Hereward 03 - End of Days by James Wilde Page A

soldiers roamed with increasing regularity the closer they got to Ely. The two companions would hideamong the fern, or in the branches of ash trees, then run, and then hide again. When they found the secret path, they had to wait in the fading light for the tide to go out. The way was as wild and dangerous as Hereward remembered and the night was heavy upon them by the time they reached the isle of eels, hungry and exhausted. But Hereward felt his worries ebb when he saw the church tower silhouetted against the starry sky.
    As the gates trundled open, they stared into a row of warriors bristling with spears. Warnings were barked. But then torches flared, and the dark swept away. Hereward saw a corresponding light spring to life in the faces of the night watch. Disbelief turned to amazement and then jubilation. Full-throated cheers rose up. Shields and weapons were thrown aside, and the men ran forward to surround the two travellers, clapping shoulders and babbling questions.
    ‘You doubted me?’ Alric said, with a wry smile. ‘Here is all the proof you need.’
    Hereward looked around in stunned silence, humbled by the greeting. As the circle of men herded him inside the gates, he heard the cry ‘Hereward is here!’ leap from mouth to mouth, rising up into the dark of Ely’s streets.
    ‘Where have you been these past days?’ someone yelled as the gates rumbled shut behind him.
    ‘Tweaking the king’s nose,’ he called back. Laughter rose up.
    ‘And is it true the Bastard has come to the east?’ At this, the voices quietened and an uneasy silence hung in the air.
    ‘Aye,’ Hereward said, looking around at the worried faces. ‘Now we have him where we want him.’
    The silence broke as another cheer rang out.
    On the street to the minster, Kraki waited, his heavy gaze weighing, judging. ‘You came back, then,’ the Northman growled.
    ‘Aye. I would not leave you to face the Bastard alone.’
    Kraki grunted. He looked over the crowd and bellowed, ‘Would you wake the dead with this noise? Back to your homes, all of you. Hereward scouted and now he is home. Thatis no reason for a feast. Back to your hearths, and leave us to make our plans.’
    The crowd broke up. But Hereward heard the jubilation continue as he strode up the hill, and it was not until he reached the minster enclosure that silence finally fell. Thurstan waited in a knot of monks, alongside Guthrinc, Hengist and a few more of his most trusted men, eyes still heavy with sleep. Guthrinc lumbered forward and wrapped his enormous arms round Hereward, almost crushing the breath from him.
    ‘We thought you dead,’ the big man said with a grin.
    ‘Many have wished that. Now put me down before you end my days yourself.’
    Guthrinc laughed as he released his arms.
    ‘We have news to tell and plans to make,’ Hereward called to his men. ‘Let us—’
    ‘It is true, then. You are here.’
    Hereward turned at the woman’s voice. He half expected to see Turfrida there, waiting to greet him with a kiss as she always had when he returned from fighting.
    ‘Her name is Rowena,’ Alric whispered. ‘’Twas her village where the Normans took all the menfolk.’ In the torchlight, the woman’s dark eyes were bright with hope and her cheeks were flushed.
    ‘I have come to Ely to plead for your help,’ she said, the words loud and clear.
    ‘And I will hear you, after I have—’
    ‘No, you will hear me now.’ Her voice cracked with desperation. Seeing she did not mean to give offence, Hereward held up a hand to stop Kraki guiding her away. ‘Aid me,’ she continued, defiant. ‘Help me find my husband, and all the other men the Normans took from their beds.’
    ‘I will aid you,’ the Mercian replied. ‘But we have a crown to claim, and that must come first.’
    ‘Not for me, or any of the goodwives in my village.’ As he turned to leave, she continued, ‘I call on you in the name of your wife Turfrida.’
    He glanced back, his eyes