A man in sandals and a brown cristofororobe stood with his back to the blaze, absorbing its warmth. He was short and balding, well-padded around the middle.
A handful of children in sacks of brown cloth huddled on the benches. Their feet were bare and their eyes dull. Regis spotted Ariel among them. Several had the bright red hair of the Comyn.
“Savage!” the priest screamed. “How dare you disturb us—or carry weapons into this place of holy learning! Sacrilege, I say!”
Regis had neither the time nor the temper to answer. “All of you,” he called to the children, “we’re taking you home! Felix, get them together—”
His next words were cut off by the clamor of men’s voices and booted feet over tile. Two men armed with swords pelted down the hallway. From his vantage, Regis could not see if they had come from outside or elsewhere in the house. One or two of the children shrieked. The others whimpered and clung to one another.
Regis whirled Haldred around so that the newcomers could see the dagger. “Stop there or he dies!”
One of the men scowled, ready for a fight. Regis wasn’t sure he could carry through his threat, or what he might do against three swordsmen with just his dagger. He couldn’t risk Felix, and the children on the benches looked too intimidated to move on their own.
The second man raised his hands well away from his weapon. “It’s Lord Regis . . .”
“Get back, both of you!” Regis barked.
“You men, why are you standing there?” the priest demanded. “Do your duty! Seize the intruder!”
Regis ignored him, keeping his eyes on the two swordsmen. “We’re going to move very carefully toward the street. All of us. Do you understand?”
Both men nodded, the first more reluctantly. The priest made incoherent mutters of protest. From his peripheral vision, Regis caught the expression on Felix’s face and it heartened him.
“Good,” he said. “Then you’ll oblige me by taking off your sword belts and laying them on the floor.” They did so and backed away at his command.
“Stop!” yelled the priest. “Where are you going with those students?”
“I’m taking them back to their families.”
Felix helped the smaller children to their feet and ushered them toward the hallway. A few went willingly, but others cowered on their benches. Ariel was one of those too frightened to move or apparently to comprehend what was happening. The priest took a step to block their passage, but Regis warned him back.
Half the children had crossed the hallway when the outer doors flew open.
“Spaceforce! Freeze!” The words blared out in accented, mechanically amplified casta.
The next instant, half a dozen men in the black leather uniforms of the Terrananpolice rushed through the doors. They moved like hunters closing on the kill, swift and powerful, focused.
They all carried blasters.
Stung beyond reason by this blatant violation of the Compact, Regis cursed aloud.
Haldred took advantage of the momentary lapse and wrenched free. He stumbled, fell, and caught himself on hands and one knee.
Pandemonium erupted in the hallway. Black-clad Terrans seemed to be everywhere. Their shouts reverberated, distorted by echoes. The children who were already in the hall panicked and darted this way and that. One of the girls started screaming like a banshee.
Haldred lurched to his feet. He shouted out orders to the two swordsmen. For the first time, Regis saw the blood smearing Haldred’s throat. The wound did not look deep, but there was enough blood to terrify the children. It must have happened when Haldred struggled free.
One of the guards, the one who had recognized Regis, reached for his dropped sword. Blaster fire, silent and swift, caught him. He screamed and toppled over. Steel rattled over tile as the sword fell from his hand.
Yelling, the priest tried to herd the children back into the school room.
The second Darkovan guard snatched up his weapon. Wild-eyed, he lunged at the nearest Spaceforce man. Too late, the Terran’s head whipped around. The sword edge cut through leather, then snagged on bone. The Terran’s knees folded under him.
The Darkovan rushed in, jerking his sword free for a killing stroke. A blast beam sliced across his belly. He stiffened, head thrown back, mouth gaping, and toppled to the floor. The stench of charred flesh filled the air.
“Enough!” Regis bellowed. “Stop!”
The next moment, Haldred grabbed the dagger with one hand. The two men wrestled for control of the weapon. Regis reeled as Haldred’s other fist slammed into his jaw. His vision fractured, but he managed to hold on to the hilt.
Without releasing the dagger, Regis swiveled and lashed out with a circular kick. The blow was badly aimed, with little power behind it. The toe of his boot struck the side of Haldred’s thigh, hard enough to hurt but not disable.
Grunting with pain, Haldred tried to pull free. Regis clamped his hand over Haldred’s, anchoring it to the hilt. All he could think was that with Haldred out of action, the Terrans would break off their assault. There would be a chance for parley and an end to the killing.
“Filthy nine-fathered ombredin!” Haldred counterattacked, pummeling Regis with his free fist. At the same time, he jerked and twisted their joined hands.
Slippery with sweat, the hold broke. Haldred grabbed the dagger in both hands and lunged at Regis. Regis jumped back, barely in time. The tip caught a fold of his cloak but missed his skin.
Felix rushed toward the fallen Terran, calling out the man’s name. Regis shouted out a warning, but he could not reach the boy. Haldred blocked the way.
As Felix crossed in front of Haldred, the Darkovan grabbed him. A quick, savage move spun the boy around and pinned him against Haldred’s torso, facing away. Haldred’s forearm squeezed tight against Felix’s throat. With his other hand, Haldred jammed the tip of the dagger just below the boy’s ear.
Not my own dagger!
“Drop your weapons or he dies!” Haldred’s hoarse shout rang out.
As if in a dream, Regis saw the Terran commander turn toward them. Saw the blaster swing up in a move too quick for thought.
Acting by instinct, Regis hurled himself at Haldred. He grappled the other man around the hips. The impetus of the blow broke Haldred’s balance. They went down, slamming into the tile floor, rolling, flailing, Haldred yelling.
The next few moments blurred in a tangle of arms and legs, shouted orders in a Terranandialect, then a silence and a sudden, dense weight. Regis tried to free himself, but Haldred was too heavy. He shoved and twisted, fighting for leverage.
With a wordless shout, Regis pushed again. The weight lifted as Haldred’s body rolled aside.
Dazed, Regis pushed himself up on one elbow. Two of the Spaceforce men dragged Haldred away, one by either arm. The blaster had sliced Haldred’s torso from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Layers of fabric had crisped away to reveal a blackened, gaping cavity. Exposed vertebrae gleamed wetly at the back of the wound. Regis gulped, his guts clenching. No living creature could have survived such an injury.
The Terran commander knelt beside Felix. The boy’s head lolled to one side, one arm flung out limp and graceless. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing.
Blood pooled beneath his body.
“Oh, god,” one of the Terrans babbled, “ohgodohgodohgod.”
Regis crawled over and touched one shoulder, rolling Felix toward him. Blood smeared one side of the boy’s neck and chest.
The hilt of the dagger stuck out below his ribs.
Regis jerked the front of Felix’s shirt open. His fingers closed around the cord and then the silken bag. He hesitated only for an instant before opening the drawstring.
Thrusting his fingers between the layers of soft insulating fabric, Regis felt the hard crystalline shape. He watched Felix’s face for any hint of change.