“I didn’t mean to shout.” Lucas moved to stand in front of the frightened women. “I just didn’t want Raine to get hysterical and pass out again when she can still see outside. Are there any coverings we can cover the walls with so she won’t see we’re no longer on Earth?”
Under the watchful eyes of his clansmen, Skars went to the wall and changed the visage from the view of the outside to opaque.
“Thank you,” Lucas said while still keeping a wary gaze on the Vikings surrounding him.
Feeling a heated flush under his beard as he went back to Thorsen’s side, Skars motioned for him to put his ax away, speaking to him in their old language. “They aren’t aware their loud voices hurt our ears.”
Thorsen wasn’t appeased. “Then I will tell them.”
“You will give them a weapon to use against us,” Skars warned.
“I will tell them, then kill them.”
“My bride would blame me.”
“I blame you.” Thorsen was so angry that his beard was jutting out. “They can go back to your ship. I do not want them.”
“They have to stay here.”
“Why?”
Skars drew a blank. As he looked around for a chance to give himself time to come up with an idea, his gaze spotted a familiar face.
“Have you found anyone to help with the computer?”
From the death glare Thorsen was giving him, Skars had his answer.
“Neinn.”
“We need to find out more about them. Perhaps one of them can.”
“Then we kill them.”
“Then you can have them returned to Earth safely.”
“My way is quicker.”
“Chieftain, they will be useless to us dead. On Earth, we can watch them. They could lead us to more humans.”
“I will allow them to stay only until I find if they are useful. But you need to find a way to explain why there has to be no more instances of loud noises coming from them.”
“I will.”
How he was supposed to manage that without alerting them to their weakness, he had no idea, but he decided to check on his wife rather than argue with a riled Thorsen.
Raine was being helped up into a sitting position on the bench when he turned back to her.
“You are better?” he demanded, switching back to the language she could understand.
“Yes. I don’t know what happened.” His wife shyly blushed with everyone watching them. Sliding her legs to the floor, she started to stand.
“Stay seated.”
“I’m fine.” Ignoring his order, she rose to stand next to him. “Are we on your brother’s ship?”
Skars shot his brother a pleading glance. “We are.”
Placing a protective arm around her shoulder, Skars drew her closer to him. “Thorsen, my bride, Raine.”
Thorsen’s eyes narrowed on his before his gaze switched to Raine.
Taking a chalice that Bjorn was holding from his grasp, Skars gave it to Raine, feeling her trembling under his arm.
Raine took a drink. Expecting her to take a small drink, he was surprised when she finished the chalice then handed it back to him. “I was thirsty. Thank you.”
A proud grin came to Thorsen’s lips. “Would you like more mead?”
Raine gave Thorson a shy grin. “Maybe later. Thank you.”
Unexpectedly, Thorsen pulled Raine out from Skars’ protective arm to lead her to where food and drink had been set out for a meal.
“Come, sit next to me.”
Skars nodded in approval when she glanced his way.
Skars poured himself a chalice after taking the seat next to her on the bench.
Thorsen placed a large portion of hithea on her platter.
“It’s like your chicken,” Skars told her.
Skars gave his brother a pleased grin for honoring his wife by giving her the food meant for him.
“What about the others?” Raine asked as the clan began taking their seats now that Thorsen and he were seated.
“Bjorn, take them to their rooms,” Thorsen offhandedly commanded while filling his platter from the banquet that had been laid out on the massive table.
“Oh … They won’t be joining us? I should go with them, so I know which room is mine …”
Skars placed a hand on her shoulder when she started to get up. “They can eat with us, and then Bjorn will take them to their rooms.”
Thorsen’s eyes dueled with his when he invited them to sit. Skars thanked the gods that the remaining seats were toward the opposite end. With so many clansmen taking their places, the humans were out of view. He hoped out of earshot, too. He doubted his ability to hold Thorsen back if any of them made their grating sound again.
“Skars told me that you and your friends survived by hiding in an underground vault?”
Skars filled his platter as he listened to Thorsen talk to Raine.
“We did.”
“Are there many vaults like yours on Earth?”
Raine took a small bite of her meat before replying. “I’m sure dozens of them would be similar, but none quite like ours. Our bank was older. In fact, our bank was due to be closed in a couple of months because it was so out of date. The previous bank manager, who had been there for sixty years before he retired, had a fear of being locked in the vault. Don’t ask me why, but it did come out later after he died that one of the tellers had been locked in overnight. So, after that, he had a safety system installed.”