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 from his belt. William’s large sword was menacing enough that one of the mercenaries threw down his crossbow and attempted to leap over the desk and dash through the gaping hole in the wall.
Seeing the man attempting to flee from within, Captain Garruth and his men sprang forward and the man was down in moments. Inside, the others threw up their hands and knelt, the mercenary’s universal sign of surrender.
Garruth indicated that two of his six men were to guard the prisoners. To James he said, ‘There are more of them than these six. I’ll take my men to the basement, if you three will check upstairs.’
James nodded. ‘Who’s supposed to be up there?’
‘Just the lads sleeping until their mid-watch shift, and a scribe named Dennison. The sheriff and his men sleep up there.’ Glancing at the hacked bodies, he said, ‘I doubt any of them are alive.’ He scratched his beard. ‘It was a perfect raid. They knew exactly when to hit. The company was at its lowest complement and least able to defend itself, and reinforcements were unlikely to get here quickly.’ He started towards the stairs leading down to the cells, and two of his men followed cautiously.
James motioned to William and Jazhara to accompany him and they made their way to the stairs leading to the upper floor of the jail. As they reached the steps, they ducked reflexively as another explosion came from above.
While smoke and stone dust poured down the steps, Captain Garruth shouted, ‘He’s heading for the North Gate!’
James didn’t hesitate. ‘Come on!’ he bellowed, and ran through the gaping hole just a few feet away.
Looking down the crowded street leading to the North Gate, James could see the head and shoulders of a large man towering above the throng, shoving his way through the curious onlookers who had gathered to see what the commotion at the jail was. James, William, and Jazhara raced after him.
As they neared the crowd, James glanced back and saw that Garruth’s men were engaged in a struggle with about a half-dozen mercenaries. To William and Jazhara, he shouted, ‘We’re on our own!’
People who had been shoved aside by the big man found themselves being pushed aside once more, this time by James and his companions. ‘Out of the way! Prince’s business!’ he shouted.
In the din of voices he could barely be heard and finally James let William, who was stockier and stronger than James, take the lead. People jumped aside as they recognized the garb of the prince’s personal household guards, when he bellowed, ‘Stand aside in the name of the Prince!’
Still, precious moments had been lost, and the big man was out of sight. As they neared the intersection with the road that emptied out through the North Gate, another mighty explosion could be heard, followed instantly by screams and shouts.
They reached the corner and saw a large, two-storey building in flames. Smoke billowed from the lower windows as flames climbed the outside wall.
‘Gods,’ said James. ‘He’s fired the orphanage.’
From the main door four women and a man were ushering out children, many of whom looked stunned and disoriented, coughing from the heavy smoke. James ran to the door.
The man turned, saw William’s garb and shouted, ‘Someone’s burned the orphanage! They threw a bomb through that window.’ He pointed with a shaking finger. ‘Flames erupted and we barely got out alive.’
Jazhara said, ‘Are all the children out?’
