‘Those we saw today were not willing to lie for gain, sir. Could you not see that they were just too frightened to speak the truth?’
Alterith nodded. ‘I saw. They have been visited by the knights. They have had their heads filled with tales of burning and retribution.’
‘I saw two of the knights today,’ said Banny. ‘They looked very fine with their white cloaks and their silver armour.’
‘They are – were – a fine order,’ Alterith told him. ‘I don’t know what to make of them any more. They are pledged to uphold the purity of the Tree, and to combat evil wherever they find it. Yet, in the last few years, I have heard tales of torture and murder. The knights, by nature of their order, do not pledge allegiance to the king. And with the trouble in the south between the king and the covenanters they are a law unto themselves now.’
‘What can we do?’ asked Banny.
‘I will return to Gillam Pearce. By all accounts he is an honest man. I cannot bring myself to believe he will allow Maev to face execution.’
They finished their meal in silence. Alterith gave Banny money to pay for the food, and left the eating house. It was dark as he stepped into the narrow street. Three men emerged from the shadows. Alterith stood very still. All three wore white cloaks and silver helms. ‘A word with you, schoolteacher,’ said the first.
‘What can I do for you, sir?’
‘Step away from evil,’ the knight answered, ‘for a man is judged by the company he keeps, and the company of witches can lead only to the burning. The witch Maev Ring will be punished. As will all those who seek to aid her in her dark ways.’
‘We must be talking of another Maev Ring,’ said Alterith. ‘The one I know is a good woman, with no pretensions to dark powers.’
‘I see that I am not making myself clear, Mr Shaddler.’ He stepped closer. Something struck Alterith on the side of the head and he fell back against the wall, dizziness swamping him. A mailed fist hammered into his belly. Alterith fell to his knees, vomiting his meal to the cobbles. ‘If you approach Gillam Pearce you will die. I promise this,’ said the man. ‘I tolerate no evil, and crush it wherever I find it.’
Alterith struggled to his feet. ‘If you . . . tolerate no evil,’ he said, ‘how is it that you can look in a mirror?’
The mailed fist struck him in the face and he pitched once more to the ground, blood seeping from a cut under his right eye.
The three Knights of the Sacrifice walked away. Alterith vomited once more. Banny found him there.
‘What happened, sir?’
‘Help me up.’ Banny lifted the skinny schoolteacher to his feet. ‘Fetch the pony and trap. I need to see Gillam Pearce tonight.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Twenty minutes later Alterith, still shaken from his beating, pounded on the door of Gillam Pearce’s house. His wife opened it. ‘I told you,’ she said, ‘my husband . . .’ Her voice tailed away as she saw the blood on Alterith’s cut and swollen face. ‘You are hurt,’ she said lamely. Alterith looked into her eyes. She was past middle age, her face lined and heavy set. But all traces of irritation had passed when she saw his wounds, and that showed Alterith that she had a kind heart.
‘I was set upon, madam, by men who do not wish to see Maev Ring defended. I was told that if I came here I would be killed.’
‘Then you should understand why my husband cannot help you.’
‘What I understand is that a great injustice is being perpetrated, and a good woman – a woman like yourself – faces execution. I cannot let that pass. I will not be frightened into allowing such an evil.’
‘Bring him in, Ilda,’ came a voice from inside the house. ‘ ‘Tis too cold to talk on the doorstep.’
Alterith stepped into the living room. A fire was glowing in the hearth, and a small man was sitting before it. ‘Shall we compare wounds?’ he asked, rising from his chair. Alterith saw that his left eye was black and swollen, and there was a deep cut on the bridge of his nose.