Night Wolf
A Novel of Viking Age Ireland
James L. Nelson
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Fore Topsail Press
64 Ash Point Road
Harpswell, Maine, 04079
All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by U. S. Copyright Law.
Copyright © 2016 James L. Nelson
All rights reserved
ISBN-13: 978-1534879683
ISBN-10: 1534879684
To Steve Cromwell for all your fine work in creating the look for this series, and for all your kindnesses over the years.
From
Egil’s Saga
For other terms, see Glossary at the end of the book
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Prologue
There was a man named Thorgrim Ulfsson who was the son of Ulf Ospaksson, who was known as Ulf Quick-wit.
Thorgrim was also clever and he was a skilled warrior as well, and so he was looked upon as a leader of men. If he had one fault, it was that he would sometimes grow foul-tempered as the sun went down. During those times his anger was such that people would not dare be near him. Some people thought that he was a shape-shifter, and that earned him the name of Thorgrim Kveldulf, which means Night Wolf. In his younger days the wolf spirit frequently came over him, but as he grew older he found it happened less often, and he was generally glad of that.As a young man Thorgrim had gone a’viking with a local jarl named Ornolf the Restless. For many summers they raided around England and sometimes as far off as Frankia. The raiding was good in those days and Ornolf, who was already wealthy, grew wealthier still, and the men who sailed with him likewise gained much plunder. But of all those men, Thorgrim was Ornolf’s favorite, and so he offered his daughter, Hallbera, to Thorgrim as his bride. This was a match that Thorgrim was happy to make. Thorgrim gave Ornolf fifty silver coins as a bride-price and Ornolf gave Thorgrim a bountiful farm as a dowry.