Voltan gave an easy smile. ‘I like a man with nerve, Captain. They make better opponents.’ He glanced down at the blood-drenched body. ‘He had nerve.’ His cold, blue eyes locked to Oranus. ‘Perhaps we shall meet again,’ he said. Then he sheathed his sword and strolled past the Honour Guard. He paused at the last man, then chuckled. ‘This man has specks of rust upon his sword,’ he said. ‘Be thankful I spared Appius from seeing it. He was notoriously strict about such matters.’ Voltan placed his hand on the unfortunate soldier’s shoulder. ‘You’d probably have received ten lashes,’ he said. Then he walked from the garden, mounted his horse and rode away.
‘Check the house,’ Oranus ordered his men. ‘And find something to staunch these wounds.’ Removing his cloak he rolled it and placed it under Bane’s head. Then he cut away the wounded man’s blood-drenched shirt. He had been stabbed three times, once above the hip, once in the chest, and once in the lower back. The chest wound was by far the most serious, and from the bubbling of the blood Oranus knew his lung had been pierced. One of the soldiers returned with some cloths. Oranus made a compress and pressed it down against the chest wound.
‘He’ll not live, sir,’ said the soldier.
Oranus said nothing. The light faded and he ordered lanterns lit. The bald and stooping surgeon, Ralis, arrived, examined the wounds, then turned to Oranus. ‘There’s little I can do,’ he said. ‘His lung is pierced, and the wound to his lower back has probably sliced through any number of vital organs.’
‘Do what you can,’ said the captain.
‘Let’s get him inside.’
A crow flew over them, cawing and screeching. Oranus shivered. ‘How do they know when death is close?’ he whispered.
‘They can see the spirits pass over,’ said a voice. Oranus looked round, and saw an old woman, her face veiled, a heavy fishnet shawl over her bony shoulders.
‘What do you want here, woman?’ he asked her.
‘I have some skill with wounds, soldier. Best you leave him in my care.’
‘Our own surgeon is here, but my thanks to you for your offer.’
Her laughter was cold, and Oranus shivered suddenly. ‘Your surgeon wishes to be gone to his home, for he knows the boy has perhaps an hour to live. Is that not so, Ralis?’
‘It is so,’ admitted Ralis.
‘Then carry him to a bedroom and I shall tend him until he dies.’
‘You are a witch woman of the Cenii?’ asked Oranus.
‘I am a person with some . . . shall we say . . . talent in these matters, Oranus.’
‘Then it shall be as you say.’
Soldiers carried Bane to a bedroom on the first floor, and laid him down on a bed. Then they left him and the old woman. Oranus stood in the doorway. ‘I shall return tomorrow for the body, lady,’ he said. ‘We must be careful to prevent disease spreading.’
Her veiled face turned towards him. ‘You did well to protect him from the Cold Killer. It was an act of courage. Perhaps it will bring you peace now.’
‘Peace would be pleasant,’ he said.
‘Is that what you wish for?’
Oranus sighed. ‘I would wish for him to live,’ he said.
Closing the door behind him he walked down the stairs and out into the night. The bodies were being carried out to two waiting wagons. Appius and his daughter were laid side by side in the first, the two elderly Cenii servants and the dead Knights in the other. The surgeon, Ralis, climbed into the first wagon and sat beside Appius and Lia. Oranus ordered the Honour Guard to walk beside the first wagon, and he followed it to the Death House.
Once there the bodies were carried inside. Ralis stayed with them. ‘He was my general,’ said the surgeon, ‘and a great man. I shall prepare the bodies for burial.’
‘Do not place your name upon the Grieving List,’ warned Oranus. ‘They were murdered on the orders of Nalademus.’
‘I know.’
Then Oranus returned to his home. He felt a sense of sorrow at the murder of Appius. The old man had served Stone well, and Oranus could not imagine what crime he had committed to be so summarily butchered. Towards midnight, weary and spent, Oranus took to his bed, and prepared himself for yet another night of nightmare and terror. But he slept without dreams for the first time in years, and awoke to see a blue sky, and bright sunlight shining into the room. He rose and walked to the window, staring out over the green hills and the distant forest.