The Long Hunt (The Strongbow Saga) Read Online Free PDF Page A

help?"
    "There were only five or six of us in the longhouse, and none of us was wearing armor. Toke's men formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, spears out, between us and the hearth. There was nothing we could do. When Toke's two men finished binding Sigrid, one of them hoisted her over his shoulder, and they all retreated back to their ships.
    "Ase, Ubbe's wife, had been in the byre when Toke and his men had burst in. There was a sickly calf she had been tending to.  Just as Toke and his men were leaving, she came into the longhouse—no doubt she'd heard the women screaming. She ran to where Ubbe was lying in a pool of blood, but he was already gone. She grabbed a spear off the wall and headed out the door, after Toke and his men, screaming, ‘Murderers!'
    "Two of Toke's men launched their spears at her as she drew near, and knocked her down. By then I and the few men with me were coming out through the longhouse door, and others of our men were running in from the fields. Ase was already dead by the time we reached her. More spears flew back and forth, from both sides, but no one else was killed. They boarded their ships—Toke and Sigrid were on the Red Eagle —backed them away from the shore, raised sail, and were gone."

3
A Blood Debt
     
    We held a feast of sorts that night. Enough food for a feast was prepared and served, at any rate. I ordered that two young steers be slaughtered and roasted, to provide a meal of beef such as a king might serve, to feed the chieftains and warriors who had come to help capture Toke. I felt it was the least I could do. They'd come, of course, for Hastein—not for me. I had no illusions about that. But they'd come to help hunt Toke, and for that, I wished to thank them.
    Gunhild protested the extravagance, and she was correct—the estate did not have so many cattle that two could lightly be consumed at a single feast. But I boldly told her that these were my lands now, and my cattle—although in truth, my claims were more bluster than words I truly believed. I told her the men here were my guests, that they were mighty chieftains and seasoned warriors, and that they would be fed and honored properly. She glared at me, but did not argue further—perhaps she, too, was not sure where my rights lay—but she gave the necessary orders and began the preparations for the meal.
    That evening, when the food was ready, the chieftains—Hastein, Ivar, Bjorn, Hrodgar, Svein, and Stig—all took places at the head table, closest to the long, raised central hearth, as was their due. I had expected Hastein to take his place in the center, as he was the highest ranking among them, so I told the women-folk working at the cook-fires to serve him first, and serve him there. But when he heard what I told the women, he just stood beside the table, staring at me, with an amused look on his face. The rest of the men in the hall stood, too, waiting for Hastein to sit. After a moment, he spoke.
    "This is your hall now, is it not? This is your feast. Are you offering me the high seat this night?"
    I had told Gunhild these were my lands now. But coming back here, I felt I was still viewed by the folk of this estate as a thrall, or at best a former thrall. How could a slave, even a freed slave, claim such a rich holding? I was Hrorik's bastard, nothing more. Did that make me now the heir to all of his lands?
    I felt my face turning red, as Hastein waited for my answer. Had I already made a fool of myself? I searched my memory, trying to recall feasts Hrorik had held in this hall. Had he ever offered the high seat to any guests? I could not remember.
    "Yes," I finally said. "I wish you to have the high seat this night."
    "Hail, Hastein," Ivar smirked. "In a chieftain's longhouse, such an honor is usually bestowed only upon the king." After a moment, he added, "When it is offered by the chieftain."
    If my face had blushed red before, no doubt it was crimson now.
    Hastein ignored Ivar and spoke to me, nodding