• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Authors Without Borders

Tales of Resilience and Heroism

  • Home
  • Stories
    • Title A-M
      • Akbar’s Bride
      • The Blushing Sea
      • Britannia ‐ New Dawn
      • Carpe Diem
      • The Dragon Tailed Star
      • Earth Redux
      • Einar The Black
      • Flight Of The Raven
      • Godwinson
      • The Headache
    • Title N-Z
      • Pagan Rebel
      • Shadow Of Doubt
      • The Stones Of Venice
      • The Unjust Men
      • Vengeance
      • The Woman Who Was Loved by Death
      • Who All Die
  • Authors
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

Pagan Rebel, Day 23

April 22, 2020 by Sam Taw Leave a Comment

All the way home, I plotted and schemed. There were so many delicious ways to kill my brother from a quick stab through the eye socket to the slow death of hemlock. Every method I thought of brought me a tiny quantity of pleasure, were it not for a gnawing worry at the back of my mind. Not only would his suffering be over in an instant, but our tribe would be left leaderless and vulnerable.

My leggings and tunic were soaked through with the bloody remains of my child. Not one of my brother’s men took pity on me and unbound my hands and ankles. They rode alongside the wagon on their stolen horses staring at the track ahead. Although I couldn’t see him, I knew that Cador would be at the front, leading the procession and deluding himself that we Dumnos were the victors in the unfortunate affair. In truth, there were no victors on this black and sombre day.

The heat of the sun burned the back of my neck as I recognised the last section of the forest near to our palisade walls. I had to decide on a course of action and soon, in case Cador chose to ride back out of camp on another raid.

The warrior closest to me, whistled to another riding behind the wagon. He gestured up ahead. “What’s that kyjyan fool waving for? Can you see who it is?”

“Probably just a new recruit. His first time in the watchtower has addled his brain.” Both tittered and sneered. Curiosity got the better of me. I rolled over and struggled onto my knees straining to see but the glare from the sun was too bright. I couldn’t shield my eyes. We were almost at the clearing next to the northern gate of our compound.

Cador kicked the flanks of his horse, holding his bloody axe high and whooping with their customary calls, signalling to those in camp that he’d returned. His men picked up on the cue, joining in and racing towards the gate. I was thrown backwards as the cart horse was whipped into a canter.

Moments later, I heard the ear-splitting squeals of the ponies. The wagon veered to the left, tipping me and half the contents out on the track. I landed with a thud on soft ground, unharmed. Ahead was the smith’s wood cart coming from the forest path, loaded high with heavy trunks and split logs. His horses reared, kicking out at Cador and buckling his stallion’s legs from under him.

My brother fell just as the wagon toppled over. The front axle fractured, crashing the cart and its load down on top of him. Cador was pinned at the shoulder to the stony track. It missed his head by no more than a hand’s length.

Filed Under: Pagan Rebel

Donate To Park In The Past

This story is being written to benefit Park In The Past, and innovative heritage and conservation project in the UK.

Click To Donate

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get Your Stories By Email

Never miss a single episode - sign up to get each day's stories delivered.

Sign Up Now!

From Sam Taw

First In Series

View Book

Stories

  • Akbar's Bride
  • Britannia ‐ New Dawn
  • Carpe Diem
  • Earth Redux
  • Einar The Black
  • Flight Of The Raven
  • Godwinson
  • Pagan Rebel
  • Shadow Of Doubt
  • The Blushing Sea
  • The Dragon Tailed Star
  • The Headache
  • The Stones Of Venice
  • The Unjust Men
  • The Woman Who Was Loved by Death
  • Vengeance
  • Who All Die

Recent Episodes

  • The Unjust Men, Week 9
  • The Unjust Men, Week 8
  • The Unjust Men, Week 7
  • Godwinson, Week 10
  • Godwinson, Week 9

Recent Comments

  • Vicki Cornelius on Flight Of The Raven, Week 10
  • Vicki Cornelius on Flight Of The Raven, Week 10
  • Stephen Clifford on The Unjust Men, Week 9
  • Ann Moore on The Unjust Men, Week 9
  • Stephen Clifford on The Unjust Men, Week 8

Archives

  • November 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020

Footer

Image Credits: Keight Maclean
Website: Rob McClellan, ModFarm Design

Get Your Stories By Email

Never miss a single episode - sign up to get each day's stories delivered.

Sign Up Now!
  • Post Your Story
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Design · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Accept