Perfecta Saxonia: The Unification of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms by John Broughton

Author:John Broughton [Broughton, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Creativia
Published: 2019-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

When the last note died away, I leapt to my feet and led the clapping and cheering. If ever a song captured the essence of a person, this was it. I slipped a gold band off my arm and took it to the scop as a reward for his effort. For once, I retired to bed with spirits raised and fell into a deep sleep, rising late and only at that hour because of a hammering at my door.

There stood the Scir Reeve, come to inform me of his investigation.

“Lord Ecgwulf, King Edward will come to Glevcaestre to hold court on the last day of the month. I must complete my inquiries by then, but with what we found at the witch’s house, I think there is little else for me to do.”

“What? Tell me!”

“The people living around her are afraid when she looks at them. They say she casts the evil eye—”

“I’ll say she does,” I interrupted. “She did it to me in the cathedral – if looks could kill…”

“They say that she causes animals and people to miscarry with but a glance. But you know how folk will blather on, Lord. Anyhow, the house, now it’s a different matter. She has dead crows hanging from the doorframe to start with, and we know the crow feeds on carrion, a bird worshipped by pagans. We found these.” He dug into a bag and pulled out six sheep’s ankle bones each inscribed with a rune. I grew up with a fear of evil magicians, and at the sight of these objects, I recoiled.

Seeing my reaction, the Reeve sighed, “Ay, for divination. ’T is the devil’s work she does right enough. I broke open a closet and inside was this!” With a flourish he pulled forth a small doll, a figure of a man with red hair, beard, and his features carefully worked in clay. But what made me gasp were the nails driven into the body of the figurine. Five nails. “See, do you know who this is, Lord?”

I confessed I did not.

“It’s the perfect likeness of Aelsie, the man in a dispute with them over land in the east of the kingdom. They were due to take the question to the King for settlement at the end of the month. It looks like the witch couldn’t wait for the King’s judgement. The matter’s assumed a different hue now; for according to Wulfstan, the witch uttered a curse and laid it on his father. Since then, he’s taken to his sick bed. Now there’s the fact of the defiling of the Lady’s tomb and she being the King’s sister and all. King Edward might not take the matter too kindly.”

The Reeve left me to ponder his news. I dwelt on my life too. I’m not what you might call a religious person, but I know I must answer to God. Evil exists in this world, and I had seen it at work in the form of the witch. I shuddered and mused about life.

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