The Hallowed Isle Book One: The Book of the Sword by Diana L. Paxson

Author:Diana L. Paxson [Paxson, Diana L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Retail, TPL
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

VI

THE DRAGON STAR

A.D. 459

“YOU HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD OF HOSTS, AND THE DEVIL has sent his legions to chastise you!” The tattered sleeves of a robe that had once been white fluttered as the priest shook his fists against the sunset sky. “For your greed you are punished; for your faithlessness you are cast down. You have followed the heretic Pelagius, and thought that your own deeds could save you, and this is the result—rivers running with blood and a land in flames!” Spittle flew from parched lips as the priest brought down his arms.

“It is true!” wailed the people. “We have sinned! We must flee this accursed land!”

The tall figure at the edge of the crowd moved forward, leaning on his rowan staff. These days he called himself Merlin, the name that “son of Maderun,” misheard, had become. He did not trouble to correct it. Ambros had been a human name, and that man had died in the forest. It seemed fitting that he, who was not really a man, should bear what was not a real name.

Merlin had come into the wayfarers’ encampment hoping for food and fire—this close to midsummer a day’s journey was long. Instead, he had found this haranguing cleric, whose whine made him want to turn back to the quiet of the hills.

“You sought to cast out the devil Hengest, and as happened to the man from whom they cast out the devil, seven demons worse than the first one have invaded our land!” the priest was continuing.

And that was true enough, for the German tribesmen who had hung back when Vortimer was battling Hengest to a standstill had come howling like wolves to tear at the poor bleeding carcass of Britannia once the way was opened by treachery. Aelle and his sons held the lands east of Sorviodunum, and the Jutes and Frisians had taken back all their old lands in Cantium and more. The walled cities of Londinium, Verulamium, Regnum and many others still held, but throughout the eastern half of the country the enemy ranged freely.

“Should we have welcomed the Saxon?” asked someone, and a few people grimaced with what might have been laughter if they had not forgotten how.

In truth, they were a sorry lot; even those who had fled with some of their wealth were worn and dirty. The skin on the priest’s face hung in folds, as if he had once been a much heavier man. Those whom Merlin passed edged aside, crossing themselves. He had become accustomed to that, for if they were tattered caricatures of their former prosperity, he had abandoned all its trappings, and now went barefoot, in a garment of deerskin, mantled with a wolf’s hide that he pinned with the curving tusk of a wild boar. But he knew how to veil his presence so that even those men who had been startled by his appearance in another moment forgot what they had seen.

“Leave the land to the sea wolves, and may they have joy of it,” answered another.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.