Redemption

returned the swing but the door frame prevented him from getting any power behind the blow and it waved harmlessly over Winterburne's head.

  Winterburne drew his dagger from his belt just as the man swung his blade down towards him. His own sword went up and blocked the blow, and at the same time he plunged forward, his knife sinking deep into the man's chest. The man's eyes opened wide in silent surprise and within moments he sunk to the floor.

  Conn stepped into the doorway and tossed something into the room. It was heavy and rolled erratically towards the centre where Winterburne stood. As it stopped rolling, he saw that it was Verkade's head; the man's dead eyes open and staring up at him, his mouth open in what seemed to be a last silent cry. The children saw it too and they screamed again, the older of them covering the eyes of the younger.

  'That,' Conn said, 'is what happens to those people who betray me.'

  'He never betrayed you,' Winterburne replied, 'he just came to his senses.'

  'Which cost him dearly,' Conn replied. 'And it will you too.'

  'Not if I can help it.'

  Conn stepped to one side, and Spen pushed past him, taking his place.

  'Leave him to me, Dieter. I always knew that there was something about him that I didn't like.' Spen spat on the floor, and then looked up at Winterburne. 'I'll enjoy this, and then, when we've taken him down, he can watch us gut the little piggies.'

  Spen raised his sword and swung it downwards. The man's strength was deceptive and Winterburne felt the jarring in his arms as the two blades met. Again, Spen attacked, the force of the man's blow causing Winterburne to step back into the room. Spen followed, stepping through the doorway.

  The children cowered in fear as Winterburne struck back, his first blow missed the man, but the second was blocked as Spen held his blade up.

  'Is that all you have to offer, Smyth?' Spen's eyes were full of hatred, as he jabbed the point of his sword at Winterburne. 'If it is, then this won't take me long to finish.'

  Spen attacked then, a relentless rain of blows that forced Winterburne back into the room once more. He was trying to turn him, he realised, trying to get him to show his back for Conn to follow in behind.

  Then, it was his own turn to attack as Spen drew a breath and he forced his way across the room with a series of strikes that failed to hit home, but they did at least allow him to gain the ground in front of the children again. He swung the sword at Spen's head and followed immediately with his knife. It caught Spen's arm.

  The man cursed as he felt the blade slice through the cloth and into his flesh. 'A lucky swing, I feel.' he said, looking down at the wound.

  With no warning he retaliated with his blade, but this time Spen aimed at Winterburne's left hand. The blade hit his knife hard, and Winterburne lost his grip, causing the dagger to clatter to the floor.

  Seeing that he had won a small victory, Spen became frantic, swinging his blade left and right in a repeating deadly arc. His face grinned, and Winterburne found himself forced back towards the wall once more.

  Spen's face contorted into a grimace of malice and he uttered a fearful noise that took up the whole of the room as he attacked. Then, without warning, Winterburne saw his face change, instead of the anger a look of surprise and then pain flashed across his face as the man looked down at his leg. He screamed then, as he realised that Winterburne's blade had been plunged deep into his thigh, and standing to one side of him was its wielder, Kasper, defiance in his eyes. As Spen's eyes met the boy's, he turned and fled back to the other children. Spen reached down and pulled the dagger from his leg, causing him to cry out again, and he raised his sword as he looked at the children.

  'I hope you like pain, boy,' Spen said, through gritted teeth, as Kasper glared back at him. He fixed his eyes on the boy. 'For you have just earned a very painful death.'

  'Spen!' Winterburne called, as he raised his sword.

  Spen had turned his back on Winterburne a little but now he looked around. It seemed that while he was in his own little world of fury that he had forgotten his adversary for a fatal moment.

  'This is for Verkade,' Winterburne said, as he swung his sword in an arc. The blade bit home and Spen's head flew from his shoulders, spinning away towards the doorway, his body collapsing to the floor no more than a second later.

  Winterburne turned and looked at Conn. 'Care to join me now?' he asked, as the man looked back at him with surprise on his own face.

  For a moment Conn lifted his own sword, as if to prepare his own attack, focussing his now angry eyes on Winterburne. Silence grew between them, neither man wanting to move first, but both looking for an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

  Then, just as Winterburne prepared himself to charge at the man, the door at the far end of the corridor opened with a crash.

  'Stop him!' Rampton called, as both he and Marek came racing through the door.

  Conn seemed in two minds for a brief second and then a survival instinct kicked in and he fled, back along the corridor towards the door leading to the compound. He charged the door with his shoulder and with a crash he was outside. Rampton followed down the corridor, chasing Conn out into the sunshine.

  Marek's face appeared at the doorway. 'Captain Winterburne?' he asked. 'I am Colen Marek. It is good to meet you at last. I feared we were too late.'

  'You almost were,' Winterburne said, relaxing, and then he turned towards the children. 'It's alright,' he said, their faces looking at him expectantly. 'You're safe now.'

  Marek entered the room and made his way across to where Winterburne stood, sliding his sword back into its scabbard. Ysabel followed him in and she seemed to make a point to over exaggerate stepping over the bodies of the dead men.

  'We've brought someone for you to meet,' Marek said.

  'Who?' Winterburne replied.

  'This is Queen Ysabel.'

  Winterburne looked at the woman. She was dressed in dirty clothes, and her brown hair was a mess. There was nothing regal about her, but nonetheless he bowed.

  'I've told you,' Ysabel said, to Marek, 'technically I am not Queen.'

  'I don't care what you say,' Marek said, smiling. 'As far as I am concerned, you most definitely are.'

  Ysabel turned to Winterburne, tutting and shaking her head. 'Captain Winterburne isn't it?' she said. 'I see that the kingdom has a great deal to thank you for.' She looked at the children and then back to Marek. 'All of you.'

  Winterburne nodded. 'Although, for me too, there seems to be some question mark over my own status. I don't think that I am a Captain any longer.'

  Rampton chose that moment to return to the room, his face full of frustration.

  'Did you get him?' Winterburne asked, looking past Ysabel.

  'No,' Rampton said, 'the bastard was over the wall faster than a slippery hog.' Then, he seemed to remember the company around him and he blushed. 'I do apologise, Your Majesty.'

  Ysabel flapped her hand. 'Think nothing of it. Anyway,' she said, looking across at the children, 'it's these that we have to worry about now.'

  'I fear that may not be true,' Winterburne said, 'for I think that there is only one place that Conn will have gone.'

  48

  'Well, he did wonder if there was anything he could do to help,' Ysabel said, as they made their way through the streets towards the Palace.

  'But I'm not sure that Father Maikel meant babysitting,' Rampton replied.

  'We all have our part to play in the grand scheme of things,' Ysabel said, 'and no doubt, when this is all over, he will use it as a reason to regularly remind us that he was only doing God's work.'

  They all laughed.

  'So,' Winterburne said, 'tell me again, I still can't quite believe it.' He looked at Rampton and then at Marek. 'You dressed as nuns?' He shook his head, it was a sight that he was having a problem imagining.

  'Needs must,' Rampton said. 'But, whilst you were holed up in comfort in the villa with the children, things have moved on and we have other problems to worry
about now. Davyd told me that the Electors have been taken to the Palace. If Conn has already told Courtenay that the children are free, and he must surely have done so by now, then their lives are in danger too.'

  Winterburne nodded. He knew that the man would be right. 'Courtenay will have increased security at the Palace.' Then he frowned as he realised the implications of what he had just said. 'How are we going to get inside?'

  They all remained silent for a moment, thinking, and then Ysabel smiled. 'I think I know a way,' she said.

  oOo

  'How in the name of Hell could you let this happen?' Courtenay screamed across his desk

  His eyes were wide in anger. Then, after a moment a grimace crossed his face and he swept his arm across the tabletop scattering all the papers, books, and other items that he had collected. They crashed onto the floor, and a cup, full with cold tea, flew through the air and smashed on the stones of the floor, splashing the contents around.

  Conn looked down at the cup. He had never been a particularly superstitious man but he was in the right mood for it and the broken crockery seemed to be a symbol that he could not ignore.

  'So! Are you going to tell me?' Courtenay's face was red, the rage driving the colour and it was almost as if he would explode.

  'It was Smyth. At first. He was able to kill Spen, and another.'

  'One man?' Courtenay's voice had lowered. 'Alone?'

  'Not just one man. The Queen brought others, I think they were together all along.'

  Courtenay thumped the desk, looking down as he let