"Her also, whose voluptuous lips have kissed forgetfulness upon thy forehead, even her also has thy selfishness forgotten; for thou wilt bring destruction upon her, as surely as the Gods hear curses, and chastise perjury.
"Doubtless thou hast never told the white armed enchantress what a fearful curse thou, with each kiss, art drawing down nearer and nearer upon her head."
"Silence, Raven," cried Halfred, threateningly, paling with rage and dread.
But Eigil continued, "Who knows if the golden eyes would not turn shuddering from thee did she know that upon thy head rests the curse of the wedded wife, burned through thee--of thy unborn murdered son. And thou hast exposed her as well as thyself to the fearful sentence--it will be fulfilled, for unerring is such deadly hate:
"'Cursed be thy proud thoughts--Madness shall strike them;
"'Cursed be thy false eyes--Blindness shall smite them;
"'Cursed be thy lying lips--They shall wither and smile no more;
"'Yet a twofold curse shall rend thee both, if thou winnest again a woman's love.
"'In madness and disease shall she perish whom thou lovest more than thy soul.'"
Here sounded a faint soul-harrowing moan from the open gangway.
Halfred turned. There behind him stood Thora, not white as in general, but with crimson glowing head, like a poppy, her eyes gazing wildly upwards towards the moon and stars. Suddenly she uplifted both arms on high, as though to avert from Halfred's head some fearful stroke from the clouds. Then, once more, a faint but heart piercing moan, and she fell forwards upon her face, like a crushed flower. Blood flowed from her mouth. Halfred would have quickly raised her, but lifeless lay the slight form on his arms.
"Dead," cried Halfred, "murdered! And ye have murdered her!"
He let slip the ice-cold form, wrenched with one tremendous spring forwards his hammer from Hartvik, and swinging it on high, with one stroke of his arm brought it crashing down upon the heads of both his blood-brethren, so that brains, blood, and fragments of skulls were scattered all around.
With that deed began a slaughter on board the Singing Swan like that of the midsummer night; only it was much shorter, because there were fewer to slay.