Read Online Heartwood by Freya Robertson - Free Book Online

currently ankle-deep. He turned to cast a quick glance over the scene, his first real look at the battle since it had started. Procella was right in the middle and was clearly in control; feet planted firmly, she swung her blade at the warrior in front of her, and was in no immediate danger. Protecting her back was Valens, and the mighty Imperator also looked dangerous in spite of his war wound. A fierce grimace on his face, he lopped off the head of one of the water warriors even as Chonrad watched, the warrior’s head – its helmet still intact – rolling on the floor before it, too, dissolved into the water sloshing around their ankles.
    The twins battled it out fiercely to one side, and just in front of him stood Beata, her mail hood still in folds around her neck, her beautiful face flushed and strands of hair sticking to her damp forehead as she thrust and parried. The warrior with one arm was fighting admirably, wielding his sword with practised ease.
    Some of the Laxonian lords were visible, but he could not see Hariman, and he wondered if he had fallen. Raedwulf still stood, as did Grimbeald, the Wulfengar lord putting up an excellent fight in spite of his short stature. There were other figures on the floor though, their faces beneath the water, and it was too early to tell whether they were winning or losing the fight.
    Briefly, he wondered where Fulco was. Surely if his bodyguard had heard the sounds of battle, he would have come running. Were these water warriors also outside in the Baillium?
    It was then he saw Dulcis off to one side of the Curia, defending herself valiantly against a huge warrior, his enormous frame towering over her as he slashed down continuously with his mighty sword. Chonrad ran over to her, but he was too late – even as he leapt onto her podium, the warrior lifted his arms back and, with a two-handed blow, slid the tip of the sword into her stomach. She wore only light armour, and the point of the weapon passed easily through the padded tunic and into her body. The warrior pushed until her body touched the hilt and then, with a final and probably unnecessary move, twisted the blade before pulling it out.
    Dulcis fell to her knees, her face white, and stared blankly at Chonrad as he ran towards her, only just managing to catch her as she fell to the floor.
    Â 
    V
    His battle fury now truly engaged, Chonrad let out a blood-curdling yell before swinging his sword at Dulcis’s executor. The warrior had barely enough time to turn round before Chonrad rained down blows upon his body. In spite of the fact that he was several inches taller than Chonrad and a good deal heavier, Chonrad managed to push him back until the warrior tripped on Dulcis’s fallen body and toppled backwards, landing with a splash in the water. Chonrad knelt on top of him and, rage giving him extra strength, forced the blade down through the gap above the warrior’s mail and below his helmet into the soft flesh below. The warrior shuddered, went rigid and then, with the same strange gurgling scream deep inside him, melted into the water.
    Chonrad stood, soaked now from the waist down, but furious and ready to kill. Sword swinging, he went into the fray, knocking aside blades and warriors alike as he sliced a path through the battling bodies.
    The water seemed to be coming in waves now, the strength of the liquid making him struggle to keep his feet. However, as in all the battles he had fought in, he became aware of a sense of victory even before it became clear they had won. The number of huge green warriors seemed to be diminishing, and a renewed sense of energy swept through him as the people fighting beside him pushed the enemy back towards the channel of water at the edge. To one side he could see out of the corner of his eye Procella, Valens and one of the twins battling valiantly, and to the other side Grimbeald, a couple of Militis and a Hanaire lord, all sensing the warriors were in