they found. Is it a corpse washed up on the beach? No , I think, we’re too far from the water…
And Jakob looks far too amused to have just seen a fresh corpse…unless maybe it’s McAfee’s.
“What he’s not telling you,” Willem says, “is that the Raven is our family’s crest. For our family, the raven was a harbinger of death, but not our deaths.”
“For our enemies,” Jakob says. “Our ancestors flew the raven banners before entering battle. They were buried with the warriors. They hung in our halls. And on the Bliksem ’s bridge.” The man’s energy fades.
Willem puts a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Show her what you found.”
Jakob’s brief levity is gone, but he turns around and motions to the roundish object lying on the ground. “It’s here.”
The others gather round again as I see the object for the first time. From where I’m standing, it looks like a stone. Granted, the color is all wrong. It’s not dark gray like the other rocks. And it’s very round. Most of the stones here are flat. Before I can ask, Willem picks it up in his gloved hands and turns it over.
It’s a skull.
The lower jaw is missing. As are many of its teeth.
“Alas, poor Yorick,” I say. “I knew him, Horatio.”
Willem laughs. Everyone else looks at me like I’m possessed. I look at Peach and Jenny. “Really? Hamlet? Shakespeare? Nothing?”
“Was it a movie?” Jenny asks. She sounds serious, but I can see a glimmer of humor in her face.
I roll my eyes and look at Jakob. “Who is he?”
The old captain somehow manages to shrug using only his eyebrows.
“The rest of him is under there,” Jenny says, pointing to a pile of stones. “The skull fell out when Alvin moved one of the rocks. Scared the shit out of us.”
Alvin mutters something, and though I can’t understand him, I think he’s calling them pansies or something because he chuckles at himself, and Jakob grumbles at him.
“He’s been here a long time,” Willem says. “Skull structure doesn’t look Inuit, either, so he’s probably a Norseman.” He looks at the burial mound. “This is an amazing find.”
“They settled this far north?” I ask. It doesn’t seem possible.
“Hunting expeditions, maybe. Whalers—”
Peach gets in a, “Some things never change,” but everyone ignores her.
“But settlements? No. Nothing remotely close to this. Nothing we know of, anyway. It’s possible there were a lot of colonies on the western coast that we just haven’t found yet. Vesterbygden is the northernmost settlement we know about, a hamlet in the west, along the Davis Straight. It’s possible this man traveled with the Inuit. They traveled this far north. But he’s been buried like a Norseman, so he wasn’t here alone.”
It’s all very interesting, but I can’t help wondering, “How do you know so much about them?” Before Willem can answer, I figure it out. “History teacher?”
He nods.
“No wonder you defaulted on your school loans.”
He smiles at his misfortune and turns his head to the sky. The clouds are closer. Darker. He turns to his father. “Can you move?”
“Move where?” Jakob asks. “This is a barren landscape. I’d rather face my death like a man. Here with our ancestor.”
I look at the burial mound and as thoughts of Vikings and settlements flash through my mind. “You’re wrong,” I say.
Willem looks at me. “I don’t think so. We need to find cover.”
“Not about that,” I say. “About the Vikings not settling here.” I can tell he’s about to shush me, so I speak fast. “When I was scouting the area earlier I saw a structure at the center of the island.”
This perks up Jakob’s attention. “A structure?”
“Probably just ruins now, but it’s something. And the mountains will shield us from the worst of the wind.”
“Umm,” Jenny says. “Don’t we want to go south? Not inland, over these big effing hills?”
Fearing Willem will reveal we won’t be going
And Jakob looks far too amused to have just seen a fresh corpse…unless maybe it’s McAfee’s.
“What he’s not telling you,” Willem says, “is that the Raven is our family’s crest. For our family, the raven was a harbinger of death, but not our deaths.”
“For our enemies,” Jakob says. “Our ancestors flew the raven banners before entering battle. They were buried with the warriors. They hung in our halls. And on the Bliksem ’s bridge.” The man’s energy fades.
Willem puts a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Show her what you found.”
Jakob’s brief levity is gone, but he turns around and motions to the roundish object lying on the ground. “It’s here.”
The others gather round again as I see the object for the first time. From where I’m standing, it looks like a stone. Granted, the color is all wrong. It’s not dark gray like the other rocks. And it’s very round. Most of the stones here are flat. Before I can ask, Willem picks it up in his gloved hands and turns it over.
It’s a skull.
The lower jaw is missing. As are many of its teeth.
“Alas, poor Yorick,” I say. “I knew him, Horatio.”
Willem laughs. Everyone else looks at me like I’m possessed. I look at Peach and Jenny. “Really? Hamlet? Shakespeare? Nothing?”
“Was it a movie?” Jenny asks. She sounds serious, but I can see a glimmer of humor in her face.
I roll my eyes and look at Jakob. “Who is he?”
The old captain somehow manages to shrug using only his eyebrows.
“The rest of him is under there,” Jenny says, pointing to a pile of stones. “The skull fell out when Alvin moved one of the rocks. Scared the shit out of us.”
Alvin mutters something, and though I can’t understand him, I think he’s calling them pansies or something because he chuckles at himself, and Jakob grumbles at him.
“He’s been here a long time,” Willem says. “Skull structure doesn’t look Inuit, either, so he’s probably a Norseman.” He looks at the burial mound. “This is an amazing find.”
“They settled this far north?” I ask. It doesn’t seem possible.
“Hunting expeditions, maybe. Whalers—”
Peach gets in a, “Some things never change,” but everyone ignores her.
“But settlements? No. Nothing remotely close to this. Nothing we know of, anyway. It’s possible there were a lot of colonies on the western coast that we just haven’t found yet. Vesterbygden is the northernmost settlement we know about, a hamlet in the west, along the Davis Straight. It’s possible this man traveled with the Inuit. They traveled this far north. But he’s been buried like a Norseman, so he wasn’t here alone.”
It’s all very interesting, but I can’t help wondering, “How do you know so much about them?” Before Willem can answer, I figure it out. “History teacher?”
He nods.
“No wonder you defaulted on your school loans.”
He smiles at his misfortune and turns his head to the sky. The clouds are closer. Darker. He turns to his father. “Can you move?”
“Move where?” Jakob asks. “This is a barren landscape. I’d rather face my death like a man. Here with our ancestor.”
I look at the burial mound and as thoughts of Vikings and settlements flash through my mind. “You’re wrong,” I say.
Willem looks at me. “I don’t think so. We need to find cover.”
“Not about that,” I say. “About the Vikings not settling here.” I can tell he’s about to shush me, so I speak fast. “When I was scouting the area earlier I saw a structure at the center of the island.”
This perks up Jakob’s attention. “A structure?”
“Probably just ruins now, but it’s something. And the mountains will shield us from the worst of the wind.”
“Umm,” Jenny says. “Don’t we want to go south? Not inland, over these big effing hills?”
Fearing Willem will reveal we won’t be going
Similar Books
