Children of the Fountain (13 page)

Matthias noticed the morning drag with Lady Taylor. Although he usually found the woman such enchanting company, today all he could think about was Nunez.

The elegant lady sat at the table opposite him in her chamber where they were practising a formal meal amidst the rich shower of rugs, tapestries and cushions. The gold silks and white laces of her dress ruffled and whispered as she leaned forward in her seat to eat her meal, pecking at it rather like some delicate bird.

Matthias looked down at the knife and fork before him as if they were some strange objects from a foreign land. He poked the fork at a slice of veal on the plate and brought the knife around in a slow and delicate cutting motion as he had been instructed. Luckily he wasn’t hungry as it was slow progress.

They were interrupted by Lady Taylor’s servant knocking at the door. He entered with a small silver plate upon which there was a sealed letter. She thanked the man with the softest of smiles and her golden hair rippled like waves as she looked down to read it.

She broke the wax seal and Matthias noted that once finished, she re-read it and this time followed the words on the paper softy with her lips. When she returned back to the meal her eyes were flat and lifeless.

“I am so sorry but you must excuse me. I have to leave immediately. Thank you for your time today.”

She stood up and Matthias immediately raised himself from his seat. She turned and gathered her gowns behind her as she left the room. On her way she threw the letter into the fireplace. Or at least she attempted to. In her haste she didn’t notice it bounce off the side of a lump of coal and float underneath the grate. Matthias waited until he was sure he was alone before he picked it up to read.

My Lady,

Your brother Balthazar leaves these walls tomorrow at sunrise. Now would be a good time for you to say farewell.

Mr Hardy.

He re-read the letter. His eyes moved to the door where the woman had just vanished and he breathed deeply. Lady Taylor was Balthazar Nunez’s sister?

He looked at the signature of Mr Hardy noting the way he curled the last letter of his surname. There was no doubt the handwriting was his; he’d seen the signature on many a report. He threw the letter into the fire and hurried out of the chamber heading straight back to his room. Dashing past a confused Harry, who managed a greeting, he ignored it and opened the trunk at the end of his bed. Underneath various kit and weapons he found the books he had taken from his uncle’s study.

There at the top was the Nunez family chronicle. He opened it and turned straight to the family tree which had only ever really contained one name for him. This time he looked along the branch at the man’s siblings. There she was. Maria Nunez; born 1547. His older sister!

Next to her name was another; that of her husband, Frederick Taylor. Born 1544 died 1572. They were married in 1568. She was a widow! Matthias sat on the end of his bed with a soft thud as he tried to make sense of the facts.

So there was a Nunez amongst them. Teaching them! How could these people be sworn enemies? He had half-forgotten Harry was even there when his friend asked him what was the matter.

“Go fetch Sophie. She needs to hear this.”

Confused, Harry nodded and darted out of the room. Whilst he was gone Matthias contemplated what the reaction would be to him taking this man’s life. He was so fond of Lady Taylor, but this felt like a betrayal. How come Mr Hardy hadn’t mentioned it? How certain could they be of where her allegiances lay? Maybe she was a spy?

Sophie arrived after being dragged from her chemistry, a flask of some foul liquid still in her hand.

“This had better be important,” she said, “I was in the middle of researching something which may help your plan.”

The three sat down and Matthias told them of the note but didn’t mention the books of Father Morant as he had still not told them who his own father was.

“I can’t believe it!” said Harry. “A Nunez here, in the castle? Right under our noses!”

Sophie shook her head. “Mr Hardy is obviously aware of who she is. He must trust her. Perhaps she has no fondness for the Legion’s work either?”

“No matter,” said Matthias, “this letter tells us he leaves tomorrow. We must act tonight.”

“Agreed,” said Sophie, and with that she decided to tell them what she had been researching; but when she enlightened them the two boys shrugged.

“Flash powder?” said Matthias, “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Nor should you have. Its exact formula is a very well-kept secret.” Sophie reached inside her leather satchel and produced a tattered dusty book. The letters on the front looked like none Matthias or Harry had ever seen before.

“It comes from Arabia,” she continued. “Its chemical formula, in essence, is very similar to gunpowder except more volatile. It can be ignited kinetically.”

Matthias and Harry stared at each other blankly. Sophie sighed and gave a sideward grimace. “I mean you can explode it just by throwing it. You won’t need a pistol or rifle.”

Matthias sat up. “I can use it on Nunez?”

“Yes and no,” said Sophie, confusing the two boys even further. “Flash powder was the creation of the Hashshashin.”

“Who are they?” said Harry.

“They were a secret society of assassins from Arabia who were created around the time of the crusades hundreds of years ago. Some say they are still alive, though they lay silent since the Holy Wars but will one day rise again to destroy the wicked infidels of the west.”

“The who?” said Harry.

“I think she means us,” said Matthias, nudging him in the ribs.

“Thought I’d check,” said Harry. “So what can this powder do?”

“If used in the correct quantities you can make bombs that, although small, can achieve significant effects. Blindness, confusion even loss of hearing.”

“Why not make a bigger one?”

“It’s too volatile. But get it right and you can leave your foe completely at your mercy and they are easy to conceal about your person.”

Matthias sat back and thought for a moment. If Sophie was right this could be just the distraction he would need in order to catch Nunez off guard. He’d thought about pistols or a rifle but getting hold of the equipment, let alone the powder and charge, would have been difficult and could arouse suspicion.

“I’ll need to practice,” he said.

“Of course,” replied Sophie. “I’ll have some ready for this evening. Maybe we could sneak into the forest?”

“But we’re locked down?” said Matthias.

Harry nodded. “I can help you there. I know a good way out around by the kitchens. Even under lock-down it’s easy. The trouble’s getting back in. We’ll need someone to stay behind and lower a rope.”

“I’m happy to do that,” said Sophie. She got up and smiled at the two boys, “I don’t like loud bangs anyway. I’ll meet you by the kitchens at eight.”

As Sophie left Harry got up to follow her and grabbed his satchel. “I have to go back to the range. Wilson reckons I’ve been losing my concentration so he wants me to take some extra practice.”

He winked at Matthias, “See you at eight o’clock.”

In the cool darkness of the room Matthias lay back on his bed and dozed only to be awoken by the church bells chiming seven. He was so tired he had slept all afternoon; his last few nights had been restless and it was starting to take its toll. Lord alone knew how he was going to get to sleep tonight but he promised himself he would try. He went to the mustering hall to see if he could manage some supper and was relieved to find some bread and cheese still lying around unclaimed.

Taking it, he returned to his chamber to eat whilst he prepared for tonight. His plan was to go straight to the stables after testing the flash powder in the forest and then lay in wait.

He packed his small kitbag with the black clothes Harry had provided, two knives, the rest of the food and his water canteen. Then he made his way to the back of the kitchens. It was still only a quarter to eight but Harry was already there. Smoke billowed out of the chimneys where the evening’s fires were dying and the sunset bounced off the castle brickwork giving everything an orange glow.

Harry stood next to the large barrels used to store rotten food. The smell of the decomposing meals wasn’t pleasant but they didn’t have long to wait before Sophie joined them. She appeared around a corner in the dingy light carrying a small sack cautiously in one hand.

“They’re in here,” she said. “Be very careful.” She opened it and the two boys peered inside. What they could make out were several small parcels of paper moulded in to rough ball shapes.

“What do we do?” said Harry.

Sophie raised an eyebrow and quickly sealed the bag handing it to Matthias. “You need to throw them at something. A hard stone or wall, possibly a tree and then make sure you turn away.”

“Have you tried one out yet?” asked Matthias.

“No,” said Sophie, “someone would hear.”

“So I’m holding in my hand a bag of experimental bombs?”

“That would be correct,” replied Sophie, with not a trace of humour.

He exhaled and then turned to Harry. “Let’s go. Sophie, we’ll need you to lower a rope back down the walls in an hour. Harry will signal with a bird call.”

“I’ll be here,” she said. “Good luck!”

Harry led the way over to the waste area and ducked behind one of the outhouses and Matthias closely followed.

“We need to be careful,” whispered Harry. “We’re still under lock-down so there are probably some people on watch duty, perhaps even Gerard. We won’t know until we get up there though.”

“What do you suggest?” said Matthias.

“I’ll go first, and let you know if it’s clear.”

Without further discussion Harry made his way across the yard to an alcove at the foot of the walls. He came back holding a rickety ladder which he held up against the stone face. At this part of the castle the walls were reachable from the ground due to the drop being bigger on the other side. From the top and, with the assistance of a rope, the forty feet or so down was climbable.

The two scaled the ladder onto the stone parapets, Harry first and then Matthias. As they neared the top they were immediately hit by heavy gusts of wind raging their way over the castle’s walls. Harry turned to look at Matthias as he ascended the final steps and took a rope out of his knapsack. He tied one end around an iron hook that was sticking out of one of the turrets with some complicated knot Matthias hadn’t seen before. He gave it a good tug to check its strength and then hurled the remainder over the walls. He gestured to the rope to Sophie who nodded from below, she would have to climb up and hide it once they were over.

“Alright,” he shouted, above the wind. “Watch me closely; feet first and try to guide the rope between your shoulders.”

Harry went over the top and began to climb down. The wind was now whipping in their faces and the rope flailed like some un-caged animal. As he neared the bottom he jumped the final few feet and then signalled up for Matthias to begin his descent.

He took the rope with some trepidation and climbed over the side. It burned his hands as he lowered himself slowly but Harry shouted for him to use his legs more on the walls to take some of the strain away. This helped and the pain, in his shoulders at least, ceased. When he reached the bottom Harry was eager to move lest they be spotted.

They reached the woods without event and managed to find a small clearing not too far in to be in total darkness, but far enough that they wouldn’t attract attention or be heard.

Matthias reached inside the bag and pulled out one of the paper bombs. He looked at it and raised an eyebrow. Harry shrugged and pointed to a large boulder near a tree which prompted Matthias to throw the device against it.

The resulting bang and flash nearly knocked the two boys off their feet. The light was so bright that both were completely blinded by it. Matthias could see the imprint of the tree and boulder in a multitude of colours on the inside of his eyelids but other than that everything was white. The noise was so loud that neither could hear anything and when they both could finally see they couldn’t hear the other speak.

Harry was crouched on one knee holding his hands against his ears and grimacing. Matthias looked over at him from where he had stumbled to the floor. He shouted to ask if he was hurt, but couldn’t even hear his own voice. Harry waved back and mouthed something.

Both looked a sorry sight rubbing their eyes and holding their ears dazed and confused amongst the dead leaves. Harry again shouted something that Matthias couldn’t hear but in the end resorted to holding his thumb up to show he wasn’t injured. Eventually, the buzzing died down and he could just about hear Harry say, “I was waiting for you to give a signal!”

“Sorry,” said Matthias, “I forgot we were supposed to turn away.”

Harry groaned and got to his feet. He walked over to the boulder by the tree where only a black smudge showed any trace of the explosion. “It doesn’t cause any damage,” he said wiping the stone, “just the noise and the flash. This could be really useful if you need to escape.”

Matthias got up and gave his eyes another tender rub. “How long do you think it lasted – ten, twenty seconds?”