J. Tomlin - The Intelligencer

Something cut off the moonlight. Then was a bump against the wall, and the shutter was pushed all the way open. The silhouette of a man swung across the moonlight as though hanging from a rope.

Law squinted at his dirk where it lay on the stool. If he reached for it, the hay stuffing in his bed would rustle. He wet his lips and tried to slow his breathing. He mustn't give away that he was awake.

The figure threw a leg over the windowsill, clutched it, and threw the other leg over. For a moment, he sat on the edge, seeming to listen. Then he stood.

Before the intruder could take a step into the room, Law rolled out of the bed and reached for his dirk. As his hand closed on the hilt, the figure lunged. He drove Law into the floor flat on his back. Law's head bounced from the force, and the dirk flew out of his hand. It clattered against the wall.

The man straddled Law's chest with all his weight. He pressed on Law's throat with one hand and reached for a weapon on his belt with the other. Law bucked his whole body, but the man's weight was too much to throw off. A dirk glinted in the moonlight as the intruder raised it.

Law threw a leg around his attacker's leg to trap it. He grabbed the man's elbow and pushed with both legs as hard as he could. The man flipped diagonally. He rolled with his attacker and straddled him. And then he grabbed the wrist with the dirk. Using his weight and both hands, he slammed the hand to the floor. He slammed again, and the dirk flew out of the man's hand.

At least the man didn't have a battle-axe. It flashed through Law's mind that you couldn't climb with such a weapon and was grateful for that as he let go of the man's hand and pulled back his fist. He put all his weight into a blow to the side of his head. The intruder didn't even blink. Law pulled back for another, but the man grabbed Law's head and tried to jab each thumb into Law's eyes.

Law jerked straight up onto his knees. The intruder lost his grip, but he drew back his elbow and slammed an elbow into Law's belly. It knocked Law backward. Damn, the fucker is strong.

The intruder bounded to his feet. In the moonlight, Law saw him looking all around. His back to the window, he grabbed the stool and threw it at Law's head. Law dodged it as he rolled to his feet. The man lunged at Law and grabbed him around the neck with both hands. He squeezed. A black ring formed on the edge of Law's vision.

Law grabbed the man's thumbs and jerked them out, driving his knee into the man's balls. The intruder stumbled a step back, bent from the waist. He gave a strangled shout. Law sucked in a grating breath through his aching throat, and then he threw his hardest punch at the man's face. The man staggered back. Blood gushed from his nose.

Law drew back and threw another punch with all his weight behind it. The intruder went backwards through the window. He topped out backwards, headfirst. He let out a scream that was cut off by a thud. Law leaned against windowsill and clasped his fist to his chest with the other hand, wondering whether he had broken it. Then he leaned to look down into the yard. The intruder was lying still, his head twisted at a terrible angle. Law blew out a breath. It was only two stories down, but the man had gone out headfirst. He must have broken his neck when he landed.

From downstairs, Law heard Wulle's voice: "Is it over?"

He heard crunching above his head as someone moved around. "There may be another one," Law replied.

"Matt!" a voice called from above. "Are you alive?" The man's accomplice was still out there, and Wulle had been right that his plan was a mad one. He desperately scanned the room until he spotted a dirk.

The rope Matt had used to climb down still dangled in front of the window. Law put the dirk between his teeth and grabbed the rope. Normally, it would have been nothing to climb, but the pain in his hand made his stomach roil. He pulled himself up hand over hand. Sweat dripped down his face and bare chest.

His sweat-slick hands slipped, but he held on and, after what seemed like forever, was able to throw an arm over the edge of the thatch. The dark figure of a man was crouched a few feet away. "Damn!" he yelled and jumped to his feet. Law grabbed the dirk in his right hand as he scrambled onto the roof. The man backed away and then dashed to the far edge of the roof. He grabbed the edge with both hands and dropped off. He yelled when he landed. Law followed him to the edge in time to see him limping away as fast as he could go.

Law looked down at his bare chest. He had to laugh. He was standing on the roof in his breeches. He could hardly chase a man through the streets half-naked.

Someone in the street was shouting up at him demanding to know what was going on. Law leaned his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths, but then he had to laugh again. So much for his great plan.

He looked over the edge to see one of the burgh guards scowling up at him, moonlight illuminating his face. Law called down, "I think the lord sheriff will thank you if you catch that thief who just fled. Another fell trying to climb in the window in the back of the tavern." He wasn't going to try to explain for the moment that he'd knocked Matt out of the window. That story could wait.

He limped back to the rope, cursing every step of the way at the necessity of climbing back down. When he did, it hurt even more than he'd thought that it would.

Outside his door Wulle was calling, "Law! Law! What's happening?"

"It's all right. I've taken care of it." He frantically pulled on his tights and shirt. He thrust his feet into his boots and grabbed his sword belt. When he opened his door, Wulle was dancing with distress, his hair standing on end, but Law just pushed past him to dash down the stairs.

Wulle was still gabbling questions at him as Law unbarred the back door of the tavern. "You'd best stay inside. I dinnae ken what I'll find." Surely so short a fall wouldn't have killed the man. There might yet be a fight.

But when Law closed the door behind him, the figure was still. The head lay at a strange, awkward angle. He went to kneel next to it, snicking his tongue against his front teeth. When he looked up, the rope swung gently in the night breeze. The man had gone over backwards and must have landed head first on the hard ground. Well, so much for questioning him.

Law used two fingers to turn the man's flat-featured face so he could see it more clearly in the moonlight. He blinked. That face was familiar. But from whence? He had seen it somewhere before. Of that he was certain.

A whining voice said, "I did nae do anything. Leave me be!"

The guard shoved his prisoner ahead of him. "Shut up!" He gave the man a blow with his truncheon. Then he looked toward Law. "I caught the thief. But what is this?"

Law stood. "This one fell as he was climbing in the window." Law pointed to the rope that was clearly seen in the moonlight. "He went over backwards. Landed head first it seems."

The guard prodded the body with his boot. "Save the trouble of throwing him in the dungeon."

The door banged open and Wulle rushed out. He grabbed Law's arm. "I telt you nae to bring trouble here. Did I nae tell you that? I cannae have outlaws breaking in. You-- You must find another place to live."

Law cocked his head and pondered the dead man. Perhaps while he slept it would come to him where he'd seen that face before. It was somewhere that had to do with Neill Blacader's death. But first he'd best deal with his landlord. He patted the man's shoulder. "Wulle, it is all over. But let us rest and we'll talk tomorrow."

Wulle scowled at him.

Law opened the door. "Come. Neither of us can think straight with nae sleep." And hopefully by the morning, Wulle's fear would be only a dim memory.