BooksBarbecue
Back A Night of Flames Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

“Come on, Hunlaf,” shouted Os. “I hope you run faster than you piss, or we are all going to lose our silver!” The men of Brymsteda laughed. A few groaned as they began to fear for their wagers. Watching Varin as he limbered up his shoulders and stretched his leg muscles, I could well imagine they might be nervous to have placed their faith in me. I was apprehensive too. These last weeks I had spent most of my days aboard ship and my arms were as strong as they had ever been from hauling on ropes and pulling the long oars. But I had done little in the way of running, and seeing Varin’s long legs, I was not at all sure I could beat him.

Thurid was watching me, and I grinned at her, exuding a confidence I did not feel.

“Go on, Hunlaf!” shouted Gersine. His closeness to Thurid irked me, and in that instant I vowed I would win.

Everyone crowded within the open area surrounded by the stone sentinels. Only Varin and Toki stood outside the circle, beside the tallest of the stones.

“Good luck,” said Lambi cheerfully, leading the dog into the throng. I saw that the other dogs were being restrained to prevent them from chasing and tripping us.

“When I give the command,” said Toki, his voice loud enough to carry over all of those gathered, “you will run around the stones three times. If you enter the circle, you lose. The first man to complete the three circuits and take this rune-staff is the winner.” He lifted a short length of wood that he held and inserted it in a crack of the rock so that it protruded at an angle. Standing this close to the stone I could see there were carvings on it, whorls and swirls and interlocking circles that reminded me of Drosten’s tattoos and those on Varin’s arm. I wondered how much of the stone had been shaped by men, whether the cleft that Toki had used to hold the staff was natural or had been carved there for just that purpose. The crowd of onlookers had fallen quiet now and the only sounds were the distant sigh of the waves and the occasional cry of the gulls high in the sky above us.

“Do you understand?” Toki asked in a quiet voice.

I nodded, wishing I had taken more time to prepare. I had stretched briefly, but Varin was jumping on the spot, shaking his arms. He was lithe, bouncing with pent-up energy.

“Ready?” Toki said.