Read Amber Treasure, The for Free Online Page B

even a wooden one.
    Suddenly he swung the sword round
and pointed at my throat.
    “Owain will kill Firebrand and
then come and kill every Angle between the mountains and the sea. Then I will
be Lord of the Villa,” he said and smiled. He was teasing us, goading us with
words he knew would challenge us. I looked at my friends and winked at them and
as one we brought our swords up and lunged at Aedann.
    Aedann had not been trained
alongside us, of course, but he was fast on his feet and moved to the side and
caught, of all people, Cuthbert, a clip on the back of the head and laughed as
he trotted past.
    “See what I mean; you English are
a sorry lot if an untrained slave can beat you.”
    Eduard bellowed at that and
charged the Welsh boy, who slipped and fell but, in so doing, dodged my friend
who ended up floundering in a ditch. Now, it was my turn. Aedann got back to
his feet, picked up his sword and eyed me warily, weighing up this new
opponent. We circled each other, both looking for that chance opening or error
to seize upon.
    He looked the part, I’ll give him
that. Not allowed to train in warfare as we had, had he spent lonely hours
watching us, listening to Grettir and taking it all in? Unnoticed, even
ignored, had he picked this up, just by himself? If so, he was a fast learner.
    Aedann moved first, lunging with
his sword at my throat. I flinched back and then brought my sword up to block
the move. Aedann was feinting, however, and recovered his balance faster than
me and now angled his blade down towards my belly.
    Yes, Aedann was good, but I still
knew a thing or two. I twisted violently and let Aedann’s momentum carry him
by, fetching him a sharp tap on the backside as he passed. Eduard howled with
laughter, as the slave ended up on his knees.
    “Enough!” bellowed a voice from
behind me. I did not need to look to know it was Grettir. I looked anyway and
saw that he was not staring at me, but at Aedann and with eyes that now blazed
with anger. We all fell silent and I could feel the gloom descend, like the feeling
in the air when a thunderstorm closes in.
    “So, what is going on, boy?” he
said to Aedann. “Are you bothering your betters? Need I get the birch again
− or the noose?”
    He emphasised the last word by
slapping the sword out of Aedann’s hand. I knew Grettir and how much he valued
tradition and custom. My father felt the same way. I was treading on thin ice,
but I did what I should have done before − I spoke out for Aedann.
    “Aedann is helping us train,
Grettir. He’s pretty good and could make a fine warrior, given the chance.”
    Grettir’s eyebrows bristled like
the fur on the back of an agitated cat.
    “That is not what is done; you
know that, Master Cerdic!”
    My heart was pounding from
something close to terror, but I knew that what I did next was critical.
    “That is not for you to tell me.
If I say it can be done; then it can!”
    Grettir’s eyes bulged. I could
see that inside him, tradition was fighting against itself over two opposing
points of view. On the one hand he knew that a slave should never be armed and
taught how to fight. On the other, I was the son of his master, Cenred of the
Villa. That meant I was due respect and obedience.
    He nodded, gruffly accepting what
I said.
    “What you say is fair enough, Master
Cerdic. However,” he continued in a smug tone, “your father might have
something to say about that.”
    With a final glare at Aedann, he
stomped off, carrying the rain clouds of gloom with him.
    We waited a heartbeat and then I
let out the long breath I had been holding inside me. Eduard chortled and
slapped me so hard on the back that I winced.
    “Cerdic my lad, that took balls; balls
of bloody iron in fact!”
    Cuthbert said nothing and was
shaking with the same anxiety he always had around Grettir. Yet, he nodded in
agreement.
    Aedann was still kneeling, but he
was not staring where Grettir had gone. Instead, he was looking at me and for
the