proceeded down the channel with infinite caution, using poles to check for sunken rocks. The reverberations of the Serpent reached them and when they cleared the end of the island they could see its puckered lip in the darkness ahead.
Kolzak turned and shouted.
‘He’s not going to risk it at night,’ said Hero.
‘We have to do it in the dark,’ Vallon insisted. ‘If it’s light enough to run the rapid, it’s light enough for the Cumans to see us.’
‘Dawn’s some way off,’ Hero said. ‘Time enough to send a boat to look for a way through.’
‘We don’t even know there is an ambush,’ Richard added.
Vallon calmed down and took stock. ‘Ask the pilots how far to the ford.’
‘Six versts,’ Hero reported. ‘A couple of miles.’
Vallon looked up at the walls. ‘Tell the pilots to land at a spot hidden from any watchers above. Choose a place that offers a way up to the plateau.’
The pilots rowed for the right bank, landing in a deep bight overhung by cliffs on both sides. Between them a gully climbed to the plateau.
Everyone except the slaves disembarked.
‘Take one of the pilots and some men and investigate the rapid,’ Vallon told Wulfstan. ‘Hug the shore in case of lookouts.’ He turned to Wayland. ‘You know what I’m going to ask of you.’
‘You want me to scout towards the ford.’
‘It’s less than a day since the Cumans spotted us. They might not have had time to round up enough warriors for an ambush. No point risking the rapid unnecessarily.’
Wayland was gone before Syth could object.
Wulfstan and Igor returned to report that the Serpent descended in a slithering ribbon of foam that twisted over six ledges, with only one safe line. Not impossible, but no one in his right mind would risk it at night unless a greater danger threatened.
Vallon was asleep with his arm around Syth when Wayland came stumbling out from the gully. He caught his breath. Syth threw herself at him. He held her to his chest and spoke over her head. ‘They’re gathered in force. A hundred at least and more riding in. They hold both sides of the river.’
‘Christ! Does that mean they have boats?’
‘Not proper boats. They’re floating across on hide bladders.’
‘What are our chances of getting through?’
‘Not good.’
‘Even if we catch them unawares?’
Wayland shook his head. ‘We won’t. They’ve posted three lookouts on the cliffs this side of the Wolf’s Throat. Less than a mile from here. From where they’re sitting they can see the Serpent. It’s lucky we didn’t try running it.’
‘Any archers at the Wolf’s Throat?’
‘Not yet. It’s too dark for accurate shooting.’
Vallon looked up at the stars. ‘How long until dawn?’
‘If we want to get past the ford in the dark, we’ll have to leave soon.’
Vallon eyed the gully. ‘Can we get horses up there?’
‘Yes, with a struggle.’
Vallon brought his hands together and composed them against his lips. The rest of the company waited.
‘Killing the lookouts would improve our chances,’ Drogo said.
Vallon shook his head. ‘By the time we’ve dragged the horses up and dealt with the lookouts and made our way back, it will be daylight.’ He looked at Wayland. ‘Describe the ambush site.’
‘Where the gorge ends, the plateau slopes down to the river. The ford’s at the bottom of the slope, on a bend. We won’t see it from the river until we’re nearly level with it.’
‘Are the Cumans concentrated at the ford?’
‘Yes.’
‘No outlying forces?’
‘Only the lookouts.’
‘Is there anywhere below the ford where a boat could land?’
Wayland hesitated. ‘The bank’s so low that a boat could put in almost anywhere.’
Vallon walked to the edge of the river. When he turned, a dozen anxious faces confronted him. ‘We don’t have much time, so either you accept my plan or we get into the boats and start rowing.’ He paused, his tactics still taking shape. ‘Here it is. I’ll take five riders. Drogo, Fulk, Tostig, Olaf and Wulfstan. We lead the horses up the gully. When we reach the top, the convoy starts out. We kill the lookouts and shadow the ships until they’re almost at the ford. As they come through we attack the Cumans from the rear.’
Drogo laughed.
Vallon ignored him. ‘In the dark they won’t know what’s hit them. We sow panic and confusion for as long as it takes the convoy to row past. Then we ride downriver and Wayland takes us off. We’ll lose the horses, but that can’t be helped.’
Drogo took a step towards him. ‘You’re not serious. Six against a hundred?’
‘There’ll be more than a hundred by the time we attack.’
Wayland had been translating for the Vikings and Icelanders. Wulfstan hitched up his belt and spat. ‘I’d rather die wielding a sword than sit in a boat while a hundred archers use me for target practice.’ He squinted at Vallon. ‘Mind, it’ll cost another pound of silver and a few cups of mead. Payable up front.’
Vallon laughed. ‘It’s a deal.’
Caitlin pushed Tostig and Olaf forward. ‘They’ll ride with you.’ She planted herself in front of Drogo and harangued him in Norse.
He looked at Vallon. ‘What’s she saying?’
Vallon shrugged. ‘You swore to protect her. She wants to know how you’ll do that with a paddle in the middle of a river.’
Drogo’s jaw worked. ‘Me and Fulk want the pick of the horses. Most of them are fit only for the knacker’s yard.’
Every able-bodied person helped push and drag the horses up to the crest. Vallon was sweating when they reached it. He sent everybody back down except Wayland. It was a relief to be out of the gorge, away from the rank river smell that reminded him of his dungeon. He breathed in the odour of dewy earth. A fleet of white clouds sailed down the sea of night. Everything below the horizon was black except for a fire burning out on the steppe. Impossible to tell if it was a mile off or half a day’s ride away.
Wayland pointed to a headland leaning over the river like a wave poised to break. ‘That’s where the lookouts are, to the left of the highest point.’
Vallon marked the spot. ‘Shoot an arrow when the boats leave. We won’t be able to keep them in sight, so blow the horn just before you reach the ford. That will be the signal for us to attack, so time it well. If you don’t find us waiting on the riverbank, keep going.’
Wayland grimaced. ‘You don’t mean-’
‘Yes, I do. If we’re not there, we’re dead. Hero will decide whether to continue with the expedition. Follow his command as faithfully as you’ve followed mine.’
Wayland swallowed. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Now make haste.’
Wayland disappeared down the gully. The raiders waited, watching the stars dip towards the horizon. The world slept in the unbroken sleep that comes before dawn.
Something fizzled past them. Vallon glimpsed or imagined he glimpsed an arrow towing a white ribbon. He peered into the gorge. The Serpent showed as a pale smear in the black gulf. The first galley nosed out of the inlet.
‘They’re on their way. Mount up.’
