At First Light(Dr. Evan Wilding #1)(74)

“Yes. That was one of their powers. And so they chose those places as the locations where the Vikings held their rituals—of appeasement mainly, making sure the gods and the spirits were happy.”

“Sacrificial rites?”

“Sometimes. The Vikings sacrificed humans and animals. Probably even children, although not all scholars agree. But often a ritual consisted of simple prayer. Or the burial of an object with special significance, such as ice crampons as a request for a safe journey.”

Evan set his pen crosswise on the open journal and folded his hands in his lap. “Tell me about these places where they held their rituals.”

Using one delicate finger, Christina tapped a crumb on her plate and put it on her tongue. “The Vikings had their own equivalent of Christian churches or Jewish synagogues or Hindu temples. They called these enclosures h?gr. The h?gr were often next to the great mead halls, much as you might find a chapel attached to a rich man’s manor home in later centuries. Archaeologists have found oath rings in some of them.”

Evan flashed to the ring Blakesley had brought him. God’s spear. And the ring Helskin had requested from the jewelry store—Odin’s thane. “What are oath rings?”

“Finger rings or armbands, used to swear someone to a sacred vow. Usually an oath of fealty, as a thane promised his lord. You’re familiar with the term thane?”

“A guardian or servant.”

“That’s correct. So perhaps oaths of fealty were given and received in these small buildings.”

Evan recalled lines from the killer’s poems: By moonlight I laid it out: tell me this. But he gave no answer.

Had the killer been asking for an oath of loyalty? Or was it, as he suspected, a demand for an answer to the killer’s riddle?

Christina continued. “In addition to the h?gr, there were also open-air sites that utilized stone platforms and an area in which to bury sacrifices—chemical analysis from those sites indicate that rather a lot of blood was spilled. And, of course, the Vikings also used whatever natural areas of sanctuary appealed to them. Marshes. Groves. Bogs.”

Evan stopped writing. “Bogs?”

“Oh, most especially bogs. You see, Viking sanctuaries were places of some kind of natural significance. And any place that existed between one thing and another, such as between earth and water, neither one nor the other, was considered to be of spiritual importance. Sacred, even. A place where the Others could pass into our world or we into theirs. In these betwixt and between spaces like bogs, the Vikings built platforms on which they performed their sacrifices.”

There it is, thought Evan with a melancholy jubilation. The link between Vikings and the bog bodies.

Christina said, “They were especially fond of sacrificing birds.”

Evan glanced up, his pen faltering on the page. He recalled the pigeon lying in the woods, its breast split open. “Birds?”

“Killing birds of all kinds was very common. Birds of prey—hawks and falcons—appear in the most elaborate of the Viking graves. One theory is that the Viking people believed that creatures who could fly could also open a path into other worlds. Especially, it is said, for the dead.”

Evan pictured Ginny in her mews and was glad he’d had the lock and keypad installed sometime back. Maybe he’d move her over to a friend’s house until all of this was over. He’d also told Jo’s mom to make sure Jo didn’t slip over when no one was around. He’d offered no explanation, and Jo’s mother hadn’t asked for one.

Christina uncrossed and recrossed her shapely legs. “A lot of ceramic vessels have been found in these bog sites, with holes drilled into the bottom. Presumably, these were used to hold blood, as at any blót sacrifice. The blood would pour through the hole and disappear into the waters of the bog, as if the gods and spirits had ingested it. That must have provided great satisfaction to the Vikings, to see their sacrifices so eagerly consumed.”

He said, “So a blót sacrifice—”

“Sacrifice isn’t quite the right word, even though we would certainly label their actions sacrificial. They would have considered it an offering. A gift, even. A blessing consecrated by blood.”

“A bletsian?” he asked.

She rewarded him with a smile. “You’re going to get an A in my class.”

“Offerings, then.” He made another note. “How were the animals and humans killed?”

“Sometimes hanging. Often with a blow to the neck with the goal of creating as great a spray of arterial blood as possible. Very dramatic for the observers. But it wasn’t always so violent. Or even violent at all. Sometimes the Vikings left wooden figures in the bogs, the size and shape of men. These figures might have been representations of the gods. But I believe they served as substitutes for human offerings.”

Each hair on the back of Evan’s neck suddenly stood at attention. Could this be in any way related to the wooden figures left for him and Sten Elger? He frowned. Were the figurines someone’s idea of a joke? Or something more sinister?

Question piled on question. Who had made it through his gate and to his doorstep? Was it the same person who had hacked his sound system? Was it really just an irate student who also threw axes and had something against Sten Elger?

Simon reemerged with a fresh pot of tea and another plate of scones. “More for everyone?”