David Gemmell – Rigante 3 – Ravenheart

‘Strip them of their armour,’ said Kaelin, kneeling beside the first corpse and swiftly unbuckling the straps of the black breastplate.

Within moments the two clansmen had donned the breastpfates and black leggings and shirts of the dead beetlebacks. Rayster struggled into the larger of the boots. They were still too tight. He stomped his feet. ‘This is uncomfortable,’ he said.

Kaelin heard a rapping at the gates. Rayster jerked. ‘Stay here, and pull those bodies behind the table,’ said Kaelin. Lifting a round black helm from a hook by the door Kaelin donned it, then stepped outside. Three soldiers and an officer were standing there.

‘Password?’ asked Kaelin.

‘Just open the bastard gate,’ said a drunken soldier, his voice slurring. ‘Do I look like a sheep-shagging clansman?’

‘My orders are to ask for a password,’ said Kaelin.

‘And quite right too,’ said the officer. ‘The password is Valhael.’

Kaelin pulled back the bar, allowing the men inside. ‘I don’t know you,’ said the officer, peering at Kaelin in the moonlight.

‘I’m with Lieutenant Langhorne and the Fifth, sir,’ said Kaelin smoothly.

‘I didn’t know the Fifth were operating within the barracks.’

‘I was only told this morning, sir.’

‘Very good. Stand easy.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ answered Kaelin, copying the salute he had seen among the soldiers at Ironlatch.

The officer walked away. The drunken soldier remained behind, leaning against the gatehouse arch. ‘You made me look bad, you prick,’ he said. ‘I shan’t forget it.’ He pushed himself away from the wall, half fell, then righted himself. Staggering off across the parade ground he called back: ‘I’ll remember you!’

Kaelin returned to the gatehouse. ‘You man the gates,’ he told Rayster. ‘If anyone asks you are from the Fifth and your officer is Lieutenant Langhorne. Ask for the password, which is Valhael. You understand?’

‘Aye, I heard you talking to the soldiers.’

Kaelin strapped on a sabre, and slid his knife into his belt. ‘See you in a while,’ he said.

‘May the Source make that true,’ replied Rayster.

Kaelin Ring strolled across the parade ground towards the keep. The main doors were open and he stepped inside. The clerk’s desk was empty now, but he could hear the sounds of men in the mess hall above. Moving behind the clerk’s desk he climbed slowly down the circular stair beyond. It was unlit and he placed each boot with care. The lower steps glinted with reflected light and he paused momentarily.

If there were two guards he might just be able to kill them before they either raised an alarm or made enough noise to alert other soldiers. More than two? What if there were four or five? Kaelin’s mouth was dry. However many were waiting here he would walk in and take them on. It would be better to be dead than to know he had failed Chara. He leaned forward to peer along the dungeon corridor.

One guard was asleep, his head resting on a table, his unbuckled breastplate on the floor beside him. Kaelin could see no-one else.

Taking a deep, calming breath he moved silently down the last of the stairs and eased his way towards the table. The man was snoring gently. Kaelin stepped behind him, drawing his knife. The blade was razor sharp, and it slid through the flesh of the man’s throat without at first waking him. Then the pain cut through his dreams and he jerked upright, opening his eyes. Blood pumped from the wound, drenching his shirt, and he slumped forward once more.

There were twenty dungeon cells. Half of them were open. Lifting the lantern from its wall bracket he ran to the first locked door, sliding back the metal grille and shining the lantern inside. A white-haired man was asleep on the floor. One by one Kaelin checked all the dungeons. Three times he had to open the doors, for the occupants were not in sight of the grille. In the last he saw a sight which would haunt him for years. A man was lying unconscious on a pallet bed. He had no hands or feet, the stumps having been covered with black pitch. His eyes had been put out. He made a low moaning noise as the dungeon door swung open. The sound was barely human. Kaelin heaved the door shut.

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