Lord of Slaughter

29

Mauger tried to dissuade Arnulf from pursuing his claim of holmgang against Snake in the Eye. The boy was rash; he had been humiliated in front of the camp; too much blood had been spilled already.

Snake in the Eye stood watching the negotiation, his mouth wet with anticipation. He wanted to see Arnulf die and was afraid Mauger — or Ragnar, as he was now known — was on the verge of backing out. He had guessed the man was more than a monk the first time he had seen him. Mauger’s way of walking, how he had scanned the buildings from the top of the church steps — not warily, as a field mouse, but boldly, like a hawk. His fighting skills were impressive, but would he use them on Snake in the Eye’s behalf? Was he trying to crawl out of what he had promised? ‘You will help me with my problem,’ Snake in the Eye had said, ‘and I will help you with yours with the scholar.’

He needn’t have worried. Arnulf wanted vengeance for his son and insisted on his right to ritual combat. He couldn’t fight the boy but he could strike his friend and feel someone had paid for the grief he was suffering.

They had gone to it down by the shore on a black morning when the wind whipped in from the ocean and the air was full of grit and sleet. Mauger’s sword had caused an intake of breath in the crowd. It was an excellent Frankish weapon, its blade almost blue beneath the shroud of dark clouds.

Arnulf had a spear in his hand and an axe in his belt.

Three shields each were allowed. Snake in the Eye had bought them for Mauger. The Norman held one; the boy held another ready, and a third lay nearby.

Bollason called, ‘Go,’ and the two men circled each other. A flash of steel and it was over. Arnulf took two quick steps towards Mauger, who retreated, but when his opponent took a third step, Mauger suddenly advanced, brushing away the spear with his shield and slashing at Arnulf’s left calf. The shield offered no protection there and the sword bit flesh, forcing Arnulf to one knee.

Snake in the Eye cheered as Mauger drove a kick into his opponent’s face, sending him back into the mud. Mauger stepped forward again, sword high, but Arnulf was unconscious on the cold ground.

‘Do I have to finish it?’ said Mauger to Bollason.

‘Yes!’ shouted Snake in the Eye.

Bollason gave the boy a simmering glare. Then his eyes turned back to Mauger. ‘No. I declare honour satisfied, his and the boy’s.’

Mauger threw his shield to the ground and strode back towards Snake in the Eye.

‘Don’t cheer for death, boy; it finds us soon enough in times like these. I have performed you a service,’ he said, ‘now it is time for you to perform me one. You will go to the university and the churches and the palace and you will find this scholar Loys and let me know where he is. Then I’ll have to worry about getting to him.’

Snake in the Eye went straight away. It was not too difficult to locate Loys. His second port of call was the Magnaura and, the emperor’s medal in his hand, the boy had quickly established Loys worked for the chamberlain in the palace. He lacked the subtlety to disguise his purpose but was lucky enough to pick on someone who was impressed by his medal and willing to talk.

The men on the first gate deferred to his medal and he was allowed through to the school proper. There he questioned the custodian of the door to the Magnaura, a shy man but a proud one, who took the opportunity of the ease he felt talking to a boy to demonstrate the range of his knowledge. The doorkeeper was one of that species of men in lowly jobs who imagine themselves the colleagues and intimates of the more celebrated men they serve. He was eager to show his familiarity with palace and university gossip.

‘You’ve been called by him, then?’ he said.

Snake in the Eye said nothing, not quite knowing how to answer.

‘No need to be shy about it, boy; he’s been examining half the palace and all of the university. He’s putting the fear of God into people.’

‘I should see him,’ said Snake in the Eye.

‘Didn’t the messenger who summoned you not make it clear he’s no longer here? You have to visit him in the palace. Ask at the Room of Nineteen Couches and they’ll let you in.’

‘Right.’

‘Don’t be fooled by his foreign looks,’ said the custodian, ‘not that being foreign means you’re automatically stupid but…’ He gave Snake in the Eye an up and down glance and then thought better of expanding his point. ‘Look, he’s a slippery bastard. Remember that. He’s an expert at finding devil worship where there is none, so admit to no amulet, no charm, no number square. He’ll use it against you.’

Snake in the Eye smiled, not quite understanding at first.

‘He casts curses?’

‘No, he studies them and seeks to remove them.’

‘What sort of curse?’

‘This sky for a start. And many we’re not supposed to talk about.’

‘How does he do this? He’s not doing it very well — the sky is still black.’

‘It’s an enormous magic,’ said the custodian. ‘You can’t shift that sort of thing overnight; I think even the most rudimentary knowledge of the correct charts and positions of the stars would reveal that. No, he’s working towards it, slowly. He’ll get there. He’s a scholar of the Magnaura. Our men never fail.’

Snake in the Eye touched the hilt of his sword.

‘Has he successfully removed curses before?’

‘This university attracts the finest brains from throughout the world. Of course he has; it’s why he was picked. The word is he was shipped in from the north specifically to solve this problem.’

‘Hmm.’

‘You are awed,’ said the custodian, ‘and no wonder. Every day here we see marvels that men from other countries — indeed men from two hundred paces down the Middle Way — have never seen in their lives.’

Snake in the Eye thought about that. He thought about the mechanical tree in which birds sang, the great statues, the amazing mosaic that stretched out under his feet.

‘Could this man remove a curse on a person?’ he said.

‘He could,’ said the doorkeeper. ‘For do you think the chamberlain would trust him to take the stain of hell from the sky if he could not do such a simple task?’

Snake in the Eye’s tongue wet his lips.

‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I will go to the Room of Nineteen Couches now.’

‘Don’t apologise if you’re late,’ said the custodian. ‘The guards there don’t keep proper records like we do in here. Just tell them he’s sent for you and leave it at that.’

Snake in the Eye walked out of the building, his heart pounding. If this man was as good as the custodian said he was he could cure him. Then Snake in the Eye would lead Mauger to him and honour his debt.

He cleared the university grounds at a trot and ran to the palace through the dirty air. He was on his way to his destiny, his future of blood.