James Wilde - Hereward

‘He was a man,’ he whispered as they ran, his puffy, tearstained face filled with an abiding horror. ‘One of God’s creations. What you did to him was an abomination.’

‘It saved your life.’

‘My life is no more valuable than his.’ Wild-eyed, Alric grabbed his companion’s arm and dragged him to a halt. ‘How could you see such agony and still continue?’

Glancing into the gloom, Hereward glimpsed grey ghosts, the only sound the soft patter of their paws when the wind dropped. He thrust the monk into a clear channel among the trees, only to find their way barred by another stream. ‘You are right — your life is no more valuable than his,’ he snapped. ‘If I did not need you to lead me to shelter, I would leave you out here to fend for yourself.’

Alric levelled a determined eye. ‘You must pay for your crimes.’

‘And what will you do? Strike me with a Bible?’ A flash of grey against the white; low, circling. Another. ‘Now, find the path to the wicce house or we both will die.’

‘Perhaps that is for the best. I earn my redemption by keeping a monster like you from the world.’

Hereward felt his anger rise. He should have left the whining man for dead and been done with it. Drawing his sword, he backed against an oak. ‘Pray for yourself, then. I will not go so easily.’

Alric hesitated. Hereward watched conflicting emotions play out across the other man’s face. With an anguished cry, the monk whirled until he located a tree that he recognized. He jabbed a trembling finger. ‘That way!’ he said with fury. ‘And may God forgive me for my weakness!’

Hereward ran alongside the stream towards the tree, but he already knew it was futile. He couldn’t see the house anywhere in the forest dark, and the wolves would be close, following the meaty stink of the blood that caked him.

He leapt a fallen trunk and found himself skidding down a bank into a hollow clogged with brambles and the remnants of another tree that had been struck by lightning. By the time he realized it was the worst possible position, the wolves had lined the edge of the hollow, their silhouettes stark against the snow.

‘Damn them!’ he snarled at Alric as the monk rolled down the bank into a deep drift. ‘It appears that God has granted your prayers!’

Hacking his way through the vegetation into the centre of the hollow, he began a slow turn, watching for the first attack. He suspected that at least ten beasts moved around the rim; there could be more beyond.

Alric cried out as the first wolf leapt. An instant later, all the predators surged forward. As fast as the snarling beasts, Hereward flashed his sword back and forth, chopping down two before he was engulfed in a mass of snapping jaws. He fought with fist and elbow, slashing with his sword whenever he managed to free himself enough to swing. Blood smeared his torn flesh as he reeled from the ferocity of the attack.

Three more wolves fell in quick succession, disembowelled. Before Hereward could catch his breath, another leapt for his throat. Throwing himself to one side, he felt its jaws latch on to his upper arm. He ignored the pain and lunged for the beast’s neck. Clamping his teeth on the wet fur, he tore out its throat. A gush of arterial blood soaked his face as the wolf fell away, thrashing and turning across the hollow in its death throes.

He glimpsed the terrified monk crammed into a space beneath the roots of the fallen tree, but then the remaining wolves attacked as one. He sliced through two with rapid slashes of Brainbiter, and shattered the skull of the third, but the final wolf caught him wrong-footed. The force of its attack propelled him backwards into the brambles, and as he hit the icy ground his sword flew from his hand.

The wolf fell on him in an instant. Straining, he managed to hold its snapping jaws an inch away from his throat, but he felt his strength ebbing.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Alric scrambling from his hiding place and bounding up the side of the hollow. At the top, the monk paused to look back, his expression dark, and then he hurled himself over the rim and away.

The wolf drove its jaws closer and closer to Hereward’s face. Hot breath blasted against him, gouts of saliva splashing his flesh. His arms trembled. All he could see were those cold, jewelled eyes moving nearer, until they filled his entire vision.

A sudden impact smashed the wolf’s head to one side. Hereward recoiled in shock. When he had gathered himself, he saw the beast lying on the bloodstained snow, its skull caved in. A large bloody rock lay beside it.

Alric stood nearby, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He exchanged a glance with Hereward, but all he could manage was a nod.

‘Why?’ Hereward asked as he levered himself up, searching for his sword in the snow.

‘Because I am better than you,’ Alric gasped. ‘And because I rise to the purpose God gave me.’

Hereward reached out a hand to be helped to his feet, but the monk only looked at it before pulling himself back up the side of the hollow. ‘I am not your keeper,’ he said.

Using his sword to help him, Hereward levered himself up the slope. Blood flowed from numerous tears in his flesh, but none of them appeared so serious that he would not be able to survive until they reached shelter. Deep in troubled thought, Alric waited for him beyond the edge of the hollow.

‘Do not think that because you saved my life I am now in debt to you,’ Hereward said.

‘No, you would sacrifice me in a moment if it served your purpose. I am not blind.’ Alric glanced at the red splatters trailing in the other man’s wake. ‘You are providing a clear path for any other wolves out there. We should move quickly now.’

They continued their journey in silence, Alric searching for landmarks, Hereward using his sword to support him. The blizzard whipped up until they could barely see more than three feet in front of them. The warrior felt it grow colder still, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before the warm-sleep took them.

‘Have I put my trust in a fool only to pay for it with my life?’ he said.

‘Your life is mine now to do with as I please,’ Alric snapped. He came to a sudden halt, peering through the lashing branches. ‘There — is that a house?’

As Hereward followed the monk’s pointing finger, more howling rose up at their backs. Shoving Alric forward, Hereward limped behind him as fast as he could manage. He had not fled the dogs of the king’s court and fought his way across half England to die in the snow as food for wolves. The two men clambered over rocks and fallen trees, mounds of snow drifting on them from the branches they disturbed. The crashing of the wolves in the undergrowth drew steadily nearer.

Just when Hereward was convinced Alric had been mistaken, a low wattle-and-daub-walled house with a thatched roof loomed out of the night, so ramshackle it appeared on the point of collapse. Set as it was deep in the surrounding trees and rocky outcrops, it almost appeared a natural part of the forest.

The monk pounded frantically on the wooden door until he heard a voice on the other side. ‘Go away.’

‘Please,’ he begged. ‘The wolves are coming.’

After a moment, the door swung open a few inches and Alric and Hereward barged into the smoky interior. Hereward slammed the door with his shoulder and dropped the latch. Resting his forehead against the rough timber, he felt the last of his strength draining away.

‘Go now! I will have no churchman in my house!’ From the gloom of the single room, a woman lashed out at Alric with a broom made from hazel switches. Her cheeks were hollow and her hair hung lank and grey, but she struck with such a fierce strength that the monk fell to the mud floor.