Emer's Quest (Manannan Trilogy) Read Online Free

and our enemies this time are cold and the sea, not warriors with axes, thank be to the gods. You were younger than he is now when you fought your first battle, remember?”
    Edan grinned , although his face was still very pale. “How could I forget? I’ve got the scars to prove it. I’d prefer Finnr to return with his skin whole if possible and Nele as well.”
    “I’ll try.”
    Dag walked away to the other fires, recruiting a crew to come with him. Roars went up when he mentioned the voyage and he had no lack of volunteers. Men rose and went to fetch their weapons for the journey. There was a great bustle. Women hurried to look out stores of dried food and other goods that they would need to take with them.
    Edan rose and helped Renny to her feet.
    “Come,” he said to Finnr. “If you’re going, you’ll need warm clothes and a good sword.” Father and son went out of the longhouse to the hut where the family lived and where Renny made her medicines.
    Emer lay back on her bedding and turned her face from the room, to hide her tears. She felt desperat ely tired and disappointed. I’ve failed , she thought. Father’s gone and they won’t let me go with them to find him. Mother is right when she says I’m too impulsive. I’ve nearly killed myself and Vif. All for what? She lay there miserably, hating herself, but she was warm now, the pain in her legs had eased. She started to doze, in spite of her jumbled feelings and the bustle around her.
     

3
     
    When she woke, it was night and one of the bards was singing a ballad from the sagas. Emer sat up sharply, realising she must have slept through the evening meal.
    “Good, you’re awake. This will make you feel better.” Renny handed her a bowl of broth and a bannock.
    “I’ve slept for ages.”
    “You have.” Renny smiled. “All through the shouting and the packing too.”
    “ Have they gone?” Emer asked with a sudden lump in her throat.
    “They go at first light. Tostig says the wind will come round to the south by then and will blow them towards Stafi-oy . He’s more often right than wrong.”
    She stood up and Finnr slid into a seat his mother had just left. Finnr was a tall lanky lad with his father’s dark hair and his mother’s smile. A couple of years older than Emer, they had always been friends. He teased her unmercifully when they were children but they liked each other in spite of it. Lately though, his teasing had changed and often Emer caught his eye resting upon her, which made her uneasy. His presence at her bedside did not surprise her but his words did.
    “Do you still want to go with us?” he whispered.
    “Yes,” Emer replied unhesitatingly , “but how can I? Your grandfather forbade it.”
    “Meet me at the big tree by the river when we set out. I’ll smuggle you aboard and fetch you proper clothing as well.” Emer looked into the face of her friend. His dark eyes stared into hers and his features had sharpened over the last few months since she had seen him. He looked what his uncle had called him, a man, and she became suddenly shy.
    “What will Dag say when he finds out?”
    “He’ll probably wallop you and me as well, but he won’t throw you overboard. You’ll be on the ship going to Stafi-oy . That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
    “ Yes.”
    “Meet me then. If you’re not there, I can’t wait for you.”
    “I’ll be there.” Emer confirmed, wondering what she had let herself in for. Olaf did not beat her often but she knew he treated her lightly compared to some fathers. Dag was a strong man and likely to be in a towering rage at her disobedience. She shrugged. If a beating was the price she had to pay to find her father, she would do so. Dag was unlikely to kill her and start a blood feud with her family.
    Emer wondered if she would be fit enough to go on the voyage. She wanted to prove Ragnar wrong, but there was no point in going if she would really be a burden. Gingerly, she put her feet on the