im," said Ma

ern, the head of the palace guard.

y. The Matron could flay the soul of the strongest man with that

that happens, it'll be just too dangerous to let her live any longer. The King will have no choice but to have her put to death." He

gs. He'd lost a few teeth by the looks of him, and one eye was almost closed by a black, puffy swelling. A movement on the opposite corner of the cell caught Darniss's attention and made the

tted anywhere over the previous couple of weeks. If he'd only lain low, enjoyed his payment discretely... But some people were just incapable of that kind of common sense, she knew. The man who'

onfessed?"

lain having come by legitimately, but that could have come from burgling the Besswell house. It's possible that the man really responsible for the Princes

aid of. "Has he said anything?

had information that could lead to her being uncovered, but he didn't himself know that she was a Carrow agent. If she

ms to have never done anything wrong, anywher

ble he's tell

ty. I've come to develop an instinct for it and I'm almost never wrong. This guy's a bad'un. He's done something bad. Mayb

ee him," she said. "See the kind of

ack on the Princess had infuriated him more than anyone else except the King himself, she now saw, and it was easy to guess why. Balhern was responsible for the security of the palace, entrusted with the task by the K

rself and left to the rats. He would watch while the Questioners did their work on her, and when she was found guilty he would execute her himself, swinging the axe with a hard anger alloyed only by a savage satisfaction that she was getting what she deserved. She

t I suspect this guy looked pathetic well before the city guard got their hands on him.

ging my curiosity, Captain. I have to go now,

s welcome down

was out of sight of the head guard and stood with her back to the damp stone wall, breathing heavily until she'd regained her composure. What she was doing was dangerous, and the head guard had made the danger

ut of prison was impossible, of course, and even if it hadn't been she was damned if she was going to risk here life for someone whose stupidity had cost her a valuable accomplice. No, she would have to kill him. It was the only way. Pettiwel

ivered the food to the prisoners could be persuaded to help her, there was no way to tell which plate of bread and beans would be given to Pettiwell, and approaching another member of staff would be far too gre

and the small chest under her bed wh

☆

bassador, he had to overcome an almost irr

marks covering his face, some with black hairs sprouting from them, and his teeth were yellow and jutting out at odd angles. The King didn't care about any of that, though. There were many men in his service who weren't exactly oil paintings, and he didn't care so long as they did their

of that kind of honour but whom he had to appease just for the sake of a quiet life. It wasn't anything he actually said, but it was there in his voice and his body language. The unspoken implication that Helberion was little more than a cluster of huts in a swamp and its King some naked, mud smeared oaf claiming titles and privileges

ity, probably the whole kingdom, prays daily for her recovery. You cannot walk anywhere without hearing the people wee

face. The ambassador had very probably had a hand in what had been done to her, or at least knew about

riage," continued the ambassador. "After all the hard work put in b

e," replied the King. In fact, he had already decided that he would be damned if he allowed his daughter to m

t for a resolution to the ancient injustices that brought us here. A wedding to join our royal family to yours was the very least

et was once owned by someone other than the man who owns it now," he pointed out. "We have to put the past behind us and

However, we are going through a period of economic hardship. Our population is struggling to feed itself, we need new lands to farm, and our pe

h a large military budget. My ministers wonder why you n

re also recruiting heavily. Of course, it takes time to train men and build equipment. You will b

of their own accord. Behind him, he sensed his bodyguards tensing up and

ons between out two great countries, and as a gesture of contrition for past crimes, His Ma

and the King waved them back. He brought himself back under control with an effort. "That is Helb

"You sound as though I were threatening you! I was just

ilon for his generous offer, and please ask h

ear that tensions w

King is not too weak to kee

u reconsider your position." He then turned and left without waiting to be dismissed, a deliberate violation of protocol and a final gesture of the contempt with which he held the King. One of t

ines," he said. "Tell him I want a report on our military preparedness before the

☆

d Minister Falow

y and shame raged inside him. "Not just him but all the prisoners. Minister, I

and are closing in. This is not the time for me to discard my best people. You will

led tells us something important. None of the guards did it, they a

"I want a list of everyone who's been

everyone in the palace. Minister, this was

nt agreement. "Who had access to t

the royal family is carefully watched, only carefully selected people are allowed to

he palace, Balhern! Someo

we already knew that. The

u are responsible for security in this palace! Find him!" The Minister then spun o

ated twice. He had failed the King twice. There would not be a third time. He felt the traitor's actions to be a personal insult a

ncompetent as to allow more than one fox into his henhouse! Of course, it was possible that the trai

aff members, even those whose families had been serving the King for generations. Nobody was beyond suspicion. Not even his own men. Killing all the prisoners might have been a deliberate distraction to draw suspicion away from the guards, who co

Besswell house. He'd been seen flashing money around town, money that he couldn't explain having. There was no concrete evidence to link him to the Besswell burglary, though. The idea that he was a traitor, that his money was payment for helping attack the Princess, had been, and still was, entirely p

hurley was going to kill him, all be would have had to do was shout "Thurley is a traitor!" as loudly as he could before he died. Killing a man instantly was difficult. Unless you arranged things very carefully, there was always a chance for the victi

reached their conclusion. There would have to have been a second traitor, one who had access to the kitchens. If his suspicions regarding Thurley were correct, that is, and he had to admit that his suspicions were

having to look behind to see that they would be scrambling for their weapons and hurrying after him. He stopped by the palace records office to

one of the guards in disbelief. "He's

the driver's seat while the men took their places on the back seats. Balhern then drove the wagon

the Princess. They were still outraged, but they couldn't stand around wailing in grief and horror for ever. They had lives to get on with. Hundreds o

hose countries would scarcely notice, and would only really care if it meant taxes going up. King Leothan truly cared for his people, though, as had his father and grandfather before him. They had proved this time and again over the past half century, and the people loved them for it. When the Princess had

ifty yards up the road, so as not to alert him. "Mastell, Bowen, go round the back of the house,

any wrongdoing and we don't want to

ptain. "Now go and do it. Make su

hat ran between the houses lining New Bridge Street and the backs of the houses lining the next street along. Balhern gave th

e occupants of neighbouring houses looked to see what was going on, and the Captain marched swiftly up to Thurley's front door before the suspected traitor also

he back door. Virgil stayed by the door as Balhern went further in, and at the back the Captain knew that another of his men was remaining at the back door while the other entered the house. Every palace guardsmen had started

e entire ground floor. They both looked up the stairs, searching for possible traps and ambushes, and then Balhern went up first, Bowen close behind. The house had been built for a whole family and two of the three bedrooms were empty, without even carpets

om the house in a smart set of civilian clothes and carrying a small case. He had flagged down a cab, which had take

eir records see if someone of his description took a carriage east, but I'm in no doubt. Thurley was a

accomp

tain. "There's still a