The Red And Savage Tongue (Historical Fiction Action Adventure Book, set in Dark Age post Roman Britain) (11 page)

     By late afternoon, the men had started to return, mostly empty-handed
, after their inept archery attempts had proved fruitless. Only one man returned with a boar, and Simon cooked this on a spit. This provided them with a change from the smoked fish they had lived on since finding the camp.

     Edwin, a man that Martha recognised as one of her pursuers from the village, had frequently leered suggestively at her as sh
e paused during her camp duties. He had approached Withred at dusk as the tall warrior saw to the campfire.

    
‘It seems a pity to sleep alone when Egbert’s mare is available.’ He nodded in the direction of Martha and Simon, who sat apart from the group of six men.

     Withred gave Edwin a dismissive half glance.
‘No one touches the woman, get back to your bed roll man.’

     ‘Who would tell
Egbert?’ persisted Edwin. ‘Certainly not the woman, she doesn’t even speak our tongue.’

    
‘Just leave her alone,’ said Withred quietly. ‘The woman sleeps alone until Egbert returns.’ Not that I’ll allow even Egbert to defile her again, thought Withred.

     Edwin walked across the square muttering.
‘I don’t know why you protect Egbert’s interests, I thought you hated him.’

     Most of the men settled down by the fire that night, covered with
coarse woollen blankets. Withred slept apart from them in the comfort of the hut.

     Martha felt apprehensive after witnessing the disagreement between Withred and Edwin. She was aware of the nature of the exchange, so wrapped herself tightly in her blanket beside Simon and watched nervously for any movement from the group of men b
y the fire. That Withred had now gone out of sight to sleep, troubled her further. Having spent the day with him as their guard, she had realised that he wished them no harm. He spoke their tongue well and always communicated in a mild and relaxed manner. As long as he remained in the camp, he would protect them from the wanton cruelty that was second nature to many of the men. Nothing happened, and Martha soon began to drift into an uneasy sleep, her ankles chaffing from the rope hobble that she had to endure to prevent her escape.

    
She awoke, her eyes wide with shock, as a foul smelling hand clamped her mouth. Looking up, she saw only an outline, but knew immediately to whom the hand belonged.

    
Edwin’s breaths came in excited gasps as he hoisted her to her feet and wrapped a sinewy arm around her waist. Gagged, Martha looked, wide-eyed, frantically down to Simon, but he didn’t stir. His sleep, as was usual after a day of constant toil, had been instant and deep. Edwin’s strength overwhelmed her, and her struggles came to no avail as he carried her away from the earshot of the clearing and into the bushes on the other side of the track.

   
Throwing her to the ground, he dropped to his knees beside her, just as a dark, nimble figure approached him silently from behind.

    
Dominic’s hand slid through Edwin’s sparse hair and pulled his head back to facilitate the slashing of his throat down to the bone. A shower of spurting blood spattered on the leafy ground as the Saxon fell to the ground, his body going briefly into spasm before he died.

     Dominic wiped his blade on the rough grass and cut the rope
that still tied Martha’s ankles, his tone urgent as he pulled her to her feet. ‘I’m a friend. Follow me swiftly woman, before the others awake.’

     He guided Martha into the shadowy interior of the forest before she
had time to think clearly. She looked back towards the clearing, a look of shock on her face as a dawning realisation engulfed her. ‘Stop … my friend is still back there!’ she said, aghast.  ‘He promised he wouldn’t leave me. How can I leave
him
? Take me back!’

     Dominic gripped her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes.
‘There’s nothing we can do,’ he whispered urgently, ‘and he’ll be safe for now because he’s still useful to them. It would serve your friend’s cause better if we get back to safety, and
then
plan for his escape.’

     Martha still looked unsure, and stood st
ubbornly shaking her head.

    
‘Listen!’ urged Dominic. ‘Think clearly. We’ve the chance of getting you to safety, and maybe you won’t be missed ‘til morning. I promise you I’ll return tomorrow and free your friend. Now please come quickly woman.’

     Martha paused
a while longer, then relented in response to Dominic’s assurance. Relieved, Dominic smiled and took hold of her hand, then ran along a trail that was visible only to him into the inky forest.

Murdoc sprang to his feet with his bow ready when he heard movement at the foot of the tree. His apprehension melted when he heard Dominic shout from below.

    
‘It’s me, and I’ve brought the woman.’

     Murdoc lowered the ladder
, and minutes later, five figures, all very much awake, sat in a circle on the platform.

     Martha told
them of the raid on her village. Her tale was harrowing as she recounted the butchery of her people, her failed escape, and briefly her treatment under Egbert.

     After she ended Murdoc took her hands into his as she began to weep.        

     ‘Yes I know,’ he whispered as his own tears came. ‘Sometimes my own loss makes me want to jump from this platform, but we must keep alive for the people who need us, and for the people we can save.’

     Dominic had listened and been moved deeply by Martha’s story and Murdoc’s response.
‘Yes, we can still save many of our kin,’ he said, ‘and we start at sunrise with Simon’s rescue.’ He looked drawn as he spoke, and for the first time Murdoc thought he could detect fatigue in him. ‘It seems that more blood must be spilt before I can continue my life in the way I’ve chosen to live it. But time is sparse, and I fear the others will return soon, and I’ve a plan for when they do.’

    
‘They all deserve death,’ said Martha coldly. ‘But promise me I can have vengeance on the fat leader. I’ve a thousand reasons to hate him.’

     ‘Egbert is his name,’ said Toma
s, ‘and he’s as bad as it gets.’

     Dominic reassured her.
‘We’ll deal with him when we must, and he
will
pay for his crimes, I can certainly promise you that. For now though, we must free your friend. At daybreak tomorrow, we’ll observe the camp before they set out to search. Once they are in the woods we should be able to deal with them separately. Then we can take Simon from the tall guard who usually stays behind at the camp. He seems to be the one who gives the orders now that this Egbert has gone.

     Martha
mused. ‘Yes, he
is
a stern man, but he helped us and we owe him much.’ She paused as she considered Withred.  ‘But maybe not his life. He rides with them, so he should die with them.’

     Tomas stirred uncomfortably.
‘I think you talk of Withred. I never saw him kill any other than armed men. He also saved me from many beatings from Egbert.’

     Dominic, who was now testing the tension on his bow, stopped and looked at Tomas.
‘I detect no hate in your voice lad, when you speak of this man, but tomorrow will be a lot simpler if we kill as the opportunities present themselves. We’ve no time to be merciful with any of them Tom, it will only hinder us.’

     Tomas nodded.
‘I know,’ he murmured, ‘you must do what you will.’

     The next mor
ning, one hour before dawn, Dominic and Murdoc descended the tree and ran into the forest, aided by the milky glow of moonlight. Their route, as ever, was through thick undergrowth. Dominic rarely used the same passage twice, leaving Murdoc to wonder how his companion had the faintest idea of where he was going. Occasionally he would stoop to examine the floor, then look around and continue through the brush. After an hour, just as the first light of day seeped into the forest, he stopped and signalled Murdoc to crouch beside him by a hazel shrub.    

    
‘We are next to their camp,’ he said. ‘I brought us over rough ground to be sure we wouldn’t run into them. We need to observe and predict their movements if we’re to get this done without injury.’ He parted the bush to give him a partial view of the camp. ‘It looks like they’ve found the body I left them.’

As Murdoc and Dominic watched, a breathless and agitated Deorwine, a cousin of the fallen Aelred, aroused Withred from his sleep. ‘Get out here Withred! Edwin’s been murdered and the woman’s gone!’

     Withred was up instantly and went outside to join the other men around Edwin’s body. He looked at the bled corpse and shook his head in frustration.
‘The idiot,’ he growled. ‘I told him to leave the woman alone, but how did she escape?’

    
‘Maybe the old one helped her,’ said Deorwine, looking towards Simon who had just awoken. ‘We should torture the truth out of him.’

     There was a general murmur of agreement from the rest of the men and they moved towards Simon.

     Withred strode before them and reached him first. He turned to the men and signalled them to keep their distance. Taking Simon’s wrists, he examined his hands, and then turned back to the men. ‘This man can have had no part in the slaying of Edwin; whoever killed him would be covered in his blood.’  He pointed back towards the dead raider. ‘Look his blood is everywhere … and, anyway, the old man’s ankles are still bound.’

   The men looked down at Simon, who sat propped up on one elbow looking mystified.

     ‘What do you know of this, old man?’ asked Withred. ‘The woman was never far from your side, you must have heard the struggle.’

     Simon shook his head and held up his hands to emphasise his bemusement.
‘I know nothing of this. I slept soundly last night after yesterday’s chores and awoke only when I heard your commotion. As God is my witness I know nothing.’

     Withred looked towards the trees
, chewing on his lip as he considered what to do next. Part of him was glad that the woman was gone, but he now feared for Simon, who would undoubtedly suffer from Egbert’s wrath when he returned. He realised he would need great guile to prevent Egbert’s wanton cruelty towards the old man.

     ‘I should have posted guards,’ he muttered. He looked at the men. ‘
Egbert will be back soon, and he’ll flail you all, now his woman’s gone. We must get her back. We must also be careful—the killer has to be a man of cunning and talent to finish Edwin without a struggle. Maybe it was the wolf-man; he’s already shown how dangerous he is. Go now in pairs now, and find her, but be careful. There’s a man in these woods who has already killed four of us.’

    
Deorwine left the clearing with a young Saxon named Leofric who usually rode alongside him on the trail. Being the older man, Deorwine assumed responsibility of the search and was careful to instruct Leofric where to seek. Meanwhile, he sat immobile on his pony and scanned the undergrowth for any movement.    

     Minut
es passed with neither sound nor movement and Deorwine slowly became restless, his thoughts straying to the earlier deaths of his companions—Cerdic, Aelred and Eadmund—at the hands of the wolf-man.

    
‘Any luck Leofric?’ His shout was flat and nervous against the wall of thick greenery. Hearing no reply, he goaded his pony through the same bush that Leofric had pushed through. Seeing no one, he rode further into the woods, following Leofric’s trail. He stopped and called again. ‘Leofric, get back here now!’

     Still there was no answer, so
Deorwine continued to follow Leofric’s trail. He rounded a mound of bracken and breathed in sharply as Leofric’s lifeless body confronted him, lying prone under his grazing pony.  An empty, coagulating eye-socket bore testimony to an arrow strike from ground level. The arrow was gone.

    
‘Fuck,’ whispered Deorwine. He dismounted and examined his lifeless companion, then looked edgily around.

     He was about to remount his pony when the spear hit him squarely in his back. Its force knocked him to his knees
as his voice escaped him in a desperate croak. He fell forward onto his face.

    
‘Filth,’ growled Murdoc as he removed the spear, then pierced Deorwine again.

     Dominic placed a restraining hand on Murdoc’s arm as he raised the spear a third time.
‘Save your strength Mur, he’s dead, and before the sun sets we’ve to finish the others. We need to remain alert to every sound around us.’ He kicked Deorwine’s body over so that his dead face lolled to one side.

    
He spat on the corpse then pointed to a low shrub nearby. ‘We need to drag him and his companion out of site, the animals will feed upon him now.’ After doing this, Dominic looked quickly around, reading the signs. ‘Now to find the others—their trails should be easy to follow, they lumber like bears through the woods.’ He pointed to a bush that appeared undisturbed to Murdoc. ‘See…two have passed through there.’