Free Best Laid Plans by D.P. Prior Page A

Rhiannon. ‘Sammy came for me,’ he said. ‘He brought me out of the Abyss.’
    She shook her head, her brow creased with strain. ‘Sammy? He’s OK? How…?’
    Cadris passed Shader a crust of stale bread and a cup of dirty water. Shader nodded his thanks, but kept his eyes locked to Rhiannon’s.
    ‘Huntsman still has him. I think he’s changing the boy. He has new powers.’
    ‘Shog that!’ Rhiannon stood, hands on her hips. The Liber fell to the floor in a heap of creased pages.
    Velda pushed her spectacles back on the bridge of her nose and dropped to her knees. She scooped up the book as if it were a sickly child and clutched it to her breast. Ioana touched a hand to her shoulder and offered a weak smile.
    ‘He also speaks with the Archon,’ Shader said. ‘The boy is special.’
    ‘I already know that,’ Rhiannon said. ‘But if you think I’m gonna let that bloody witch doctor take my Sammy…’
    ‘What do you want to do about it?’ Shader stormed, bread crumbs spraying from his mouth. ‘We’ve all suffered, and there’s bound to be a whole lot more suffering before this is over.’
    Rhiannon raised a fist, the knuckles scabby and raw.
    Shader frowned. ‘What happened to you?’ He took another bite of bread and did his best to ignore her rising anger.
    ‘S-S-Shadrak’s face,’ Gaston said. ‘She beat the living c-c-crap out of him.’
    ‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’ Shader said. ‘You don’t want to mess with a Kwane.’
    Gaston laughed. ‘Shog, no. Those udder-pumping arms s-s-sure pack a wallop.’
    Rhiannon sniggered, her eyes glinting. Shader smiled, and for an instant the three were as they’d always been, utterly familiar and happy in each other’s company. But then Rhiannon turned away, her arms wrapped tightly about her chest. Gaston lowered his head and moved to the back of the attic where he accepted some bread from Cadris.
    ‘Where are the others?’ Shader asked no one in particular. ‘Frater Hugues? Pater Limus?’
    ‘Limus fell behind in the tunnels,’ Maldark said. ‘We tarried a while to look for him, but there was no sign. Hugues fled when the Dweller appeared. Ain knows where he is. Mayhap he is still at the templum.’
    ‘I saw no one when I left,’ Shader said, fearing the worst. ‘What about the White Order?’
    Gaston looked up from the gloom at the rear of the attic, but said nothing.
    ‘Barek led them to look for help,’ Rhiannon said over her shoulder. ‘There weren’t enough of them to fight back, and they’d only have drawn attention to the rest of us. If they’re lucky, they’ll link up with the militia.’
    ‘Or the Imperial troops outside the city,’ Gaston said.
    Shader glared at him, but Gaston was looking at the floor, his shoulders bunched up about his ears. ‘They’ll find no help there,’ Shader said. ‘Your attack won’t have been forgotten. One other thing,’ he scanned the group. ‘The serpent statue given to me by Huntsman has been taken.’
    ‘Must’ve been Shadrak,’ Gaston said.
    Rhiannon turned back to face Shader. ‘He came up from the crypt. We thought he’d come to help, though shog knows why. Guess we were too flaming scared to care at the time.’
    Shader’s hand went to his back. The wound had healed, but he still felt the pain. ‘I’ll find him.’ He narrowed his eyes and sucked in a long breath through his teeth. ‘But first things first. We have to get word to Barek and see if we can drum up some more support. We can’t let the city fall to Cadman.’
     
     
     

SERVILITY AND COMMAND
     
    T he sun dipped below the distant towers of the city centre, leaving streaks of pink and crimson across the darkening sky. Barek spat into a rag and rubbed at the basinet in his lap. He couldn’t really see what he was doing, but that wasn’t the point. He needed to keep busy.
    The rest of the White Order knights were sitting around fires dotted about the hilltop at the centre of Lesmallen, Sarum’s