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

to escape, yet he stayed close by and made himself useful. He never spoke about the Alchemists, nor his family while we worked together on the shore. The man was either the greatest tactician that ever lived or was genuinely indifferent to the fate of his clan leader. Either way, I found myself hanging on his every word, looking for signs of duplicity.

As the sun dipped below the cliffs at our backs, Tallack and the warriors bedded down to rest. Kewri and a couple of the least wounded kept watch, padding along the dunes and scavenging what useful wood they could for the fires. Neither I nor Senara slept. For one, the evening was still and humid, my clothes stuck to my back and my lank grey locks matted at the nape of my neck, but seeing the men drift into sleep gave me a measure of confidence. I was sure their anxiety would show if they believed our plan would fail.

When the moon reached its peak in the sky, I knew that Kewri would return to wake Tallack and the warriors. Away from the fires, it was undeniable that the strength of the moonlight would not help our endeavours. We’d hoped for the cover of darkness, but were left wanting.

Senara caught me gazing skyward and shrugged. She gathered up and secured her weapons about her person. “Can’t be helped, Fur Benyn. I made a sacrifice to the Morrighan for protection. Let’s hope she heard me.”

Tallack stood up and faced the young woman, holding out his arm to her. “Go with blessings, Senara.”

She tucked her dagger in her belt and clasped his forearm. “You’ll have control over the mines by sun up, Chief. Just you see.” It was only then that I caught the tiniest whisper of doubt in her voice. A tremble that propagated along her bottom lip as she smiled.

Tallack held on to her arm for a moment longer, the firmness of his grip intended to convey his trust in her. When he let go, she turned and ran along the beach to the cliff path. Every one of us watched her shapely silhouette shrink into the gloom.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The warriors left shortly after Senara. Each had a specific place and role to play in the plan. Kewri and Nectan walked alongside my horse as we scrambled up to the ridge top between the two valleys. Despite the disadvantages of the powerful moonlight, it did afford me a decent view of proceedings as they unfolded.

My pony whickered and snorted from the exertion of climbing the steep valley side. Dismounting, I hitched its rein to the branches of a woody shrub out of sight and joined my friends at our high vantage point. The trees above the fast-flowing river cast long shadows on the dry ground. There was not a puff of wind, nor a foraging animal in sight.

“Are you sure that we’re in the right place?” I whispered, leaning from one side to another and scanning the rise for signs of life. Kewri said nothing. He just held out his arm and pointed to a thicket beneath a clump of alders. It took me a while to see what his young eyes had already spotted. Beneath the rustling boughs of a tall tree hid an Alchemist watchman, his pale cheeks a stark contrast to the shadowy bushes in which he lurked.

Just as my sight had picked him out among the undergrowth, he vanished. There was not a sound, nor any hint of foul play, but we all knew his fate. Senara had just taken her first victim. I imagined her dangling by the legs from the overhanging branches and slashing through the man’s throat before he could sound an alarm. Kewri was grinning at me as though he could read my thoughts. I’d almost forgotten their former relationship. He knew her better than any of us and truth be told, still admired her greatly.

By the time I turned my head back to the sight of her first kill, she was already positioning herself for the second. I could see her balancing on a higher branch of the same alder tree, straddling the bough and taking aim with a deadly arrow nocked.

Moving along the ridge top, I was able to see her quarry. He was young, no more than twelve summers, and gazing up at the moon. How could he have known that he’d made it easy for the bolt to whistle through the air and pierce his neck with a perfect shot? The poor lad had just enough life left in him to grasp at the shaft, slick with his pumping blood as he crashed to the ground. I should have been sickened by the death of one so youthful, but all I could think about was how telling it was that Kenver would force the least experienced of his clan to complete their duties on the night watch.

Nectan and Kewri relaxed, fascinated by the spectacle. They made themselves comfortable on a couple of dry rocks while I paced about less certain of our shield maiden’s success. Two of the gorge watchmen had met their fate. Three remained, and they would present a much harder challenge. Two stood behind the sturdy barricades of the entrance to the largest tunnel. I knew it well from my time treating injured miners following a cave in during the winter. The stretch of land outside the barricade was bare of vegetation, allowing their ponies to pull carts of rock and stone. I saw no carts, nor ponies, just a wide-open space most likely laid with more traps. It certainly had what looked to be a fresh layer of sand strewn rushes laid across the bare earth. What better way to conceal another of Kenver’s wicked pits of death?

Senara was still some distance from those guards, further down the gorge. Another, much broader watchman lay in her path. From his swagger, I’d say that this miner was older and at least twice