by DAVID B. COE
The pirate swallowed and nodded.
“Where are these other prisoners from? Where did you find them?”
“They… they are from a ship,” the man said, his words thick with what might have been a Greek accent.
“What ship?”
“I do not remember her name. Another ship of fortune.”
“Pirates. Rivals.”
The man hesitated. “Yes.”
“What will Redman do with them?”
“He has taken their vessel, killed much of their crew. These he will sell to slavers.”
“That’s what Kad told me,” Landry said.
The pirate stared up at him. “It is true, then. You escaped your cell.”
Landry tolerated the man’s gaze, but said nothing.
“Why would you come back? Why would you lock yourself back in your cell? You might already be far away from here.”
“You don’t know what it means to be a Templar, or you wouldn’t have to ask.”
“Where are Redman and his men now?” Godfrey asked, drawing the man’s eyes.
The pirate bared his teeth in a fierce smile. “They are everywhere. You cannot avoid them. There is only death for you in this place.”
“Tell me where they are quartered, where we are most likely to encounter them.”
“I will not.” The man faced Landry again. “I understand Templars well enough, Christian. Being in a crew is not so different.” To Godfrey he said, “Kill me if you wish. Sever my fingers one by one. I will tell you nothing more.”
“I would like to test that,” Brice said, flexing his bruised hand.
“One of these corridors ends at an iron gate,” Landry said. “How far is that from the main gate of this compound?”
When the man didn’t respond, Landry took the sword from Godfrey. “Tie a cloth in his mouth.”
“Landry—”
“Do it. I don’t want his screams to bring others.”
The other Templars watched Godfrey. After a pause that stretched uncomfortably, the commander nodded. Nathaniel tore two strips of cloth from the dead pirate’s shirt. One he stuffed in the man’s mouth; the other he tied around his head, securing the first cloth and rendering the pirate all but mute.
Redman’s man remained still through this, but sweat beaded on his brow and ran down the sides of his face.
“Put out his hand,” Landry said. “Hold it steady.”
Nathaniel tried to comply, but the pirate fought him. Brice helped him, as did Tancrede. The three knights finally managed to hold the man motionless. He tried to shout through his muzzle. His eyes were wide and wild, like those of a horse caught in a storm.
“Shall I start with your thumb, pirate, or work my way to it?”
The bald man shook his head.
“No? You prefer to lose an eye?” Landry shifted the sword so that it hovered like a bee before the man’s face.
He shook his head again, with even more vehemence. The knights continued to restrain him.
“Perhaps, then, you’re ready to speak?”
The pirate faltered, glaring at him.
“Fine, then. The thumb it is.”
He gave a muffled scream. Tears welled in his eyes.
Landry grinned. “Remove the gag,” he said.
Godfrey untied the strip of cloth, and pulled out the wadded piece.
“Tell me now: where is that gate in relation to the compound’s entrance?”
The pirate wouldn’t look at him. “It lets out near the center of the fort. You will have to circle this building and follow the path that carried you here. There is no other way out.”
“Why should we believe you?” Brice asked.
The pirate glowered at him. “You should not, Templar. You should go the opposite way and die.”
“Maybe we should take him with us,” Gawain said. “Tie his fate to ours. We’ll follow his instructions, and if we die, he dies. If we get away, he gets away.”
“No!” the pirate said. “I—I won’t go with you.”
“If you won’t come with us,” Landry said, “we’ll have no choice but to kill you. It would be too dangerous to leave you behind.”
“But Redman—”
“Redman will kill you in the most painful manner possible if he believes, for even a moment, that you intended to help us. Isn’t that right?”
The pirate gaped at him, which was all the confirmation Landry needed.
“I thought so. Which means you have all the motive you need to help us.”
“We should bind his hands,” Nathaniel said.
“No. If we do, we make it clear that we’ve coerced him. Leave his hands unbound, and Redman might believe we converted him to our cause. As I say, I want to give him every reason to help us escape, even if it means taking him with us off this island.”
“Well, if he’s coming with us,” Godfrey said, “we should leave here now. It’s only a matter of time before Redman comes back.”
They left the cells and made their way through the shadowed corridor, first to the chamber in which they had been tortured. There, they reclaimed their armor and clothing, taking turns to dress as two Templars kept careful watch on the pirate.
Donning his mail, mantle, and tabard again, Landry felt more himself. His wounds didn’t hurt quite so much; the odds against them didn’t seem quite so daunting. He saw his own improved spirits mirrored in the faces of his brothers.
He pulled a torch from one of the sconces. Tancrede, Gawain, and Draper took the other three.
“Now where?” Gawain asked.
“It seems to me, brother, that you would be happier with a sword in your hand and a knife on your belt. I know just the place to find such things.”
Gawain smiled at this. “Lead on.”
They started back along the passageway, turning at the corridor Landry had trod earlier that night. They followed it past the two spurs he had discovered, to its end in the dark chamber that held the piles of old armor and weapons.
He thought once more of the men who had died to leave them this grim bounty. He said nothing about it. He didn’t have to.
“All this must have belonged to Redman’s victims,” Gawain said, scanning the chamber. “Men less fortunate than we’ve been.”
“You’ll meet their fate before long,” the pirate said, sullen and grim.
Brice gave him a hard shake. “Keep quiet!”
Godfrey surveyed the space as Gawain had done. “You’re probably right, brother. The rightful owners of these things likely died in this dungeon. So, we’ll take only those weapons and pieces of armor we need. And we’ll honor their sacrifice and redeem them by striking back at the Monk and his cutthroats. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” the others echoed.
Working by the light of their torches they made a quick search of the mounds. Before long, all of them were armed with blades both short and long. Landry would have preferred his own sword – he was sure his brothers felt the same – but he didn’t know where Redman had hidden them, and they hadn’t time to search.
“Swords are fine,” Tancrede said to Landry and Godfrey, keeping his voice low as they buckled on their weapons. “But we’ll need bows before long. If we try to fight through two hundred men in close combat, we’ll be dead in no time.”
“He has a point,” Godfrey said. “I don’t suppose you found any in your wanderings?”
“No.”
“Well,” the commander went on, “we can’t delay. If we find bows and quivers we’ll take them. If not, so be it. What’s our next destination?”
“Kad and his men.” He pointed down the corridor. “Back that way and to the left.”
They marched out of the chamber, their path lit by their torches, their newly acquired weapons jangling on their belts. For the first time since their ship had been taken, Landry felt like a warrior again. Yet, buoyed though he was to be armed and armored, he was conscious as well of the limp that slowed his progress. Nearly all of them walke
d with some hitch in their gait. His sword hand remained swollen, forcing him to grip his newly acquired weapon in his off hand. Most of the others had no choice but to do the same. The Templars were known throughout the world for their prowess in battle. Even a wounded knight could overcome most foes. But Landry and the others were grievously hurt, and surely Redman’s men knew how to fight as well.
The Templars bypassed the first corridor and took the second, some forty-five paces farther. After walking a short distance down this newest passage, Landry halted, indicating to his fellow knights that they should do the same.
“We should leave the torches here,” he said. “Redman put guards outside our cells. I would wager he did the same in the chamber where Kad and his men are held. We need to surprise them.”
They set down the torches, leaning them against the stone walls, before forging on in the gathering darkness. They walked without speaking, their footsteps and the ring of their armor and weapons sounding as loud as the clash of armies in the narrow space. After some time, Landry spotted light ahead.
“Watch your step, brothers,” he whispered. “The dirt here gives way to stone. I fell my first time through.”
They came to the start of the stone a few paces on. None of them tripped, but they slowed here, walking as quietly as possible.
Soon, Landry could make out two figures standing in the chamber. Guards, as he had anticipated. He wasn’t the only one who had spotted them.
“Call for Redman!” the captive shouted. “Call for—”
A blow, a grunt, the sound of a body falling to the stone floor. Landry looked back. Godfrey stood over the man, rage contorting his face.
Landry faced forward again. The two guards ran toward them, weapons drawn, torches in hand. They had heard the pirate’s cry, but hadn’t understood, or hadn’t trusted the command.
Landry charged them, Tancrede and Draper a pace behind him.
Seeing the knights, the pirates halted. One of them turned back. The other hesitated, appearing unsure of what he should do.
Landry didn’t slow. Reaching the man, he parried a blow, and swung his own blade, hacking into the man’s side. Blood poured from the wound and spurted from the guard’s mouth. Landry pulled his blade free and the man dropped.
“Down, Landry!”
Landry ducked just as Tancrede’s sword flew past, spinning end over end with the whistle of steel cutting through stale air. The sword struck the pirate hilt-first between the shoulder blades. The man lost his balance and pitched forward onto the stone, his own blade clattering ahead of him and Tancrede’s weapon falling behind. He scrambled to his feet and tried to reach his lost weapon. Before he could, Draper was on him. The Turcopole struck him across the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. The pirate folded to the ground and moved no more.
Landry and Tancrede caught up with Draper seconds later. Tancrede recovered his weapon; Landry claimed that of the pirate and took from him a second key, which he hoped would work on Kad’s cell.
“Is he dead?” Tancrede asked.
“No.”
“Shouldn’t we kill him?” Nathaniel asked, as he and the others reached them. Godfrey had taken the dead pirate’s weapons.
Godfrey shook his head. “We don’t kill defenseless men, no matter what they’ve done. We’ll bind and gag him and do whatever we must to keep him from giving away our whereabouts. But we won’t kill him.”
“What about this one?” Brice asked. He gripped the collar of the pirate they had taken from their chamber. He bore a bloody gash on his face from Godfrey’s blow. “He about got us killed.”
“He did,” Godfrey agreed. “But he’s defenseless as well. We’ll leave him with this other one, unless Landry still wants him with us.”
Landry considered the pirate. “I don’t know yet. Let’s see how much Kad and his men know about the compound.”
With Godfrey’s approval, they walked on toward the cells that held Kad and his followers. Brice steered the pirate they’d captured back in their chamber. Tancrede and Landry dragged the unconscious man along the corridor.
Kad and his men stood at their doors, staring out toward the mouth of the passageway.
Seeing Landry and the others emerge from the darkness, Kad muttered, “Who’d have thought it possible?”
“You didn’t expect to see me again,” Landry said, a statement.
“Not really, no. Especially not after what Henry did.”
Only one prisoner stood at the window of the young man’s cell. “Where is Henry?”
“Dead, I suspect. Redman came for him a short time ago. Accused him of lying, of making him out to be a fool.”
Landry and Gawain shared a look.
“I’m sorry for that. We had to convince him that there was no truth to what Henry said. It was the only way—”
Kad waved off the rest of his apology. “Henry had it coming. He tried to get you killed, and would have doomed us in the process. He got what he deserved.” He nodded toward the pirates – the one who was unconscious and the one held by Brice. “What about these two?”
“Their fate is up to you.”
“To me?”
“Will you join us? You know the risks, but you also know what you can expect if you remain here.”
“If you can open these doors, we’ll come with you.”
Landry produced the key he had taken from the unconscious pirate. He unlocked Kad’s cell first. “Do you know your way around this compound? If we can get out of these tunnels, can you lead us out of the fortress?”
“I can do better than that,” Kad said, stepping out of the cell and drawing himself up to his full height. He was taller and broader than he had appeared through the door. He stood half a head taller than Landry. “I can lead you to Redman’s ships and pilot you off this rock.”
“The rest of your men are with us as well?”
“They are. Better to die free men than be sold as chattel.”
Landry proffered a hand, which the other man gripped. Landry then opened the rest of the cells, freeing Kad’s men. They numbered fourteen, every one of them unarmed but in better shape than the knights.
Kad’s men tore strips of material from the clothes of the unconscious pirate and used them to gag and bind both of Redman’s men. They tied their hands as well as their ankles. One of Kad’s sailors knocked out the man they had taken from the other chamber, and they laid both pirates in one of the cells. They locked that door, and as an afterthought locked the rest of the doors as well, thinking that perhaps it would slow down Redman’s men just a little.
Kad’s men took the torches from the sconces outside their cells. Landry and the Templars then led them back to the chamber that held weapons and armor, reclaiming the torches they had left along the way. The sailors picked through the various piles in haste and armed themselves as best they could.
From there, they retraced their steps along the corridor. At the first passageway – eighty-eight – they paused.
“This corridor leads to the gate I mentioned to you before. It was locked earlier, but unguarded. I don’t know if it will be now.”
“Because of Henry, you mean.”
Landry nodded.
“To be honest,” Kad said, “a few guards at this gate are about to be the least of our concerns. Redman’s men are everywhere. We need a distraction.”
“What kind of distraction?”
Kad tipped the torch he held and raised an eyebrow in speculation.
“Will a fire not alert the pirates to our escape?” Draper asked.
“They’ll know soon enough anyway,” Kad said. “Before long, Redman will decide to torture the last of your knights, or punish more of my men for what he believes Henry did, or simply switch out one set of guards for another. This is not a secret that will keep.”
“What would we burn?” Landry asked.
Godfrey smiled. “I know just the thing.”
He led them back through the tunnels, past the
passages Landry had found, coming at last to the torture chamber. Kad and his men slowed as they entered the space, their cheeks draining of color.
“They brought you here?” Kad asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Lord have mercy.”
Godfrey turned a slow circle in the middle of the room. “By God’s grace, we survived. And now, again by His grace, we have the opportunity to ensure that no others will suffer as we did.”
He took a torch from one of Kad’s men and set it in the gears of the table to which each of them had been bound. Its flame licked at the ancient oak. The knights and sailors placed torches against a wooden pillory, and a second table similar to the first. Within moments, the old wood began to crackle and smoke. They kept the rest of their torches to light their way, and ran from the room as fast as the knights’ injuries would allow.
They made their way with stealth to the intersection at stride eighty-eight. There they turned. The sailors and knights followed the corridor as it twisted and climbed, the air warming. Eventually, Landry slowed and signaled for the others to do the same.
“How much—”
Landry raised a hand, silencing Kad. “Quietly,” he breathed.
“How much farther?” the man asked in a whisper.
“Not much.” Landry gestured for the others to huddle close to him. “The gate is just ahead,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Once we’re through it, we’ll be free of these tunnels. It might be guarded, in which case we will have to approach with stealth.”
“If it is guarded,” Tancrede asked, “how do we defeat guards on the far side?”
“A fine question, brother. I’m not certain. We’ll address that matter when we know if the gate is watched, and by how many. For now, we should leave our torches here and continue in darkness. I want to surprise them.”
Once more they placed the torches against the wall before creeping forward. They set their feet with care, and made every effort to keep silent.
Rounding that final curve in the corridor, Landry halted. The gate and the open space beyond glowed with torchlight. Landry counted four guards on the far side of the iron bars, all of them armed with swords and bows.