Sir Kay on the back. ‘I asked a great deal of you, James – you put yourself and your family at enormous risk for our cause. I won’t forget that. You have done well. It’s not your fault those children were taken. It’s a ruler’s moral obligation to care for her people. Our queen has shown where her allegiance lies and it’s as we have long suspected. It’s not with us.’ He folded his arms and gazed out the window. The snow was falling thick and fast now.
‘We have to accelerate our plans, Farwarn,’ said Father Morrison, joining him. ‘This … this sacrilege can’t be allowed to continue. She’ll damn us all with her ways. All the unexplained disappearances, the reports from the villages near the Limen – this is not a chance encounter, your grace. This is part of a bigger plan – one to which we’re not privy. We have to act –’
‘We will,’ snapped the earl and spun to glare at the father. Father Morrison took a step back. ‘We will,’ said the earl more softly. ‘Once news of this travesty spreads, more will come to our side. Whatever it is the queen intends, it does not bode well for us. She must be stopped.’
‘How?’ asked Sir Kay. He regarded them both gravely. ‘Have you not heard what I said? With a simple touch, she can take people’s souls from their bodies. How can we possibly hope to resist her?’ He caught his head in his hands again. ‘We’re all dead, I tell you. Condemned.’
‘Sir Kay!’ barked Earl Farwarn. Sir Kay’s head flew up. ‘You’re a knight of Albion, one charged with protecting the lands and the people. Show some backbone! Throughout history, we’ve been both conqueror and conquered – we don’t pick our battles according to what the outcome will be. We simply fight them. We owe it to the people who trust us to care for them to fight this one too – no matter what the cost.’ He hauled Sir Kay to his feet. ‘You might be right,’ he said, pushing his face into the knight’s. ‘We might all die; our sorcerer queen may rip our souls from our bodies, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fight. It doesn’t mean we give up and roll over on our backs like a frightened puppy.’ He pushed Sir Kay away in disgust and turned back to the window.
Sir Kay staggered and found his footing. Father Morrison stared at his beads.
‘You’re right, your grace. I am sorry. What I saw –’
‘Would unsettle the most seasoned of warriors, son,’ said the earl. ‘You’re only human.’
‘Unlike our queen,’ added Father Morrison dryly.
‘Indeed,’ said the earl. He spun on his heel and faced them. ‘Which is why we will stick to our original plan. We will use whatever is in our power to bring the queen to her knees, to end her unholy reign.’
‘What about you, your grace?’ said Father Morrison. ‘We know your venture to the Ottomans was … as the queen desired. But how are you? Have you been … restored yet?’
‘You mean, has Her Majesty seen fit to return my soul after sending me through the Limen?’
Father Morrison reached out and pressed his gloved hand against the earl’s broad chest.
‘It’s all right, father,’ said Earl Farwarn, gently lifting the father’s hand away. ‘I’m a fortunate man. The part she has taken, she has returned. I am again whole; unlike some. Unlike those poor children …’
A noise from another part of the castle startled them.
‘We’ve spent too long conferring,’ said the earl, snapping back to attention. ‘But now we have the proof that has eluded us and our motivation for the sin we are about to commit.’
‘Sin?’ asked Sir Kay.
‘Yes, my son.’ Father Morrison spoke gravely. ‘Treason is a sin in the gods’ eyes.’
‘As is taking someone’s soul,’ added the earl. He drew closer to the others. ‘Here’s what we do. Let our allies know about this abominable act. Tell them to stay strong, to warn the villagers to keep their children safe.’ Light filled the room as the clouds parted and the moon shone. ‘We need to recruit more to our cause. Perhaps we need to look into what these Bond Riders we know so little about have to do with all this.’
‘It’s stopped snowing,’ said Father Morrison. He looked from the earl to Sir Kay and beamed. ‘It’s a sign. The gods have heard us.’ He worried his beads again.
‘So long as it’s only the gods,’