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“Then yes” I de another streak of colour into the dark waters of the Seleen “If God had intended iven the li up behind us “given the”

“A messiah alked on water to show you all it was exactly where God intendedchiselled head of his “My people have older learning than the White Christ brought Aegir owns the sea and he doesn’t intend that we go onto it But we do even so” He ru: “Undoreth, we Battle-born Raise haods tre his tuneless tunes

My nose hurt like buggery, I felt cold, h my twice-broken snout I could tell that I still s heap that saved my life

“My—” I fell silent My pronunciation sounded coh I had every right to coht rile the Norseman, and it doesn’t pay to rile the kind of ht pit Especially if it was you who put him in that pit in the first place As ive is divinebut I’iving you I’ you with this stick” Snorri didn’t look the forgiving kind either I settled for another groan

“What?” He looked up fro I remembered the re in and out of Maeres’s poppy faret me All with his weapon hand badly injured

“Nothing”

• • •

We rowed on through the garden lands of Red March Well, Snorri rowed on, and I layIn truth he ht hand clutched the oar he left it bloodstained

Scenery passed, green andco sporadically I also wondered about how I’d hts of Lisa DeVeer to sharing a shitty rowing boat with a huge Norse maniac all in the space between tns

“Will we have trouble?”

“Huh?” I looked up from my misery

Snorri tilted his head downstream to where several rickety wooden quays reached out into the river, a nu boats tied up at the fish traps,nets