Chapter Fourteen
The Norse Walpurgis night celebration was in full roar as they approached the settlement. Fianna rode behind Henrik on his horse, holding onto him, though this time it was more from a desire to be close, to hold and to feel him, than from fear of falling off.
In the open area in front of the semicircle of buildings, several bonfires blazed high. Around them people gathered in groups or walked in circuits. Children charged in small packs, yelling and screaming. It appeared everyone was making noise—not the music it would be in her town, but a cacophonous racket created by banging boards together, cracking whips, and ringing bells.
“What is all the noise for?” she asked Henrik, after they’d dismounted and were making their way through the crowd in search of his father. Sh
