Carter, Montana 1886.
Sissel Hemstad is the youngest sister in a family with a secret. An ancient Viking magic called the Nytte runs in their blood, and each of her siblings has inherited powers. Her sister Hanne is a Berserker, gifted with a supernatural ability to kill when someone she loves is in danger. Older brother Stieg is a Storm-Rend and can control the weather, while younger brother Knut is an Oar-Breaker, given extraordinary strength. Sissel herself has manifested no gift, and it’s a source of pain for her. It doesn’t help matters that she has a limp and suffers from poor health.
The Hemstad siblings, along with Hanne’s fiancé Owen, are living on a farm outside a small town, trying to stay out of trouble when Ransacker—the companion novel to Emmy Laybourne’s historical fantasy Berserker—begins. Read an excerpt from Chapter Two below.