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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 ship’s mast shattered. The sail, waterlogged and heavy, swallowed up several men who were battling against the water’s pull. Caught now in the river’s flow and the wind, the overturned ship began to turn. From where we looked, it seemed a slow movement, but a ship of that size is hugely heavy, its previously sleek lines now cumbersome, as it wallowed like a leviathan of the deep come up for air.

The second ship was in total disarray as the sailors rushed to try to avoid the inevitable. But it was too late. With a sickening crunching crack, the second ship struck the first, splintering strakes and thwarts. Carried forward with the power of the wind in its sail, the dragon prow rose up high into the rain-riven air. Men were crushed and broken beneath its keel as it drove onwards, slowing eventually as it climbed up the slope of the overturned ship’s hull.

We had fallen silent now, watching the destruction of the two ships in awe. Moments before, the Norse raiders had believed they would slaughter us. Now, the astonishing power of the wind and the waves, surely guided by the hand of God, had destroyed their vessels, smashing them into so much kindling and flotsam.

With an echoing sound as loud as thunder, the upturned hull of the capsized ship broke apart under the weight of the second wave-steed. The second ship dropped down into the water, sending up a great wave that washed the river’s bank. The broken ship began to drift away, but the collision must have holed the second ship, for it too now listed terribly. The men aboard were in turmoil, like ants when their nest has been kicked. They heaved on ropes, shouting orders and desperately trying to save the ship. But, despite their efforts, the wind, tide and the invisible rupture beneath the waterline mercilessly pulled the ship down towards the riverbed.

Men in the churning water were floundering. Some found their footing and slowly waded ashore.

“Forward!” bellowed Hereward, breaking the spell that had fallen over us all at witnessing the destruction of the ships. “Do not let them get a footing on the beach. Kill them all!”

He ran forward, his comrades from Bebbanburg beside him. A heartbeat later we followed, running down the riverbank into the muddy shallows to begin the slaughter.

Eleven

The fear of the defenders quickly changed to rage as they understood that the Norsemen had been defeated by the elements. Hereward and his half dozen warriors reached the water’s edge first, hacking down the spluttering, drenched Norsemen who had managed to claw their way safe of the wrecks. They staggered through the shallows only to find death on the Northumbrian blades.