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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

“Runolf did not kill him in the end,” I said, taking pride in my part in Skorri’s death. One day soon, I will stand before the Almighty’s throne and face His judgement for my sins. I should repent for all of them, and they are many. There are things I have done for which I am sorry and I have oft prayed for forgiveness. And yet, even now, with death near, I cannot deny that I am proud to have helped slay that bastard, Skorri.

Audun frowned, and the rebellious part of me wanted to tell him how a woman had sent hunting arrows unerringly into the jarl’s flesh, before I had severed his sword hand. But I wanted Audun to tell me of Runolf’s past with Skorri, and so I omitted those details.

“Cormac, a Hibernian and shield-brother to Runolf, threw himself on Skorri. If not for him, Skorri would surely have prevailed. Your jarl even took the Hibernian with him to the afterlife.”

Audun chuckled.

“A good death and a worthy shield-thrall to serve Skorri in Valhöll.”

I bunched my hands into fists at my side as a wave of anger washed through me. Cormac had been my friend and Skorri had dealt him a slaying blow with a disdainful sneer. Still, Cormac had taken the Norseman with him in the end, rather than the way I had chosen to portray events for Audun’s sake. I knew the truth of it, what did it matter what this old goatherd believed?

“What I don’t understand is what made them hate each other so,” I said.

Audun rubbed at his beard and set his empty cup on the sand. I tossed another log on the fire, sending a fresh smattering of sparks into the night sky.

“I always found it sad how things ended between them.”

“What happened?”

Audun stretched out his tattered shoes to the fire, leaning back and groaning as his neck clicked.

“They always fought,” he said. “You have brothers?”

I nodded. “One.”

“Then you understand. It is that way with boys.”

I thought of how my older brother, Beornnoth, used to infuriate me, and how we would wrestle and brawl at every opportunity. During our childhood we always seemed to be angry at each other, but I would be hard pressed to say what upset us so.

The log I had just placed on the fire hissed and popped. Audun watched a single glowing ember waft upward before winking out in the night high above us.