Hereward 02 - The Devil's Army Read Online Free PDF Page B

against the sheet of gold stood a familiar figure, axe raised high in its right hand, the left clenched in a fist of defiance.
    Death , he thought.
    Distracted, he hacked his blade into the neck of a foe without a second thought. With a snarl he kicked the dying Normanout of the way and pushed on through the melee. All his men knew to alert him to any sign of the hated mercenary Harald Redteeth. Never would he forget how the Viking had taken the head of his friend Vadir, across the whale road in Flanders, and never would he forgive. Only death could end their blood-feud.
    Rage flooded him. His sword whirled over his head, never slowing. Two more Normans fell, gouting blood. Hengist finished them off with thrusts of his spear. Only when no one stood between him and his prey did he slow. ‘Redteeth,’ he bellowed above the deafening roar of the fire.
    The Viking turned towards him, unconcerned by the searing heat. Charred twigs flickering with tiny flames showered all around him from the burning branches overhead. His eyes appeared all-black as if he were possessed by some devil. Amid his dyed-red beard a gash appeared, broken, stained teeth showing in a satisfied grin. He lowered his shoulders and let out a bestial snarl.
    The two men flew at each other. Harald Redteeth swung his chipped and blood-stained axe for the Mercian’s neck. Hereward ducked and thrust with Brainbiter. The sword only glanced off the rusted hauberk in a trail of golden sparks. Pivoting on the ball of his right foot, he allowed his weight to carry him through and spun behind the heavier, shorter mercenary. Whisking his blade up, he drove it down towards the back of the Viking’s neck.
    Harald Redteeth seemed to sense the strike. He lowered his head as the sword rammed down. It gashed a clean line across his tarnished helm. Without glancing back, the Viking whipped his axe around behind him. Hereward danced back at the last instant. The blade swept by, a whisker away from opening up his guts.
    For long moments they battled like wolves trying to tear out each other’s throat. Sweat soaked through Hereward’s breeches and his skin burned a fiery red from the furnace heat. Thin trails of smoke rose from his hair where burning twigs hadfallen on him. Wounds bloomed on both their bodies and blood spatters sizzled on flaming fallen branches. Hereward gritted his teeth against the pain of a gash above his eye. The Viking wiped away the sticky gore from the slash that had opened up his left cheek.
    A crack like thunder resounded through the wood’s edge. In a torrent of burning branches, an ash tree splintered and fell. Hereward wrenched his head up. A firestorm hurtled towards them. If Harald Redteeth was aware of the danger, he cared little. His black eyes narrowed, and with a lupine pounce he swung his axe for Hereward’s neck.
    Golden fire rained down as the blade swept in. Hereward closed his eyes, accepting that his moment had come. The roaring faded away. The heat no longer seared his skin. Time seemed to stand still as peace filled his heart. But the blow never struck home.
    Instead, the full weight of Harald Redteeth slammed into him and the two men flew backwards. The burning ash tree crashed only a spear-length away. The ground shook. Flaming branches engulfed Hereward. Heat seared his lungs.
    As he fought to free himself from the inferno, someone grabbed his arms and dragged him out. Choking, he looked up into Redwald’s face. He scrambled to his feet and searched around for his enemy. Through the wall of flame, he glimpsed the Viking with Redwald’s spear protruding from his side. His beard and hair were afire. With eerie detachment, he gritted his teeth, grasped the shaft with both hands and snapped the spear in two.
    More burning branches crashed down, and the fire surged towards the heavens. As a thick cloud of smoke swirled through the woods, the last thing Hereward glimpsed was Harald Redteeth’s black eyes glinting.
    Hereward lurched