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

the thin loam and scree. Every step sent pebbles and loose gravel skittering down towards the cliff. I lost my footing a number of times, until my heart thumped in my chest.

Senara tightened her belt and shifted her bow across her body. “Give me your hand, Fur Benyn.” I didn’t need her to ask twice. She hovered no more than a step away from me, ever ready to act should my balance fail. Straining every muscle and sinew, we followed the men to the highest point of the crest, before creeping along in a north-westerly direction for a short distance, until we were looking down on the gorge beneath.

The breeze was stronger here, funnelling through the valley to cool the sweat from our skin. I took a moment to catch my breath, bending over and rubbing at the pain throbbing in my knees.

Tallack turned to the shield maiden and frowned. “Are you leading us on a merry dance? Where in the name of the gods is this path you speak of?”

Finally letting me go, Senara moved to the head of the line. “Not far now, Chief. It’s just over that rocky outcrop.” She scuttled off before he could stop her. The men hurried after the scout, keen to keep up or lose face. By the time I’d caught them up, the men were stock still and pale as snow at what lay ahead.

I leaned around the boulders and looked in the direction of Senara’s outstretched arm. There was a tiny ledge carved out of the leeward side of the ridge, not more than the width of my foot, leading down to the creek. It was filled with trees and jagged rocks. My stomach lurched.

CHAPTER TWENTY

It was all I could do to stop myself from trembling. The sheer drop was more boat lengths than could be measured, assuring anyone who fell a swift but painful death on the rocks and treetops below.

Tallack pursed his lips and growled. “You shouldn’t have come, Aunt Mel. You know the dangers we face.” He took a length of rope from Senara, tying us together around our waists. “But I can’t leave you behind for the miners to find either.”

Before he could change his mind and send me back through enemy territory, he helped to lower me down onto the ledge to where Senara was waiting. I closed my eyes and asked the gods to protect me. Within moments, I was clinging to the rock face more terrified than ever. The first section was the steepest, taking us on a faltering path along one side of the slope, past the scree and shallow soils to the base of the gorge.

Every step had the potential to send us tumbling, but I felt a little safer being tethered to my nephew. He seemed confident in his ability to cling to the rocks by his fingertips while edging closer to his men. Perhaps his time at sea had trained his body in the art of balance. Mine was ill equipped for such mountain goat antics. I found myself giddy with nervous panting. Each time I looked over my shoulder, the valley spun until bile erupted in my gullet.

Just as I was regretting my insistence at tagging along, the path widened until we could walk quite naturally down the remainder of the incline to where water gushed naturally from beneath the ground. Slowing my breaths, my wobbling knees stopped quaking when Tallack released the knot tying us together.

“Well, I can’t imagine this being any use for our attack. If all our men clambered over that ridge at once, Kenver’s scouts would have no trouble at all filling them all with arrows.” Tallack announced, winding the lengths of rope into a neat loop.

“True, but that means it’s not likely to be protected with lookouts or traps.” Senara replied, taking her cord back and attaching it to her belt. “We could get the men to sneak over the top under the cover of darkness in smaller groups.”

The men continued to trudge down the narrow creek between two giant rocks, shaped like massive gateposts on the trail, while Senara and my nephew discussed tactics. Picking my way through the sharp gravel and boulders behind them, I bit my lip every time my ankle turned on the uneven surface. I spent so much time watching my step that I failed to see what was ahead. It turns out, the men had done the same.

Where the ground levelled out and widened between the fast flow of the river and the hillside, our only route through was between the giant rocks. It was the ideal spot for another ambush. Tallack hissed at the men to keep alert for scouts, archers, and missiles. Those at the front drew their weapons. One man primed his bow and pulled back on the string, moving closer to the rocks. With everyone craning their necks in search of Alchemist attackers, they failed to see what lay underfoot.

A quiet crack sounded beneath the archer, his weight shifting downwards by a fraction. Before he realised what was happening, the ground under our men gave way, sending them crashing into a deep pit. As the rest of the wooden poles and leaves gave way, some managed to jump clear of the opening, flailing their arms to grab at anything to prevent them from slipping into the hole. The shrieks of the three men at the bottom of the pit were blood-curdling, but fleeting.

One lad teetered on the edge of the pit; his arms flung out to the sides, his feet dancing on the moving earth. Senara dropped her blade and grabbed out at his tunic, yanking him back to safety. He clung to her for a few moments, before thanking her for her speedy reactions.

It took a short time for us all to figure out what had occurred. In our zeal to avoid incoming arrows from above, none of us had spotted the thinly covered pit of spikes between the rocks.

The archer