The Shadow of a King (Shadowland Book 2) by C.M. Gray Read Free Book Online Page B

battle. He had tried to focus on the warriors through the narrow field of vision offered by the helm, but his head was moving so much that it was hard to focus properly, so eventually he had closed his eyes and tried to find a better place.
    He could imagine what was playing out around him amid the noise and chaos. He was aware that the warrior, Maude, rode to his right side, protecting him as best she could, shield raised; while Arthur and his priest, Joseph, had ridden behind them and Sir Ector and his men to the fore. Stones, mud, and fouler things had been the first objects to be hurled from the Saxon ranks to his right, banging and bouncing from the protective shield of Maude, while behind him he could hear the priest whimpering and wailing, complaining incessantly at the futility and injustice of a priest being upon the field of battle.
    'I cannot preach to the heathen, nor can I call down the fire of God's justice upon them while we parade like this. It is a mockery of my station to be here; I am a man of God, not a fighter.' The wheedling voice had receded from Uther's hearing as the ranks of spearmen began to swarm forward, taunting both the Saxons and each other as the mead and ale continued to flow, and courage and daring rose to its peak level.
    As the procession had turned at the end of the line and yet again made its way forward, the missiles rained upon them once more, along with laughter and mocking insults, which, in reality, Uther knew to be fact rather than insult, for he was indeed a half-dead King. If Uther Pendragon had still possessed just the smallest shred of his former dignity, then surely, it would have withered and died right there without the need for blade or arrow, upon the meadow outside the town of Valerum. Yet he did not die, and he felt no concern for the taunts, for any shred of dignity that he had once possessed had long since been flayed from his soul.
    The day had been drawn-out and tiring as the shield walls had finally surged forward to meet and then clashed again and again men and women, faces contorted, screaming and howling at each other. Shields met with a clattering crash that shook the ground and then locked together as the straining warriors on both sides pushed and heaved against one another. Spears and swords stabbed between shields seeking an unprotected arm or leg, a wound that might break apart the opposing wall while axes arced over the top, to hack down upon shield and helm and skull. Blood had spilled and sprayed as warriors drove into a state of invincibility fought in a bloodlust until their humanity returned in a rush and both men and women felt the cold, hot kiss of metal then screamed and dropped away, finally alone in their agony. Many died quickly, while countless others, the less fortunate, continued to live. Their screams and cries of their distress and suffering added to the noise of battle as they collapsed to the cold mud and grass of the field, victims of the most terrible of wounds, trampled into the muck and blood beneath the feet of the battling horde.
    Horsemen and chariots joined the throng, the shrieks and cries of both men and now horses filling the air until Uther had at once become deaf to it all, concentrating instead on the steady gasping of his own laboured breathing as he continued his desperate internal struggle to endure.
    Given its freedom, his mind stepped back from the world of man and journeyed back to a time in his youth, to a time where he rode on the battlefield of Mount Badon, upon a war chariot with Samel, a friend now long since dead. It was while he was trying to remember where the little warrior had fallen, that a Saxon arrow had glanced across the cheek guard of his helm knocking his head to the side before slicing deeply across his neck. The searing pain had shocked him from his musing, to be enveloped once more in the stench and roar of battle. His horse was turning wildly in circles beneath him as he cried out, but the sound was