Warriors of Ethandun by N. M. Browne Page A

could be anywhere. Perhaps if she had magic she might be able to find him – if she wanted to. The thought that she might not want to ate away at him. She had not been herself when she ran through the Veil.He had no idea what she might do, and with Ursula anything was possible.
    After a while the river narrowed to nothing and Dan and Aelfred had to carry the raft between them and make their way over bogland. They had to stop often while the King dry-retched. He walked like a man in agony.
    â€˜Should I not go on ahead to fetch help?’ Dan asked. His arms ached from the punting and the raft carrying. Although he was gym fit and strong he was not used to continuous hard physical work. Aelfred was breathing in shallow bursts and his face had turned grey with fatigue and pain. ‘No. You will be killed. I must come with you or they may think you kidnapped me.’
    â€˜You didn’t leave without telling anyone?’ Dan asked, unable to keep the incredulity from his voice. In his experience kings were not inclined to wander hostile territory on their own. Aelfred bent double with some kind of stomach cramp.
    â€˜Yes. May God forgive me. I had not planned on being away so long. I lost my way.’ His face creased as another wave of pain convulsed him.
    â€˜This is stupid,’ Dan said. ‘If you lie on the raft, I can perhaps pull you across the marsh.’
    â€˜No. I am all right. The pain will … pass … in a moment.’ But Dan had already unstrapped his sword belt and the leather belt that held up his school trousers and was trying to come up with a way of securing both to the bindings of the raft. The King took off his own belt that held his seax. ‘Keep your sword belt. We do not know that the Danes have gone and you may need your blade in ahurry. If I am lying on the raft, I need not sheathe my seax – I can hold it in readiness.’ Dan did not argue.
    The problem for Dan was not so much that the King was too heavy, but that getting a good enough grip on the belts to get the raft moving was very difficult. Dan tried walking backwards and pulling the raft, then he tried walking forwards, dragging the raft, and neither way worked well. He took off his sweatshirt and tied that to the belts to make them easier to hold, but the knots kept coming undone. He wasted quite a bit of energy cursing under his breath.
    The King did not complain as Dan jolted and dragged him across the uneven terrain. A couple of times Aelfred almost fell off, but he gripped the wood of the raft with a long claw-like hand and smiled at the craziness of it.
    â€˜It is not exactly a king’s progress,’ Dan said through gritted teeth. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and his muscles were trembling in revolt at the unnatural movement.
    â€˜But it is progress and for that we must thank God.’ Aelfred responded.
    Dan had little idea of how long he struggled with the raft but when the sun was quite high in the sky he had to stop.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I have to rest.’ He slumped on the damp ground exhausted.
    â€˜That is fine. This is Athelney, my stronghold. My men are here now,’ Aelfred said, and suddenly his seax was pointed Dan’s way and three armed men emerged from behind low bushes all around him.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ Dan asked, outraged.
    â€˜I’m sorry, I do not know your loyalties. You speak Danish. For all I know you could be a spy.’
    â€˜I saved your life. I’ve just dragged you for miles …’
    Aelfred looked unhappy. ‘It grieves me, it truly does, but there is more at stake here than my desire alone. We are on the brink of destruction. I cannot risk all on a stranger I happened upon in a swineherd’s cottage.’
    Dan could feel his anger growing. He reached for his sword and he batted Aelfred’s seax away easily, knocking it from his grasp with the ringing sound of metal