“Have they given you water?” Tadhg was keeping his voice low; they had been instructed not to speak to one another, but so far the guards had taken no notice. “Drink that, it may help you. Then lie down; bring your pallet up to the door. I want to talk to you. Have you done that? Good. Lie quietly, breathe slowly. I want you to tell me something, Eyvind. We have a friend in common; you know the one I refer to, I think.”

“Mmm,” grunted Eyvind, who had done as he was told and now lay on his back with his head on the straw pallet, his knees bent up awkwardly, for the cell was far too small to allow such a tall man to stretch out his full length. Tomorrow, perhaps they would lay him in the earth. Then, he would get as much room as he wanted.

“This friend, I sense, still pursues the truth, though you and I appear to have reached the end of our road,” Tadhg said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

“Mm.” Nessa. Where was she now? He prayed that she would not come here, he implored Thor and Odin and Freyr and any other god there was to take her away safely somewhere, so she might never again come within Somerled’s grasp.

“So, all is not lost,” Tadhg breathed. “She is alive?”

“Not here,” Eyvind murmured. “Best…not here.”

“You think our friend would agree with you? We are all fighters for truth, Eyvind, the three of us.”

“Best…finish. In the morning. Not you. Not her. Just me…” Thor’s hammer, now he was going to be sick; foul-tasting matter welled in his throat. He crawled to the corner where the bucket still stood and retched as if he would disgorge his very entrails. If he had to face death, if this were indeed his last night on earth, this was surely a most pitiful way to pass the time left to him.

“Eyvind? Are you all right? Eyvind!”

For a long time he could not answer. At length the spasm died down; he crept back to the pallet and curled himself up on it. The headache had retreated; he could hear more clearly now, though he kept his eyes firmly shut, for even the dim light from a lantern down the hallway was like knives in the skull.

“Eyvind?” Tadhg’s voice was anxious.

“I’m all right. I just want…sleep…”