But rather than attack, the two men slowed and approached with their palms upraised. ‘Wait!’ shouted one, the red-bearded man.
‘Why?’ demanded Ty, standing over the body of the man he had just killed.
‘That,’ said the second man, pointing behind Ty.
‘Hal, what does he mean by “that”?’ asked Ty, not taking his eyes off the two men from the tavern.
‘Look,’ said Hal. From the other end of the street a half dozen men were coming at a run.
‘Come with us,’ said the red-bearded man.
‘How do we know we can trust you?’ asked Ty.
‘You think you can trust that lot?’ replied the man, pointing again.
Ty looked once more and saw the men who were approaching had their weapons drawn.
‘Fair enough!’ shouted Hal, lashing out with a sudden move that took his close opponent across the ribs. It was not a killing blow but would slow the man down enough to stop him joining in the hunt.
They took off on a mad dash and the red-bearded man motioned for them to turn a corner and race towards the harbour. Hal glanced over his shoulder and saw the men behind them now numbered a full dozen, all looking ready for blood.
Normally the crowded streets of Roldem’s river and harbour district would have been a hindrance, but because business had fallen off, the docks were as empty as if it had been a temple holy day. They charged through one big square, down another street and came to the docks. The red-bearded man turned right and the other three followed. At the end of the docks a ship was tied up and before the gangplank stood a dozen armed men.
Ty began to slow, but the dark-haired man shouted, ‘It’s all right. Come on!’
The men in front of the gangway parted and the four of them ran up to the deck of the ship. They looked back just in time to see the dozen men run up to the men gathered before the ship. They slowed just out of reach and hesitated.
Ty said, ‘If they attack do we go back down?’
‘They won’t attack,’ said the red-bearded man.
‘Why?’ asked Hal.
‘That’s why,’ said his companion, pointing to the far end of the dock.
Where the dozen pursuers had turned, there now came a squad of men in the uniform of the Roldem city guard. Steel helmets gleamed in the day’s sun and half of them carried pikes.
The leader of the pursuers saw them coming, shouted an order and they broke into a run and dashed down an alley, away from the docks.
The leader of the watch came to stand before the dock workers and demanded, ‘What’s all this, then? Got a dead man back around the corner and saw a bunch of men dashing this way.’
One of the dock men said, ‘Jumped one of our lads in the alley and a fight broke out. We came and got them then they got their friends, then they came here, and tried to fetch our lads.’
The watch leader looked dubious then he glanced over and saw which ship he was standing by. ‘Oh, this is …?’
‘Yes,’ said the dock man. ‘I think it was a ruse to get aboard.’
‘Well, we can’t have that,’ the watch commander said. ‘They’re long gone, no doubt, but we’ll have a look after them and see if we can find anything.’ His attitude suggested he wouldn’t look very hard and expected to find nothing. With a wave he gestured for his company to follow and he set off along the alley down which the other gang had fled.
‘Well, that’s done,’ said the red-bearded man. He turned to Ty and Hal. ‘Follow me, please.’
Seeing no alternative, they did and he led them through a door to a cabin at the rear of the ship.
In the room they found two people waiting, a young man in naval uniform and a beautiful young woman. She smiled and said, ‘There you are.’
‘Ma’am,’ said Hal, and Ty touched his forelock in salute.
She sighed theatrically. ‘I am Lady Franciezka Sorboz, a loyal servant to His Majesty the King.’
‘And I am Albér,’ said the young officer. ‘We met at—’
‘You’re the Prince!’ blurted Ty. ‘Highness …’ He bowed.
Hal followed suit. ‘Your highness.’
The young man grinned. ‘Here I am Captain, not Prince.’
‘This is your ship, High— Captain?’ asked Ty.
‘Yes.’ He motioned for the two men to sit opposite Franciezka on a padded seat in front of the large stern windows. Even though these were the captain’s quarters, there wasn’t a lot of room.
‘We were content merely to watch over you from a distance,’ said Lady Franciezka, ‘until you so foolishly decided to go out brawling.’
‘Actually, my lady,’ said Ty, ‘he decided to go out. I went after him to ensure he was safe, and the brawling was not our idea. It just sort of happened.’
‘It’s been a month,’ said Hal, as if that explained everything. ‘So, were those Keshians? They didn’t look like Keshians.’
‘Those were common thugs, though I suspect at least one among them may have been a trained assassin,’ said Lady Franciezka. ‘You would both have been found dead, or you dead, Prince Henry, and you wounded, young Hawkins, and the story would be that it was a dockside brawl among many men, and the witnesses would have conflicting stories. Create enough confusion and the truth is hidden.’
‘And while the city watch was sorting things out,’ added Prince Albér, ‘my father would have the difficult task of informing King Gregory that a distant cousin of his was killed in a brawl.’
Hal realized something. ‘You didn’t answer me. They were Kesh’s agents, right?’
‘No,’ said Lady Franciezka. ‘Despite the fleet looming off the harbour mouth, we’re actually on good terms with Kesh these days, at least relative to what the Kingdom of the Isles is dealing with; no, we have sure knowledge those weren’t Keshian agents trying to kill you.’
‘Who then?’ asked Ty.
‘That’s the question, isn’t it?’ said Albér.
‘Yes. It wasn’t Kesh and it certainly wasn’t Roldem,’ offered Lady Franciezka. ‘That means there’s another, unknown, player taking a hand.’
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#ulink_bad5747d-b223-5fcd-9ff2-4f8bebb97819) •
Revelations (#ulink_bad5747d-b223-5fcd-9ff2-4f8bebb97819)
AMIRANTH TENSED.
He waited to see if anything went awry as Gulamendis completed his preliminary enchanting. The two had spent most of his visit determining a means of investigating the demon realm without actually exposing themselves to an attack from there.
