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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 thought of my brother, Beornnoth, and my father at Ubbanford. I was in no hurry to see them again. But they were kin. Then I imagined Aelfwyn, far across the sea, frightened and alone. Perhaps she was suffering, maybe she was even dead. Runolf’s brow furrowed, and I was sure he too was thinking of his kin. The wife who had left him, the brother he had slain.

“You have my word, lord Uhtric,” said Runolf at last. He reached out his massive hand and clasped Uhtric’s forearm in the warrior grip. They met each other’s gaze for a few heartbeats, before Uhtric released his grip and lay back.

“Hereward,” he said, his eyelids beginning to droop. “You are to go with them.”

“Lord?” Hereward sounded shocked. “My place is at your side.”

“Your place is where I say it is,” snapped Uhtric, the force of his will adding strength to his voice. “There is nothing for you to do here. I would have you keep an eye on my interests. Besides,” he went on, his voice lowering to little more than a whisper, “you only live once. Never turn your back on adventure, for your tomorrow will come too soon.”

I recall Uhtric’s words now and they speak to me through the years since his death. I do not know if Hereward was glad of his lord’s command to join us, but it seems to me all of us listened, and each in his way sought to obey the lord of Bebbanburg’s dying wish. That somehow, by heading into the unknown and always facing the dangers we met, we were honouring him.

Hereward knelt by Uhtric’s side and his lord placed a pale hand on the warrior’s bowed head.

“Godspeed,” Uhtric said with a sigh. “Leave me now. I am weary and would sleep. Perhaps I will dream of your ship and the adventures that await you.”

As we walked away, leaving Uhtric to the darkness and his dreams, Runolf cuffed at his cheeks. When I cast a look at Hereward, there were tears streaming down his face.

As we stepped through the carved double doors and stood blinking in the light of day, the lady of the hall brushed past us, hurrying to her husband’s side once more. None of us said a word, nor met her gaze.

Six

“And if I help you to get this ship built, you say you can broker an agreement with Runolf’s people?” King Æthelred’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the three of us standing before him in the great hall of Eoforwic.