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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

As we glided along the river and then slipped out into the great lake, it seemed we had truly managed to escape, but there was something else that worried me. Gersine had a fever and I feared the wound-rot had set in to his leg. His limb was red and swollen and, as Leofstan was no longer with us to impart his wisdom about healing, it was left to me to tend to Lord Mancas’ son. I fretted and prayed over him, but I had no clean bandages and nothing with which to make poultices or anything that might draw the poison from his leg. So, as Gersine’s fever grew in intensity and he began to mumble nonsense in his half-sleep, all we could do was hurry on towards Gudrun’s isle, hoping that she would be able to help him.

We were not sure what reception we would find there and we worried that the cunning woman might have cut Sygbald’s throat, despite her hospitality when we had stayed on her island. This notion was strengthened when Revna told us how Gudrun sent messages to Ljósberari with runes scratched into the thinnest of birch bark tied to the legs of pigeons. The men were furious when they heard this. Eadmaer cursed and said the witch should be killed. He raved and said that if not for her, we might well have reached Ljósberari without incident. Aelfwyn placed a hand on his arm, stilling him and calming his anger.

“It is no easy thing for a woman in this land,” she reminded him. “Gudrun, like Revna and I, did what she must to live.”

Eadmaer said no more, but I could see he still carried a simmering bitterness towards Gudrun. He was not alone, and I think Hereward and Beorn might well have agreed to kill her for what she had done, if they had seen her again. As it was, when we arrived at her island and made our way up to her small hut in the clearing, carrying Gersine between us, Gudrun had gone. To our great joy, Sygbald was there and much recovered. He was pleased to see us too, though he wept when he heard of the fate of Os and Bealdwulf. We asked him about the cunning woman, and he said she had treated him well, tending to his hurts and feeding him. The previous morning, when he had awoken, she was nowhere to be seen. She would sometimes disappear in search of wyrts, but she had not returned that night, which was unusual.

“She must have known we were coming,” Eadmaer said.