Drake frowned. ‘Father? Is that you?’
There was a laugh. ‘Of course! Who did you think it was? The Prussians?’
Drake grinned at Gwen. ‘No, of course not!’
The shadowy form of the priest, Father Bugelli, materialised out of the darkness, his black cassock serving to camouflage him fairly effectively until he was only a few paces away. The people accompanying him shuffled to a halt a few yards behind him and Gwen wasn’t particularly surprised to see there were dozens, perhaps hundreds of them.
‘You heard we were leaving then?’ Abby asked.
The priest answered with a smile, even though the question was purely rhetorical. ‘Yes, we did.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Bugelli shook his head. ‘Don’t be, you need to go.’
‘We will be back.’
‘I know.’ The priest nodded. ‘The photographs of the men and women who have died protecting us have already been moved to a safe location and we will keep their memory alive until you return. The Prussians may occupy the land, but they will never conquer its people. Malta will be waiting and her people will be waiting.’
He made the sign of the cross in the air in front of him and there was a rustle as the people behind him did the same. ‘Good speed and may we meet again under better circumstances.’
The Misfits took off ten minutes later, the three aircraft in their perfect formation waved off by the silent mass below.
As they banked away over the sea to the south, Gwen looked back and wondered if she would ever see Kitty again.
About the Author
Simon Brading’s interest in aviation began when he was very young and at thirteen he joined the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Forces of Dulwich College with the aim of becoming a pilot. However, when he was 18, had reached the rank of Flight Sergeant in the CCF and was trying to get into a University Air Squadron, he was told that his eyesight wasn’t good enough to be a pilot, so he had to move onto plan B... something else.
He never lost his interest in flight, though, and hopes to add a PPL to his very basic and probably extremely expired glider license.
As well as the odd novel he writes screenplays and every so often does some acting.
www.simonbrading.co.uk
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Also by Simon Brading
Displacers
The Pirate’s Heir
The Secret of the Ancients
The Whitechapel Plot
The Price of Greed
The Time for Vengeance
Dismal Futures Books
Empath
The Lifeboat at the End of the Universe
Twin Ambitions
Fight to Dance
Back to Basics
Misfit Squadron Series
The Battle Over Britain
The Russian Resistance
A Misfit Midwinter
The Lion and the Baron
The Maltese Defence
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The Maltese Defence Page 42