The Last Quarrel (The Complete Edition) (30 page)

Kerrin glanced over at his dad but he still did not lower his crossbow.

“We’re on your side, man!” the sergeant exclaimed, raising his arms wide.

Kerrin breathed a sigh of relief when his dad nodded. “Then I thank you. We’ll help you over the side when we get to the line of fishing boats, then you can use that, rather than swim back.”

“Appreciate it. Most of the harbor water is piss and shit.”

Kerrin let out a startled laugh, then clapped his hand over his mouth as many of the men looked at him.

But his dad did not turn around or lower his crossbow until Baltimoreans had dragged away the swords and armor.

“What’s happening?” Kerrin asked nervously.

“Nothing to worry about, son. We’re just getting out of here. Now come up to the tiller where it’s safe.”

Kerrin followed hurriedly as his dad bellowed orders. “Let go the ropes! Padraig, stand ready!”

Men chopped through the ropes holding them to the wharf, while others pushed them out from the berth with the long oars normally kept beside the rails. It was a calm night but, as the ship began to swing out, the wind came up from seemingly nowhere and caught the sails as they were unfurled.

Gallagher had the tiller hard over and the bow of the ship came around swiftly, the ship picking up speed as it headed away from the wharf and towards the harbor entrance, the men rowing until they were moving and then dragging the oars back into the ship.

“Stop! Stop!” Uniformed men ran along the wharf, waving helplessly.

Gallagher raised a cheery hand to them but, in the dark, there was no sign they had noticed. “Rude, aren’t they?” he called, winking at Kerrin.

Wordlessly, he nodded back, not really understanding what the fisherman was going on about.

“Stay with me, Caley. I’ll keep you safe,” Kerrin told the dog, who chuffed at him and wagged her tail. He held her close. If Dad asked, it was because he did not want her to be afraid.

Meanwhile his dad was with Gallagher on the tiller. “Are you rested enough?” he asked.

“For this,” Gallagher replied.

Kerrin thought he looked tired but his hands were steady on the tiller. He looked forward worriedly. From his position above the cabin, he could see they were aiming at a line of fishing boats stretched across the mouth of the harbor. There were men on board the makeshift barrier of boats and they now congregated at the center of the line of boats, waving lanterns and hands and shouting at the top of their voices.

“What do we do?” Kerrin asked.

“Ignore them. They can run or jump as they please,” his dad said, then cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted: “Let go the net!”

Villagers had tied one of the old fishing nets they had used to get in and out of the hold to the rail of the ship and now they threw it over the side. Kerrin watched in astonishment as the guards, led by the big sergeant, climbed down and then splashed into the water.

“Is he really on our side, do you think?” Gallagher asked.

Kerrin glanced up at his dad. “Ask me again when next we meet,” his dad said. “Let’s worry about breaking the line.”

On board the fishing boats, the men there had realized the ship was not going to stop and they scrambled clear, still shouting and waving.

Back on the docks was a terrible commotion, but his dad ignored that and Kerrin thought it best not to point it out.

“Hold on tight!” Gallagher shouted and men braced themselves.

Kerrin could not see the line of boats now, as they were hidden beneath the bow, and then they struck the fishing boats tied together.

The ship seemed to stagger and there was a terrible grinding crunch as the bow slammed into one boat and drove it under. The Duke’s ship had a reinforced bow, allowing it to be – gently – beached at nights, while the fishing boat was made of much thinner timber. The ship ploughed on through, then stopped as the boats to either side caught on its flanks, one of them tangling in the net that still dangled into the water.

Kerrin could see armed men racing over the fishing boats towards them, shouting and waving swords.

“Dad!” he cried.

“I see it. Stay here,” his dad ordered.

“Cut that net free! Padraig, get some wind in our sails now!”

“What do we do about them?” Devlin called, pointing down to where armed guards were only a few paces away and closing fast.

“Use the oars! Don’t hurt them!” Fallon roared. “No deaths!”

The Duke’s ship slid forwards as the sails billowed full of air and as desperate villagers slashed at the knots to loose the net holding them, but the guards on the boat were faster. From both sides they raced in and tried to leap on board the ship. The villagers used the long oars to knock the guards back.

“Keep going! We’re almost through!” his dad called as the ship ground its way forwards, pushing the other fishing boats aside and creating a gap for itself.

Now there was only the stern of the ship to get through but more of the guards were there and Kerrin could hear the thumps as they jumped onto the side and began to climb up.

“Dad!” he cried.

“Stay here!” his dad ordered and he shrank back against the side of the ship, holding Caley close. Dad and Brendan raced across to where three guards were trying to climb over.

Kerrin watched as his dad punched a guard in the face, sending him tumbling back to land with a splash in the harbor, while Brendan plucked the sword out of another’s hand, then lifted the guard up and over the rail. Kerrin gasped in awe at the strength of the smith, who dropped the struggling man he was holding onto the last one, knocking them both into the water.

Kerrin was about to cheer when Caley gave out a warning growl.

He spun to see an angry man appear over the side of the ship right where he was, holding on with one hand and holding a sword with the other.

“Dad!” he screamed.

“Fallon!” Gallagher shouted a moment later.

Kerrin could hear his dad shouting something but he only had eyes for the guard, who was pointing a sword at him.

“Come here, boy!” the guard growled.

Kerrin could feel his heart pounding so fast he thought it might burst. He was frozen, unable to move, but wanted desperately to get away, wanted frantically to have Mam come and hug him … He leaned backwards and put out his hand to stop himself without thinking. It touched the forgotten bowl of stew. Next moment he’d grabbed the bowl and hurled it at the guard.

The bowl missed the man’s head but the cooling stew spattered across his face. The guard raised his hand to protect his eyes – but that was the hand he was using to hold on to the side of the ship. With a howl, he fell back and splashed into the water.

A heartbeat later, Kerrin saw his dad race to the side of the ship, check over the edge and then spin back and enfold him in his arms.

“We’re clear!” Gallagher shouted and Kerrin could feel the ship picking up speed, even as his dad’s arms tightened around him.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” his dad asked urgently.

Kerrin could feel his heart slowing down. “I’m fine, Dad,” he said.

“Bloody good shot. He’s his father’s boy after all,” Brendan said, his huge hand ruffling Kerrin’s hair. “Bit of a waste of food though!”

Kerrin looked up at his dad then. “Do you think I could have something else to eat now?” he asked.

He saw his dad’s surprised face, as well as the faces of Brendan and Gallagher, then the three men were laughing, looking at each other and roaring with it. It didn’t sound like their usual laughter but Kerrin joined in anyway. He dearly wished Mam had been there to explain the joke.

Cavan dropped the pile of dusty records that Niall had found for him and stood with a smile.

“We’ve done it!” he cried.

Eamon and Niall were seated at a table, drinking from a jug of fine wine, and looked up in surprise.

“Done what, highness?” Eamon asked.

“Discovered how to trap Swane!”

“Highness, your father ordered you to do nothing until your brother made his move,” the bodyguard said. “What do you plan to do?”

“First, you need to go out to the slums and find a couple of children. Hire them to help us.”

“You plan to use real children as bait?” Niall asked.

“I don’t want to, but we have no choice. Swane’s snatchers will not bite at anything else. They will be well paid, enough gold to keep their families fed for ten years. And they will be quite safe, for we shall be watching them the whole time.”

Eamon shook his head. “Forgive me, highness, but such a plan is madness. How can a dozen of us following a pair of urchins through the streets of Berry hope to look like anything but an obvious trap? Your brother will laugh at us.”

Cavan smiled thinly. “I know where they will strike and it is there that we shall set our trap. Thanks to Niall, we have found the houses my brother is using as bases for his snatchers.”

“We did?” Niall asked, his face a mask of pure bafflement.

Cavan unrolled a parchment. “This is a list of the houses in Berry owned by men who are long since dead, which Niall looked out for me.”

“Why?” Eamon asked.

Cavan sighed. “Because when we searched through the records, we found the house where he left the slaughtered servants was owned by a man dead for two dozen years. Swane no doubt thought that would cover his tracks but it was his first mistake. Property is too valuable. If an owner has no descendants then the Crown takes it. Swane must have found out about these seized houses and is using them to hide the child snatchers.”

“But there was no pattern in that list – all the names were different,” Niall said.

“It doesn’t matter. I would bet everything I have that most of them are secretly owned by my brother,” Cavan said triumphantly. “It is the clue he revealed when he left those sacrificed men for us to find. We shall look at each one. If there are people living there, then obviously it is not my brother’s. But if it is deserted, we shall return with the children we have hired and have them play outside. Meanwhile, we shall be up on the roofs, ready to spring our trap when the snatchers strike.”

He gazed proudly at Eamon and Niall, but received only horrified looks in response.

“Highness, remember what happened the last time we tried to fight the snatchers. We could lose these poor children or, worse, lose you,” Eamon said warningly.

“It is a risk we must take,” Cavan said simply.

Eamon surged to his feet. “Highness, this is madness and I will not let you do it!”

Cavan sprang up furiously. “You forget who you are speaking to!” he snarled.

“I forget nothing. I am charged with your life by the King himself. I can’t let you throw it away like this!” Eamon cried.

Cavan took a deep breath and threw his arm across Eamon’s shoulder, guiding him away from the table and towards the window. “Eamon, out there is the kingdom my family has ruled for hundreds of years. It might look like any other day but I can feel the sands running out of Gaelland’s hourglass. My brother will turn us over to Zorva and blood and terror will stalk those streets. My father thinks he knows best but he does not understand the depths my brother will sink to. Only I know what he is capable of. I have to stop him. This is the only way. I am not asking you as a friend. I am ordering you as the Crown Prince to do this.”

Eamon slipped away from his arm. “And I am telling you, highness, that I cannot do this. You are signing your own death warrant.”

“You will do this, or you will lay your sword on the table and walk out of these rooms now,” Cavan said coldly.

Eamon shook his head. “You do not want to send me away – what if I were to go to your father and tell him your plan?”

“And do you think my father will agree that is a good enough reason to walk away from your sworn task to protect me?” Cavan asked.

Eamon bowed his head. “I beg you: do not ask this of me.”

Cavan smiled. “All will be well, trust me,” he said. “Niall, find me the children and the houses to take them to.”

“As you wish, highness.” Niall bowed. “I shall begin right away.”

Cavan turned back to Eamon and clapped him on the shoulder. “Put away that glum face! It will turn out all right, you will see,” he said.

“So you understand what you need to do?” Cavan asked the children gently.

They both nodded eagerly and he turned away to whisper to Niall: “Is it so hard on these streets that children will risk their lives for gold?”

Niall only smiled sadly. “I had a dozen prepared to do anything for money,” he said.

Cavan turned back to the children. Both had scruffy blond hair, the boy’s shorter and cropped squarely, the girl’s bound up with twine. Their clothes were ragged and they were both dirty but that was to be expected. What was surprising to him was how thin they were. Their arms and legs seemed like sticks and their faces were pinched; even their eyes were hungry.

“You are going to help me catch who is snatching children off the streets. But you will be quite safe – we three and all these guards will be around you,” he promised.

The children’s eyes flickered up to the looming guards, tall, muscular, grim men in armor, and they nodded.

“And when we do catch them, you will get all this gold,” Cavan said, stacking it in two piles.

The children’s eyes bulged at the sight and he smiled gently at them. He had been wrestling with his conscience over risking the lives of a pair of innocents. This had not been helped by Eamon’s constant reminders that it would all end in disaster.

But he could not shake the feeling that he had to do something. A hero would not sit back and wait for things to happen: he would go out and make them happen. And he so wanted to be a hero, to show his father he was worthy.

“So, what are your names?” he asked, telling himself he had to know them if he was going to send them out to trick his brother’s men.

“I’m Reardon and this is Rianna,” the boy said confidently. “Is that gold real?”

“It is. I am the Prince. Here, feel it,” Cavan tossed him a coin and the boy caught it instinctively, gasping at the weight of it. He sunk his teeth into the edge and then showed it to his sister in delight.

“Oh thank you, highness,” she said fervently.

“What about your parents? Do they know where you are?” Cavan asked.

“Mam is out working. Haven’t seen Pa in three years,” Reardon said casually. “If we bring her that gold home, she won’t care what we did to get it.”

“The witches will try to get you,” Eamon warned.

Cavan gave Eamon a warning look. “We shall have guards around you all the time, hidden but watching. If anyone tries to grab you, we will stop them.”

“We will try to stop them,” Eamon added.

Cavan glared at him but controlled his temper and looked back at the children. “It is a risk. I am asking you to put yourselves in danger. You will be well rewarded for it. But if you are scared, you can walk out of here now with a copper piece each and a meal for your trouble. Or you can stay and earn all this gold.”

“We’ll take the gold,” they both said in a heartbeat.

“You are very brave,” Cavan said, giving them a quick smile. “Now go with Niall. He will get you some food then we shall go out for a ride through the city.”

He waited until they were in the other room before rounding on Eamon. “What in Aroaril’s name are you playing at?” he growled.

Eamon met his gaze squarely. “What I told you. Trying to stop you from this foolish idea. It will be the death of you. And it will be the end of those two children, as well. While we can always find some more urchins, there is only one Crown Prince.”

Cavan grabbed a piece of parchment off his desk. “I know you only want what is best for me but we already have a good place to start. Niall has ridden past all six of these houses and says they are empty, boarded up and deserted, and all in quiet streets as well. The perfect place to hide snatchers who can use the rooftops to come and go as they please. Now that is the best clue we have had and I will follow it. I have to. But I need you beside me, my friend. I cannot do it without you.”

“I shall be there. Yet the men need more weapons. Wait here and I shall come back with them –”

Cavan caught his arm and shook his head with a smile. “A nice try, my friend. But you shall stay by my side. I know what you are thinking. You will go to my father and tell him what we are doing.”

Eamon’s eyes blazed. “I can’t let you do this, highness. Please, listen to me. I am begging you to turn away.”

“Beg all you like. My mind is made up. I am doing this. I do not want to do it without you but I will.”

Eamon looked down at the floor and his shoulders slumped. “I know what I have to do,” he said softly. “I shall be there.”

“Cheer up!” Cavan slapped him on the shoulder. “When we return here in triumph, these doubts and fears will seem like a child’s nightmare!”

But, several turns of the hourglass later, as the sun was sinking below the city walls, his high hopes also looked like falling into shadow.

They had slipped out into the castle carefully, each of the guards disguised in case Swane had someone watching. Cavan, Niall and Eamon left together, slipping out as they often did, faces hidden by hoods, the children hurrying along with them.

They met the guards at the first of the houses Niall had picked out and cautiously moved around it, setting up positions both on the streets below and the rooftops above, where they could watch front and back of the property and be ready to close the net around the snatchers if they showed themselves.

But although the children ran and danced and played right outside the house, it stayed stubbornly quiet.

Cavan’s spirits had still been high. After all, it was unlikely they would have success at the first property they tried. But, as they moved from one to the next, with no sign of any activity, it became harder to stay confident.

They stayed longer at the last property on the list, one close to the docks, until Cavan groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I suppose we will have to call that a day,” he sighed.

“I’ll summon the men in and go and get the children. They’ll want paying off right away,” Eamon said immediately.

Cavan nodded glumly. He had been so sure that this would work. From the relieved expression on Eamon’s face, he suspected his friend would never let him forget this day.

“We will give them a couple of gold pieces each. We’ll get Niall to look out more properties for tomorrow,” he said.

“Highness, there is one more property nearby we can try,” Niall said eagerly.

“What? I thought you said this was the last on the list?” Eamon growled.

“The last on this list. But it is first on the list of houses owned by dead men I haven’t checked. And it is just around the corner.”

“It is a waste of time. We could go around there and find people sitting down to their evening meal,” Eamon snorted. “The men are tired and even the children are looking bored.”

Cavan looked out across the docks to the sea. There was a lone ship, a fine one by the shape of it, flying a bright pennant on its mast, rushing to get into the harbor before dark saw the boom closed.

It was tempting to just give up and go home – but then he remembered Swane’s mocking face. “We’ll try it anyway,” he said. “Lead on, Niall.”

“This is a bad idea,” Eamon said.

“So you have told us, many times,” Cavan said dismissively. He was in no mood to talk as it was taking all his effort to crawl over the roof.

Despite Eamon’s dire predictions, the house Niall led them to was standing still and empty in the last street before the houses gave way to the warehouses and sheds around Berry’s docks.

“This is an ideal place for child snatchers to hide,” Cavan said meaningfully.

“As were they all,” Eamon muttered.

Cavan peered down into the street and gave a grunt of satisfaction. They were on a roof about ten houses from the one they wanted. At one end of the street three of his guards were waiting casually, while at the other end another three were hiding in doorways. A further three were on the roofs on the other side of the house, while the final three were waiting a street behind, in case the snatchers went that way. Niall, who was crouching low behind Cavan, had three colored flags clutched in his sweaty hands. With these, Cavan hoped they could stay in contact with his men on the ground. That had been the plan at the start of the day but he was finding it hard to muster much hope for this, the seventh house.

On the street below, Reardon and Rianna seemed to be also tired of the play-acting. At the first house they had been jumping around and dancing. Now they wandered aimlessly, talking together. Niall had supplied them with a hoop and spinning top but while they had been eager to play with them at first, now they were slung over a shoulder or stuffed into a pocket.

“What are they thinking? We should get them out of there – nobody would believe them,” Eamon hissed.

“No.” Cavan waved him down. “This is perfect. Children in this city are not usually so happy and energetic.”

The pair slumped down onto the ground, sitting on the front step of the deserted house. It all looked natural but Cavan cursed, because he could barely see them. He slithered forwards on the roof until he could peer over the edge.

“Careful, highness!” Niall was swiftly after him and held on to his legs.

“Anything happening?” Eamon asked.

Cavan watched silently for what seemed like an age. Reardon and Rianna were still talking but it looked as if they had had enough. He had to admit his patience was also running out. Lying on a roof was also less than comfortable, with a variety of mismatched tiles digging into him. He was about to tell Niall to help pull him back up and then wrap it up for the day when Reardon and Rianna just disappeared.