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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

“Anything is possible,” I replied, but I could see no way out of this. Already it was too late. Perhaps a dozen men had raced ahead and were now turning to face us, blocking our path.

“Don’t give them time to think,” growled Runolf. “Don’t stop!”

What he was saying was madness. There could be no way that we could triumph over so many, but I could think of no better course of action, so, with a roar, I flung myself forward towards the waiting warriors.

They were not well-disciplined and only a few had shields between them. All of them were watching our careening approach, and they had not had time to prepare themselves to receive our charge. By the light in the dawn sky I picked out my target: a wiry, short man with a straggly beard and pocked cheeks. He gripped a spear and snarled like an animal. He thrust his spear at my face, his eyes bright and filled with the certainty that his spear-point would slay me. It did not connect with my flesh and he had no time to look surprised. With the unusual calmness I felt in battle, I pushed the spear haft away with my seax and slammed my sword into his face. He fell back and I ran on, suddenly no longer facing the line of armed opponents, but surrounded by them.

The man beside the dying spear-man was even less prepared. He tried to twist his shield around to defend himself, but before he was able to turn, I slashed my sword backhanded into his neck. Blood flowed like a waterfall and he staggered away.

The men about me fell back, suddenly wary. Dropping my precious seax, I reached down and pulled the shield from the first warrior’s weakening grip. All my fears and concerns had burnt away now. Perhaps it was God’s will that I was to die there in that far off land, but I was certain of the righteousness of slaying Leofstan’s killer, and now I welcomed the coolness and simplicity of the fight. I would not leave Runolf and I would kill our enemies until I was slain, or we had fought our way to freedom. I drew in a breath and cast about for my next victim.

Runolf had hit them like Brymsteda smashing through a wave. Two more men already lay dead or dying at his feet, and as I watched his great axe fell again, splintering a shield. An instant later Runolf dispatched the shield bearer with a savage blow to the man’s shoulder, crushing bone as easily as he had cut through the wattled twigs and daub of the wall.

The shock of our initial collision had passed now, and even whilst our brutal attack caused our opponents to become more cautious, falling back out of range of our blades, so their numbers grew as more of them arrived from the hall.