‘You’d be surprised,’ said Jim. Reaching into his coat pocket he took out a ring and slid it across the table to Hans.
The man gasped and picked it up eagerly. ‘Where did you get this?’ he demanded.
‘The owner gave it to me, to prove the truth of my words.’
‘I’d hoped all these years … but I never thought I would live to see it.’ He wiped a tear from his old eyes. ‘What do you want from me? How can I help? Just name it.’
Jim took his sketchbook out of his satchel and opened it on the table. ‘I want you to tell me all you know about the castle.’
Pils-Holstein Rules
Cobb snored gently as he lay asleep on his bed. He was worn out after that wild chase and sleigh ride through the woods that afternoon, so Jim had suggested that he go and see Hans by himself. In fact he had been quite insistent on going alone. So after dinner, Jim had gone to Die Schwartze Pumpernickel while Cobb stretched out on the bed and had a sleep. Jim had warned him to get some rest, as they would be going to the castle tonight to recover the Seal.
Something woke Cobb. He carried on breathing evenly but he cracked his eyelids open a slit. The curtains were open and a beam of moonlight cut a shaft of illumination through the room. This had the effect of making the shadows beyond this moonbeam even darker. It was in there that someone was watching him, he sensed. Acting as if he was just settling himself he reached under the pillow and gripped his revolver.
With one quick movement he leapt to his feet and thrust his gun out in front of him. A hand reached slowly out of the darkness and into the moonlight. Extending one finger it poked it down the end of the gun barrel. ‘Easy there, we’re on the same side,’ said Jim.
‘Oh it’s you, how did you get in? I locked the door and put a chair under the door handle.’
Jim pulled his finger out of the gun barrel with a slight ‘pop’. ‘Remind me again what it is you do for a living?’ said Jim sarcastically, implying that as a detective, Cobb should be able to figure that one out. ‘Anyway, why did you lock the door? Don’t you trust me?’
‘Remind me again what it is you do for a living?’ Cobb threw back at him.
‘Still bothers you does it?’
‘What did you find out from Hans?’ said Cobb, changing the subject.
‘He showed me how to get into the castle without being detected. So we are going in tonight. We daren’t wait any longer, Luga and his people will be watching out for us in days to come. Our only chance is to get in and out quickly before they expect us. Wear dark clothing and when we get there put this over your head, it will hide your face so it doesn’t show up in the dark.’ He handed Cobb a black woollen balaclava helmet that had the face hole sewn up in the middle so it just left two small slits for the eyes to see through.
Cobb quickly changed into a dark suit and fortunately his overcoat was dark brown. As he pulled on his leather gloves he said, ‘Right let’s go. We can go out of my window, there’s a sloping roof we can slide down which will put us within jumping distance of the ground.’ Cobb had reconnoitred this as soon as he moved into the room.
As Jim shouldered his backpack, Cobb opened the window. They climbed through the window onto a small, corrugated, snow-covered roof and they slid down it. By hanging onto the guttering and lowering themselves they were within feet of the ground. They dropped to the ground and sneaked away quietly into the night.
They made their way out of town from shadow to shadow, in the hope that they were not seen. But in a land of oppression there are always eyes that see, ears that hear and mouths that tell other peoples secrets. And so it was, as they made their way out of town, they were watched. One of the informers of the secret police ran away into the darkness to tell what he had seen.
***
They approached the base of the castle along the bottom of the valley. Between the side of the mountain that held the town and the opposing cliff, the castle had been built. It was only a small valley between the two, merely hundreds of feet at its widest, so the castle builders had simply built walls between the two and that became the lower levels of the castle.
They had descended from the town down into the valley and were making their way alongside the river. It was flowing too fast to freeze and fed the town with water as it made its way from the top of the mountain, before descending to their level.
They made their way down the valley being careful to make no noise as up ahead they could see the lights of the castle and hear the guards as they called out to each other. They were wearing their balaclavas to disguise their white faces against the dark background of the valley floor.
From time to time Jim consulted the sketchbook containing the drawings he had made of the castle and its background and checked it against his surroundings, to get his bearings. Finally he put the book away in his backpack and pointed at a large rock.
Cobb shrugged and held out his hands as if to say … what?
Jim walked over to it and mimed pushing it away.
Cobb put his hands high above his head and brought them down at arm’s length until they met again at the bottom, miming a big circle.
Jim did the pushing it away mime again.
Cobb pointed his finger at the side of his own head and slowly rotated it in a circle, meaning … you’re crazy!
Jim started pushing at the rock; Cobb shook his head and went to give him a hand. To Cobb’s amazement after sticking initially, the rock pivoted effortlessly away on a spindle. It was balanced perfectly and if it had been maintained and oiled regularly, one person could have managed it.
It rolled aside to reveal a tunnel leading into the mountainside. Jim indicated to Cobb that they should roll the stone back into place. There were handles embedded into the inside of the rock which allowed them to pull it back easily into position.
Once the rock was back in place and they were in total darkness Jim lit a candle. ‘It’s clever isn’t it? When they were building the castle they discovered this old tunnel where the water used to run before they diverted it into the castle. So they made it into an escape tunnel for the duke. Only each duke and his immediate retinue ever know about it. It leads directly into the castle kitchens. What I’m banking on is that nobody ever told the present duke about it, as he is so unpopular. Otherwise he’ll have sealed it off or have it guarded.’
‘Okay, let’s do it then,’ said Cobb.
Jim led the way along the tunnel; it only sloped upwards very gently so they were able to walk along it easily, although they had to crouch. At one point Cobb heard Jim humming a tune and he stopped him.
‘You’re enjoying this aren’t you?’ he accused him.
‘Loving it, it’s great fun. It’s what I live for … adventure. Don’t you?’
‘No. I’m here because it’s a necessary evil but I certainly don’t enjoy it. I’d rather be anywhere but here.’
In fact he fervently wished that he were back home, with Adele. He was missing her and he didn’t enjoy being so far away from her. (Although he wasn’t quite as far away from her as he thought he was but he didn’t know that.)
‘C’mon then,’ said Jim. He carried on up the tunnel until it terminated in some steps leading up to a short, brick-built passageway. ‘We’re there,’ he said. He went up the steps and along the passageway until he reached a dead end. He ran the candle around the walls of the tunnel until he found what he was looking for. One of the bricks in the wall had a faint mark on it.
He turned to Cobb and asked him, ‘Are you ready?’ Cobb nodded assent. ‘Okay, from now on no talking, everything by hand signal.’ Jim placed his hand on the marked brick so he could find it in the dark and then he blew out the candle.
Cobb heard the noise of a brick moving and then the scrape of the wall sliding back. They stood there in silence as the wall drew back to reveal the dull glow of kitchen fire gently illuminating the room. Jim poked his head out into the kitchen and looked around. It was empty.
He stepped forward into the
kitchen and waved Cobb out after him. Once Cobb had come out of the tunnel, Jim searched the mouth of the entrance until he found the right brick, it had the same marking as the one inside the tunnel. He pressed it and the wall slid back into place leaving a seamless wall, or so it appeared.
Jim and Cobb padded silently over to the door and edged it open a notch. There were oil lamps hanging at intervals up the stairwell and they could see that the stairs were empty. They crept slowly up the stairs and Jim edged the door at the top open. He peered slowly through the crack, it seemed all clear. He opened the door wide and stepped through. They were in the Great Hall of the castle. Several doors led off, one of them to the dungeons he knew, and the staircase along one side led to the gallery above them. Up there were the bedrooms and according to Hans, Duke Luga’s fencing room.
No guards were to be seen in the hall, they must be patrolling the upper levels, thought Cobb. Fortunately the oil lamps were lit in the Great Hall as well as they had been in the kitchen stairwell. It was obviously standard practice to keep them running all night. The pools of dim light they gave off only seemed to accentuate the darkness between them. Jim took full advantage of this and led the way from one area of shadow to another, around the edge of the room, until suddenly he put a hand on Cobb’s chest, pushed him against the wall and then flattened himself to the wall alongside him.
Cobb held his hands out palm upwards as if to say, ‘What’s up?’
Jim held a finger to his lips for silence. After a moment he pointed out into the room, then he pointed two fingers at his own eyes and lastly indicated Cobb and himself. Cobb deduced that this meant that there was someone out there, watching them. Cobb put his back against the wall again and stayed still.
Several minutes passed in silence until Cobb looked at Jim and did the ‘What’s up?’ pantomime again. Jim shook his head, puzzled. His instincts were telling him that someone was out there but they were very good, he couldn’t spot them. Eventually he motioned Cobb to follow him and he made his way to the other side of the hall, where he reached one of the other doors and opened it slowly.
And then closed it again, quickly.
Two guards were coming up the stairs from the dungeon. Jim signalled urgently to Cobb to hide himself behind one of the wall hangings. They shot behind separate tapestries and held their breath as the guards came through the door, crossed the main hall and went up the staircase.
As the noise of the guards faded away, Cobb nearly yelped in surprise as a hand reached under the tapestry and grabbed him. Jim pulled him out into the open and held his finger up to his lips.
Once again Jim tried the door to the dungeons. This time it looked clear and he crept cautiously down the stairs. At the bottom, Jim cautioned Cobb to stop as he peered slowly around the corner into the corridor. He leaned back and stuck two fingers up to Cobb. Cobb immediately stuck up two fingers back at him.
Jim shook his head and pointed down the corridor, then slowly put up one finger followed by another and then pointed back down the corridor, indicating that there were two guards. Cobb nodded his head in understanding.
Jim took his backpack off and took out something wrapped in cloth. He placed it carefully on the steps and strapped his pack onto his back again. Picking up the cloth he unwrapped it carefully and took out a glass vial. He covered his nose and mouth with the cloth and motioned for Cobb to do the same. Once Cobb had taken out his handkerchief and copied Jim, Jim threw the glass vial down the corridor towards the guards.
Cobb heard the glass break and then the hiss of something escaping followed by the sound of two people falling over. He tapped Jim and held his hands out meaning … what?
Jim put his hands together by the side of his head and then rested his head on them signifying sleep. Then he held up his fists and then spread his fingers wide. He did this twice. Ah, thought Cobb, they’ll be out for twenty fingers … er … twenty minutes he corrected himself.
Jim kept them where they were, at the foot of the stairs, until he judged the gas had dissipated then he advanced cautiously down the corridor. Two guards were lying sprawled in front of one of the dungeons. Cobb and Jim dragged them aside, clearing the doorway.
Jim motioned for Cobb to bring one of the oil lamps nearer so he could see the lock. He took the lock pick out of his inside pocket, selected a pick and then opened it as easily as if he was using a key. Cobb was amazed, he had only seen Jim open a suitcase, he had never seen him in action on a full size lock before and was astounded at how easy he made it look.
Jim and Cobb went quickly into the dungeon. It was empty except for a table containing a chest. Jim promptly popped the locks and opened it up. Inside was the velvet wrapped bundle that he had had to return to Cobb, back in Londum. He unwrapped it and showed Cobb the Great Seal contained inside. Wrapping it back up, he quickly unbuttoned his waistcoat and fastened the bundle around his waist, then he buttoned up the waistcoat to hold it in place.
They dragged the guards into the dungeon and locked the door on them. Then Jim led the way out of the dungeons. At the top of the steps, at the doorway leading into the Great Hall, they were just about to open the door when they heard a commotion behind them; guards were running up the stairs towards them. That was impossible, thought Jim, there had been no other guards there … unless they had been hiding in one of the other dungeons. That meant they had been waiting for them! It was a trap!
He yanked open the door and ran through into the Great Hall … straight into the arms of waiting guards. They had staked out the hall ever since they had been tipped off by the informant, that Cobb and Jim had left the hotel.
They had watched and waited as Jim and Cobb had descended into the dungeons, then come out of hiding to wait for them to return. Both Jim and Cobb struggled but there were too many. They wrestled them to the floor and bound their hands and once they had them captive, they removed their balaclavas to reveal their faces.
The guard commander ordered the lamps to be raised so they could see their captives properly. ‘So, you thought you could steal the Great Seal did you? It’s been done before … but we always recover it. Now then, who are you?’
Neither of them answered and the guards started to push them around until the commander stopped them with a curt order. ‘The duke wants them unharmed and unmarked. Count Rath is going to do the questioning. Take them to the duke’s training room, you,’ he pointed to one of the guards, ‘go and rouse the duke. He wanted to be called when we had caught them.’
***
Cobb and Jim Darby stood in front of Duke Luga; hands bound in front of them, surrounded by guards. Luga, along with his brother, had been roused when the guards had captured Cobb and Jim. They had been brought to his fencing room to await him.
Luga had ordered them to be searched and they had immediately found the Great Seal, tied around Jim’s waist and covered by his waistcoat. Luga leant casually on the back of his chair, as he looked them both up and down.
‘So … thieves eh?’ fortunately, he spoke in Albion and Cobb could understand him. He must have been aware of who they were. ‘Who are you working for … Albion? Osterreich?’ Luga asked them.
‘No one,’ replied Cobb. ‘We’re just a couple of adventurers, out to make our fortunes.’
‘Well, your fortunes have just changed for the worse. So why choose my castle to rob, there must be easier pickings around?’
‘Because you’re a werewolf and you killed people in Albion! Call it payback,’ Jim blurted out angrily.
‘Your friend’s a bit touchy, isn’t he?’ Luga said to Cobb.
‘He gets a bit cranky when he hasn’t had his nap,’ replied Cobb.
‘What makes you think it was I that carried out those attacks?’ asked Luga.
‘Simple,’ said Cobb. ‘You came to Londum and the killings started, you left Londum and the killings stopped. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that one out.’
‘But who’s to say it was me? It could easily have been my
brother for example, or even my wife.’
‘You mean … you mean you’re all werewolves?’ asked Cobb.
‘Oh yes. Well it’s not exactly the sort of thing you can hide from your wife, is it?’ Luga replied casually. ‘The hair and the teeth are a bit of a giveaway, you know.’
Rath walked around the captives eying them up and down. Then he moved up next to Jim and sniffed the air. He took a couple of short sniffs and then one long one. ‘I know you, I recognise your smell. You are the one that chased me in Londum. There were two of you I remember, is this the other one?’ he indicated Cobb.
‘Yeah,’ replied Cobb, ‘you want to make something of it?’
‘Yes, I do actually; I seem to recall you put an axe in my chest. That hurt immensely I can tell you, and that chase through the woods yesterday, those bullets were really painful. I owe you a little pain in return.’ Rath raised his hand to strike Cobb but Luga hissed a short command and he reluctantly lowered it.
‘There’ll be time for that later,’ said Luga.
‘So what are you going to do with us?’ asked Jim.
‘Well let’s see …’ answered Luga, ‘I could reward your ingenuity and the bravery you’ve shown by breaking into my castle, by letting you go …’
‘Well, that’s very decent of you, we’ll just be off then-’ said Cobb.
‘…And then there’s option two,’ continued Luga smoothly. ‘First I have you tortured until I find out who you’re really working for … adventurers indeed,’ he said dismissively, ‘and then I kill you and eat you! Of course, it’s more fun to actually chase you and catch you but don’t you Albion’s have a saying, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”?’
‘What about option three?’ said Jim. ‘I fight you with a sword and if I win, we go free.’
‘You do know I am regarded as one of the finest swordsmen in Europe?’ Luga asked him. ‘What chance do you think you would have of beating me?’
The Londum Omnibus Volume One (The Londum Series Book 4) Page 41