at the bottom, the air was cool and smelled of sea salt. Toki imagined he was at the bottom of a gigantic well.
"My brother showed me this place when I was a small girl. I've never forgotten it, and come here often."
"Your brother?"
"Dead many years. A fever."
Toki gave a curt nod. "So you came here earlier and didn't find me? I admit that I hadn't expected you to come."
"We must trust each other from now on. I was cursing your name this morning." Halla covered her laugh and walked further into the grass. "Mind the water. It is deep and I fear a current could suck you under. There is a crack in the wall over here. If you can squeeze through, it leads to caves."
She released his hand and walked to where she had pointed. She turned sideways to demonstrate how to fit into the crack. But Toki instead studied how squeezing between the rocks pulled her dress tight against her curves. She stepped back out, her face blushing. Toki smiled, his breath growing hotter. "So where is your slave now?"
"Dana's up there." She gestured toward the steep path. "She will be a lookout. If we are found together, my father will probably kill you."
"He'd have to catch me first." He extended his hand and she accepted, then he pulled her to him. He had long been without a woman, and now he had chosen the most dangerous one to bed. The danger fueled his lust.
"You are a handsome man," Halla said as she drew into him. "I've been watching you since you came to my father's hall."
Toki pressed his lips to hers, pushed his hands beneath her blouse. Urgency and need drove him, and words and thoughts had no place in his mind. Halla recoiled, as if hesitating, but he gently drew her back. He guided her to the soft grass, and prepared to slake his long thirst.
On the evening of the next day, Toki and Halla sat together in their secret meeting place. Sunlight skipped across the open mouth of the basin, spilling ochre light halfway down the damp rock walls. The bottom remained in cool shadow. The ambient light gave Halla an ethereal cast to her cream colored blouse and her platinum hair. They sat by the water, its lapping sound echoing through the basin in a serene rhythm. Halla leaned against him, warming the both of them. Neither had spoken for a long time, knowing this was their final meeting before Toki left.
"I am going to miss you, Toki. Fate has been kind in joining us. Time passed quickly."
"Let's think ahead to our next meeting. This cannot be all?"
Toki had never met a finer woman. She made him feel sharp and alive. She was independent, smart, and quick-witted. None of the eligible women in Nye Grenner could match Halla. He resolved to court her with all this strength, dismissing any thought of another. Jarl Vermund's face flashed in his mind, but he thrust it aside.
"This is only the start. Yet my father is possessed with jealousy of Ulfrik. He has not stopped ranting about him since we've returned home. He insists Ulfrik plans to conquer the whole island."
Toki pulled away and looked at her. "We would still meet? Like this, in secret, yes?"
"My father will never accept us, so secret meetings are all we can plan for now." She placed her hand upon Toki's and squeezed it.
"The reward is worth the risk," he said with a laugh. "You will have to consider leaving with me of your will, when the day comes."
She shrugged, leaning away from Toki. "In time. That is what I have been thinking all along, but have not had many choices until I met you. But I need to know you better first. When I do leave home, I can never return."
"I'd say you've seen much of me already."
Suddenly Dana called down the slope, trying to suppress her voice. "Lady Halla, I've spotted men from your father's hall. They've gone out of sight behind the hill. You must leave or they'll discover you here."
Halla's posture slumped. "My parents wonder why I suddenly enjoy outdoor life. I think they've sent men to either fetch me or spy on me. Either way, I must go."
Toki placed his hand upon her shoulder. "Be careful, and calm your father's suspicions. How will I know when to return?"
"I can't think of an easy way. I am not like a man who may travel freely or dispatch messengers." Halla rubbed her hands and frowned. Dana hissed her name again.
Toki glanced at the spindly slave in irritation. "Let's try this. I will return one week hence. If you cannot meet me, send Dana or leave sign of your passage and I will go home. Otherwise I will wait one day for you, and if you do not show I will leave a sign. I will try again the following week on the same day."
"What of your boat?"
"I saw places suitable for mooring it. Now go, before you're found here."
Toki opened his arms and Halla stepped into them. They embraced and he kissed her forehead. Then she dashed up the path, turning back to wave before disappearing over the top. Toki watched a moment longer, as if she might run back to him. She did not, and he started gathering his belongings into his travel sack. Within the hour he was ready to meet Bork and return to Nye Grenner, though his only thought was to return here.
CHAPTER SIX
Ulfrik kicked the grass in frustration. He scanned the ring of men assembled around him, their faces hard and eyes set. A sea breeze tousled hair and tugged at cloaks, but otherwise none moved. Ulfrik paced, his hands clasped behind his back, his brows taut in concentration. He glanced at Snorri, who sat just inside the circle and wrapped himself in a faded red cloak. He slowly nodded at Ulfrik.