David W Burks
'A smiling Brynna watched the swirl and splash of the armada as it formed up and fled before the wind. Whitecaps and spray flew from the prows, and every ship’s company laughed out loud at their speed and the freshness of the spray in their faces. Brynna tried to find her family’s ship in the rush, and finally spotted it on the far side of the bay, bravely putting out to sea just behind Ivar. There go my father and brothers, she thought with a pang of longing, but also of pride. And here, at last, I go as well!Outside the natural breaker rocks of the harbor, the swells became the long troughs of the cobalt-blue North Sea, and the long ships streaked down each wave to ride up the next, letting the wind and the tide sweep them south and west. Brynna, raised by the sea and often aboard her family’s ship for coastal excursions, was thrilled. England-bound! Brynna laughed aloud. Adventure at last! Her dreams were about to come true.'But what would the adventure bring? Brynna’s disguise had worked, and she was part of a Viking raid, something no girl had ever done. But it would turn out much different than she had ever dreamed! 3
