‘How badly?’ he managed to ask.
Harlen cast another glance at his daughter. ‘I couldn’t tell,’ he said. ‘He was draped over a saddle.’
Gryss’s eyes widened in horror. Jeorg brought home like a sack of potatoes! Like a dead sheep! The future events faded before the grim present.
‘Where are they?’ he asked.
‘Only a few minutes away,’ Harlen replied, pointing again. ‘They’re not hurrying.’
Without a word, Gryss set off towards the road. Harlen and Marna ran after him. The trio walked on in silence through the thin rain. When they reached the road, Gryss turned downland.
As Harlen had indicated, they did not have long to wait. Very soon the swaying forms of advancing riders appeared ahead. Faced head on, in the misty light, the column could not be discerned as such, but rather appeared t
