side?”
“Leave her alone, Marcus,” Devoy said. “What’s done is done. They are gone. The physick had nothing to do with it.” Brunholm made a gesture of disgust and Vandra took it as a dismissal, almost running from the room.
“I nearly had her admitting her guilt,” Brunholm said angrily.
“Forget about it. We must think about what is going on. With the Treaty Stone broken, I had expected a Cherb invasion. But nothing has happened. Are the Ring of Five up to something else?”
“We need to send someone to Grist to find out what’s happening,” Brunholm said, “but who do we have who we can trust?”
“The student body is weak, and there are many we can’t trust. Starling’s cover was blown in Grist. I suspect we would be sending her to her doom.”
“Then it must be the physick.”
“She may be needed here.”
“If the Cherbs invade here, there will be no need of a healer. We will all be dead.”
“She can’t be sent alone.”
“Then Toxique must be sent with her.”
Brunholm grimaced. “He’s not fit for undercover work. He jumps at shadows. He’d scream if a mouse ran over his toe.”
“But he also has the gift of anticipation. He knows when things are going to happen.”
“Bah, we’re clutching at straws here.”
“Straws are all we have, Marcus.”
Devoy went to the window and stared west as though he could penetrate the clouds that lay between Wilsons and the great Cherb fortress of Grist.
“H alt! Who goes there?” The sentry was taking no chances. Kilrootford had been on the highest state of alert for weeks now. They were all jumpy and on edge. The escape hadn’t helped matters. Heads had rolled in the upper division. The other prisoner’s security had been doubled. The sentry had seen her when they’d brought her in. She was a sad blond lady.
“Nice-looking,” he’d said to one of his colleagues.
“She won’t be by the time they’ve finished with her,” the other man said with an unpleasant laugh.
“Outland patrol,” came the reply now. The sentry lowered his rifle a little, but a different kind of tension crept in. He had been told to expect a patrol, but they were early. They weren’t due to pass the gates for another thirty minutes. The elite squad were the best, it was fair to say, but they were arrogant and aloof, and he didn’t like dealing with them.
He could see them clearly now, walking in the dusk. There were four figures. Two were prisoners—a bedraggled blond girl and a skinny boy being prodded along at rifle point by two ski-masked squad members. Then thesentry’s mouth fell open. The thin boy had something growing from his shoulders, a feathery mass.… No, they couldn’t be. He rubbed his eyes. The boy definitely had wings. Proper curving wings rising proud of his shoulders.
The sentry had read accounts of winged figures being spotted, but like most people he had dismissed them as being as probable as crop circles or alien abductions. Now one of these winged figures was trudging down the road toward him.
“What you got?” He directed his question at one of the ski-masked figures, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Got a report of intruders in the south quadrant,” one of the figures replied. “Found this freak and the girl when we got there. We need to get them straight to the lab.”
“Can’t let you do that.” The sentry’s voice was nervous. “Orders. I was told you’d be coming in with one or two prisoners but that I wasn’t to let you in until eight o’clock, and then I was to direct you to block X.”
“Whose orders?”
“Direct from the prime minister’s office. Longford himself.”
“This won’t wait.”
“It will have to.”
Under the ski mask Danny was puzzled. He presumed that the sentry was expecting the real elite squad (who were now tied up in the holiday cottage) to bring in two prisoners—Danny and Nala—but why was the timing so precise? The only answer was that something wasdue to happen
“Leave her alone, Marcus,” Devoy said. “What’s done is done. They are gone. The physick had nothing to do with it.” Brunholm made a gesture of disgust and Vandra took it as a dismissal, almost running from the room.
“I nearly had her admitting her guilt,” Brunholm said angrily.
“Forget about it. We must think about what is going on. With the Treaty Stone broken, I had expected a Cherb invasion. But nothing has happened. Are the Ring of Five up to something else?”
“We need to send someone to Grist to find out what’s happening,” Brunholm said, “but who do we have who we can trust?”
“The student body is weak, and there are many we can’t trust. Starling’s cover was blown in Grist. I suspect we would be sending her to her doom.”
“Then it must be the physick.”
“She may be needed here.”
“If the Cherbs invade here, there will be no need of a healer. We will all be dead.”
“She can’t be sent alone.”
“Then Toxique must be sent with her.”
Brunholm grimaced. “He’s not fit for undercover work. He jumps at shadows. He’d scream if a mouse ran over his toe.”
“But he also has the gift of anticipation. He knows when things are going to happen.”
“Bah, we’re clutching at straws here.”
“Straws are all we have, Marcus.”
Devoy went to the window and stared west as though he could penetrate the clouds that lay between Wilsons and the great Cherb fortress of Grist.
“H alt! Who goes there?” The sentry was taking no chances. Kilrootford had been on the highest state of alert for weeks now. They were all jumpy and on edge. The escape hadn’t helped matters. Heads had rolled in the upper division. The other prisoner’s security had been doubled. The sentry had seen her when they’d brought her in. She was a sad blond lady.
“Nice-looking,” he’d said to one of his colleagues.
“She won’t be by the time they’ve finished with her,” the other man said with an unpleasant laugh.
“Outland patrol,” came the reply now. The sentry lowered his rifle a little, but a different kind of tension crept in. He had been told to expect a patrol, but they were early. They weren’t due to pass the gates for another thirty minutes. The elite squad were the best, it was fair to say, but they were arrogant and aloof, and he didn’t like dealing with them.
He could see them clearly now, walking in the dusk. There were four figures. Two were prisoners—a bedraggled blond girl and a skinny boy being prodded along at rifle point by two ski-masked squad members. Then thesentry’s mouth fell open. The thin boy had something growing from his shoulders, a feathery mass.… No, they couldn’t be. He rubbed his eyes. The boy definitely had wings. Proper curving wings rising proud of his shoulders.
The sentry had read accounts of winged figures being spotted, but like most people he had dismissed them as being as probable as crop circles or alien abductions. Now one of these winged figures was trudging down the road toward him.
“What you got?” He directed his question at one of the ski-masked figures, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Got a report of intruders in the south quadrant,” one of the figures replied. “Found this freak and the girl when we got there. We need to get them straight to the lab.”
“Can’t let you do that.” The sentry’s voice was nervous. “Orders. I was told you’d be coming in with one or two prisoners but that I wasn’t to let you in until eight o’clock, and then I was to direct you to block X.”
“Whose orders?”
“Direct from the prime minister’s office. Longford himself.”
“This won’t wait.”
“It will have to.”
Under the ski mask Danny was puzzled. He presumed that the sentry was expecting the real elite squad (who were now tied up in the holiday cottage) to bring in two prisoners—Danny and Nala—but why was the timing so precise? The only answer was that something wasdue to happen
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