Fire & Steel by C.R. May Page A

about the latest member of his hearth troop and, intrigued, passed word back through the column that she ride forward to join him at its head. She came up as the sun finally broke through to bathe the downland in its golden light, and Eofer ran his eyes across a vista of hills which rolled away to east and west. The Afen, the river which they had followed from the coast, ran nearby within its deeply incised valley, and Eofer idly wondered how long it would take the water which burbled across the rocks there to pass the site of the battle of the previous day and the burnt out hulks of his ships at its mouth. A carpet of hair grass stretched up to a stand of juniper, crowning a knoll like a young lad's unruly mop. Tall stalks of meadow brome, the sunlight playing from the purple ears as they swayed gently in the breeze, reminded him of the sea which he loved so much, and he felt a pang of regret as he was reminded of Sæward and the lads. Had they saved themselves? It would be some time until he found out for sure.
    A polite cough brought his mind back from its meanderings and he saw that Spearhafoc was at his side. He was pleased to see that she rode well and, in her muted clothing of greens and browns, polished bow stave and full quiver, she certainly looked the part of a woodsman. He turned to her and smiled. “This is a beautiful place, is this the landscape you promised me?”
    Her mouth turned up into a knowing smile and her face lit up in expectation. “No,” she replied, “trust me, you will remember this day for the rest of your life, lord.”
    “Well,” he said as the horses walked on, “perhaps you can tell me a little about yourself while I await this great thing? You can begin by telling me how you learned to speak our tongue so well.”
    “In a way,” she began, “it's the reason why I am here with you now. The men who were waiting for me at the tree line after the battle were my father and brother. They were the only ones who meant anything to me there, the only ones I was desperate to save. But I didn't want to return with them.”
    Eofer took a swig from his water skin and handed it across. The day was warming up nicely and promised to become hot. Talking was thirsty work. She took a sip and smiled her thanks as she handed it back and explained.
    “My family live within the great forest which you passed. We hunt there and trade the skins and meat in the towns and villages near the coast for fish, milk, cheese, bread,” she rattled off, “the usual stuff. When Nathan took over, he settled Jutes from Cent near the coast and across the water on Ictis. You might know it as Vectis,” she added as an afterthought. “Saxons have all but taken over the lands of the Regni, our neighbours to the East,” she explained, “and Aelle's son, Cissa, was forever raiding the borderlands. The Jutes hate the Saxons and they were settled there to keep them at bay.”
    Eofer chuckled. “The Jutes hate everyone, especially the English.”
    She widened her eyes in surprise and he explained. “The Jutish homeland lies to the north of my own, across the German Sea in Engeln. We have had many dealings with them over the years,” he said with a wolfish smile. “They are our favourite prey.”
    A butterfly, its golden brown wings flicking erratically, settled on the ear of his horse and the beast flicked its head in irritation until it fluttered way. They shared a chuckle at the sight before she continued with her story.
    “My father was keen to make friends among the Jutes, they bought a lot of our meat and pelts and he described them as the future. One of them took a shine to me and my father promised me to him when I reached my fourteenth year. Until then I had to learn their words so that I could take my place among them when the time came.”
    “And when was that?”
    “At the end of summer, lord, after the harvest.”
    “So you ran away to join the barbarians.”
    She grimaced. “I never saw myself as what