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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

Audun cast his gaze about for more drink. I rose and fetched him some water. He grimaced at the taste, expecting something stronger.

“I have dwelt much on sad tales this night,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I am tired now, and would not linger longer on such darkness. I will sleep here with you men, then on the morrow I will return to my goats. Where will you go?”

Lord Mancas, who was evidently listening from the shadows close to the fire, offered his reply to Audun’s question.

“Tell him we must travel to speak with his king.”

I spoke the words in Norse, and Audun frowned.

“King Hjorleif?” he said. “They say he never stops swiving. Fucked his last wife to death, so they say.” He laughed suddenly, the sound shockingly loud in the still of the night. “Still, I dare say we all would, if we could. What do you want with old Hjorleif Hjorsson, who men call the Fornicator?”

“What is the man saying?” asked Mancas.

“He is asking what we want with his king,” I said, choosing to ignore the other things Audun had said.

“Tell him we must strike a trade agreement between Rygjafylki and the kingdom of Northumbria. Tell him it is of the utmost importance that we meet with the king.”

I began to speak and Mancas caught my shoulder, halting me.

“And ask him where the king is.”

I asked him all those things, and Audun waved his hands airily, encompassing at once everywhere and nowhere.

“He has many halls. He will be at one of them. Ploughing his latest wife, I’d wager.” He cackled again.

“He doesn’t know where King Hjorleif is,” I said. Mancas frowned, perhaps guessing at the meaning of some of the man’s words.

“Well, wherever he is, we must find him soon. We will set sail again on the morrow. We must fulfil our mission.” He peered into the gloom, maybe for sign of Runolf. “We should never have come here.”

Thirty-Three

A little drizzle fell in the short night, soaking our cloaks and blankets and making sleep hard to find and difficult to cling to. I was already awake when Gersine shook my shoulder to rouse me for my watch.