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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

“I fear it is beyond me to gain peace with the Picts, lord king.” I forced my fear down and smiled. After a heartbeat, Æthelred grinned back, and I released my pent breath. “But the Norsemen have attacked your coastline twice this year alone. We have shown that we can beat them, but once the foxes have a taste for the hens, they will always return.”

“And with the ships Runolf can build, we can better defend our kingdom from these Norse foxes?”

“Yes,” said Runolf, his voice rumbling in the hall like distant thunder. “My ships will make your people into wolves. And with such wave-riders as I can build, you will be able to raid your enemies too.”

Æthelred’s eyes gleamed, and I could see him warming to the idea. Every king wishes to have the ability to keep his people safe, but more than that, he wants to possess the means of inflicting pain on his enemies, and, perhaps most of all, to accumulate more treasure and power.

I met the king’s burning gaze, blowing air onto the flames with my words.

“It is as Runolf says. We have seen with our own eyes the devastation that just a handful of these dragon ships can bring to our shores. People said that perhaps it was the Almighty who sent the Norse to attack the minsters.” Æthelred frowned, his face clouding. Many had blamed the sins of the king for the attacks on his shores and the slaughter of the men and women of Christ. I carried on quickly. “Who can say what is true? But I say that it was surely God who sent us Runolf. His knowledge and battle-skill helped us to save the minster of Werceworthe, and now his skill in the construction of ships will help us once more. Northumbria will be the only kingdom in Britain with such dragon ships, and, if you permit us to sail to Rygjafylki, that we might broker a deal with the king there, yours will be the only kingdom whose coastline will not be harried.” The king had begun to nod slowly, the spark of interest returning to his eyes. I pressed on, hammering home my points. “Lord king, with this decision you will profit from the power of these new ships, peace with the Norsemen, and new trade that would bring riches to your coffers.”

Æthelred sat up straight in his ornate chair. He stroked his long moustache and looked from me to Runolf. Beside the king, some of the ealdormen had begun to whisper, perhaps at my audacity for speaking to the king so forthrightly.

“Would it work?” Æthelred asked of Runolf.

The Norseman shrugged.