The Spellbinder (Tom & Laura Series) (24 page)

As soon as the guards were gone, Tom led the way to the kitchen where they hoped they might find
Nan
.

Chapter 29
   
Soldiers Perks

Cam
examined Daisy critically and then pulled down the top of Daisy’s dress to reveal more cleavage. Daisy slapped her hand away.

“We are supposed to be maids, not streetwalkers.” She pulled the top up again.

Tompkins had been watching the girls put the finishing touches to their disguises. “I think
Cam
has a point, Daisy. All I have ever noticed about the serving girls is the amount of flesh they are showing.”

“That is because your mind is in the gutter,
Arnold
,”
Cam
told him sternly. “And why have you suddenly become so bright and cheerful now we all face death?”

Tompkins took the question seriously. “It made me realize that wasting my life being miserable is not what David would have wanted. I may not have many days left, but I plan to use them making up for my past mistakes.”

“How do you think I look?”
Cam
spun on up on her toes to give Tompkins the complete picture.

“More cleavage,” Tompkins said sagely and ducked the pillow
Cam
threw at him.

Virtue Williams stuck her head around the door. She was a tall, pretty girl with long straight blonde hair that
Cam
envied. They’d sent her to find where the soldiers were stationed as she was good at talking her way out of trouble, especially when men were involved.

“There are two soldiers, one at the end of each the main ways out.” Virtue grimaced at the memory of talking to them. “Not the kind of men you would want to meet in a dark alley. You two be careful. I think one of them would have molested me if he wasn’t on duty.”

“What about the servants’ passages?” Daisy asked.

“Locked. You’ll need keys unless Camilla has finally learnt how to pick locks.”

“I am working on it,”
Cam
said haughtily. Then she sighed. “But it’s hard work.”

Her face brightened. “However, in this case, all will be well. Come on Daisy, or should I call you
Nancy
? You need a proper serving girl’s name.”

“I shall call you Blossom if you do.”

“You most certainly won’t.”

“How about Titty?”

“Blossom is better.”

Tompkins grinned at Virtue as he watched his friends make their way down the corridor arguing. “I know naught of the enemy, but they certainly scare me.”

Virtue put a hand on Tompkins arm and squeezed.

“Do you think we will be alive by Monday?” she asked urgently.

“I think that will depend on Laura Young and Thomas Carter, wherever they are.”

Cam
searched in the place Tom and Laura had told her about. When her fingers caressed the rough iron key a feeling of triumph ran through her followed by a momentary twinge of concern for Laura. She hoped her friend was safe

The girls flitted along the empty corridors of Hobsgate. One thing they were looking for was a safe way out. Routes they might use to escape with the others.
Cam
had decided that must be their first priority. Only when the students were safe could they take action to stop the Captain.

Cam
edged to a window overlooking the fields in front of the building. Closely mown they offered no cover at all and she had spotted several regular patrols. Another two went past below the window and paused to scan their surroundings. The soldiers carried rifles at the ready.

“It’s as if they don’t trust us,” she whispered to Daisy. There must be at least eight men guarding the grounds.

“I can’t think why they would feel like that,” Daisy whispered back. “After all this is only a military academy filled with magically talented spies.”

“Empathizing with them is not going to help,”
Cam
said tartly.

“Empathizing with them is your job. I’m just a Precog.”

Investigating further, they discovered that the servants were being held captive in the kitchens. Two soldiers were on guard. The girls were staring at the guards who had their backs to them when strong hands cupped over their mouths and they were dragged backwards. Cam was ready to fight for her life when she was spun round, but then she saw it was
Nan
who had grabbed them.

Nan
motioned them to stay quiet and led them up a set of stairs and into a storeroom. She pulled at a wall of shelves, which turned out to be a door. Behind that was a room with a bed. The bed was occupied by Mick was sitting up and looking at them.

Cam
was delighted on seeing the man. “Mick, I’m so glad you’re better,” she said, and then felt shy as she realized she only knew the man through stories and their brief encounter after he was shot. She had begun to think of him as an old friend, but they had not yet been introduced.

“Yer’ll be Camilla, I ‘spect. Miss Young told us all about yer.”

“Yes, er Cam and this is Daisy,” she said, waving at her friend who was smiling broadly at Mick as though she had known him all her life.

“Yer seem ‘appy for some ’un in mortal danger?” Mick made his words a question as he viewed Daisy suspiciously. Laura and Tom had talked a lot about
Cam
, but they had never mentioned Daisy.

“Everything that gives us a chance is happening, just as I dreamed it.” Daisy said happily.

“Yer seen this before, girl, in yer head?” Mick asked quickly.

Daisy nodded.

“Yes, and only if certain things happen can we survive. All the other paths lead us to death.” Daisy sat down. “That’s why I came with
Cam
. I have to be here in this room right now.”

“That’s all well and good,” said
Nan
briskly, “But we ain’t got time to waste. Dan and me are s’pposed to be in the cold store, sortin’ food for the evenin’ meal.”

Mick shook his head. “Happen yer ‘ave to make some time,
Nan
. I’m more meself now and know when the tides are. Laura and Tom will ‘ave ‘ad to wait on t’ cliffs for hours till the tide got low enough. They may not ‘ave made it. I should never ‘ave sent ‘em.”

“Tom and Laura are out on the cliffs?”
Cam
was horrified.

“It’s all right,” Daisy said, a smile still covering her face, “There’s a cave they found. They were fine.”

Up in the Headmaster’s study, Snood was getting bored. The Captain had gone to sleep, his cap pulled down over his face and he was snoring loudly. Snood had the urge to take action, but could not think what that action to take. He did not dare attack the Captain, even in his sleep. The man had senses like a cat and stirred whenever he went near him.

The Headmaster also seemed to be feeling restless and paced the other side of the room.

“I’m outa here,” he told Snood. “Tell the Captain I’ll be back soon enough.” With that he went to the door and left the room. Snood decided to follow him to see what he was up to. It was better than staying with the Captain.

The Headmaster set off at quite a pace. Snood soon deduced that he was making his way to the students’ quarters. He kept well back, so the man would not see him. It was a game of follow my leader that gave Snood some pleasure. He hid behind a corner when the Headmaster encountered a soldier guarding the entrance to the students wing. The two men spoke and joked with each other though he couldn’t hear what was being said. Then the Headmaster entered the students’ quarters, taking a hearty slap on the back from the guard as he departed. Rather than risk an encounter with the soldier, Snood decided to stay where he was and see if the Headmaster returned.

The dorm room was packed with students. They were waiting somewhat anxiously for
Cam
and Daisy to return as they had been gone for hours. The door burst open and the Headmaster strode in. His face was contorted into an excited leer. For just a moment, Tompkins was convinced he was going to tell them he had killed
Cam
and Daisy.

“You’ll do, girl,” the Headmaster said pointing at Virtue. He put out a hand to help her to her feet. “Had my eye on you for a while.”

Virtue was terrified and didn’t know how to respond. But force of habit as much as fear made her take the Headmaster’s hand, allow him to pull her to her feet and follow him out of the room.

The Headmaster pulled Virtue down the corridor and out past the guard.

“Give her one for me,” the soldier said cheerfully and made an obscene gesture before breaking into ribald laughter. Snood heard the noise and a quick glance around the corner gave him warning to hide. He slid into a closet and closed the door as the Headmaster strode past dragging a stumbling Virtue after him. Once they were clear, Snood stepped out of the closet and followed them, being sure to keep well back.

By the time they reached the room the Headmaster had chosen, Virtue was sobbing. The Headmaster pulled the girl into the room and slapped her across the face. The force of the blow shocked her into silence. Then he pulled a wickedly glinting skinning knife from beneath his jacket.

“I’m a gonner have my way with you. I’ve been waitin’ for this chance for the last year.” He brandished the knife in front of Virtue’s face and she stared at its wicked blade in terror. “If you’re lucky, I’ll only cut you a little. Now get your clothes off.”

Virtue knew that if she was going to survive she had to do whatever this man asked of her and think of
England
. She pulled off her blouse as slowly as she dared.

Snood stood outside the door wondering what on Earth was going on inside.
Was the Headmaster interrogating the girl? Surely she knew nothing of value?
He was in a quandary, should he enter and find out what was going on or stay outside? He decided to wait for the time being.

The Headmaster fondled Virtue’s naked breasts.
 
She kept as quiet as she could in the hope it would placate him, but he kept squeezing and twisting them without mercy, forcing little gasps of pain from her. His knife pressed against her throat as he rubbed against her. Then he stopped crushing her breasts. The knife left her throat and she hoped that it might be over, shutting her eyes so she did not have to look at his face.

She screamed as the knife sliced into her left breast. She opened her eyes and stared into the Headmaster’s grinning, excited face. Sweat ran from his brow.

“Now we’re
really
going to have some fun, girly.” He cut her other breast and she screamed again.

Snood reached for the door handle after Virtue’s first scream, his hand reaching for the knife concealed under his coat. He stepped into the room and saw Virtue pinned against the wall. She was naked to the waist with the Headmaster pressing his body hard against hers. Snood eyes were drawn to the rivulets of blood flowing from long cuts across her breasts.

“Howdy Partner!” the Headmaster said cheerfully. “Might’ve known you’d want to get in on the action. The Captain gonna kill all the kids tomorrow so I thought I’d have me some fun first.”

“May I?” Snood enquired bringing his knife out of his jacket. He inclined his head towards Virtue.

“Didn’t know you liked that sorta thing, but she sure is tasty, ain’t she?”

Virtue watched in horror as Snood stepped closer with knife in hand. The Headmaster shifted to her side, using his arm across her neck to keep her pinned in place.

Snood shifted the point of aim of his knife from one of her breasts to the other as if unsure which one to cut. The Headmaster watched in fascination, his hand holding his knife dropping down as he waited for Snood to strike. He licked his lips in anticipation and the blow took him completely by surprise.

Virtue heard the Headmaster gasp and wondered why she had felt no new pain. She opened one eye and saw the Headmaster cough blood that dribbled down his chin. His arm shuddered at her neck, and then his fingers clutched feebly across her breasts as he sank to the floor.

As the Headmaster fell, Snood twisted the knife as viciously as he could, spilling the man’s guts over the floor. The Headmaster died with a puzzled look on his face.

Virtue started to scream and then found she couldn’t stop. Snood grabbed hold of her and shook her.

“Shut up girl. You’re alive. Don’t bring them down on us. Get your clothes back on. We will need to find somewhere to hide you.”