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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 sighed. I was in no mood to debate the moral implications of my decisions. I had chosen the way of the sword, and some men deserved death. I believed it then, and I believe it now, though I know such a thought would be rejected by my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have oft thought on this, and prayed for the strength to be merciful. There are far greater men and women than I – holy folk who are able to forgive their enemies as Christ would have done – but I have never found that fortitude of spirit. That is why, despite my sharp mind and steady hand with a quill, I am more suited to the shieldwall than the scriptorium. For me, there comes a point when a man’s deeds can longer be forgiven. Let God forgive, for I cannot.

“If a man tries to kill me or my kin,” I said to Leofstan, flicking away a fly that buzzed at my ear, “I will do whatever I can to defeat him. I have never killed a man in cold blood, and if you had asked me before now, I would have told you that I thought that was the coward’s way, without honour. But now, if I am able, I would choke the life from the man that has overseen so much horror. If Ljósberari lives, how many more innocents will he kill? We have all seen what he has wrought. The man’s kingdom is a hell of fire and death.” I rubbed at the raw skin of my wrists and thought of the men and women who had been bound thus before being burnt alive, their eyes plucked out by Ljósberari’s Frank. “The ruler of Hell is the Devil.” I looked directly into my old mentor’s eyes. “Would the Almighty not wish one of His servants to kill the Devil if he could?”

Leofstan had no answer to that and we lapsed into silence. After a time, he said he thought it must be time for Sext. I nodded and together we set about reciting the prayers and songs of the office. Our voices worked well together and blended into a powerful, melodious music that filled the fly-infested, cloying, foetid interior of the hut. When at last we had finished, we slumped down either side of Os. There was little change in him. I lowered my head to his face and could barely feel the butterfly flutter of his breath on my cheek.

“Any better?” asked Beorn, his tone anxious. He sat with the others. They had stopped their talking when we began to sing. But all except Runolf seemed to have been buoyed by their planning and perhaps too by hearing us singing praises to God.

If anything, Os’ state had worsened, but I could not bring myself to say as much. Morale was a fickle and fragile thing, easily crushed.

“No change,” I said.