The Flame Bearer

The Flame Bearer
Bernard Cornwell

The brand new novel in Bernard Cornwell’s number one bestselling series on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.BBC2’s major TV show THE LAST KINGDOM is based on the first two books in the series.From the day it was stolen from me I had dreamed of recapturing Bebbanburg. The great fort was built on a rock that was almost an island, it was massive, it could only be approached on land by a single narrow track – and it was mine.Britain is in a state of uneasy peace. Northumbria’s Viking ruler, Sigtryggr, and Mercia’s Saxon Queen Aethelflaed have agreed a truce. And so England’s greatest warrior, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, at last has the chance to take back the home his traitorous uncle stole from him so many years ago – and which his scheming cousin still occupies.But fate is inexorable and the enemies Uhtred has made and the oaths he has sworn combine to distract him from his dream of recapturing Bebbanburg. New enemies enter into the fight for England’s kingdoms: the redoubtable Constantin of Scotland seizes an opportunity for conquest and leads his armies south. Britain’s precarious peace threatens to turn into a war of annihilation.But Uhtred is determined that nothing, neither the new enemies nor the old foes who combine against him, will keep him from his birthright. He is the Lord of Bebbanburg, but he will need all the skills he has learned in a lifetime of war to make his dream come true.

THE FLAME BEARER

BERNARD CORNWELL

Copyright (#ud45bd374-b5df-51a0-a1ec-0dc0d7ffff4b)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it, while at times based on historical figures, are the work of the author’s imagination.

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 2016

Bernard Cornwell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Cover layout design © HarperColl‌insPublishers 2016

Map © John Gilkes 2016

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Source ISBN: 9780007504251

Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780007504237

Version: 2018-06-27

Dedication (#ud45bd374-b5df-51a0-a1ec-0dc0d7ffff4b)

The Flame Bearer

is for Kevin Scott Callahan,

1992–2015

Wyrd bið ful ãræd

Table of Contents

Cover (#u2922c2b3-8126-5885-ae53-b7500c99d03e)

Title Page (#u3d2da7ab-eafc-5f20-8b84-482bbd9f6594)

Copyright (#u72833118-1bae-53cc-97e8-7ab11bccccd2)

Dedication (#uf03e1d5f-b83d-559e-a3cb-c16c450f9f72)

Map (#u10905da9-d306-5fd9-a255-c0778e292df7)

Place Names (#u99b7c677-b51e-5e51-8758-f1e792956bba)

Part One: The King (#u333d94d2-4f6a-5748-92e5-81b9fbd1a127)

One (#uf8b0e53f-745d-5a26-b626-a95d1c6c744b)

Two (#u4bdd242f-cdca-5f7f-aed2-a8a8d22a5450)

Part Two: The Trap (#u30064bf9-8d6f-5186-b342-03a88e491b8b)

Three (#u17fed31c-67fb-59ef-8f32-ebffe0bc084e)

Four (#u3c04f649-42ce-5036-a2e2-c77b5958af9a)

Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Three: The Mad Bishop (#litres_trial_promo)

Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Four: The Return to Bebbanburg (#litres_trial_promo)

Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Note (#litres_trial_promo)