Recent content by Erland Karr

Erland would have questioned what she was doing, but it sounded as if the guards would be on top of them at any moment. He spoke slowly, but he was also unhurried of thought. He knew he would have the chance to ask before he could work it out on his own. What would the guards possibly think...

"I do trust you Everleigh," he said firmly. "Not that Erland has a choice now." Without his raiding band, in enemy lands he did not know, he had small hope on his own. The outside air caused a chill to ripple across his exposed skin. Another sign that he had been here too long. He watcher...

"Fokk," Erland said. The word did not need translating, it had come form his people in the first place. He looked down at her bleeding hand. When he had pictured this moment, Erland had foreseen a simple escape in the night. A knock on the wall and Everleigh using her rank to march them out of...

For the first time since coming to know Everleigh, he felt a cold hand of fear grasp him as he looked upon her. He had always known that she was deadly, but he had never seen that look in her eyes. He was far away from calling the other workers here his friends, but they were the only company...

There was a scream. After the short, sharp cry came another voice. "Everleigh?" He was sat just to the left of her line of sight. A group of three men clearly waiting to be displayed. One, a particularly large man with a look of the southern coast about him, stood up and grabbed a knife from...

"Later," he agreed. Mirth danced in his eyes. She had made the point quite clearly, that he needed to become his own man again. He didn't feel a warm satisfaction from how distracting he could be because she would be a satisfied customer, but because he wanted this. Erland used his nose to...

"That sounds like good idea," he said. He had heard of Elbion. It was far away, but known as a home for all kinds of magical people. It would make sense that a Dreadlord would seek refuge there. The soft rhythmic percussion to their conversation continued louder with her only half shimmied free...

"I will do that," Erland said. He did not see how he would have much of a choice. What freedoms he had were quite limited, even if he had come to see them as luxuries. "If I am my Svalen again, we can cover ground quickly." Erland gently kissed across her shoulder. He placed his left hand...

"Of course," he replied. Not because she demanded, but because he wanted that too. "Two months," he repeated. Erland had large, warm hands. He was surprisingly dextrous and opening buttons and fitting into tight spaces. If she needed an answer to that questioning look, his fingtertips lightly...

"So you are bossy and always correct, but I should argue with you," Erland replied. He was clearly not being serious now. He did not know enough of her to judge her ability to plan his escape. She seemed certain of herself. It was enough for him to latch onto. Erland rubbed his cheek to hers...

It was a sign of how deeply ingrained his behaviours had become that Erland assumed this was instruction. Instruction for her benefit, a list of what she wanted from him. It would all play out on his expression. A mask of confusion, followed by a cant of his head and an easy smile. "I do not...

"It was my fault too," Erland said quietly. He held her gaze, making no movement that suggested he was going to leave. He still held her small hand in his own. "You told me not to, the first time. I should not have." He felt a pang of regret. Not necessarily for kissing her, but for the...

"Hah. Maybe one day I try and read a book in your awful southern scrawl," he said. Erland couldn't read a full letter even in his own language, but he could recognise the most important runes. He was not supposed to allow this to happen. Erland listened to his clients, but he was never to...

"Yes," he agreed firmly. In the tundra is was often the other way around. The summer could melt rivers near the coast, made some of their lands slow to traverse. When Erland had seen something catch her thoughts, this was not the admission he had expected. He paused, having prepared to...

"Because some women like to pretend that..." Erland started to say. He drifted off. And looked towards the axe and shield. What he had been about to say was true. That did not rule out any other possibilities. "They are a piece of me," he said. "You are right. I survive." That didn't take...