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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 have no idea,” said Runolf, frowning. Suddenly, he grinned. “But we will find out. Just as soon as we finish that ship.” He gestured with his chin towards the shadowed shape of the ship. It was no longer just bones. Much of the hull was completed, and with the ropes and sail from the wrecks, it would only be a matter of weeks before we could sail.

The crowd dispersed. Some of the men were once again set to guard the beach and the approaches to the settlement. I had not slept, but slumber seemed far away now, so I took my turn on watch, glad of the tranquillity of the night. But as I stood at the river’s mouth, staring out into the darkness of sea and sky, the only sound the wave-rush on the beach, the only light the cold moon and stars high above, I could not silence my thoughts.

Aelfwyn was part of Estrid’s household. The thought of her, far off in a pagan land that I could barely imagine, filled me with anxiety. But it was not the thoughts of Aelfwyn that caused the cold fingers of dread to scratch down my spine.

A name echoed in my night-time thoughts. It hissed with the waves sighing on the shingle in the darkness.

Ljósberari. The light bearer. I had heard the name before, I was sure, but not in Norse.

Fifteen

“It really is a thing of beauty,” I said, and I meant it.

The ship was finally finished. The day before, we had rolled it down to the water’s edge, lowering it as carefully as possible into the waters of the Uuir. We had all strained at the ropes, and my palms bore the blisters from helping to hold the great bulk of the vessel. The ship was huge, as big as any ship I had ever seen, and when on land, I had wondered at its sheer size. How could such a massive thing, as large as a hall, and as heavy, float on water, skimming atop the waves of the Whale Road?

But as soon as it slid into the river with a splash, it was as if the ship had been born again, baptised to become a new thing. It had rocked and bobbed on the broad waters of the Uuir, and instantly, I believed anew that this ship that Runolf had built would carry us over the North Sea and beyond.