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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

The bear’s growls and groans had lessened now, but the monstrous creature was still close, and I scanned the tree line for any sign of it. I wondered whether it was feasting on Bealdwulf’s flesh, tearing off great chunks of his face, licking the marrow and brains from the warrior’s splintered bones.

Ingvar hurried to his place at the stern, while Leofstan helped the others to climb aboard. The fire still burnt in the small patch of clear ground beneath the towering, tree-clad rock.

Hereward remained on the riverbank until everyone was on Gullbringa. When Drosten had leapt over the strakes, Hereward accepted Leofstan’s hand and allowed him to haul him up.

“Go! Go!” he shouted.

Leofstan touched his shoulder.

“Bealdwulf?” the monk asked.

Hereward shook his head and slumped down.

The bear roared once more, voicing its victory over the interlopers in its realm. None of us spoke as we heaved on the oars, and Ingvar steered us into the middle of the river. Silence wrapped around us, and we slid away upstream on the black waters as night fell, engulfing the river valley in darkness.

Forty-Six

“Why would a bear attack like that? With such ferocity?”

Os put words to a question that plagued all of our minds as we rowed in silent shock upriver. The sounds of the bear had long since been lost in the distance. We rounded a bend in the river, Ingvar navigating by the cold, pale light of the stars that were strewn across the night sky. A long time had passed since I could make out the glimmer from our abandoned campfire. For a time I had watched its glow, flickering on the water and, when we were far off, I fancied that I saw a great shadow there by the water’s edge. I shivered at the memory, the fear of the bear bedded deep into my being. I could still not believe what had happened. Bealdwulf had been a stolid, steadfast companion, a constant presence in my life for months, and now he was gone, just as sure as if he had never been.

“Perhaps it was drawn by the scent of my blood,” whispered Gersine, from where he sat, wrapped in a blanket, near to Ingvar. Ulf was curled up on Gersine’s lap. The dog seemed to have already forgotten the commotion and now slept contentedly while Gersine stroked his head.

“Maybe,” said Beorn, “but I think there was something else. I wonder if perhaps that was a mother protecting her cub.”

“You think that was a she-bear?” asked Os, his tone incredulous. “I would not like to meet her husband then.”

“Beorn is right,” said Gwawrddur. “There are few things on this earth that will fight with more ferocity than a mother defending her child.”