Free The Light of Heaven by David A McIntee

sir."
    "It's an extra day's pay to you and your men, Chaga." He didn't mind that his faithful soldier had threatened him. It was his duty, after all, to be sure that Kell wasn't an impostor disguised by magical or other means.
    "It certainly is. Where are we going, sir?"
    "Turnitia first, I think. And I want no interruptions from the Swords of Dawn."
    Chaga grinned, showing missing teeth. "That goes without saying, sir."
     
    The bath-house was a stone-walled chamber attached to the castle's largest tower. The water was heated by fires in the next room, before flowing down and into the wooden tubs. Gabriella handed her armour for cleaning and put the rest of her clothes into a large basket for the castle's staff to take for laundry later.
    The water was refreshing, and Gabriella ducked under the surface, shaking her head to get any trace of the day's exertions out of her hair. She still felt tense, and wished it was so easy to wash away what had happened to Eminence Rhodon. His wound wouldn't disappear with warm water and soap.
    A surge of water brought her back to herself and back to the surface. Erak was just settling in opposite.
    "It's been a long day," he said, enjoying the soothing effect of the hot water.
    "For everybody. Half the Order will probably be joining us any minute."
    "Not unless they bring a battering ram, Gabe." He grinned, passing her a large iron key. "I thought you wouldn't want to be disturbed."
    "I've been disturbed enough for one day," she admitted. "That man I caught... He was a maniac. Possessed, maybe."
    "Then there's a well-fed demon in the pits."
    She nodded. "Erak, do you think that that man was the same one who shot Eminence Rhodon?"
    Erak slid round to sit next to her and leaned his head on her shoulder.
    "You've nothing to be guilty or ashamed about. Unlike the rest of us."
    "What have you got to be ashamed about?"
    "You must be joking, Gabe. A whole troop of the Swords couldn't protect our own Eminences?"
    "A determined assassin who doesn't care for his own life will always get through."
    "Next time try to sound like you believe that."
    "Don't you?"
    Erak was silent for a moment. "The Lord of All is on our side. He doesn't look the other way but he demands that we're worthy of him. And we weren't."
    Gabriella shook her head. "Somehow I don't think the Eminences will agree, nor will the Anointed Lord."
     
    Hasso, formerly of the Red Daggers, wasn't stupid. Goran Kell was a warrior, unlike Scarra, and wouldn't think twice about killing him. Again, Hasso was confident of his own fighting ability, but he knew that he would be outnumbered if he tried to take on Kell's bodyguards. He didn't particularly believe that Kell had ran off with half the money, and knew he would only get himself into a fight against impossible odds if he went after Kell.
    No, Scarra was the one who had cheated them all, and Scarra was the one who needed punishing for it. With that in mind, Hasso had turned away from Kell's trail as soon as he was out of sight of Scarra and the others. He knew that they'd expect Kell to kill him, or perhaps they thought he'd join Kell's half of the company. Either way they wouldn't feel threatened.
    If they knew he had gone off on his own, however, they might see a threat. They might worry about who he'd run into, or what he'd say. As he camped overnight in a tumbledown cottage, he thought about that. More accurately, he tried to think about that, but kept becoming sidetracked by the thought of how to punish Scarra and make up the shortfall in his fee.
    By morning, he realized that he hadn't been as sidetracked as he had at first thought. He realized that the two things were actually the same. By the time he had fed his horse and rolled up his bedding, he knew just where to go, and what to do.
     
    One of the Duke's troops came to fetch Gabriella and Erak as they finished breaking their fast in the castle's refectory.
    "Enlightened Brother, Sister, the guards have brought in a man who's