the building seemed to rock as the night was torn by the sound of a thunderous explosion. James was first out the door, with William and Jazhara close behind him. To the west, a fountain of green flames rose into the night as rocks shot up into the air. As the sound of the explosion diminished, the rocks began to rain down. James and his companions ducked beneath the overhanging roof eaves, and waited.
When it was clear that the last of the rocks had fallen, William said, ‘Listen!’
In the distance they could hear the clash of arms and the shouts of men. They hurried towards the noise, and turned the corner that led to the city jail. As they ran towards the jail, another explosion ripped through the night and they were thrown to the ground. A tower of green fire again reached into the darkness, and James shouted, ‘Get under cover!’
Again they hugged the walls of a building as more stones rained down upon them. William shouted, ‘What is that? Quegan Fire?’
James shook his head, ‘No Quegan Fire I’ve ever seen was green.’
Jazhara said, ‘I think I know what it was.’
‘Care to share that intelligence with us?’ asked James.
‘No,’ she answered. ‘Not yet.’
As the clatter of falling stones quieted, James leapt up and they continued running towards the jail. They reached a junction with two other streets, and sprinted left. A short distance further on they came to another intersection, and it was there they saw what was left of the jail. A gaping hole in the wall stood where the wooden door had once been, a few flames could be seen inside, and smoke rose from the maw. Nearby, an overturned wagon served as cover for two guardsmen and Captain Garruth, commander of the city watch. James, William, and Jazhara approached the wagon in a running crouch, keeping the wagon between them and the opening, for crossbow bolts and arrows were flying from the hole at those behind the wagon.
Glancing back, Captain Garruth motioned for them to stay low. When James came alongside, the captain said, ‘Astalon rot their black hearts.’ He nodded to the two young men he knew and said, ‘William. Squire James.’ Without waiting for an introduction to Jazhara, the guard captain continued. ‘As you can see, we’ve a bit of a problem.’
‘What happened?’ asked James.
‘Bloody brigands! They’ve blown out the back of the jail, and cut down half my squad.’
‘Who are they?’ asked William.
‘Your guess is as good as mine, lad. The leader’s a giant of a man, bald, with a thick beard. He was wearing some sort of bone amulet, and he swung a mean sword.’
William said, ‘That’s the one, James.’
‘Which one, boy?’ asked the captain as another arrow slammed into the underside of the wagon.
James glanced at William. ‘The one that killed Talia, the barmaid at the Rainbow Parrot.’
Garruth let out a slow breath then said heavily, ‘Lucas’s girl. She is … was … such a sweet thing.’ He glanced at William. ‘My sympathies, Will.’
With cold anger, William replied, ‘I’ll have his heart, Captain. I swear I will.’
Garruth said, ‘Well, now’s your chance, lad. They’ve got us pinned down, but maybe the two of you can creep back down the way you came and circle behind the jail.’
‘Where’s the sheriff?’ asked James.
Garruth inclined his head towards the jail. ‘In there, I expect. I was due to meet with him when everything went to hell.’
James shook his head. He had little affection for Sheriff Wilfred Means, but he was a good and loyal servant of the Prince and his son Jonathan was one of James’s agents. He would discover if the younger Means was still alive later, he supposed.
‘If the sheriff and his men were inside when the bastards blew up the jail, we won’t see help here from the palace for another ten or fifteen minutes,’ said James.
Garruth said, ‘Aye, and that gives them time for whatever bloody work they’ve got in mind. Never seen anyone try to break into a jail before, so there must be something in there they want.’
James said, ‘No, there’s someone they want.’
William said, ‘You think Lucas went to the jail?’
‘Maybe,’ said James. ‘But we won’t know until we get inside.’
Garruth said, ‘You’d best leave the woman here until the palace guards arrive.’
Jazhara said, in a dry tone, ‘I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself.’
The captain shrugged. ‘As you will.’
They crouched low and returned the way they had come, until they reached the big intersection, safely out of firing range of the jail. All three stood and began to run.
They quickly reached the rear wall of the jail, in which another gaping hole could be seen. ‘The second explosion?’ asked William.
‘The first,’ said Jazhara. ‘They blew this one out to catch men eating and sleeping there’ – she pointed through the hole to a table and overturned bunks – ‘then when those in the front of the jail ran back to aid their comrades, they set off the explosion on the other side, through which they almost certainly attacked, catching whoever was inside from the rear.’
James said, ‘We’ll not find the answer out here.’
He ducked low and ran towards the hole leading into the guardroom, expecting a volley of arrows at any moment. Instead he found only two men looting the corpses on the ground. One died before he could draw his sword and the other turned on James, only to be struck from behind by William. James held up his hand for silence.
From the entrance come the sound of arrows and quarrels being fired, but all was still in the guardroom. James motioned for William to take the left side of the door into the front room, and for Jazhara to stand a few feet behind James. Then he moved to the partially opened door. He glanced through. A half-dozen men, four with bows and two with crossbows, were spread in flank formation, patiently shooting at anything that moved outside the hole in the wall. It was clear they were merely holding Garruth and his men at bay so someone inside could accomplish his mission.
James glanced at William and Jazhara, and then towards an opening in the floor with stone stairs leading down to the underground cells. He knew there was a staircase in the front room leading to offices and the sheriff’s apartment above. Which way had the big man gone? Up or down? James decided that either way they’d need Garruth and his half-dozen guardsmen to deal with the big man and his crew. So the six bowmen ahead must first be neutralized.
James held up three fingers, and Jazhara shook her head emphatically. She tapped her chest, indicating that she wished to make the first move. James glanced at William, who shrugged, so he looked back at Jazhara and nodded.
She stepped forward, raising her right hand high above her head, while grasping her staff in the left. Again the hair on James’s arms stood on end as magic was gathered. A golden light enveloped the woman, accompanied by a faint sizzling sound, then the light coalesced into a sphere in the palm of her hand. She threw it as if it was a large ball and it arced into the room, landing between the centre pair of bowmen. Instantly they dropped their weapons and twitched in wild spasms. The two next to them on either side were also afflicted, but held on to their weapons and managed to regain control of their movements almost immediately. The two crossbowmen – one of either side of the flank – were unaffected. Fortunately for William, the man he charged had just fired a bolt and was moving to reload his weapon.
The other man turned and fired wildly, the bolt striking the wall high above James’s head. Suddenly the balance shifted. The archers dropped their bows and drew daggers, for the projectile weapons were useless at close range. James had one man wounded and down before his neighbour had freed his dagger