Jarl Dragonheart and his men raid Lundenwic and bring back a great amount of treasure but they also bring trouble. He incurs the hatred of a Danish clan who kidnap Aiden and seek to destroy the Jarl’s home. During the rescue an even greater treasure is discovered and a link to the past. This fast moving novel culminates in a battle between the Kings of Mercia and Wessex with the handful of warriors who fight for the Viking Dragon.
In this book Dragonheart has to battle the Danes as well as his old nemesis, Egbert of Wessex.
Excerpt
There were ships tied up at the jetty and they gave the alarm as we approached. By then it was too late. Erik and Olaf put our drekar hard over to stop next to the ships and we used them as a bridge to the shore. It also gave us protection from attack. As we leapt over the side of the merchant ship I shouted, “Rolf Horse Killer, take four men and capture this knarr!”
“Aye Jarl.”
Already we had booty for I saw that the ship over which we passed was still laden. They must have been waiting for the high tide to sail. The crew were sleeping on the deck and they sensibly cowered away from us as we passed over their deck and on to the stone jetty. Speed was now of the essence. We had to get to the edge of the settlement as soon as we could. I did not mind the people fleeing to Lundenburgh, slaves were not important, but we wanted them to leave their valuables in their homes and halls. When we had been here before we had seen what riches they had in Lundenwic.
Inevitably some foolish men decided that their goods were too valuable to leave. While I led my Ulfheonar to the edge of the houses I heard cries behind me as Ketil and his men went to empty the halls, houses and storage dwellings of all that they had. I stopped when I saw the walls of Lundenburgh just four hundred paces from us. King Egbert had cleared the land after the attack by King Coenwulf. I had no desire to lose warriors attacking its walls. Women, children and a few men ran from back lanes and narrow alleyways to run towards the fort which was now in uproar.
“Shields!”
The Ulfheonar locked shields and we formed one line across the road from the fort. Other warriors formed a second line. I saw a glow from the fort as the huge gates opened to admit the refugees and to allow some of the garrison to come out. They had no idea how many men they faced and I guessed that the Eorledman, Thegn or Gesith who commanded would bring men to see if he could chase us off. He was in for a shock.
Most Viking raiders use spears. We sometimes did but my Ulfheonar preferred their own weapons of choice. Haaken and I favoured swords while Olaf Leather Neck liked his axe. The Saxons who approached all had spears. I saw the first glow of dawn behind the walls of Lundenburgh and I saw that there were forty men approaching us. We were evenly matched in numbers but I doubted that they had the quality of warriors who stood with me. The leader had a fine full face helmet with small wings at the side. The rising sun glinted from it. The overlapping scales told me he had good mail as did the five hearthweru behind him.
When they were sixty paces from us they halted and the Saxon shouted, “Wedge!”
Had I chosen we could have charged them and attacked them when they were in the process of forming a wedge but I waited. I shouted, “Lock shields!” My men all moved a little closer so that each shield overlapped the next by a third of its width and I felt the shields behind us push into our backs. If these had been the Welsh, with their fine archers, I might have had the second rank of shields held over us. Saxons made poor archers. We just braced ourselves for the attack. We all stepped forward on our left legs so that we were braced for the moment of impact.
The wedge complete, the leader led his men towards us. The warriors who approached us moved slowly. I guessed they were more used to watching from the walls. We waited patiently. When they were twenty paces from us the Saxon shouted, “Charge!” The sun suddenly flared brightly above the walls and bathed us all in light.
As one we raised our shields so that they covered half of our heads. It left the Saxons with two targets, our eyes or our thighs. Our thighs were covered by long byrnies. Our eyes were a small target. I held my sword above my shield and that of Haaken. I watched as the Saxon leader deliberately aimed his spear at me. He was relying on the weight of the wall to ram their weapons into us. We waited patiently. We knew how to deal with Saxon spears. Our mail, even if they managed to penetrate our shields, would block any blows.
I used the blade of my sword to flick the spear head harmlessly up into the air. It slid between my head and Haaken’s. Then they struck us. The wedge became a line as I held the leader and those behind him flowed around. Once we were beard to beard then the spear became a useless weapons. The second rank tried to stab over the heads of the front rank. The Saxons had made the mistake of putting taller men in the front rank and the spears were ineffective. Our line had held.
The Saxon leader’s face was slightly below mine but he was close enough to hiss at me, “Viking dogs, we shall gut you like fish and put your heads on the walls! I am Eorledman Brynoth and I have slain many Vikings!”
I smiled, “But not, I think, an Ulfheonar! Push!” The Saxons had lost all cohesion now and were a swirling mass of warriors. They had not locked their shields and when I pushed, along with all of my men, with our shields the Saxons were forced back. As soon as there was space I stabbed forward with Ragnar’s Spirit. The Eorledman’s shield came up to block my strike but the edge slid over the bindings on his scale armour. As I withdrew it I saw leather beneath. We did not relent but all stepped forward once more. This time we had enough space to punch with our shields. I heard a cry from my right as Haaken slew one of the hearthweru. There was a second shout as the warrior who came to take his place was also slain by Haaken.
I pulled back my arm and, as we stepped forward again I lunged at the Saxon’s middle. His scale armour held but my punch winded him and he reeled back into the men behind. The weight of the Saxon and his armour knocked down two other Saxons and the Eorledman struggled to keep his feet. There was space before me and I brought Ragnar’s Spirit down towards Eorledman Brynoth. Had the blow struck he would have died but one of his men tried to intervene. He took the strike instead and my sword hacked off his arm close to the shoulder. His falling body afforded Eorledman Brynoth the time to regain his balance and shout. “Back to the burgh!”
They turned and ran. I had no intention of following. I turned as I sensed a weapon coming towards me. A shieldless Saxon was thrusting his spear at my right side. I deflected the spear head with my sword and then smashed him in the face with the boss of my shield. It struck him square on the face. His nose disappeared in a mess of blood and bone and he fell down dead. I was so surprised that I looked down at him. I had never killed a man with my shield before.
Turning around I saw that we had slain fifteen or so of the Saxons. My men were despatching those who were wounded. “Search the bodies and take the mail and the weapons to the ships. Olaf, take six men and stop them leaving by the north gate. I will send a messenger to you when it is time to leave.”
Haaken joined me, “They were poor warriors.”
