A single lookout had been stationed a short distance down the coast to ensure that no one had fled while Magnus had returned to the City of Kesh to get Chezarul, an erstwhile trader from the City of Kesh, who was one of the most trusted agents of the Conclave, and his most reliable warriors, returning within hours by magic. At dusk they had approached these caves and taken up position after nightfall.
Their best estimate was that Jomo Ketlami was holed up in a warren of caves with at least half a dozen assassins, waiting for Aziz to arrive so the fugitives could arrange safe passage out of Kesh. And given the events of the past month, these would be the toughest, wiliest, most fanatical survivors of the Nighthawks.
Since the attempt on the Emperor by the sorcerer Leso Varen, and his role in leading the Nighthawks, soldiers of the Empire, under direction from Keshian spies and agents of the Conclave of Shadows, had been rooting out every last hiding place in Kesh. By imperial decree, these men were under an order of summary execution.
Similar campaigns had been underway in the Kingdom of the Isles, as well as Roldem, Olasko, and several of the other larger cities in the Eastern Kingdoms. The Conclave was certain they had identified every last headquarters but one: the ultimate source of this murderous brotherhood, where their Grand Master sat like a giant spider in the centre of a web that stretched over an entire continent. And the man in the caves just a few dozen yards away knew where the headquarters for the Guild of Death was hidden.
Caleb signalled. A sentry standing behind the archers above uncovered a lantern and the men down the beach slowly entered the second cave mouth. Magnus had used every art he possessed to determine there were no magical snares waiting for them. He was less confident about more mundane traps. The dozen men entering the cave were among the most skilled agents of the Conclave in Kesh, and perhaps the most experienced hand-to-hand fighters in the Empire. They expected to give their lives if necessary, for they were committed to the undertaking of ridding the world of Midkemia of the Nighthawks for well and good.
Another half-dozen men took up positions before the second cave mouth, with another pair of archers poised above on the cliffs as well. The orders were clear: to defend their own lives, but Jomo Ketlami must be taken alive.
Caleb motioned for his men to move towards the mouth of the smaller cave, ready to receive anyone fleeing. With hand gestures, barely seen in the faint lantern light, he instructed them to stand ready, taking up their positions on either side of the cave. He motioned to the man carrying the lantern, who shuttered it again, plunging the beach into blackness once more.
Minutes dragged by slowly, the only sound being the rolling of the surf and the occasional distant sound of a nightbird. Jommy nodded to Caleb, who waited on the other side of the cave mouth, then turned to see how his two younger companions were doing. In the dark he could make out Tad and Zane huddled against the cliff face behind him, ready. In the months he had lived with them, he had come to feel a kinship, and he found himself adopting the role of eldest brother more often than not. Their family had welcomed him and made him feel at home – even though home was far from ordinary; but he had come to accept the extraordinary as a matter of course since meeting Caleb and his adopted sons. He knew he would die defending them, and knew in turn each would be willing to lay down his life for him.
Abruptly a shout echoed from within and the sounds of combat followed instantly.
The first assassin to bolt the cave was met with the flat of Caleb’s blade across his face. Blood fountained from a broken nose as Jommy clubbed him on the side of his head with the hilt of his sword. Zane grabbed the stunned assassin by the collar and hauled him out of the way by main force.
A second assassin saw his companion fall, even if he couldn’t see exactly what occurred in the dark, and hesitated before leaping forward, sword at the ready. Caleb barely avoided a thrust to his side, his parry ringing like an alarm. Jommy stepped forward to club the man on the head. He felt something tug hard at his tunic and realized he had almost been skewered by another assassin’s blade as he crossed before the threshold of the cave. There was a burning sensation across his lower back as the swordsman pulled back his blade.
Ignoring the pain, Jommy slammed his hilt into the back of the head of the man facing Caleb, and in turn felt another burning cut as the swordsman behind him attempted to disengage his sword from Jommy’s tunic.
Caleb reached out with his left hand, grabbed Jommy by the shirt front and yanked hard, pulling him away from danger. Zane hit the man trying to kill Jommy as another man leapt past him, attempting to run down the beach.
‘Stop him!’ shouted Caleb.
A sizzling sound, like a nearby discharge of lightning, filled the night and a bolt of energy sprang from Magnus’s hand. Blinding blue light illuminated the cave mouth and beach for an instant as a sphere of energy sped after the fleeing man, overtaking him in an instant. The man screamed and fell, his torso contorting in pain as tiny bolts of energy danced over his torso, a sizzling sound punctuated by crackling adding a sinister note to the display.
Caleb and Magnus hurried to the fallen man, while the boys and the other agents of the Conclave subdued the remaining assassins.
‘Coming out!’ shouted a familiar voice, and a moment later Chezarul came out of the cave. ‘How did we do?’ he asked.
Jommy motioned towards the fallen man as Caleb reached him, shouting, ‘Light!’
A pair of lanterns, one above them and another a short way down the beach, were uncovered, and they could see the form of a man writhing on the sand as the energy display faded from sight. Magnus said, ‘Bind him before I release the spell. He is unable to use any poison secreted upon him. Search him well.’
Caleb looked down on the man for whom he’d been searching for weeks. Jomo Ketlami lay in agony, his face contorted. His fists flailed uselessly in the air, his elbows hard against his sides. His back was bowed and his legs kicked feebly against the sand. He went through the man’s clothing quickly and found two poison pills and an amulet, the iron Nighthawk emblem they had come to know so well. He pulled a cord out of his belt pouch, turned the quivering man over as easily as he would a felled deer and trussed him up in the same manner.
‘Check his mouth,’ suggested Magnus.
‘Get me a light.’
A lantern was fetched and held above Ketlami’s face. Gripping his captive’s jaw with his right hand, Caleb forced his mouth open and motioned for the lantern to be moved closer. ‘Ah, what is this?’ he said.
He held out his left hand, and a pair of iron tongs were placed in them. Caleb deftly reached into Ketlami’s mouth with them and yanked out a tooth. The captive’s whimpering increased but otherwise he was unable to react to the extraction. ‘Hollow tooth,’ said Caleb. He stood up and told Magnus, ‘You can let him go, I think.’
Magnus released the spell and the captive fell limp for a moment, panting like an exhausted dog.
As they approached Ketlami, Chezarul said to Caleb, ‘Two of them are dead, one will not live through the night, but three are unconscious and bound.’
Caleb nodded. ‘Check them for poison, as well.’ He glanced at Jommy, ‘You’re injured.’
‘I’ve had worse,’ said the young man with a grin. ‘Last time I crossed swords with Talwin Hawkins he cut me three times, and he wasn’t even trying.’
Caleb looked at the spreading bloodstains on Jommy’s tunic. ‘Get them bound, boy, or Marie will have my ears.’
Jommy winked at Tad and Zane as they joined the others in standing over their quarry. ‘Your mum does look after me, doesn’t she?’
Tad made a wry face. ‘I think she likes you best.’
Zane