The Bretwalda (The Casere Book 4) Read Online Free

I’m not going to kill you. Alana is.’
    ‘Who is Alana?’
    ‘My daughter – the one you kidnapped.’
    He laughed disdainfully. ‘That girl? Like you, she is weak. She would never kill me …’
    With that and the sound of a thud, the folgere had an arrow lodged deep in his lung. He collapsed wheezing and coughing –disbelieving. His last moments were not pleasant. Conn walked over and pulled the necklace from around the folgere’s neck, and in front of his eyes, crushed it with his kunai. The pain and anguish was memorable, but gave Conn little pleasure.
    ‘What some might call weakness, another might call tactics. You are wrong in a lot of things you believe, Folgere.’
    He turned around to see Derryth sheepishly walking towards him with three dirty and dusty young women with him. One was Twacuman, another was Ancuman while the last one was Alana, and she raced to her father and he enveloped her in a big hug. After a few moments, she said.
    ‘You can let go now, papa.’
    He held her back at arm’s length. ‘You, young lady, have a lot of explaining to do. That was not how I taught you to shoot an arrow.’
    She shook her head in disgust. ‘He is an animal. All he did was talk about how I would suffer and cry out… he caused pain, and what little I caused him pales into insignificance.’
    ‘There are other questions.’
    ‘I know, I’m very sorry. But Beortan? Is Beortan okay?’
    ‘Wilric tells me that he will survive. If Derryth doesn’t kill him first.’
    She turned to look at the silent, albeit still embarrassed, Derryth, her face pleading. ‘Please don’t. He was very brave when he tried to save me. There was nothing anyone could have done.’
    ‘Except not putting you in a position of danger to start with.’
    She stopped to contemplate. ‘I had a strange feeling that things were wrong but I did not act, and that is more my failure than his. He doesn’t have the knowledge that I have.’
    Conn hugged her again, and then turned to look at Derryth as Alana went to hug and greet the others. Even Kutidi held her for a long time.
    ‘So tell me how you got ambushed?’
    Derryth was still embarrassed. ‘I do not know! I am standing there waiting, when I heard a voice at my elbow say “Can I use your bow, Uncle?”, and there they were – all three of them. I was shocked.’
    ‘I’ll bet. Wait till I tell everyone that story. How Alana crept up behind you.’
    ‘You wouldn’t.’
    ‘I would.’
    ‘You can’t. My reputation will be in tatters.’
    ~oo0oo~
    They returned to the door of the inn. Dagrun looked at the corpses being carted away. ‘So this is what happens if people get on your bad side?’
    Conn agreed and he watched the street return to its former peacefulness. ‘I highly recommend that no one kidnaps my children.’
    ‘I’ll pass the word around.’
    Inside, everyone sat down and were soon being fed. Alana found it hard; as a Corporal in Logistics she felt she needed to get up and do something but it had been some time since any of them had eaten properly, so she sat and ate. Conn wanted introductions.
    Alana introduced the Twacuman girl first. Since she had arrived, she had not said a word and just stared at Derryth and the other Twacuman. She seemed in shock.
    ‘This is Siga il Neritum, and that is Asbera il Nobatia. It was Asbera who found me as I swam ashore, and it has been Siga who has been keeping us safe.’
    Derryth responded in surprise. ‘Neritum? Neritum is our ancestral home – but everyone left Neritum – no one was left behind.’
    Conn knew of the story of Neritum; to escape the Ancuman taking them all as theow, the Twacuman fled Neritum and headed west. They landed in Meshech; those that hadn’t already been taken as theow to Kishdah.
    Siga spoke for the first time and she looked at Derryth. ‘There are a few – not many. Less than a hundred now I think. I am the youngest. I have come in search of my kindred – and I am so glad that I have found