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Back A Night of Flames
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

“Let us not forget that we are all friends here,” said Leofstan. “We will break our fast and then pray for guidance.”

Neither man acknowledged the monk. Already, I could see two groups forming on either side of the fire. To my left was Lord Mancas. Behind him was Gersine, his oath-sworn hearth-warriors and a couple of the Uuiremutha fishermen. On the right, behind Runolf’s bulk was Hereward, Gwawrddur, Drosten and the warriors from Bebbanburg. There was a darkness that hung over the destroyed settlement. We had all felt it since we had first arrived. A brooding gloom as if the murder and torture that had been committed there had left a shadow; as if the screams of the dying still echoed in the air. I wondered again at the power of the book. Could it be cursed? Was it possible that Ljósberari carried it with him and that its presence here had somehow tainted this place? Was the sudden violence in the air the curse of The Treasure of Life?

“This is madness,” I said. “We are all tired. Let us eat and talk.”

They ignored me, as they had ignored Leofstan. I cast about for something that might distract them from this dangerous path. There was nothing on the beach, or in the ruins of the steading, so I glanced over at the ship. Perhaps the need to prepare Brymsteda to set sail would be enough to drag them back from the brink of this nonsensical conflict.

And then I saw it. It was far out on the waves of the fjord, so distant that I squinted against the glare for a heartbeat before I could be certain.

“A ship!” I shouted, and my tone at last cut through the tension that had wrapped around the men.

“Where?” asked Runolf, stepping towards me and shielding his eyes with his hand. I pointed and a moment later, he patted me on the back.

Hereward barked orders at the men, and Mancas joined him, clearly realising that this was no time for division. The warriors hurried to find their byrnies, shrugging them over their heads and wriggling, with arms stretched to the skies, until the heavy iron-knit shirts fell to their waists. They cinched their byrnies with sword belts. Men ran to the ship to retrieve shields and spears.

I snatched up my sword, remembering that my own byrnie was in my sea chest. I was about to sprint after the others to Brymsteda to fetch it, when I noticed Runolf sitting on his haunches by the fire. He had cut a piece of the blood pudding that Scurfa had prepared, and was warming it on the end of a stick.