Odin's Betrayal by Donovan Cook

Author:Donovan Cook [Cook, Donovan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Boldwood Books

Bishop Bernard sighed as he walked into the dark library of Duke Liudolf. They had been back in Ehresburg, the duke’s capital, for two days, and so far the old bishop had barely had a moment’s peace. It had taken them a few days to clean up the mess left behind by Lothar’s foolishness, although neither the bishop nor the duke had any idea of why Lothar had decided to attack Torkel. They had tried to find this messenger they’d been told about, but the man was nowhere to be found, and neither was the warrior who had told Lothar of the messenger. After appointing a new chatelain, they had returned to Ehresburg, but there were still too many questions to answer. The most important of which was the whereabouts of Torkel’s son, Charles. The bishop sighed again. He liked the boy and wished that his fate could be different.

Duke Liudolf looked up from the letter he was reading. ‘Bishop?’

Bishop Bernard took a moment to compose his thoughts as he stared at the many bookshelves that lined the walls of the library, filled with more books than they had in his church in Paderborn, not far from Ehresburg – and with more weapons, he mused as he looked at the swords and axes which hung from the walls. The bishop finally turned his attention to the stern brown eyes of the duke. ‘Any news?’

Duke Liudolf leaned back on his chair and put the letter he had been reading down on the desk. ‘The boy is in Denmark.’

‘Denmark?’ The bishop raised an eyebrow. ‘What would Charles be doing in Denmark?’

‘We both know why, bishop. His grandfather.’ The duke frowned as he stared at the letter again. Bishop Bernard wondered what else it said.

‘Surely not. I’ve told the boy enough stories to make him fear that heathen. Why would he go to him?’

The duke shrugged his wide shoulders. ‘Torkel must have told him to. That is the only thing I can think of.’

Bishop Bernard scratched his wrinkled cheek. ‘This is not good. King Charles wants the boy. It’s important that we find him and the cross, and soon.’

The duke picked up the letter again and read it. The bishop wondered how many times he had done that already. ‘You don’t need to remind me, bishop. I know what’s at stake here.’ He stared at the bishop, his face suddenly hard. ‘I sent my best hunters out this morning. God willing they will find him and the cross before they are both out of our reach.’

The bishop crossed himself. He knew the hunters the duke was talking about. They were assassins who could hunt down any person in any kingdom and the bishop disliked them immensely. The devil’s spawn was how he thought of them, but there were few men in Francia better than them at tracking a nine-year-old boy in Denmark. ‘I pray they do,’ the bishop said. ‘For our sake and the kingdom’s.’

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