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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

We slid slowly past a sheer rock-face to the west, its upper reaches shining in the sunlight. The water was fast here and deeper than it had been close to the lake. Back near the river’s mouth, the boat’s hull had scraped against rocks more than once and Ingvar had cursed. But he knew the ways of the river, and guided us through waters deep enough for Gullbringa’s draught. When we left the cliff behind us and came out into the sunshine again, we were met by a pervasive roar.

Peering over my shoulder, I saw that the river widened. There were many rocks here, and the water churned and boiled over them. Beyond the stretch of white water that surged over the boulders, the earth rose in a massive step, perhaps the height of four men. The river flowed over this, dropping with a crashing thunder in a great waterfall. The air was cool on my face with the mist thrown up by the falls. One glance at the obstacle told me there was no way we could get Gullbringa beyond this point.

“Pull now!” shouted Ingvar and, trusting his command, we heaved on the oars hard, and soon we had beached the boat on the eastern shore.

“Come on now,” Ingvar yelled. “Get it up and onto land.”

We all leapt out of the boat. Eadmaer held a rope and Ingvar sent him to loop it around the thick bole of a birch. The bark was scraped and worn smooth at the height of a man’s chest, showing where this operation had been performed many times before. Then, with much cursing and shouting, we tugged and heaved on the rope and soon we had the boat out of the water.

We stopped to drink and catch our breath and I looked about us. To the north, running beside the waterfall, a broad path had been cut through the trees. On the loamy soil, that had been kept clear of vegetation by the regular passage of boats and men, lay several smooth logs that had no doubt come from trees that had once grown in the now-cleared path.

The noise from the river reverberated between the rocky cliff and the forested slope where we stood, and Ingvar had to shout to make himself heard.

“This is where your strength really counts. We’re pushing Gullbringa up there.” He pointed along the shadowed path through the trees. “It isn’t as far as it looks and you should be thankful.”

“Thankful of what?” I asked.

“That there are more of you than I normally have with me, and that the boat isn’t laden with goods for trade. We’ll be at the top and back in the river in no time.”