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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

I made to pick up my mead, but Leofstan pulled it away, pushing a different cup before me. I tensed, but raised it to my lips and drank. Ale. I sniffed. Angry at both Leofstan and Gwawrddur, but angrier still at myself. I have ever been a fool for a pretty face and swaying hips, and there are many times my hot blood has got me into trouble. I begrudged them the intervention then, but deep down I knew they were right. No good could come of seeking Thurid out in the darkness. A few moments of pleasure would be little reward, if my actions shattered the peace and friendship we had found in Tannskári’s hall.

The rest of the night was a blur. My head was muzzy from the mead, and I knew that in the morning light I would be glad that Leofstan had forbidden me from continuing to drink. For a time I had listened to Beorn’s singing, and Ida’s riddles, but I had not joined in with the merriment. Instead, I had sulked, thinking about what pleasures I might have shared with Thurid. Soon though, the exertions of the day’s contests, the copious amounts of food, the mead and ale, and the laughter and companionship of the men, soothed me. Leofstan and Gwawrddur had been right, and yet, wickedly, I still hoped that the Devil might again send temptations to me in my dreams, even though I knew I could not succumb to them as I might have liked.

But of course, God delivered me from that temptation. Now that I had forsworn to act on my desire for Tannskári’s daughter, when I wrapped myself in my cloak and stretched out beside the sputtering peat fire, my mind was devoid of the dreams that had hitherto so excited me.

Shouts woke me, dragging me suddenly from a deep, and disappointingly dreamless sleep. At first I thought that the cries were the expected orders from Runolf, rousing the crew and commanding us to head to the beach ready for the tide. But before I could sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes, new sounds, harsh and deadly, cut through my muddled thoughts, snapping me fully awake.

The unmistakable clash of blades rang out in the darkness. And the raised voices that echoed about the hall were not commands to awaken the crew for sailing on the rising tide.

These were screams of anger.

And shrieks of pain.

Twenty-Eight

The hall was in chaos. Someone leapt over me, almost tripping, as I started to rise. Blinking in the gloom, I peered about me, trying to make sense of the confusion. The doors of the hall were open and a wan grey light trickled in from outside. I stood. Others were jumping up all around. Gwawrddur was already on his feet. Leofstan too.

“What is happening?” I asked.

“I know not,” said Leofstan.

“Nothing good,” growled Gwawrddur.