Chapter 1

Hvirvil had evidently realised the same. He glanced desperately around him, as one by one his men began to retreat across the barroom towards the door, and his face was a picture of frustrated savagery.

'No!' he shouted, hitting out at one of his men. 'Get back and fight!'

'We need reinforcements!' shouted another. 'Call the men from the other ships!'

Hearing this, Inghen paused in her advance. Though winning, they were exhausted, and many bled from minor wounds on their ill-protected bodies. Inghen turned cautiously to Thorir.

'What do you suggest, Thorir?' I heard her murmur. 'We can finish this lot off and get away with our honour. But if more warriors come, we'll be defeated.'

'Not sure I want to go to Valhalla yet, Inghen,' Thorir replied quietly. 'It might be better to live to fight another day. Get this treasure the Irishman babbled of - if it exists - then come back and settle our scores with this fool.'

'But it seems that Hvirvil is after the same thing as us,' Inghen said with a frown. 'Still, it's no matter. Grab the map and we'll escape out the back.'

No sooner had these words left her lips before the sound of running feet heralded the entrance of about twenty more Vikings from the front. Inghen called a retreat.

'Come on, lads!' she shouted. 'We can get back to the Trollwife through the kitchens.'

I saw Thorir stepping towards me with his eyes on the map, and I leapt up, grabbed it, and thrust it back in my jerkin. He eyed me darkly.

'This is my map,' I told him, trying to sound forceful. 'If you want it, you'll have to take me with you.' Inside I was amazed. I'd been hoping to get the Red Daughter interested, but how had Hvirvil learnt about Conaing's burial mound? Perhaps there was rather more truth in the tale than I'd been willing to believe. Or perhaps my associates had been spreading rumours to ease my passage... But Thorir seemed ready to accept my deal.

'Come on, then, Irishman,' he hissed. 'We're getting out.' Already, most of the Red Daughter's crew were speeding towards the bar and the doors to the kitchen. If we didn't move quickly, the advancing Vikings would cut off our escape route. And I had no reason to want Hvirvil to read the map. It would lead to all kinds of unnecessary complications, and I didn't think I'd come out of them looking too good.

I hurried after the saturnine Viking.