Lord of Slaughter Read Online Free PDF

mourns a week without a bath in the way most men do the loss of a limb.’
    ‘Then how shall I serve you?’
    ‘Send for your Bollason. Alert him that the Hetaereian generals will be brought here. When they enter the tent, his men should surround it and he should come to me. Your counsel is apt.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Good. Then after that you can take a message to the chamberlain. Take my banner and fly it from one of your ships. You’ll bring news of the victory. It’s important you Varangians do so; you must take the credit.’
    Heat came to Snake in the Eye’s cheeks. Here was his chance. ‘Will you need a man to kill for you? I could do that work if you require it.’
    ‘You truly do have a snake in your eye, don’t you, boy? You are a venomous creature.’
    ‘So my mother told me. Men like me are useful to kings, are we not?’
    The emperor nodded. ‘Very useful. Though do not fool yourself into thinking you are in short supply. All men can do all things if required. The only difference is the level of enthusiasm they bring to each task. Do not take pride when I confide in you. I only speak to you as I would speak to a monkey, no more. You are too young to scheme and plot, too naive and foreign and stupid. You imagine yourself subtle, Snake in the Eye – I read it in your face – but you are not. That is why your company is pleasant to me. I tire of subtle men.’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘Get Bollason, and when you’ve brought him here you can sail on after the chamberlain. There are too many odd doings for my liking and I want them stopped. Tell him I’ll brook no resistance this time: these things are to be investigated and investigated properly, no matter the stir it causes. I want him to look into them in person. Fireballs, unexplained deaths, wolfmen babbling of prophecies – I want to know what it’s about and I want an end to it, you tell him that. Speak no word of this man coming to the tent tonight to anyone but the chamberlain. I don’t want people thinking they can walk in here as easy as into a church on a Sunday. Here.’ The emperor took something from a bag at his side. He passed it to Snake in the Eye. It was a small medal marked with the emperor’s head and some writing. It meant nothing to the boy. He could speak many languages but read none.
    ‘This will give you safe passage if you are questioned more closely. The chamberlain, as quick as you can.’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    Snake in the Eye left the tent. The guard outside the flap gave him a simmering stare. Snake in the Eye ignored it and ran to bring the Viking chief to a profitable murder.

4 A Reluctant Assassin
     
    From the moment the two monks arrived at the lighthouse sea gate it was a race between the mildly dishonest, the very fraudulent and the plain violent to secure their trust. Both men were clearly foreigners by the leggings they wore; no Greek bothered with such things beneath his robe.
    ‘Lodgings, sirs, lodgings. You are monks, yes, monks of the north. I can help you here. What are you, my friends, what is your tongue?’
    The man was short and thin and a tiger’s smile lit up his face. He spoke Latin, which was a rare language in those parts, known only to scholars and those who wished to part them from their money.
    The younger of the two monks spoke: ‘We are from Neustria, friend.’
    ‘I have met many men from there,’ said the man, instantly sliding into French. ‘We have many of your mercenaries here. They are like brothers to me. Please, come with me. I have very good lodgings at a very good price. I will be your guide to Constantinople, your friend in this new Rome.’
    ‘How much?’
    ‘See the room and then see what you think. You have money to pay?’
    ‘We have money.’
    ‘Come on then.
    The young monk glanced at the older one, who lowered his eyes in assent. They followed the little man.
    The monks were of different orders, it appeared. They both wore black robes but the younger one had his head