Now, take up that sword. Take a shield and step on to the hide with me. And know that we will fight by the old law. The duel ends not with a drop of a man’s blood, but with all of it.
You tell me that you love me. And I love you, but that changes nothing. I cannot come with you to the new lands, for no ship will take a cripple, an outlaw such as I. What is left to me, when you have gone to the new lands? I see myself alone by the fire, weeping like a fool, for unnumbered days. The remainder of my life, and I shall spend it alone. Would you condemn me to that? Would you accept that life if it were offered to you? I think you would not.
Step forward now, one last step. For now we both stand upon the hide and we cannot move away: you shall be a coward if you do, and I know that you cannot bear the shame of that. We must fight, and do not think to go gently against me. For I love you, but I shall fight in earnest. I will kill you or you shall kill me. For it is better to see you dead than see you live as a coward.
It is the fate of poets that we are to die on the hide in a holmgang, our blood upon the leather, speaking the name of the one we love most. Give me the death that I long for. Give me the chance to speak that name. I have lived long enough.
It will not be Sigrid’s name. Or Gunnar’s, or Kari’s, or that of the White Christ. It will be your name, Sumardil, if I have strength for one last breath at the end. Listen for it. Listen for your name.
It is time. There are no words left.
Come. Let us begin.
Acknowledgements
This is a work of fiction, inspired by the world of the Icelandic Sagas. I have taken a fiction writer’s many liberties in the writing of this book, but have sought to remain true to the spirit of those strange, tragic, starkly beautiful stories. For those interested in reading further, I recommended Kormac’s Saga, Njal’s Saga, and Laxdaela Saga as possible starting points; I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
A book is the work of many hands, eyes, and hearts. Enormous thanks are due to Nic Cheetham, Sophie Robinson, Jessie Price, Ian Pinder and the rest of the team over at Head of Zeus for all the care and love they’ve lavished on the book, and to my early readers – Claire, Sara, Ness, Sholeh, Petia, Thom, Gill and Michael – for their enthusiasm, support and critique.
This book is dedicated to my agent, Caroline Wood. We writers like to think that we’re in the business of making dreams come true, but she’s made my dream a reality, against tremendous odds. It’s been magical – thank you, Caroline.
About Tim Leach
Tim Leach is a graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme, where he now teaches as an Assistant Professor. His first novel, The Last King of Lydia, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.
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Copyright
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Tim Leach, 2018
The moral right of Tim Leach to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
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, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788544092
ISBN (HB) 9781788544108
ISBN (XTPB) 9781788544115
ISBN (PB) 9781788544122
Author Photo: Emma Leach
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