Contents
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Orka
Overview
Orka, Lif, and Mord push upriver to avoid pursuit, but a Näcken ambushes them at rapids using luring song. Mord is dragged under until Orka dives in, wounding the creature with iron and battle-words, and drags Mord ashore.
The attack underscores the land’s growing vaesen threat and Orka’s relentless drive to reclaim Breca.
Summary
Rowing upstream to avoid Jarl Sigrún’s pursuit, Orka broods on Breca’s abduction, Thorkel’s death, and the rumor of dragon-born. She resolves to find her son and kill those responsible, even as unanswered questions gnaw at her.
In narrowing hills the river quickens into rapids. A lulling, beautiful melody seeps from the water, fogging minds and revealing wreckage and bones. Orka recognizes the danger as Lif drifts under the spell and orders a dash for shore.
The boat strikes rocks as a Näcken slams the keel. Mord is dragged overboard by the green-flecked, sharp-toothed vaesen. Orka dives in with a seax, pairing iron and cutting-words to slice the creature and free Mord, glimpsing a lair of bones and a rotted lyre beneath the surface.
The Näcken seizes Orka’s ankle, but she wounds its mouth and shoulder with iron and incantation, forcing it to retreat in a boiling cloud. Lif helps haul Orka and Mord ashore; Mord bleeds from a shoulder bite.
To deter pursuit, Orka drives her iron seax and a spear into the bank, explaining that Näcken sense and shun iron. The group regathers on the shore, shaken but alive, and continues their grim hunt for Breca.
Who Appears
- OrkaDriven mother and warrior; identifies a Näcken, dives into rapids, wounds it with iron and words, saves Mord.
- MordFisherman freed by Orka; dragged under and bitten by the Näcken; survives with injuries.
- LifMord’s brother; rows with Orka, resists enchantment late, helps haul survivors ashore.
- NäckenRiver vaesen using enchanting music; ambushes at rapids, drags Mord under; driven off by iron and spells.