“Forget all that,” said Roxanne. “Hardcastle can go stuff himself. Things will be different from now on.”
“I love you,” said Medley. “How do you feel about me?”
“Damned if I know,” said Roxanne.
Hawk was tired, and his arm and back muscles ached from too much use and too little rest. During the past hour he’d been through half the dives in the Steppes, looking for a lead on Fisher. No one knew anything, no matter how forcefully he put the question. Eventually he came to the reluctant belief that they were telling the truth. And that only left one place to look. Brimstone Hall. Hardcastle’s home.
He stood outside the great iron gates, and stared past the two nervous men-at-arms on duty. The old Hall looked quiet and almost deserted, with lights showing at
only
a few windows. Somewhere in there he’d find what he was looking for; someone or something that would put him on the right trail.
The two men-at-arms looked at each other uncertainly, but said nothing. They recognised Hawk, and knew what he was capable of. They hadn’t missed the fresh blood dripping from the axe in his right hand. Hawk ignored them, concentrating on the Hall. Hardcastle and his people would be out on the streets now, so the chances were good he’d only have to face a skeleton staff. Maybe he’d get really lucky and find Isobel locked away in some cellar here. He remembered the way she’d looked as she’d been dragged away, bloody and unconscious, and the slow cold rage began to build in him again. He shifted his gaze to the two men-at-arms, and they stirred uneasily.
“Open the gates,” said Hawk.
“Hardcastle isn’t here,” said one of the men. “Everyone’s out.”
“Somebody will talk to me.”
“Not to you, Captain Hawk. We have our orders. You’re not to be allowed entrance under any circumstances. As far as you’re concerned, everyone’s out and always will be.”
“Open the gates,” said Hawk.
“Get lost,” said the other. “You’ve no business here.”
Hawk hit him low, well below the belt. He doubled up and fell writhing to the ground. The other man-at-arms backed quickly away. Hawk pushed the gates open, stepped over the man on the ground, and entered the grounds of Brimstone Hall. The man-at-arms left standing took one look at Hawk’s face and turned and ran for the Hall. Hawk went after him at a steady walk. No point in hurrying. No one was going anywhere.
He heard the approach of soft, padding feet, and looked round to see three huge dogs charging silently towards him. Hawk studied them carefully. Hardcastle’s dogs were supposed to be man-killers and man-eaters, but they looked ordinary enough to Hawk. He took a bag of powder from his belt, opened it, held his breath, and threw the powder into the air right in front of the dogs. The dogs skidded to a halt, sniffed suspiciously at the air, and then sat down suddenly with big sloppy grins on their faces. Hawk waited a moment to be sure the dust had done its job, then walked cautiously past them. Two of the dogs ignored him completely, and the third rolled over on its back so that Hawk could rub its belly. Hawk smiled slightly, careful not to breathe till he was well past the dogs. He’d known the second bag of dust he’d found in Dannielle’s room would come in handy.
He headed for the Hall. Everything seemed quiet. He’d almost reached the main door when it suddenly swung open before him, and five men-at-arms in full chain mail spilled out to block his path. Hawk smiled at them, and held his bloody axe so they could see it clearly.
“Where is she?” he said softly. “Where’s Hardcastle keeping my wife?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” said the foremost man-at-arms. “I’m Brond. I speak for Hardcastle in his absence, and he doesn’t want to speak to you. You’d better leave now. You’re already in a lot of trouble.”
“Last chance,” said Hawk. “Where’s my wife?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” said Brond. He half-turned away and addressed the other men. “Throw him out. Don’t be gentle about it. Show the man what happens when he messes with his betters.”
Hawk slammed his axe into Brond’s side. The heavy steel head punched clean through Brond’s chain mail, and buried itself in his rib cage. Brond stood and stared at it for a moment, unable to believe what had happened, then fell to his knees, blood starting from his mouth. Hawk jerked his axe free, and the four remaining men-at-arms jumped him. The first to reach Hawk went down screaming in a flurry of blood and guts as Hawk’s axe opened him up across the belly.
The other three tried to surround Hawk, but his axe swept back and forth, keeping them at arm’s length. They surged around him, darting in and jumping back, like dogs
trying
to bring down a bear. Hawk
smiled at them coldly,
calculating the odds. The men-at-arms were good, but he was better. He could take them. It was only a matter of time. And then four more men-at-arms came running out of the main door, and Hawk knew he was in trouble. With Fisher to watch his back, he’d have taken them on without a second thought, but fighting on his own the odds were murder. Nevertheless he was damned if he’d back down. Fisher needed him. Besides, he’d faced worse odds in his time. He took a firm hold on his axe and threw himself at his nearest opponent.
And then suddenly there was another figure, fighting at his side; tall and lithe and very deadly. Two men-at-arms fell to the newcomer’s blade in as many seconds, Hawk cut down a third and suddenly the men-at-arms scattered and ran for their lives. Hawk slowly lowered his axe, and turned to face Roxanne. For a long moment they stood looking at each other, and then Roxanne lowered her sword.
“All right,” said Hawk. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve come to help,” said Medley, approaching the two of them cautiously. “We know where your wife is. We can take you right to her.”
“Why the hell should I trust you?” said Hawk. “You both work for Hardcastle.”
“Not anymore,” said Roxanne. “He broke his contract with me.”
“And I never worked for him,” said Medley flatly.
“Besides,” said Roxanne. “Without our help you haven’t a hope of finding and rescuing your wife.”
Hawk smiled slightly. “That’s a good reason.”
He hesitated, and then put away his axe. Roxanne sheathed her sword, and the three of them walked back through the grounds to the main gates. They had to go slowly so that Medley could keep up with them. Hawk looked at him more closely.
“You don’t look too good, Medley. Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“He’s been ill,” said Roxanne quickly. “He’s fine now.”
Hawk looked at them both, and then let the matter drop. There was obviously a story there, but it could wait. “How did you find me?” he asked finally.
Medley smiled. “You seem to have spent the last hour or so cutting a path right through the seedier half of the High Steppes. All we had to do was follow the path of blood and bodies.”
“You haven’t said what you expect to get out of this,” said Hawk.
“The dropping of any and all charges against us,” said Medley. “A clean slate.”
“All right,” said Hawk. “You help me rescue Isobel, and I’ll come through for you. But if I even suspect you’re trying to set me up, I’ll kill you both. Deal?”
“How could we refuse?” said Medley.
“Deal,” said Roxanne.
Pike had been stuck in the safe house for over an hour, and the ale had run out. He couldn’t send out for more because they weren’t supposed to draw attention to themselves. He leaned his chair back against the wall and looked thoughtfully at the locked door that stood between him and Captain Isobel Fisher. The beautiful, arrogant Captain. Not so arrogant now, though. Pike smiled at the thought. And let his hand drop to the key ring at his belt. Hardcastle’s orders had been quite specific about delivering her alive, but no one had said anything about intact....
Pike looked around him. Six of his men were playing dice and arguing about the side bets. Two more were doing running repairs on their chain mail. The rest were scattered around the house, acting as lookouts. All in all, the house was thoroughly secure, and no one would miss him if he took a little break. He called quietly to Da Silva, and the mercenary left the dice game and came over to join him.
“This had better be good, Pike; I was winning.”
“You can cheat at dice any time. I’ve got a more pleasurable game in mine.”
Da Silva looked at the locked door, and frowned. “Wondered how long it would take for you to get the itch for her. Forget it, Pike. That’s Captain Fisher in there. We can’t afford to take any chances with her.”
“Come on,” said Pike. “She’s just a woman. We can handle her between us. Are you game?”
“I’m game if you are.” Da Silva smiled suddenly. “Who gets first shot?”
“Toss you for it.”
“My coin or yours?”
“Mine.”
Pike took a silver mark from his purse, and handed it to Da Silva, who examined both sides carefully before returning it. Pike flipped the coin and caught it deftly before slapping it flat on his arm. Da Silva called heads, and then swore when Pike revealed the coin. Pike grinned and put it away. Da Silva glanced at the other mercenaries.
“What about the others?” he said quietly.
“What about them?” said Pike. “Let them find their own women.”
Da Silva looked at the locked door and licked his lips thoughtfully. “We’re going to have to be very careful with her, Pike. If we give her a chance, she’ll cut our throats with our own knives.”
“So we won’t give her a chance. Will you stop worrying? First, she’s already had a hell of a beating. That should have taken some of the starch out of her. And secondly, I tied her up hand and foot while she was unconscious, remember? She’s in no position to give us any trouble. So, I untie her feet, and then you hold her steady while I give her a good time. Afterwards, we swop over. Right?”
“Right.” Da Silva grinned broadly. “You always did know how to show your friends a good time, Pike.”
They walked purposefully towards the locked door. A few of the other mercenaries looked in their direction, but nobody said anything. Pike unlocked the door, and took a lamp off the wall. He grinned once at Da Silva, and then the two of them went to see Captain Fisher.
The room had no windows or other light, and Fisher screwed up her eyes at the sudden glare. She’d been awake for some time, but alone in the dark she had no way of telling how much time had passed. Her head ached fiercely, and she knew she was lucky not to have a concussion. There were cramps in her arms from being tied behind her, and her hands were numb because the ropes at her wrists were too tight. Her ankles were hobbled and there was no sign of her sword. All in all, she’d been in better condition.
She struggled to sit upright, and looked at the two men standing by the door. They closed it carefully behind them, and from the way they looked at her, she had a good idea of what they had in mind. A sudden horror gripped her, and she had to grit her teeth to stop her mouth from trembling. She’d faced death before, been hurt so many times she’d lost count of the scars, but this was different. She’d thought about rape, she supposed every woman had, but she’d never really thought it would happen to her. Not to her, not to Captain of the Guard Fisher; the warrior. She was too strong, too good with a sword, too determined to protect herself for anything like that to happen to her. Only now her sword was gone, the strength had been knocked out of her, and determination on its own wasn’t going to be enough to protect her.... She bit down firmly, on her growing panic. She had to keep her wits about her, and watch for a chance to thwart them. If all else failed, there was always revenge.
Pike put the lamp into a niche high up on the wall. He could feel Fisher watching him. He moved unhurriedly towards her. Her eyes were steady, but just a bit too wide. He grinned, knelt down beside her, and put one hand on her thigh. In spite of herself, Fisher shrank away from his touch.
“No need to worry, Captain,” said Pike, giving her thigh a little squeeze, just hard enough to let her feel the strength in his hand. “My friend and I won’t hurt you, as long as you behave yourself. No. You just be nice and cooperative and show us a nice time, and you don’t have to get hurt at all. Of course, if you’re determined to be unpleasant about it, my friend Da Silva here knows some real nasty tricks with a skinning knife. Isn’t that right, Da Silva?”
“Right.” Da Silva laughed as Fisher’s eyes darted to him and then away again.
“I’m a Captain of the Guard,’” said Fisher. “If anything happens to me, you’ll be in real trouble.”
“That’s out there,” said Pike. “Things like that don’t matter in here. In here, there’s just you and us.”
“My husband will track me down. You’ve heard of Hawk, haven’t you?”
“Sure,” said Pike. “We’re waiting for him. He’s good, but so are we. And there are a lot more of us than there is of him.”
Fisher thought frantically. There was the sound of truth and confidence in his voice, and that frightened her more than anything. They didn’t just want her, they wanted Hawk as well.
“All right,” she said finally, her voice not quite as steady as she would have liked. “I won’t fight you. Just... don’t hurt me. Why not untie me? I could be more... cooperative then.”