Blood Oath: The Janna Chronicles 1 Read Online Free

according to the rules of nature, obeying its instinct for survival. She shuddered as she looked down at the great hairy beast.
    “It’s a wild pig, not a relative.” Godric leaned over the boar. His arm rose and, with a swift movement, he slit its throat. Blood spurted. Janna jerked back with a cry of horror.
    Godric wiped his knife clean on a patch of moss, then sheathed it at his waist. “I had no true aim in the dark,” he explained. “I had to see if I’d killed it or if it was still conscious. It was lucky I managed to strike it hard enough to stop its charge.”
    “You didn’t have to kill it!”
    “Yes, I did. It was ready to get up and go for us again. My knife would have been no defense against it at all.”
    Speechless with shock, Janna could only nod in understanding.
    “Are you all right?” Godric placed a steadying arm around her shoulders.
    “It knocked my breath from my body, but it didn’t hurt me.” She leaned against him briefly, grateful for his warmth, his solid comfort. “Thank you,” she said. “You’ve saved my life tonight.”
    “What are you doing out in the forest so late?” he asked.
    “Gathering strawberries.” Janna touched the purse hanging from her belt, grateful that she’d fallen backward. Hopefully the fruit hadn’t been crushed when she fell. “What about you? Why are you here?”
    “Unlike you, I have permission from both my lord Robert and the abbess to come into the forest.” His laughing eyes belied his tone of reproof.
    “How so?” Janna asked, intrigued that a common villein like Godric, tied as he was to the lord of Babestoche Manor, should be given the freedom to roam about in a royal hunting forest.
    “I’ve been leading lost souls.” Seeing Janna’s frown of puzzlement, Godric grinned. “Today I escorted a group of pilgrims who are on their way from the west to Wiltune Abbey and Glastingberie,” he explained. “There’s an ancient road built by the Romans that crosses the full length of the forest from east to west, but it’s visible only to those who know it’s there. If the forester is about some other business, I am often asked to lead travelers through the forest to save them from getting lost.”
    “How do you know about the Roman road?” Janna asked curiously.
    “My forefathers were huntsmen here at the time of the Saxons. Their knowledge has been passed down from father to son, through many generations. So shall I pass on the knowledge to my sons, and I’ll show them too, when it’s time.” Godric nodded to himself, confirming his intention.
    “So you acted as a guide today. What about tonight?” Janna searched the surrounding forest for signs of the pilgrims, but could see no-one.
    Godric laughed. “I’m still on my way home, should ill luck bring the forester my way.”
    “The knife is for protection, of course.” Janna indicated the sheath hanging from his belt.
    “Of course.” He gestured around the forest. “I might meet outlaws, wolves, or wild boar. I might even need to save a damsel in distress. ”
    “No doubt you’ll also have to protect yourself against a savage hare or two,” Janna ventured.
    Godric’s mouth twitched. “That’s certainly possible.”
    He must have abandoned his catch to come to her rescue, Janna thought, feeling sorry that he’d lost his dinner on her account. She stared down at the beast that had so frightened her. Its legs were coated black with mud and dung, and so was its nose, from a lifetime of rooting about for its food. It stank, and yet Janna couldn’t help a pang of pity—and then fear as she realized the consequences of their night’s work.
    “What are we going to do with it?” she asked, pointing at the dead boar.
    “I can think of several things.” Godric licked his lips in hungry anticipation. “Collops of bacon. Chops. A leg roasted on a spit…”
    “Have you taken leave of your wits?” Suddenly becoming conscious of the noise they were making and the need for