me. A tower inside a castle? I shrugged mentally. Castle Inconnu was very old, and it kept its secrets to itself.
The chamber was wide and airy and open, dominated by a great circular well that took up most of the available space. A well, inside a tower, inside a castle . . . Good thing I was a Drood. We believe six impossible things before breakfast, just to keep our hand in. The chamber was a good sixty feet in diameter, and fifty feet of it was the well. The containing rim was polished stone, only a few feet high. When I leaned over the rim to look into the well, I was hit in the face by the sharp smell of the sea. And when I looked down, into the murky waters . . . all I could see was endless darkness, falling away forever, looking back at me. Suddenly vertigo hit me, and I swayed on my feet. Sir Perryvale grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back. I shook my head hard and glared at him.
“What kind of oracle is this?”
“The Lady of the Lake,” Sir Perryvale said proudly. “The Lady Gaea herself. Mother Earth.”
I had to think about that for a moment. “Really?”
“Oh yes. Our Lady of ancient days, the bestower of Excalibur. We serve her, we protect her, we belong to her. And in return she tells us what we need to know. I’m hoping she’ll extend that same courtesy to you.” He put a steady hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re worried about Molly. But our oracle really does know everything. She can help.”
I nodded, unable to speak for a moment. Not just because I was finally close to learning the truth about what had happened to Molly, but also because the comforting hand on my shoulder reminded me so much of the Armourer.
And then we both looked round sharply as we heard heavy footsteps hurrying up the stairs, towards the chamber. I looked at Sir Perryvale.
“That sounds a lot like armoured feet to me. You assured me all the Knights were gone!”
“Most of them are!” Sir Perryvale looked unhappily at the closed door. “But of course, a few always stay behind to guard the Castle. Can’t leave the old place undefended, can we? I was rather hoping we’d be done and gone before they noticed anything was amiss.”
The door slammed open, and a young man in full armour burst in, holding a drawn sword out before him. He studied us both with cold, angry eyes, sweeping his long blade back and forth before him. He dismissed the Seneschal with a contemptuous sniff, and then fixed his glare on me. I really didn’t like the look of his armour. It wasn’t ceremonial, or a work of art, or in any way symbolic. This was battle armour, designed to keep its wearer alive in the most desperate and dangerous of situations. Gleaming heavy steel-plate armour, covering the young man from head to toe, expertly fashioned and entirely unadorned. No engravings or decorations, not even a patterned tabard to add a touch of colour. The blunt steel helmet covered his entire head, with just a Y-shaped slot at the front for eyes and nose and mouth.
And the sword he carried was a heavy brutal thing, a butcher’s blade, a killing tool.
Sir Perryvale took a cautious step forward, and the sword immediately moved to cover him. Sir Perryvale stopped where he was.
“Sir Bors,” he said. “I thought you were occupied with the Lady Vivienne.”
“Did you really think she wouldn’t notice?” said Sir Bors. From his voice, he seemed to be barely into his twenties, but he still gave every appearance of being extremely dangerous. The sword and armour helped, but this was clearly a man with warrior’s training.
“I did hope this confrontation wouldn’t be necessary, yes,” said Sir Perryvale. “Allow me to present my guest . . .”
“He’s a Drood!” said Sir Bors. He made my family name sound like an obscenity.
“Quick, isn’t he?” Sir Perryvale said to me.
“A damned Drood!” said Sir Bors.
Sir Perryvale shook his head. “You’re going to be awkward, aren’t you?”
“Sir Bors,” I said, and the cold eyes snapped back to me. So did the sword. I gave the Knight my best charming smile. “Nice to meet you. You look . . . very martial. Do you always wear your armour inside the Castle?”
“Only when we’re expecting trouble,” said Sir Bors. “Stand still! Don’t move!” He glared at the Seneschal. “What