Dublin (54 page)

  Suddenly there was a mighty surge, as another banner from the other side came towards it. The golden banner, apparently aware of the move, also stirred in that direction. There was a sound of shouting, a small roar as the two banners seemed almost to touch.

  He heard Brian hiss through his teeth, then there was an intake of breath. A long pause followed, as if the whole battle line was holding its breath. Then came a huge cheer from the other side, followed by a moan from the Munster men. And suddenly, like a firefly that has been extinguished, the golden standard fell and was seen no more.

  Brian Boru said nothing. He stared straight ahead, obviously trying to see what was taking place in the melee. His son's standard was down and nobody had raised it. That could only mean one thing.

  He was dead, or mortally wounded. Slowly the old man turned, went back to his former place, and sat down. His head sank forward. Nobody spoke.

  Down in the battle line, however, the death of their leader seemed to have inspired the army with a desire to avenge him. They surged forward. For some little time, the enemy managed to make a last stand, but soon they were falling back, first one section of the line then another, until the whole front broke and fled towards the estuary and the Tolka.

  Brian's servant and Morann looked at each other. Neither of them liked to interrupt the king at such a moment. But it had to be done.

  "The Leinstermen have broken. They're running away."

  Did the old man hear? It was hard to tell. Some of the guards who made up the shield wall were obviously itching to join in the fray, now that the danger to the king was past. After a short pause, Morann decided to speak for them.

  "May some of the guards go down to finish them off?" he enquired. This was acknowledged with a nod. A few moments later, half the guards went quickly down towards the water, the rest remaining at their posts by the king.

  For a little longer, Brian Boru sat silently, his head bowed. If he had just won the greatest victory of his career, he did not seem to care. Suddenly, he looked very old.

  Meanwhile, at the water's edge some hundreds of yards away, a truly terrible scene was taking place. The Leinstermen and their allies had fled to the water's edge, but having got there, were trapped with no further escape route. Those running westwards were caught as they tried to wade back across the stream.

  And in these two places they were slaughtered without mercy. Already the bodies were piling up in the stream and floating out into the estuary.

  King Brian Boru did not watch. His head remained bowed, his shoulders stooped in pain.

  At last, turning his eyes sadly towards Brother Osgar, he motioned him to his side.

  "Pray with me, monk," he said quietly. "Let us pray for my poor son." So Osgar came, and knelt at his side, and they prayed together.

  Not wishing to disturb them, Morann moved to the edge of the enclosure and stepped out. The remaining guards were watching the events down by the water. Strangely, though it was only hundreds of yards away, the massacre seemed distant, almost unreal, while by Brian's small enclosure there was an eerie quiet.

  So the battle was over, and he was still alive.

  Morann had to admit that he was surprised. Had his intimation back at the tombs by the Boyne been wrong?

  It was a few moments later that he saw the movement away to his right. No one else had noticed. It came from the small wood which ran down to the hamlet. From the top of it, now, a party of Vikings was emerging. There must have been at least a dozen of them. The people down by the water had their backs to them. They were fully armed, and they were running, rapidly, towards King Brian's enclosure. He let out a shout.

  I, Caoilinn had seen enough. She could not tell exactly what was happening at the water's edge, but the outcome of the battle was clear. The Leinster and Dyflin men had lost and Brian's men were going to massacre them.

  "Come, children," she said, "it is time to go."

  "Where to, Mother?" they asked.

  "Fingal."

  They headed north. At first, she urged her horse into a canter. It would look better, after all, if they could arrive at the farmstead quickly, before news of Leinster's defeat reached Harold. She could claim that she had set out that morning and been delayed by troops on the road, rather than admit she had waited to see the outcome of the battle. She'd have to instruct the children in their story, too. But then she shook her head and almost laughed at herself. How absurd. What an insult to Harold's intelligence, demeaning to them both. If they were going to marry, there would have to be more honesty than that.

  So as soon as she was certain they were clear of any danger, she slowed her horse to a walk. She would take her time. She might as well look her best.

  Osgar had already jumped up by the time Morann was back in the enclosure. The guards, caught unawares, were still snatching their shields and weapons. One of them had let Morann have an axe, and the silversmith was placing himself directly in front of the king. Osgar had no weapon. He felt helpless and naked.

  The Vikings were getting near. He could hear their footfalls. He saw the guards tense. There was a loud bang that almost made him jump out of his skin, as a Viking sword struck an upraised shield.

  Then he saw the Viking helmets-three of them, four, five. They seemed huge, larger than life, looming over the shield wall. Their axes were crashing down. He saw one axe hook itself over the top of a shield, tearing it down while a sword blade stabbed through into the defender's stomach, causing him to scream and then wilt in a welter of blood.

  Another guard fell, and another, writhing and biting the grass in his agony. The Vikings were through. Three of them, two with axes, one with a sword, were coming straight towards him. To his horror, he found himself unable to move, as in a dream. He saw Morann bravely raise his axe and swing at a Viking with a scarred face. With a clever stoop, the Viking dodged the blow while his companion, a black-haired, swarthy man, moving so quickly that Osgar hardly saw it happen, plunged a great, blue- bladed sword straight into Morann's ribs below the heart. Osgar heard the ribs crack and then saw Morann sink down to his knees, while his axe dropped at Osgar's feet.

  Efficiently, the dark fellow put one foot on Morann's shoulder, pulled out his sword, and the silversmith fell forward, facedown onto the ground. Osgar saw his body twitching as the life left him.

  For a moment the Vikings paused. They were looking at Osgar and Brian Boru.

  Osgar had not been watching the king. To his surprise, he realised that Brian was still in the same position, slumped in his seat, where they had been praying together. There was a sword leaning against the back of the seat, but Brian had not bothered to reach for it. Until this moment, paralysed by fear, Osgar had not moved; but now, faced with death, instead of terror he felt an unexpected anger. He was going to die and no one, not even Brian Boru the warrior king, was going to do anything about it. The axe Morann had dropped was at his feet. Scarcely knowing what he was doing, he snatched it up.

  The shield wall had collapsed. The rest of the Vikings were coming into the enclosure, but evidently the man with the scarred face was the leader, since they all kept behind him. Then the dark man pointed his sword at Brian and spoke.

  "King."

  The leader looked from Osgar to Brian, then shook his head.

  "No, Sigurd. Priest."

  "No, Brodar." Sigurd was grinning as he pointed his sword at Brian's white beard.

  "King."

  And now Brian Boru moved. Quick as a flash, with remarkable agility, he reached back over his head as he sat, grasped the sword behind him; and almost in the same instant it flashed forward, striking Brodar in the leg. As the sword bit, the Viking chief let out a roar andwitha mighty swing brought down his axe on the old kings neck, smashing the collarbone and opening a huge gash. Brian rocked, blood burst from his mouth, his eyes opened very wide, and he keeled over on his side.

  And now Sigurd stepped forward with his broad, two-edged sword. Somewhere behind the swarthy Viking, Osgar heard someone say, "Priest," but he hardly took it in. As he came towards Osgar, he wore a curious smile. Osgar, clutching his axe across his chest, backed away.

  Slowly Sigurd brought the blade of his sword up in front of Osgar's face, showing it to him.

  Osgar shook. He was going to die. Should he accept death like a Christian martyour? Earlier, he had not been able to bring himself to kill. But now? Even if he raised the axe to strike at Sigurd's head, the swarthy pirate would plunge the fearsome sword through his rib cage before the axe had even started to descend.

  As Osgar hesitated, Sigurd, taking no notice of the axe at all, took two steps up to the monk and, lowering his sword so that the flat of the blade caressed Osgar's leg, brought his face so close to Osgar's that their noses almost touched. His eyes stared into Osgar's with a cold, terrifying menace. Osgar felt the sword blade slowly moving up his leg.

  Dear God, the pirate was about to stab it, with a terrible force, into his stomach. He would see his own entrails burst out. Only half aware of it, he vaguely felt a warm wetness running down his legs.

  And then, suddenly, without warning, opening his mouth wide as though he was going to bite him, Sigurd the pirate let out a huge, bloodcurdling roar, into his face.

  "Aarrgh! Aarrgh!"

  And before a third was even out, Osgar had turned and fled, fled for his life, running as fast as he knew how, his legs wet, his face cold with terror. He did not even hear the laughter of the men behind him, but ran northwards, away from Sigurd, away from the battle, away from Dyflin. He did not stop until, breathless and panting, he reached the edge of the Plain of Bird Flocks and realised that there was no one behind him and that all was silence.

  Brodar was bleeding badly; Brian's blow had almost severed his leg. Down by the water, the Munster king's forces had still not realised what had happened to him, but there was no time to lose.

  Sigurd looked around him. When Brodar had pointed to the enclosure and led the raiding party, Sigurd assumed that the warlord was looking for loot to plunder. That was certainly what Sigurd wanted.

  Morann had been wearing a gold armband and was carrying some coins. Sigurd had those in a moment.

  Brian Boru had worn a magnificent clasp on his shoulder. By rights this was Brodar's, but Brodar was no longer in a condition to take it.

  Sigurd swiftly detached it. The other members of the party were taking what they could. One had snatched a rich damask; another had the furs on which the old king had been sitting. A third had picked up a little book of illustrated Gospels that had fallen to the ground. He had shrugged, but put it in his pouch, supposing it must have some value.

  "It's time to go," said Sigurd.

  "What about Brodar?" asked one of his men.

  Sigurd glanced at Brodar. The lower part of his leg was only hanging by a fragment of bone and fleshy tissue. The warlord was a pale grey colour; his face looked clammy.

  "Leave him. He will die," he said. It was no use trying to go back towards Dyflin, but some of the longships there would probably put out and work their way up the coast, looking for survivors. "I will meet you on the beach north of Howth," he said. "If you find a longship, keep it there until nightfall."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I have a piece of business to attend to," said Sigurd.

  It was only a short walk to the tents of the Munster camp where, Sigurd knew, there would be plenty of horses. It was guarded, so he had to move stealthily; but before long he saw a horse tethered to a post, and quietly untying it, he led it away.

  Moments later, he was on its back and heading north. His sword hung from his belt at his side.

  For the time being, he took off his heavy metal helmet and let it hang by its strap down his back.

  The cool breeze on his face felt refreshing.

  At a stream, he paused and dismounted for a moment to drink. Then, at a walk, he rode on. There were still a few hours of daylight. And thanks to his informants in Dyflin, he knew exactly where Harold's farmstead was.

  Only when he stopped running did Brother Osgar discover, to his surprise, that he was still clutching the axe.

  There was no danger in sight at the moment, but who knew what threat might be lurking out there in the landscape. The axe was rather heavy, but he decided not to let it go just yet. Where should he seek refuge?

  Nearby he saw a burnt-out farmstead. No shelter there. Anyway, those pirates might come up here. Tomorrow or the next day, when he was sure there were no more Vikings around, he would go to Dyflin; but for the moment, he would continue until he reached some place of safety. So as soon as he had caught his breath, he pressed on.

  He passed another ruined farm, crossed a patch of marshy ground, and had just emerged onto a track with a good view of the surrounding country when he caught sight of the woman and the two children riding some way ahead. When he first glimpsed them, he received a small shock. The woman looked like Caoilinn.