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"Yes, for I know the face of this evil"

"I will know its face if I go forth and see it!" Hagan said angrily

Peter shook his head "My faith in er than the evil"

"I don’t believe in your god"

"Then pray to your Odin, and if you listen well, he, too, will tell you not to venture forth from these walls"

Abruptly as the noise had co "For tonight it is over But it will coain"

"And what do we do?" Ulric deht? It is not our way, priest"

"I am not a priest; I am a brother," Peter said calth they have at night They do not turn to ash in the sunlight They are weakened by it, though, and God knows, there is little enough strength in the sun here in winter By light, we hunt them out We find their lair We hunt them as ould hunt wolves, and we destroy them" Ulric and the others voiced their disapproval, but there was a strange sound in their tones forthe trees and preparing pikes, or stakes Such weapons would bring the evil ones down; then they must be burned or decapitated, or they would heal thenor was in the woods, the woht him water and food After he had eaten, she sat with him, and told him that she believed the words of the brother, for she had seen the fate of the village

She seemed different from the others, and he told her then that he hadn’t known that the chieftain, so recently aood people here He took me in I was orphaned when my parents came north to attack the Scots My father was frohed then and told hie forthat I was far too hot-blooded He knew little about women, for his wife died soon after hehis clan from other chieftains nearby, and froh wefor the saestion in her tone was obvious They were fighting a strange and unknown eneht never live to see another sun He had not dreamed that they would make love that afternoon They coupled in the forest; she ild, passionate

Later, when thethe surrounding countryside But that day, they found nothing, and by night, the sounds caain, violent as a storan walked around swearing; Peter prayed The noises ceased, but later, deep into the night, the howling began

Hagan raced for the door to the church in a fury Peter cried for hiht to pull his brother back, and it took half the power of the Viking forces to bring him down

"There is the attack," Peter said, "which these walls, however fragile they may seem to men such as you, ithstand Then there is the teht, the seduction These walls cannot defend you froan was persuaded to reain

Still, no luck

That night, in the church, the noises ca startled hiainst the wall alone, that Nari was no longer with hied away from the door He went to the entrance and found that his brother and a few of the an told Peter angrily when the otten in!" Peter said "Nari has fallen to the terily

"Not in Nari’s soul," Peter said

Ragnor listened, but ignored thereat battle sword into its sheath at his waist and preparing to ride "Giveafter theo"

"You fools! Don’t you understand? The cross will aid you only if you believe in its power, just as the creatures cannot come in here, because they have a bloodthirst in their souls"

"Then give nor said

Peter ran after them when they departed the church, but to no avail They rode out, a Viking party of twenty hardened warriors with shields, swords, battle-axes, ht, it was hard to find the trail Ulric found the human footprints, followed by those of a four-footed creature with padded paws and long claws

"Bah, what an cried "We are tormented by a pack of wolves" And he would have spurred his horse to race forward in fury if Ragnor hadn’t stopped his that we have heard"

"There are wolves ahead now, and ill stop theo"

"It is your woet her back But we ride with care"

Through the darkness, they continued, the ave a little illuh tor, and in the forest surrounding it, the entrance to a cave, or shelter

Hagan disan shouted back, "I am not the seventh son of the seventh son, but I areat warrior wolf of our people, and I will not fear a fight! Men ould dine in Valhalla, follow me!" They drew their weapons and headed for the cave Gunther, known as a berserker in battle, strode ahead, and before the others even reached the dark shadows of the entry, he had let out a cry like aa hundred swords with bare flesh and bone