Darkest before Dawn (The Kingdom of Mercia Book 2) Read online

  Darkest before Dawn

  A Historic Romance set in Anglo-Saxon England

  Book #2: The Kingdom of Mercia

  Jayne Castel

  Historical romances by Jayne Castel

  The Kingdom of the East Angles series

  Night Shadows (prequel novella)

  Dark Under the Cover of Night (Book One)

  Nightfall till Daybreak (Book Two)

  The Deepening Night (Book Three)

  The Kingdom of the East Angles: The Complete Series

  The Kingdom of Mercia series

  The Breaking Dawn (Book One)

  Darkest before Dawn (Book Two)

  Dawn of Wolves (Book Three)

  All characters and situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

  Darkest before Dawn by Jayne Castel

  Copyright © 2016 Jayne Castel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Edited by Tim Burton.

  Cover photography courtesy of www.istockphotos.com.

  Maps courtesy of Wikipedia.

  Visit Jayne’s website and blog: www.jaynecastel.com

  Follow Jayne on Twitter at: @JayneCastel

  ***

  This book is for Tim, with love.

  ***

  Contents

  Maps

  Glossary of Old English

  Cast of characters

  Prologue

  Peace-weaving

  Chapter One

  The Eve of Battle

  Chapter Two

  Oswiu’s Reckoning

  Chapter Three

  A New Allegiance

  Chapter Four

  Return to Bebbanburg

  Chapter Five

  A Daughter’s Duty

  Chapter Six

  The Victory Feast

  Chapter Seven

  The Reluctant Assassin

  Chapter Eight

  The Road South

  Chapter Nine

  Arrival at Pons Aelius

  Chapter Ten

  The Ealdorman’s Welcome

  Chapter Eleven

  Insults

  Chapter Twelve

  The Snows Come

  Chapter Thirteen

  Closer

  Chapter Fourteen

  Meeting at Winwaed

  Chapter Fifteen

  A Debt is Owed

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Truth of Matters

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Plea

  Chapter Eighteen

  Maric’s Tale

  Chapter Nineteen

  A Chill Welcome

  Chapter Twenty

  The Handfasting

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Mother Night

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Cyneswide’s Announcement

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Bad Blood

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Bitter Cold

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Emissary from the North

  Chapter Twenty-six

  A Brotherly Reminder

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Loss

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Turning Points

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Gathering Herbs

  Chapter Thirty

  Blood at Ēostre

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Escape from Tamworth

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Treachery

  Chapter Thirty-three

  The Hunt

  Chapter Thirty-four

  On the Other Side of the Curtain

  Chapter Thirty-five

  A New Dawn

  Epilogue

  On the Shore

  Historical Note

  Coming soon… mid-2016

  More works by Jayne Castel

  About the Author

  Maps

  Historical background for Darkest before Dawn

  In the 7th Century, England was not as we know it today. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted from the departure of the Romans, in around 430 A.D., to the Norman invasion in 1066 A.D. My novels focus on the period in between the departure of the Romans, and the first Viking invasion in 793 A.D. – a 300 year period in which Anglo-Saxon culture flourished. The British Isles were named Britannia (a legacy of the Roman colonization) and split into rival kingdoms. For the purposes of this novel, we focus on two of them: Mercia and Northumbria. The Kingdom of Gwynedd and The Kingdom of the East Angles, are also mentioned.

  Many locations in Northumbria and northern Britannia appear in this novel, although their names are somewhat different to modern-day England. Northumbria was split into two kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. Bebbanburg was the old name for Bamburgh, the seat of Northumbrian Kings for many centuries. At the time of our story, the castle would not have been built, however there would have been a wooden fort at the top of the rocky outcrop, and, possibly, a Great Tower made of local stone. Farther south, Pons Aelius was the Latin name for the settlement, which would one day become Newcastle. Tinanmuðe was the Anglo-Saxon name for the River Tyne. Our characters make a stop at the town of Eoforwic, which would be renamed Jorvik after settlement by the Danes – today, we know it as York. Toward the end of the novel, we visit Laegrecastrescir – today known as Leicester.

  Glossary of Old English (in alphabetical order)

  Æftera Geola – January

  béagas – arm-rings

  Blod monath – Blood month (November)

  ceorl – a free man

  Eoforwic – York (Anglo-Saxon name, prior to Danish settlement – also spelled Eoferwic)

  ealdorman – earl

  Ēostre – Easter

  fæder – father

  Frea – Freya – Anglo-Saxon goddess of love and fertility

  fyrd – a king's army, gathered for war

  handfasted – married

  heah-setl – high seat (later called a ‘dais’) for the king and queen

  hōre – whore

  Hrēðmonath – March

  Hwaet? – What?

  Legacæstir – Chester

  Lindisfarena – Lindisfarne Island (Holy Island)

  misteltãn – mistletoe

  mōder – mother

  nithing – a person without honor or status, also refers to a coward

  Nithhogg – a fire-breathing dragon that lived in the underworld

  nón-mete – midday meal (literally: noon-meat)

  Powys – Wales

  Sōlmōnath – February

  steopmōdor – step-mother

  thegn – a king’s retainer

  theow – a slave

  thrymsas – Anglo-saxon gold shillings

  Thunor – Thor

  Tinanmuðe (pronounced: tienanmootha) – The River Tyne (Newcastle)

  Tiw – Anglo-saxon god of war and combat

  wealca – a tube linen dress with shoulder straps attached with brooches

  Wes hāl – ‘greetings’ in old English

  Winterfyllth – Anglo-saxon Halloween

  Woden – the Anglo-saxon father of the gods (Viking: Odin)

  Wyrd – fate

  Cast of characters

  Alchflaed (pronounced Alkfled) – Princess of Bernicia (Northumbria)/Queen of Mercia.

  Maric – Mercian warrior

  Oswiu – King of Bernicia (Northumbria)

  Eanflaed (pronounced Anfled) – Queen of Bernicia
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  Alchfrith – Prince of Bernicia/King of Deira

  Cyneburh (pronounced Sinber) Penda’s daughter, married to Alchfrith

  Penda – King of Mercia

  Cyneswide (pronounced Sinesweed) – Queen of Mercia/Queen Mother

  Paeda (pronounced Peda) – Prince/King of Mercia

  Wulfhere and Aethelred – Penda’s sons, princes of Mercia

  Glaedwine – cunning man (healer)

  Wada and Alfwald – King Oswiu’s stewards

  Seaxwulf – monk

  Elfhere, Osulf, Edgard and Bryni – Mercian warriors

  Eadweard of Eoforwic – ealdorman of Eoforwic (York)

  “The nearer the dawn, the darker the night.”

  -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  “Lif sceal wið deaþe, leoht sceal wið þystrum!”

  “Life must be against death, light against darkness!”

  -Maxims II

  Prologue

  Peace-weaving

  Bebbanburg, the Kingdom of Northumbria,

  Britannia

  Late autumn, 653 A.D.

  Alchflaed was riding on the beach when she saw the horsemen approach from the south.

  She had taken a long ride that morning, enjoying the chill wind in her face and the clean, salt-laced air in her lungs. On the last stretch of shoreline toward home, she urged her pony into a brisk canter. Her two dogs ran alongside her, tongues lolling. She rode close to the water, accompanied by the roar of the surf and the hollow drum of her pony’s hooves on the hard silver sand.

  The wind whipped tendrils of hair in her face but Alchflaed paid it no mind. Her gaze travelled across the smooth beach, over the reed-covered dunes, to the rocky promontory ahead, on which the fort of Bebbanburg perched. She could see the wooden palisades that ringed the flat top of the outcrop, and the great tower, made of dark red stone that stood out against the pale sky. The Northumbrian flag – eight yellow rectangles on a blood-red field – snapped in the breeze.

  Alchflaed looked away from her home and was about to glance east to where the North Sea shimmered, when something caught her eye.

  The horsemen thundered along the road leading to the base of the fortress. It was a sizeable company, the warriors’ spears and standards bristling above their heads.

  Seized by curiosity, Alchflaed kicked her mare into a flat gallop. Behind her, the dogs barked excitedly and gave chase. As she drew closer, Alchflaed could make out the colors of the standards that the warriors bore: blue and gold.

  Mercians.

  ***

  “Thunor’s hammer, it’s cold up here!”

  “That’s just the sea breeze, Elfhere. It’s like the finest ale – drink it in.”

  Maric loosened his horse’s girth, grinning at the blond warrior next to him. They had just followed the king into Bebbanburg’s stable complex, which lay beyond the high gate within the inner palisade, and were in the process of unsaddling their horses.

  “I grew up amongst hills and forests,” Elfhere grumbled. “What use do I have for the sea?”

  “Surely, you admired the view on the way up?”

  “Listen to you,” Osulf, a heavy-set warrior with a thick mane of chestnut hair and beard to match, jeered. “It sounds like you’ve had your head in a barrel of ale all morning.”

  “Can’t a man be happy about life?”

  Osulf snorted. “Aye, but ever since your handfasting you’ve been in repulsively good spirits.”

  Maric’s grin widened. “I’ll not deny it – Gytha was the best thing to ever happen to me.”

  “So you managed to wed the fairest maid in Tamworth. You don’t have to crow about it.”

  “Come now. Don’t begrudge a man a bit of happiness.”

  Osulf favored him with a scowl. “Some of us can do no better than a mead-hall whore.”

  Nearby, Elfhere choked on a laugh, while Maric turned away from Osulf to hide a smirk. As he did so, he spotted the king heading their way. The king’s eldest son, Paeda, strode at his heels. Maric’s smile abruptly faded. His banter with his friends forgotten, he stepped forward to greet the King of Mercia.

  “Milord?”

  As always, the king’s face appeared hewn from stone. He had passed at least fifty five winters, and his face now bore every one of his years. His long hair, tied back in a thong at his neck, once blond, was snowy white; yet his physique was still one of a battle-hardened warrior. Beside him, Prince Paeda, although strongly built like his father, was as dark as Penda was pale.

  “Leave your horses with the slaves,” Penda ordered. “I need the three of you to attend us. King Oswiu awaits.”

  Wordlessly, they did as he bid. The three warriors fell in behind their king and prince, following them out of the stable yard. Beyond, they crossed a wide grassy space and climbed the steps into Bebbanburg’s Great Tower.

  Inside, Maric’s first impression of the Great Hall of Bebbanburg was that the seat of the King of Bernicia was a much more welcoming space then Penda’s grey, austere hall. The red stone gave off a warmth in the light of four enormous fire pits burning in each corner. Fresh rushes covered the ground and the air smelt of smoke, roasting mutton and rosemary.

  The Mercians strode across the center of the vast space. As he walked, Maric was aware that the gazes of all present had swiveled to the small party. The King of Mercia barely seemed to notice, although his son’s shoulders stiffened under their inspection.

  Upon the high seat, King Oswiu watched them approach. Flanked by his kin on both sides, Oswiu sat upon a magnificent carved oaken chair. He was at least a decade younger than the Mercian king; a tall, sinewy man with high-cheekbones and deep-set green eyes. Long sandy hair, flecked through with grey, was brushed out across his shoulders, and a neatly trimmed beard covered a strong jaw. He wore a splendid, rich green tunic, edged with red silk. A plush grey squirrel cloak hung from his shoulders, fastened by gold and amber brooches.

  Oswiu favored Penda with a wintry smile.

  “Lord Penda. For what do we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?”

  The thinly veiled hostility in the King of Bernicia’s voice came as no surprise. Penda’s reputation as a ruthless warmonger preceded him. He had arranged for his daughter’s marriage to Oswiu’s son, in a gesture of peace, but had broken the alliance shortly after. Oswiu had every reason not to trust his warlord neighbor.

  “Greetings, Lord Oswiu. How fares Bebbanburg?”

  “It still stands, as you can see?”

  “And how fares my daughter?”

  Oswiu’s gaze narrowed and shifted to where a golden haired beauty sat demurely on the high seat next to a young man with short auburn hair.

  “Ask her yourself.”

  The young woman, as regal and fair as Maric remembered, favored her father with a tight smile.

  “Greetings, fæder.”

  Penda’s gaze moved down his daughter’s lithe figure, coldly assessing.

  “No sons yet, Cyneburh?”

  The princess blanched, her gaze dropping to her feet, while the young man seated beside her stiffened, his expression hardening.

  Maric shifted uncomfortably, his gaze briefly meeting Elfhere’s. They had left their weapons outside, as was customary, but should Penda cause a brawl in Oswiu’s hall they would have only their bare hands to defend him with. Maric readied himself for that possibility.

  “Penda,” Oswiu cut in, his voice even colder than before. “I take it you did not travel all this way to enquire after your daughter.”

  Penda inclined his head, letting a few moments pass before he replied.

  “Indeed… I come to make a pledge of peace.”

  Oswiu’s mouth twisted.

  “Really? Will it be as enduring as your last one?”

  To his credit, Penda appeared not remotely disturbed by the Northumbrian ruler’s chill welcome, or his sarcasm.

  “The alliance between us is not yet complete,” he rumbled. “I have played my part, by wedding my first-born da
ughter to your son. Now, it is time for you to pledge one of your kin to my house.”

  “Is raiding our borders also part of this alliance?” Oswiu asked, his mouth twisting.

  Ignoring Oswiu’s hostility once more, Penda motioned to the silent young man who stood, ramrod straight, next to him.

  “My eldest son, Paeda, is first in line to the throne. I propose a match between him and your daughter, Alchflaed.”

  Silence fell, broken only by the snapping of the logs in the fire pits. Penda eventually broke it.

  “She is of age, is she not?”

  Oswiu leaned back in his chair and regarded Penda under hooded lids.

  “Aye… and more trouble than she’s worth.”

  Penda stiffened. “Is she still a maid?”

  Oswiu nodded, before glancing to his left, where his wife, Queen Eanflaed, sat observing the proceedings. In her arms, she carried a swaddled babe. Eanflaed was a plump woman with a pretty, if slightly pugnacious, face. She wore her dark hair in elaborate braids. The queen met her husband’s gaze and they shared a smile. Oswiu then turned back to address Penda.

  “Alchflaed is indeed a maid, but she is a little… wild.”

  “My son will tame her,” Penda’s voice held a sneer, “if her father has not already had the backbone to do so.”

  His pale gaze shifted behind Oswiu, to where his kin sat.

  “Where is the princess?”

  “She went out riding this morning,” the queen spoke, her voice high-pitched and oddly girlish. “She has not yet returned.”

  Oswiu spoke next, his voice even colder and more unwelcoming than earlier.

  “Do you really think this pathetic attempt to peace-weave will fool me, Penda? It made no difference before. I have even less reason to trust you now.”

  Penda gave a low laugh, a humorless sound.

  “As I said, our alliance is not yet complete. Betrothe your daughter to my son, and I will leave your borders in peace.”