Eva Egeskjold The Wild Boar

Transcription

1 Eva Egeskjold The Wild Boar Illustrated by Iona Brinch Andersen & Vig

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3 Brothers of Blood 1 The Wild Boar Copyright Eva Egeskjold and Andersen & Vig Publishers, 8400 Ebeltoft, Denmark 1 st edition Illustrations and cover by Iona Brinch Translated by Iona Brinch Translation consultants: Edward & Hanna Broadbridge Graphics: Strunge Grafik, Aarhus, Denmark Printed and bound in Denmark by Specialtrykkeriet, 8800 Viborg Brothers of Blood 1 The Wild Boar Eva Egeskjold ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. This series includes five books: Brothers of Blood 1 The Wild Boar Brothers of Blood 2 War Time Brothers of Blood 3 Fenjan s Cave Brothers of Blood 4 The King s Lies Brothers of Blood 5 Iliana and Belin Illustrated by Iona Brinch For Laust and Bjarke Andersen & Vig Publishers

4 Chapter 1 Bjarke looks over his shoulder. He swears and increases his pace. His legs are hurting, and he has a taste of blood in his mouth. The smell of blood fills his nostrils. It was the nose that Rolf hit, when he punched him. Bjarke looks over his shoulder once more. Rolf and his friends are right behind him. They are yelling and screaming threats, swinging their fists in the air. He turns a corner and continues down a narrow alley. Then he gasps and stops abruptly. It s a blind alley. He turns around. He will have to run back. But Rolf and his friends appear around the corner. They re all laughing and lining up across the road. Bjarke is trapped. He grabs an arrow from his quiver. Then he places it on the string, pulls it back and aims. Rolf and his friends come closer. They re still laughing. 2 3

5 Bjarke can feel his hands shaking. I m a hunter, not a murderer, he thinks. But maybe I can scare them off. Then, perhaps, they ll leave me alone. Suddenly he notices a group of warriors. They re riding out on the big road. It s the Earl s men. He can see that the Earl s son, Laust, is with them. Bjarke lets the arrow go. It flies close by Rolf s face. The arrow hits a house. He hears a loud crack as it makes its way into the woodwork. Next time it will be you I hit! Bjarke shouts. Go back! Get out of here! But he realizes that his voice is trembling. Rolf roars angrily and starts running towards him. And before he can do anything, Rolf and his friends attack him. 4 5

6 Out on the big road Laust stops his horse. There are four boys fighting in a narrow alley. They re three against one. He notices that the boy who s fighting on his own is the same age as himself. Laust calls out for his father. He can hear the boy screaming in pain. The warrior next to him stops his horse too. The Earl turns his horse around. He rides in front of Laust. Yes. What s up? he asks, annoyed. Laust points in the direction of the boys. They re fighting, father. But they re three against one. His father snorts. It s just some poor boys from the village. Nobody someone like you should worry about. He gives Laust an angry look. Laust looks down at his hands. He doesn t dare to look up at his father. 6 7

7 One day you ll be one of the best warriors in this country, his father says. He looks at the warrior next to Laust. That s why Ragnar has been training you, since you were little. The warrior nods. He looks at Laust. Laust bites his lip. He is still looking down at his hands. The Earl snorts again. And soon you ll be ready to go to war, he adds. Laust can feel his stomach turn. The thought of going to war one day frightens him. But he doesn t dare to say that he doesn t want to learn how to kill especially not someone that he doesn t even know. Someone who might not even have done anything evil. All of a sudden they hear a scream from the alley. Laust glances over Ragnar s shoulder. The boy fighting on his own has beaten one of the other boys to the ground. He stares at Laust for a split second. His eyes are narrow. They are completely black. He looks afraid, Laust thinks. But also angry. Then the Earl gives a sign to Laust for him to follow. 8 9