David Mcintee - The Light of Heaven

"Stoll is Brotherhood?"

"He says not; that they gave him the tattoo while he was unconscious so they could blackmail him. I believe him. Doesn't matter, though; he still had a choice. He could have reported them, confessed and had a good enough Healer remove the tattoo by magic."

She rose and accompanied him round to the front of the church. A gibbet was being hoisted onto its pole and ten Knights of the Swords were singing the Hymn of Contrition, as two knights dragged Stoll out.

The cleansing wasn't pretty, or pleasant; not for anyone. As with so many things, an act intended to help and to make things right in the long run was uncomfortable in the short term. Gabriella briefly thought of the foul-tasting medicines her parents had made her take when she was a child and had the ague. They healed her body, but they made her cry with the vileness of the taste.

The cleansing would heal Kurt Stoll's soul, but it would make him cry too. He sobbed as the Knights who surrounded the square stripped him naked; the vestments of the Faith were too sacred to be burned.

As they did this, Preceptor DeBarres read out the proclamation from Scholten condemning Stoll to be cleansed by fire. Then they put him in the gibbet, which had already been attached to the lead piping from below the church.

In the end, Kurt Stoll was screaming his life away even before the liquid fire poured down on him and he fell silent bare moments after it started.

Justice had been done, Gabriella considered. People needed to know that the Final Faith was even-handed, and dealt with its own transgressors as fairly as it did anyone else.

For all that this was a good thing, one matter chewed away at Gabriella's heart. Stoll had signed as witness to her and Erak's pledge. She felt tainted by that.

With the Cleansing over, DeBarres had led his Knights out to search the surrounding area for signs of further goblin incursions. Kannis had formed the hundred or so mercenaries into squads to be dispersed around the entrances to Solnos. They were determined that no goblins would invade this town again

People were steering clear of the church. Whether it was the battle that had put them off or the stink of the burnt Enlightened One that still pervaded the plaza, or just general Pontaine disinterest in the Final Faith, Dai Batsen couldn't tell.

He walked into Solnos for the first time in a few days, his topknot and shaven scalp replaced by a very short but even covering of hair. He had left for his secure hiding place when the goblins attacked, having no interest in a pitched battle.

Now he needed to know whether either DeZantez or Brand had survived their little overnight siege. If they had not, he would collect the fee for the hard work the goblins had done. If they had survived, he now knew what they both looked like, and would carry out the task for which he had been employed.

He walked up the plaza steps, and into the church.

Gabriella had gone across to the Swords' new headquarters at the inn, to make a few requests for supplies and equipment. Kannis was passing through, and Gabriella halted her for a moment.

"I didn't get the chance to thank you for your help with the goblins."

"You paid up," the scar-faced woman said blandly. "That's all the thanks I need." Her eyes twinkled.

"The Lord helps those — "

"So I heard. Raul used to say that a lot. I see he still does."

"Raul? Preceptor DeBarres?"

"He wasn't a Preceptor in those days," she said wistfully.

"I thought when you greeted him that you must know him…"

"Haven't seen him for years, but it's nice to see him again."

"So, how do you know him? Did you meet in the war, or…?"

"It's a long story," Kannis said. "And Raul probably tells it more entertainingly than I would." She glanced at the sky for a moment. "I'd better get going. I've got to help with the pits being dug near the east bridge."

"Be seeing you, then," Gabriella said, stepping aside.

Kannis hurried on and Gabriella finished writing out her supply requests. Then she headed up to the market to buy a loaf and some cheese, before finally returning to the church.

The main doors were ajar and Gabriella knew she had closed them when she left. She didn't touch them as she squeezed between them, in case they squeaked and alerted anyone within. Gabriella set her purchases on a pew and padded as quietly as she could towards the transept, keeping close to the wall. Stepping into the nave would invite an arrow if someone was lurking above.

She risked a look back to the doors and saw that Erak had followed her in and was edging along the aisle on the other side. He flashed her a quick grin.

"What happened?" he whispered.

"I think we have a visitor."

Above, Dai Batsen crept along the narrow ledge separating the ceiling of the nave from the inside of the bell tower. Below, two people walked right into his field of vision, though he had cloaked himself in shadows. They were his targets.

Pulling two short daggers from his belt, Batsen leapt.

Gabriella shoved Erak aside as a black clad man landed between them. She recognised him instantly as the man who had attacked her before. On any other day, Gabriella might have been afraid as well as wary, but not today. Today she was simply relieved, because the assassin was indeed a man and not an inhuman monster.

Gabriella lunged forward, while Erak circled round to stop Batsen from getting away. Batsen simply took it in his stride. The Order of the Swords of Dawn might fight on the Lord's behalf, but they didn't share His omniscience or omnipotence. Or His infallibility.

Batsen dodged back from Gabriella's whirling blades, pretending not to notice Erak outflanking him. When the wiry knight was close enough and about to attack, Batsen hit him in the gut with a back kick, without looking round.

Erak staggered back and Gabriella redoubled her attack. Batsen ducked under the blades. If he could stay in close enough, Gabriella wouldn't be able to swing well enough, and he could use his finger-length blades to better effect.

Then Gabriella unexpectedly slashed low, the flat of one blade sweeping Batsen off his feet. Batsen rolled, narrowly getting out from under the edge of Gabriella's foot as it slashed towards his neck.

Erak caught his balance and sprang back to engage Batsen again. Batsen sidestepped to keep the armoured Knight between himself and Gabriella. Batsen was faster with his kicks and punches and had his knives, but Erak was clothed in iron mail under his robes. All of Batsen's blows rebounded from Erak's armour as the knight blocked him. The dagger's blade scraped uselessly across the iron links of Erak's mail.

Batsen stunned Erak with a high-rising kick that made the Knight pull his head back and sent him stumbling back into Gabriella. Both Knights tumbled in a heap.

Batsen's breath burned his lungs and now he felt he had the measure of the two Knights and, while he refused to feel comfortable enough to underestimate them, he was satisfied that they did not outclass him. All that mattered was that he fulfilled his contract. Live or die, he would be doing his best to earn that purse.

Gabriella and Erak were back on their feet and advancing on him from either side. Gabriella let her expression clear. Let the enemy wonder whether she was angry or afraid, excited or overconfident. Let him not know who his enemy was. She was Gabriella DeZantez: Enlightened One of the Final Faith and defender of the people in the name of the Lord of All.

Batsen drew a straight-bladed smallsword from a sheath at his back and rolled the weapon around his wrist, testing the weight and balance. With his right hand, he smoothed down the front of his rumpled tunic and beckoned his opponents towards him.