Jael released one hand and grabbed her knife. Tarak hit her repeatedly, swinging her about as she tried to hold on and bring the knife to his throat. She was losing her grip, but she lashed out and stuck him in the side of the neck, jerking the blade down through his pulsing veins.
Tarak screamed. ‘You fucking bitch! You’re going to die now!’ He spat, spinning himself around as strongly as he could.
Jael tried to hold on but the blood coursing down his neck was so wet and slippery that she couldn’t grip anything. It slid down his neck like a waterfall, and as he spun, she flew away, landing with a scream on her back, on top of the rock that had been sticking up out of the snow.
He came for her, and she couldn’t move. Her knife had gone in the fall. She looked about quickly, trying to move her legs. The rock was somewhere, lodged into her, and she couldn’t escape its grip. She slid Toothpick out of his scabbard, but Tarak came with all his weight and smashed his knee down onto her wrist.
Her sword fell out of her hand.
‘Aaarrrhhh!’ She heard a snap, the pain blazing up her arm.
Eydis’ dream. No. No.
He lay his weight on her, and her chest was crushed. No breath would come. No weapons in reach. No air. She curled forwards and smashed her head into his broken nose, jerking her body about desperately. It was useless, though; she couldn’t move him.
She couldn’t breathe.
Tarak shook his head, shaking away the pain. He was bleeding all over her, his neck was gaping open, but he was smiling. He had her now. ‘Time to say goodbye, cunt,’ he growled and brought his sword up to her throat.
Two had gone down quickly; their blood dying the snow red. But the third knew how to use a sword, and he’d shown Aleksander just how long it had been since he’d trained. Since Jael. He shook his head crossly. Jael. He wasn’t going to be able to help her if he joined the two dead men in a bloody heap of nothing.
He rushed at the remaining soldier, his sword ready to swing, then stopped, remembering Jael’s favourite move. He smiled and spun, kicking the soldier in the side of his head. He’d never been quite as good as she was but he had a bigger foot, and the impact of it smashing into an unsuspecting jaw was enough to bring the soldier down. He fell sideways, his senses dulled, his sword gone, and Aleksander rushed to finish him. He stuck his sword through his chest, over and over, until he was certain.
Aleksander checked the other two; both dead. He sheathed his sword and searched their bodies for anything useful. There were a few knives; one had a tinderbox, which would come in handy.
He whistled for Sky, who thankfully came back quickly, and without another thought for the bloody mess he had made, he mounted her, and they raced across the snow, making sure to create confusion with their tracks.
He was certain they would be followed soon.
Jael saw Eadmund’s face. She heard Eydis’ voice warning her that she was about to die. She couldn’t breathe. Everything was going black. Her ears were buzzing. She remembered her new cloak, remembered Aleksander, the puppies, Biddy, Thorgils. Her father. All within a blink, and then... and then... Tarak fell on top of her, his sword falling harmlessly into the snow, his head lolling lifelessly to one side. And then Eadmund. Eadmund standing there with Toothpick and Toothpick was thick with Tarak’s blood.
Eadmund gritted his teeth and tried to pull Tarak’s dead body off Jael. Her eyes were closing. Moving Tarak was like carrying a horse. He pushed and pulled, and with Fyn’s help, they eventually managed to roll him off her.
Eadmund bent down to her side. Jael’s eyes were closed now, her face pale, her chest wasn’t moving. ‘Jael!’ He shook her. ‘Jael!’ he screamed. ‘No! Please, no!’
Thorgils was there then, stumbling towards her as quickly as he could. ‘Jael!’
Jael gasped, a sharp, desperate, straining sound, her eyes fluttering open. ‘There’s a fucking rock in my back,’ she groaned and closed her eyes again.
Aleksander felt sick. His throat was full of bile; he’d vomited twice already. He couldn’t stop shaking. Why had they come for him? Where would he go now? He frowned, the clouds in his head parting. Aron, Aedan, Branwyn, Kormac, they had all risked their lives to save him. Why? He thought of his mother and the cold reality of what she’d done lay about his bruised shoulders like a death shroud.
He glanced around himself. It was still just him and Sky. He had made a mess of his tracks, riding all over the valley, every way he could think of to confuse his pursuers, but now he needed food, and warmth, and his supplies. He needed to leave.
Sky whinnied loudly, coming to a stop just before the grove where he had stored everything. Aleksander stilled his breathing, listening. Someone was there. He could hear a horse; so could Sky.
‘Well, you took longer than I imagined,’ Edela grumbled as she emerged from the trees, leading Deya and their pack horse. ‘I thought we would have been away by now, but never mind. I have some dried fish you can nibble on while we’re riding. It’s not very nice, but it will do.’
Aleksander was stunned, his mouth flapping open, his head shaking. ‘But... you...’ He smiled suddenly. ‘Of course. You. You saw it all.’
‘Finally,’ she smiled wearily. ‘Yes, I did. And I wasn’t about to let you ride away without me. You need me, you know. And I need you. We have to save Jael, don’t we? Together.’
Aleksander reached out and grabbed her hand, sliding off Sky, enclosing her shivering body in his weary arms. ‘We do. Yes,’ he sighed. ‘We do.’
Runa stood next to Fyn, her eyes swollen from sobbing. She couldn’t believe she had her son back again; couldn’t believe Morac had been the one to convince Eirik to send him away. ‘You saved my son,’ she said again, her head bobbing towards the broken figure lying in bed, her bottom lip quivering.
‘Well,’ Jael grinned awkwardly. ‘Not really. But at least now you can give him a proper home again. Feed him a decent meal or two.’ Talking hurt; she was growing tired of visitors now.
Eirik saw Jael’s discomfort and looked towards Runa. ‘Let us leave Jael in peace. She needs to rest.’ He winked at her.
Jael smiled gratefully at him as he ushered Runa outside. Fyn stayed behind for a moment. ‘Thank you, Jael,’ he mumbled, unable to stop the tears from falling down his bruised and swollen face. ‘Thank you for what you did. You nearly died for me. Twice.’
‘Ahhh, well,’ Jael said with a weary smile, ‘I can’t think of many better reasons to die for, Fyn. It would have been worth it.’
Fyn gave her a lop-sided smile and disappeared.
Jael closed her eyes, stroking Ido’s soft, black head as he lay wedged firmly into her side.
‘I’m going to go and say goodbye to Isaura,’ Eadmund murmured, poking his head in the doorway. ‘They’re all finally leaving now.’
‘I’m jealous,’ Jael murmured. ‘I would love to watch Ivaar scurry away, back to his little pebble.’
‘For now, at least.’ Eadmund came into the room and put his hand on her head. ‘But he’ll be back.’
‘Yes, he will. And you’ll need to be ready.’
‘Me?’ Eadmund laughed. ‘I’m not the one who’s too broken to move!’ He leaned down and kissed her. ‘We’ll both need to be ready for whatever Ivaar brings.’
‘Mmmm,’ Jael murmured, enjoying his kiss enough to ignore the pain for a moment. ‘Ivaar. And the rest of them.’
THE END
Epilogue
‘They found the book, my lord.’
Jaeger Dragos spun around, his amber eyes sharp with surprise. ‘They found the book?’ His mouth hung open, a smile slowly winding its way around his handsome lips. ‘They found the book! Where is it?’ He came rushing towards his trusted servant, grabbing his hands. ‘Tell me, Egil, where is it?’
‘It is on its way, my lord.’
‘Here? In Hest?’
‘Yes, my lord, they found it hidden, not fa
r from here.’
Jaeger shook his head in disbelief. He had spent years looking for that book. The book, the darkest, most powerful book that had ever been written. The Book of Raemus. The Book of Darkness. And now it was his. Lost for centuries, he was finally going to have its power in his hands.
‘Soon it will be spring, Egil, and they will launch their ships and send their men to try and destroy us,’ Jaeger smiled, his mind wandering, his eyes bright with thoughts of what was to come. ‘And my father thinks he knows how to protect us. But little does he know how ready we will be to destroy them all.’
He walked back to his window and looked out, down onto Hest’s busy harbour.
For he who possessed the book could bring darkness to the entire world.
The Kingdoms of Osterland
Brekka
King Lothar Furyck
Gisila Furyck
Jael Furyck
Axl Furyck
Osbert Furyck
Amma Furyck
Aleksander Lehr
Edela Saeveld
Gant Olborn
Brynna ‘Biddy’ Halvor
Oss
King Eirik Skalleson
Eadmund Skalleson
Eydis Skalleson
Morac Gallas
Runa Gallas
Fyn Gallas
Evaine Gallas
Thorgils Svanter
Odda Svanter
Torstan Berg
Tarak Soren
Entorp Bray
Kalfa
Lord Ivaar Skalleson
Lady Isaura Skalleson
Selene Skalleson
Annet Skalleson
Leya Skalleson
Mads Skalleson
Ayla Adea
Rikka
Morana Gallas
Tuura
Branwyn Byrn
Kormac Byrn
Aedan Byrn
Kayla Byrn
Aron Byrn
Neva Elgard
Marcus Volsen
Alaric Fraed
Hanna Boelens
Coming soon
THE BURNING SEA
The Furyck Saga: Book Two
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About A.E. Rayne
Upon discovering that her chances for inventing a time machine were rather slim, 8-year-old A.E. Rayne decided to pursue a career as a writer instead. She completed a Bachelor of Communication Studies, majoring in television, then trained as a graphic designer, while dabbling in poetry, and continually plotting her first novel.
A.E. Rayne survives on a happy diet of historical and fantasy fiction and particularly loves a good Viking tale. Her favourite authors are Bernard Cornwell, Giles Kristian, Robert Low, C.J. Sansom, and Patrick O’Brian. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband and three children.
Winter’s Fury is the first book in an epic fantasy series.
Ways you can connect with A.E. Rayne
aerayne.com/
a.e.rayne@aerayne.com
Copyright © A.E. Rayne 2017
All artwork © Cap & Anchor Design Co. Ltd
A.E. Rayne asserts the moral right to be identified
as the author of this work.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and places described in it are the work of the author’s imagination.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN: 978-1-48-359734-8
Amazon ASIN: BO6XZVBZCB
For more information about A.E. Rayne
and her upcoming books visit:
www.aerayne.com