Thorn by the arm and shoved him, pressing his dagger to Thorn’s back. “Now lead the way.”
Thorn quickly thought through what he knew about the abbey. Although some aspects of the building may have changed over the years, the maze of passageways and dark stairs had not. Claray had hated the dark, and so he’d always volunteered to explore with her.
They’d found a locked chamber in the cellars once, and one of the helpers had told them to stay away.
Of course, he and Nari had come back to that locked door on another occasion and tried yanking the door open, but to no avail. One needed a key to get inside. If any wealth was kept in the abbey, it was kept there, but the last thing he intended to do was give these men what they wanted, even if he’d had a key.
But he knew every chamber along that passageway, including the one where many tools were kept. If he could get the two daft fools to follow him down, he’d find a way to get inside and find a tool, any tool, he could use against them.
“If I help you here, will you return my sword?” If they gave him enough to go on, he’d be able to find the sword Connor had given him. He had to try to get it back.
“Ewan has it,” Henry said dismissively. “Tis too heavy for me. Ewan, once we find all the coin, you’ll give him back his sword. You can buy a new one.”
“Fair enough, but only once I get the coin.”
Thorn sighed and indicated for them to follow him. He went the back way, grabbing a torch off the wall, and leading them through a maze of staircases and passageways into the deepest trenches of the abbey. When he reached the end of the passageway, he guided them to the door of the locked chamber. “This is where the coffers are located, but we need the key. It’s in the next chamber, hidden behind all the tools.”
He pointed to the door, then pushed past them to get to the chamber he knew to be full of shovels, armor, daggers, metal statues, and other paraphernalia. His plan was to move a shovel, pretending he was clearing the spot where the key was hidden, and then swing around, catching both of the would-be thieves in the face.
Ewan said, “We’re about to be rich, Henry. I knew it would happen someday.”
“Shut up, Ewan,” Henry said. “We don’t need anyone coming down to investigate.”
“We’re in the bowels of the building. No one will hear us down here,” Thorn said, and he believed it to be true. One time he’d fallen and yelled for Nari, but his friend hadn’t heard him until he nearly arrived at the door.
He was within a few horse lengths of finishing this, and his pulse sped up in anticipation. Worried his eyes might give him away, he stared down at the floor in the dark chamber.
Which was probably why he didn’t notice the fourth person arrive until he heard the sound of metal cracking a skull.
Ewan’s.
He spun around, surprised to see his father swinging a large piece of metal, catching Ewan first and then aiming for Henry. Ewan crumpled to the floor, but Henry caught the movement an instant before it happened, so he turned and grabbed the makeshift weapon, dodging it and yanking it out of Thorn’s sire’s hands.
“Run, Thorn!” he yelled. “Do not worry about me.”
“I’ll not run.” No way was he leaving his father to fight this battle alone. He grabbed a small sword off the wall and whirled, catching Henry’s arm before the man could strike his father, then plunged it into Henry’s belly, the shocked expression on his face—one that gave him a strong sense of satisfaction.
Ewan pulled himself up slowly, going for Thorn’s sword, but before he could unsheathe it, Thorn’s father pulled out a dagger and struck him in his flank, a wound that dropped him to the ground instantly. His aim was impeccable, even more so because he could not see anything.
“Is that the last of them, son?”
“Aye, Papa,” he said, reaching over to clasp his sire’s shoulders and hugging him close. “Many thanks to you.”
“I knew they were trouble as soon as they came inside.”
“How could you tell?” He couldn’t help but wonder how a blind man had managed to follow them all the way down here, let alone attack them so ably.
“Evil men give off a stench I don’t