Pagan Siege (Tribes of Britain Book 5) by Sam Taw (10 best novels of all time TXT) 📕

about the journey out to the Teign River and the wolf pit where Brea met her end, plus the deeply moving burial of our two former Chiefs.

“What? Scampering about the tors on his own?” Ren said, when I mentioned Tallack’s half-brother, Paega.

“Yes, the Chief saw him too. He followed us all the way to the cromlech where Aebba and Blydh were laid to rest. I didn’t see him after that.”

“Do you think he was plotting?”

I sucked in my lips and shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. He was never the sharpest blade in the toolbox.”

“But the most conniving.”

I nodded. He was right enough there. Paega was more slippery than wet clay. Just when you thought you had him pinned down in one place, the kyjyan always managed to escape to cause chaos elsewhere.

Ren thought for a moment, scratching at his straggly beard. “You think he’s looking for his priestly kin on the moors?”

“That would make the most sense.”

He took more water and handed the bladder across to Massen. I wanted to tell him about the incident at the cromlech, but we were surrounded by too many curious ears, least of all those belonging to the new Duro girl. She kept her horse’s nose stuck to the tail of mine all the way home. It made me wonder if she was sent as a spy in our camp rather than to learn healing skills for her tribe.

When I was sure that Ren was mending well, I cantered to the front of the line to speak with Tallack. I had to say my piece before the Duro girl caught up with me.

“Chief, I need a word.” I knew I couldn’t rest until I had spoken my mind about the leader of the Alchemist Clan. He was a shrewd man. Too shrewd to be fooled by the pack of lies my kin had fed him over the past quarter moon.

Tallack slowed to the speed of my old pony. “You’re not going to refuse to teach her, are you?”

“What? Oh, no. Fane left us with no other choice.”

“Then what’s all the fuss?”

“I think you should take Kenver aside and tell him the truth about his daughter’s passing. Regardless of your faith in young Treeve, I’m not convinced he believed a word of his ridiculous tale about keeping her quill necklace safe for him. It was a lame excuse and badly delivered. Kenver was not taken in for one moment.”

“You worry too much. What can he possibly do?”

I frowned at my nephew, staring at his features to see if he was joking. He wasn’t. “He’s the leader of the Alchemists. There’s a lot he can do. He controls all the tin for our entire tribe.”

Tallack took a long breath. “Fine. I’ll speak to him when we get back, but I think you’re worrying unduly. I can reinforce the story that she was killed defending our compound during the attack. He’s a reasonable man. He understood the risks his child took in leaving the mining settlement.”

“Those risks didn’t include Kerensa siding with our enemies and betraying us.” I lowered my voice to a whisper.

“Well, I’m not about to tell him what really happened. That’s just asking for trouble. There’s no way he’ll discover the truth. Her body is long gone.”

I grumbled under my breath, but he wasn’t listening to me. Anything that might cast poor light on his favourite crewman was dismissed. That preferential treatment didn’t go unnoticed by the men. If Tallack was to retain the respect of all our warriors, he would need a fairer approach to governing tribal members than his current one.

I let my pony slow down until I was back at Ren’s side. The poor man was exhausted, hanging onto his horse with what little strength he had left.

“What was all that about?” Ren asked. One eyelid drooped, but he was intent on catching up with the news. I think he sensed I was holding something critical back from him.

I peered over my shoulder at the Duro girl. “Tell you later.”

The journey home was uneventful, punctuated with regular stops for the horses to take water at the streams and for us to refill our supplies. A dry spring had turned into a scorching summer. The earth baked into sharp peaks on the rough track. I steered my pony out of the ruts, but the hard ground was tough on his bones.

As we neared the palisade walls of the compound and the ingenious lifting bridge over the River Exe, all I could think about was how I should brew some teas and tinctures to help Ren and Massen’s recovery. They were mere shadows of their former selves. I didn’t give a thought as to where I would put the young Duro girl, until we rode into camp.

Kewri was chopping logs outside our hut. He dropped the axe to the ground and waved. It was only then I wondered how he might react to another woman sleeping under our roof. He was a constant puzzle to me. Neither slave nor clansman, this giant of a man was charged with my protection, a duty he’d taken to the extreme.

He and I had grown accustomed to one another in an odd sort of way. We’d fallen into a comfortable routine together. He helped with lifting and carrying, keeping the fires going as well as building shelters and such, and I took care of his meals and linens. This Duro girl could not be left to sleep in the shelter next to the goats. She was of Chieftain blood and would no doubt complain bitterly if her treatment was less than satisfactory. It was no use. She’d have to sleep in our hut with us.

I was about to question the girl, find out her name at least, when Treeve pushed through the door skins of the Long Hut and ran at full pelt towards Tallack and me in the horse enclosure. He was so fleet of foot, I thought he might have a hot ember in his