Edith reached over and gathered her into her arms. “Hush, hush, now. We'll help you.” As Wulfric sounded a metal hoop to gather the villagers, she said, “But softly, Father. We don't want to alert our enemies.”
“Ach, they'll not hear it on the water. They'll be fighting the rapids about now.”
“Norsemen! Norsemen on the river! Council! Council!” Wulfric shouted with the authority of someone who was used to being obeyed. Edith settled Catla and Sven while she went back into her cottage. People came, everyone talking at once. A small boy spat at Sven and got a cuff on his back from his mother. A little girl sidled up to Catla and said, “Your name is Catla, isn't it? Your mother fixed my dolly last summer. I remember you.”
“I remember you too, Mathilda.” But Catla could not think about dolls. She gently turned Mathilda back toward her mother as Edith appeared with some flat bread and two horns of ale.
Wulfric roared for quiet. “These two, Catla and Sven, asked for a council. They need help, and they bring a warning. They've seen Norsemen on the river today.”
Sven started to speak, but Edith said, “Wait. People need to settle. You two. Sit there under the oak.” She pointed to some three-legged stools. “Eat and drink a little.” She turned to the villagers and said, “Council, is this the kind of order you bring to a council ring?” The villagers shuffled into a rough circle, sitting on the ground or on logs and stumps as the talking subsided.
“I didn't recognize you,” Wulfric said to Catla and Sven. “Now I see you are from Covehithe. I was too gruff. It's my old-man eyes.”
“And your old-man bark,” Edith said. She patted his arm affectionately. “Now, Catla, you have the place of speech. We'll hear your story.”
As Edith spoke, a tall man with a gray beard and a head covering of felted wool moved toward them. The people parted to allow him room and nodded to him in respect. He strode forward, his stave in his right hand.
“That's Hugh, Edith's husband,” Wulfric said to Catla. “He's the headman and has the gift. He'll listen and judge your tale.”
Sven and Catla knew Hugh. They bobbed their heads in a small bow to him. Sven poked Catla in the ribs to urge her to start.
“Last day, before short shadow, Nord-devils came and set fire to Covehithe.” She paused and waited for the gasps and exclamations to end. “There was smoke everywhere. They herded people toward our goat pen.” She stood suddenly to emphasize her words. “What if they're taken and sold as slaves? I'll never see them again. Come back with us. Help us!” Then suddenly she could say no more, as if all her air had been pushed out of her.
The villagers turned to their neighbors and a hubbub of talk started again. Someone called out, “Did you see Sarah?”
“Was anyone killed?” another voice asked.
The iron ring sounded again, but more softly this time, and everyone looked at Hugh.
“Order.” His face was hard as he looked at Catla. “We've not seen a slave raid for years. The Norse ships didn't bother us on their way to the battles by York. But then they were defeated. They could be trying to make up their war losses with some slaves. Grim news, indeed. How many men are there?”
Sven took up the story and answered Hugh's question first. “I think more than ten, but we didn't count.” Then he spoke to the rest of the gathering. “Catla saw this, not I. I was in York yesterday. I found her sleeping at the standing stones last night on her way here. No one travels at night unless they are hard pressed. Covehithe needs you.”
Sven opened his mouth to continue, but Catla broke in. “There's more. On this day, not long after sunup, we saw Nord-devils beside the hill, the one with the elders on top. They got into their ship and pulled into the river, coming this way. They're the men who invaded Covehithe. They'll take you for slaves too. Your families will be torn apart. Our villages will disappear. They're coming here.” Catla almost yelled the last words in her urgency to have them come with her, back to Covehithe, now. Why didn't they move?
A new babble of voices arose until Wulfric raised his right arm for order. “Quiet. Quiet, I say. Are we a council or not? Act like a council and think. Listen. Hugh will guide us through our plan.”
People fell silent as Hugh moved forward. “Covehithe is in desperate trouble. They need our help. That much is very clear. We'll help them. We'll be attacked soon though, and then we will see the good of our plan. First, we must protect the children. Mothers, gather whatever you need to take the children to the hill fort. Leave quickly, as soon as you're ready. Then we'll finish preparing for the Norsemen. After that, we'll help our neighbors in Covehithe.”
Catla listened but didn't understand what he meant about a hill fort and a plan prepared for the Norsemen. She did understand Covehithe would get help, but she didn't know when. She wanted it to be now.
As Hugh finished speaking, a group of boys around Sven's age appeared from behind the cottage closest to the river's edge. Edith plucked Wulfric's sleeve to move him aside, and the boys strode into the circle. A red-haired one said, “We heard a call to council, but there was one last knot to tie. Sorry to be late.” Their wide smiles showed white teeth against their dirty faces.
Catla recognized Fergus, whom she knew from the Longest Day celebrations, but she wasn't sure who the others were. Sweat formed muddy paths down their foreheads and cheeks so it was hard to tell.
Hugh smiled back and said, “Good reason to be late, Fergus. Are you lads finished?”
Fergus glanced around the ring of people, about to speak, when his eyes rested on Catla. “Catla, greetings, and to you too, Sven.” His voice went high with surprise. “What brings you to our part of the world?” But he didn't wait for an answer. He turned to Hugh. “Yes! We are finished.”
The villagers' faces lit with excitement. A loud cheer went up, and they hugged each other, grabbed children and danced in circles.
“Good work, boys!”
“Not a whisker too soon.”
“Now we're ready for the barbarians.”
Catla looked at Sven to see if he knew what they were talking about, but he shrugged.
Sven tugged at Fergus's sleeve, but Fergus jerked his arm away and turned again to Hugh. “What's this about? We thought the council wanted a report on the work, but I see Catla and my friend here. Something's going on.”
“It's somber news. Covehithe was attacked last day,” Hugh said. “Norsemen have taken the people prisoner and the village burns. Catla and Sven seek our help. They saw a Norse ship this day headed upriver toward us. They think it's the same men who overran Covehithe.”
Catla's body stiffened to hear Hugh speak of her home. It made the events more real, and she felt a little sick while she listened.
“Sven, Catla, that's terrible,” Fergus said. “This changes things.” He called to the villagers. “No, I've seen no Norse ship on the river this day.”
“Good,” Hugh said. “Erik, go stand watch. Come immediately if you see a ship. The Norsemen left Elder Bush Hill and are heading upriver. They have a ways to travel, but we need a watch.”
One of the boys, freckles showing faintly through the dirt, turned and ran.
Catla wanted to see for herself. “Hugh, how long will they take? Sven and I got here so fast.”
“The path is faster,” Hugh said, “and they're rowing against the tide and some rapids. They'll be slow with so few of them at the oars. Downriver there's a shoal that shifts around in the river so it will be tricky. Beyond the shoal, the riverbed holds rocky ridges. They're in for some nasty surprises.” His voice rose as he addressed the villagers. “And we have another for them, don't we?”
The villagers shouted their agreement.
“All right. Let's get on with things,” Hugh said. “Edith, you'll organize the women and children for the hill fort? They'll stay there while we're at Covehithe, so five days should do it. You'll need food andâ well, you know what to do.”
“I will and I do.” Then Edith said to Catla, “You are of the age where we give people the choice to stay here to face danger or to go to the hill fort. I imagine I know what you'd rather do.”
“Yes, I'll stay. But thank you, Edith, for not choosing for me.”
“I thought as much. I'd do the same. Come to my cottage, anytime, to rest or visit.”
Catla's eyes smarted at the kindness. “Edith, thank you. I'll find you.” She blinked the tears away.
“Now, Sven and Catla,” Hugh said, “Fergus is going to show you our surprise.”
Fergus swept his arm across his body in a low bow indicating they should go first down the river path. “Remember at the Longest Day this summer there was much talk about Norse ships in our waters?” They nodded and he continued. “When we got home, our council decided to take action. We've built a trap.” He paused. “A trap for rats.”
“A trap?” Sven burst out. “How?”
“Ha! You'll see. The Norsemen are not the only ones to sell slaves. Our king pays well for oarsmen. We're turning the game around.”
Catla was dumbfounded. It never occurred to her that Nord-devils could be captured. Fergus swept his hand toward the river. “There it is. What do you think?”
Catla tried to figure out what she was seeing. Nets hung over the cliff's edge, braced by tree trunks. The nets held rocks and dirt, with shrubs and bushes on the bottom holding everything in place. It all blended into the cliff side right next to the path coming from the river. “How does it work?” she asked.
“On each side of the path a rope joins two sections of nets. When the ropes are pulled away⦔
“Everything falls on top of the Nord-devils.” Catla's excitement burst out into a little dance. “I see how it works. That's clever, Fergus!”
Fergus smiled and said, “You have it! This one has brains and beauty, eh, Sven?”
Catla felt her cheeks grow hot at the words.
Sven scowled but said, “Well, I'll be a boar's tusk!”
“Me too,” said Catla.
“Ha, you hope it works,” said a voice behind them. Wulfric had been standing, listening. “That's the plan, but it's not been tested yet.”
Catla thought Wulfric sounded like he was carrying on a long-standing argument.
“That's true, Wulfric.” Fergus spoke with respect. “We wanted to test it, like you said, but now the test will be in the action. You showed us the way to set the trees though.”
Wulfric's frown disappeared. “There were some rare old tumbles.”
“Yes, that's true. Matthew and Wulfric showed us how to tie knots that will release when they're pulled.”
“But you're just coming to the best part, Fergus. Tell them what happens after we drop the dirt on the rats.” Almost in spite of himself, Wulfric seemed to be entering into the spirit of the story.
Catla smiled at the old man. He reminded her of her grandfather, who, even after he'd given the leadership of the village to his son, still wanted to run things.
“After the rocks and dirt crash down, we'll flip the nets off the poles onto the enemy,” Fergus said. “It's our only hope against their weapons and skill.”
Catla felt an involuntary shudder as she recalled the axes and swords.
“Our fishermen will fling their nets over everything. Hey, there they are.” Fergus waved to the men who were gathering nets beside their boats at the waterside. “They're folding them so they'll spread wide, not stay in a clump. Takes years of practice.”
“I was told to bring you folks for food and rest before the excitement,” Wulfric said. Then he muttered, “If there is any.”
Catla looked at him sharply. “Don't you think they'll come?”
“Oh, they'll come,” he said. “Ignore me. Everyone is carrying on, but Edith has decided I'm to go to the hill fort. Says someone has to be in charge up there. I know the real reason. She's worried I won't be able to keep up on the way to Covehithe.”
“Oh, Wulfric,” Catla said. She reached over and gave him a quick hug. “You remind me of my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather, eh? A great man,” he said. He straightened his shoulders and took Catla's arm. “You'd better come. The wagons are nearly loaded, and Edith is worried you're too tired. Fergus, you're to stay with Erik and share the watch.”
“I'll stay as well, Wulfric,” said Sven. “You're all right, aren't you, Catla?”
Catla nodded and walked with Wulfric, thinking about the villagers' daring. If only the people of Covehithe had thought of a trap. She felt new tears forming. Then she lifted her head and sent her village a quick prayer. She would keep hope. As if he sensed her struggle, Wulfric patted her hand.
Catla said, “Tell me about the hill fort. I've never heard of it before.”
“It's less than half a day's walk north of the standing stones,” he said. “Everyone in these parts knows of itâ I'm sure your parents doâbut I doubt the Norsemen are aware it exists. It's old, built on a hill, and we've fixed the ruins of buildings on top. There are several ditches circling it, to slow down invaders. We keep animals there in bad weather. It's a safe spot for the children now.”
When they joined Edith and Hugh, Edith said, “The last time the lord's steward came by, he said the hill fort was in good repair and the well was working, so there's good water. An ancient people built it, around the time of the standing stones or maybe later. Before the Romans came. It's easy to defend. When we started building the trap, we decided at council that the children, their mothers and the older folks would be safer at the hill fort.” She stepped closer to Hugh, looked him in the eye and said, “I'll go along for a short way, Hugh, to see them on the right path, but I'm coming back. I want to see the trap sprung.”