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

Tallack sneered and folded his arms across his chest. “So that’s it. You want the leadership for yourself. You’re willing to turn on Kenver in exchange for power over the clan. Why would I trust someone like that to oversee my mines?”

Nectan straightened up until he could look Tallack directly in the eye. “You really don’t know him, do you? He’s not the agreeable friend that he pretends to be. Oh, he can charm Fur Benyn and the ladies of the Chief, but down in those tunnels, he turns into a demon from the Underworld.” He spat on the ground as though speaking of his leader put a foul taste on his tongue. “Your rule about keeping the young ones above ground?” His finger shot up, pointing at Tallack. “Ignored. I’ve seen him shove antler picks into the hands of children who’ve seen fewer than five summers. He sends them down tunnels from sun up till sun down. Some were kin of mine.” Nectan’s lip curled at one side. “The only ones to be spared were his own. The man is pure evil.”

It was the Alchemist’s turn to pant with fury. A blue vein in his forehead pulsed. “Frankly, I don’t care whether you give me leadership in return for my help, just as long as you end Kenver’s tyranny over my people.” The two men stared at each other for a long time, Nectan still breathing noisily while Tallack’s temper cooled. After all the posturing, I hoped to Cernonnus that whatever Nectan knew would prove useful.

Tallack raised his hand to his chin and stroked his whiskers. “Let’s hear what you have to say. I’ll decide what to do with you later.”

Nectan was reluctant to open up at first but since he was surrounded by menacing warriors, he had little choice but to divulge all that he knew. The Chief and the most senior of his men stood together at the shore line as Nectan dug a stick into the wet sand and sketched the valley, its neighbouring gorge, and all the interconnected tunnels between them. The map was far more comprehensive than my early attempts.

When my nephew’s fury had subsided, he allowed me to join them. Nectan showed Ren and I how he managed to evade us by using the disused shafts and hidden entrances leading to the western side of the region. Within a short while, Nectan had provided all the locations for Kenver’s traps, where the lookouts were posted and which times of the day the guards swapped their duties.

It was invaluable information, but it only served to inform us of how impossible it would be to root them out. There were simply too few of our men left to attack such a vast area. From what we could tell, every entrance was either barred or guarded with armed men. They had enough stored food to stay underground for the rest of the season or more and fresh water from three different sources.

Tallack locked his fingers together behind his head and let out a massive sigh. We were no closer to a solution than before. For some time, the men pored over the soggy map, wearing intense frowns that served no purpose whatsoever. It did give them the appearance of contemplating our problem, even if none had the sense to find an answer.

When the sun tipped towards the horizon, I could no longer ignore the whimpers of pain coming from the wounded further along the beach. I left the warriors, my nephew and Ren to ponder over our dilemma, grabbed a few strips of venison from Nectan’s bag and returned to my patients.

Senara was glad of the meat when I handed her and Kewri a strip each. The poor giant was still in a bad way. He nibbled on the salted deer meat but I could tell he’d lost his appetite. Pain can sometimes do that to a man. The more it gnaws at your body, the sicker you become, until food is the last thing on your mind.

As I made my way towards the central fire, I distributed what meat I had to the younger men. One was stacking more logs into a pile. “I need fresh boiling water to brew my herbs.” The lad nodded to those idling on the sand. I flicked my head around and glanced at them.

“I’m all out.” One of the lanky ones said. He was dour and had a dripping nose. It looked to me that he’d just swilled the last sip from his water bladder down his gullet and missed. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at their selfishness and trudged back towards Ren and Tallack.

They were still staring at the map as I approached. I held out my hand to Ren. “Can I borrow your water bladder? I’ll have to walk back to the spring in the valley to fetch more.”

He didn’t think twice. “I’ll go. It’s quite some distance and you’re needed here.”

Nectan pulled a face. “You know that there’s a closer spring on this side of the bay, don’t you?”

There was a stunned moment of revelation all around us, as the Alchemist began to chuckle. “Come on, I can show you.”

Tallack ordered two of his men to join us on the walk to the cliffs at the farthest end of the beach. Ren and I walked either side of the Alchemist, still dubious about his motives for helping us.

“So where were you going when we caught you this morning?” I asked, scuttling to keep up.

“Kenver’s ship is just around the headland in the next cove. A few of his men are waiting there to sail me down to the island near Land’s End.”

Ren grimaced at him. “For what purpose?”

“That’s where he sent all our womenfolk and children. They were told to set up the signal fires to lure the foreign ships in for trade.”

It was just as I’d suspected. Kenver