*

It was not really Kannak's horse. In fact, she had no idea where the horse came from. The day before, it just showed up. It had a shiny coat as black as night, a black mane and tail and there was not a mark of any other color anywhere, not even a touch of white on his nose. It held its head high and beyond a doubt it was the most beautiful stallion she had ever seen. Kannak was certain it belonged to a wealthy laird or perhaps the King of Scotland who would come looking for it. But no one had come as yet, therefore the horse was hers as much as it was anyone's.

Their old horse was yet another thing her father took with him, together with their only saddle and bridle. When the stallion walked down the path to their cottage, Kannak had no way to capture it without a bridle. But to her amazement, the horse stood still, let her get a running start, grab a handful of mane and swing up. She ignored her mother's worry, rode him all around the property and discovered if she patted the side of his neck twice, the horse would stop. When night came she feared the stallion would be gone by morning, but he was not and she was delighted.

It was then, seated on the stallion on the crest of the hill, that she realized there must be some sort of fight in the village below. The village did not appear to be on fire, for there was no more smoke than the normal outside fires produced, but she thought she could…no she absolutely could hear the clash of swords and the shouts of men. She moved the horse to another vantage point and one look at the shore told her everything she needed to know.

"The Viking dogs are back," she breathed. Three deserted Viking ships were run aground on the shore. "Now what do I do?" She raised her eyes to the peaceful blue sky and said a silent prayer. The answer to her prayer, she was to discover, would soon be running up the hill toward her.

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*

"Run," his father shouted again. Stefan was so terrified of being shot in the back, he need not be told to run. It was a terror that would not leave him all the days of his life. Moments before, as they ran down the sandy beach from the ship, a barrage of arrows began whizzing past them from behind. He felt Donar grab his arm a second time, pull him over the rocks toward the trees at the bottom of a hill and then shove him ahead. Running as fast as he could, he darted through the trees, found a path and kept running uphill until he realized he could no longer hear his father behind him. He quickly glanced back, spotted Donar on the ground and stopped.




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