Pagan Siege (Tribes of Britain Book 5), Sam Taw [beautiful books to read .TXT] 📗

my face another going over. When I took back the strap of my kit bag, I noticed the shrubs moving in the undergrowth behind Kewri. It was a breathless day, so I knew it could not have been from a breeze. I nudged the giant and whispered. “Over there. Might be a deer or something.”

With excitement brimming on his sweet face, he dropped the foraging bag and pulled his bow from across his chest. Nocking an arrow from his quill, he crept closer to the bushes, treading as lightly as the huge man could manage. I stayed still and quiet not wanting to spook the beast unduly.

When Kewri was level with the rear of the bushes, his expression changed. His eyes grew wide, he dropped his bow to the ground and paced vast and deliberate steps backwards. That was when Kenver and his men came into view. There was a half dozen men, all aiming their deadly bronze tipped weapons at Kewri’s chest.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Some held spears, others aimed their nocked arrows and all were close enough to kill Kewri in an instant. The Alchemist leader and his men must have watched us for the entire time that we were in the valley. My giant friend stepped back until his great body was directly in front of mine. This loyal and brave protector was willing to die for me. If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have cried with pride and gratitude.

“Step aside, giant. I need to speak with Fur Benyn.” Kenver roared with an authority that startled me. For such a mild and placid man, I never imagined him capable of such power. Kewri didn’t move. He planted his feet firmly on the soft mud of the river bank and folded his arms across his chest. I couldn’t have him die for sheer stubbornness.

I peered around my friend’s middle. “Kenver. I’ve always known you to be a good and reasonable man. Why would you turn on us like this?” I tried to sound calm and imploring but in truth my fear made me tremble until my voice wobbled too.

“You know full well, Meliora. How could you stand by and let them butcher my children?” His chest was heaving with the strain of holding in his anger. This was my chance to put the record straight, even if it meant angering him further. Maybe his men would talk him around after hearing the truth.

“None of us killed your son. He fought bravely against the Belgae in protection of our people, me included. He sits with the gods in the Summerlands a proud warrior with his head held high.” I judged the Alchemist leader to be receptive to my explanation and gingerly stepped further into view. “Neither was Kerensa butchered. She was caught conspiring with our enemies. The Durotriges bribed her with false promises to spy on us. It almost led to our ruin. You know the penalty for betrayal.” I chose not to finish the account of events, thus avoiding the explanation of how her corpse was hidden. It was a shameful way to handle affairs. It made Tallack look guilty and worse still, gave the impression that Kenver was right.

“I saw her body, Fur Benyn. Her face was smashed in. I wouldn’t have recognised her if it were not for the tunic she wore, stitched by my wife’s fair hand.” He was panting his indignation, his breaths whistling through the bushy growth in his nose. “Even if what you say is true, how is it that she did not receive a fair hearing in front of the elders? None that I spoke to had any idea how she died.”

It was a fair point. Tallack accepted Treeve and Ren’s word that she was a spy and acted immediately. There should have been no need to hide her body, or for the lie about her dying during the attack on our compound. I needed to think carefully, since Kenver’s complexion was crimson and deepening in colour every moment. “There were reliable witnesses to her crime. The Chief had no time to summon the elders since we were preparing for imminent attack.”

Kenver’s fists balled at his side, turning them blotchy and pale. “That’s not how the young sailor described it when I was peeling off his skin and slicing his manhood.” He took a large pace forward. Spittle flew as he snarled at me.

I shuffled back behind Kewri, afraid that I too would be subjected to this grief-stricken and crazed leader. “I can assure you that she was not brutalised. Her face was disfigured after she had passed. Her body fell against a rock.” It was a minor bending of the truth but I deemed it necessary. To recount all that Treeve did to his dead daughter would’ve only angered him further.

“Then by your own words you condemn yourself as a liar.” His eyes narrowed to slits; his lips sucked in with contempt. “You told me that she was treated with dignity and respect and added to the pyre of the fallen.”

He was right. I had lied to him to protect my nephew. There was nothing that I could say or do to rectify what had happened, no way to ease back tensions between our clans. I couldn’t hold his gaze. My head bowed in defeat; we were wholly at his mercy. I could hear his noisy breaths slowing as he regained control over his emotions.

“Whether what you say about my daughter is true or not, the mines and the lands surrounding them belong to me now. Tell your nephew to pack up his things and take his men away from here or we’ll kill every last one of them. You included, old woman.”

It was futile to argue further. I’d lost Kenver’s respect. If anything, all I had achieved was to make matters worse, despite confirming much of the story given to him by Treeve under extreme torture. I was lucky that he didn’t subject us to the same punishment.

The