'Now, ready your crew and this ship to sail on my order. When our guests arrive we will be leaving immediately. Ornouth is a long way, isn't it, Captain, and I do so hate delay.'

Erienne burst into tears. He knew so much but how did he know? And which College was it that would betray her? Entering her cabin to await Selik, she feared she already knew the answers.

The Unknown sat with his face in his hands, trying not to believe what he was feeling. There was a closeness in his skull, a pressure he hadn't felt for years. He'd known they were marching before The Raven had been caught in the forest by Darrick but he hadn't dreamed they could make Arlen so fast. However, the Protectors should never be underestimated.

He snapped his head up. Ilkar was watching him.

'You all right, Unknown?'

'They're here,' he replied, rising.

'Who?' asked Denser from the opposite corner of the cell, only just visible in the light of the single guttering torch. He had been quiet since his admission, and their incarceration had gone on for hours now. Night was full and it seemed to The Unknown that he'd lost the will to act. It was as if he was beaten.

'The Protectors.' The Unknown strode over to the door and hammered on it with the heel of his palm. 'Hey. Get over here.' He continued the hammering until a middle-aged and scowling face appeared at the grille.

'Do you have to?' It was the night-watch jailer, a man who refused to give his name but was affable enough, given his prisoners' identity, and irritated by the intrusion of the Lysternan soldiers and mage seated just outside in the guardroom.

'Yes. Get me one of the others.'

'Not good enough for you, am I?'

'No, it's just not your problem. Or it shouldn't be. So, please…'

'Well, what is it? After all, I am in charge here.'

The Unknown grabbed one of the bars on the grille, the jailer flinching.

'There's going to be trouble in the town. Very soon.'

'Some sort of clairvoyant are you?'

'Some sort,' agreed The Unknown shortly. 'Look, I don't have time to debate this. Just get me one of the others.'

'Not going to try anything funny are you?' The jailer sucked his lip.

The Unknown snapped. 'Yes, I'm going to tell a few jokes. Gods, man, just get me a Lysternan. Now!' Another slap on the door which echoed through the jail.

The jailer backed off. 'I'm only doing this because you shouldn't be in here.'

'Thank you.' The Unknown watched him go. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

'Feeling better now?' asked Ilkar.

The Unknown turned his head, fighting down the smile that Ilkar's expression had prompted.

'This is serious. Darrick didn't believe what I said. I think he thinks he can talk to Xetesk, take on the Protectors if he has to, or take Erienne before they get here. But the fact we're still stuck in this stinking hole means he hasn't persuaded Arlen to let him board the ship yet. And now the Protectors are close.'

'How close?' asked Denser.

'I'm not sure,' said The Unknown. 'But near the town. They're in battle psyche, that's why I could sense them. It's loud.'

'Perhaps we should let them to do their job,' said Denser. 'Erienne'U be safer with them.'

'And never mind Lysternan casualties?' asked Ilkar. 'They're as much victims of Dordovan manipulation as we are. And that's not to mention innocents in Arlen.'

'Lystern has sided with Dordover,' replied Denser, his voice still coming out of the shadows.

'And what sort of choice do you really think they were given?' said Ilkar.

'We can't just sit here and let Darrick blunder into them,' said The Unknown. 'Well, I can't. You do what you like, Denser.'

'It'll be the best way to sort this out, I'm sure,' muttered the Xeteskian. 'The quickest way for me to get back to my wife.'

The Unknown ignored him and swung back to the door ready to

shout but instead finding the mage standing there. He was a young man, a great talent according to Darrick. Tall, muscular and fit, as would be expected of one of the General's cavalrymen. Right now, he was looking more than a little scared.

'Been standing there long?' asked The Unknown.

'Long enough, I think. What will the General be blundering into again?'

'The Protectors,' said The Unknown. 'And you need to let us out right now.'

'Because you'll do what?'

'Perhaps stop a slaughter.' The Unknown watched the mage fail to take it in, and felt his temper fraying. 'Oh, not you too. Look, the Protectors are after Erienne as well, and they aren't going to be talked out of it by Darrick. And despite his admirable confidence and the equally admirable discipline of his cavalry, they will be massacred. Believe me.'

'We are already taking steps. The General is on his way to the docks now and our Dordovan allies are also on their way.'

'So he knows the Protectors' arrival is imminent, does he?'

The mage tried to smile. 'No, but we'll be fully in position by the time they arrive and ready to talk to their masters. We'll have retaken the ship and-' The mage stopped, biting his lip, but the slip had been made and he found himself immediately confronted by all three imprisoned Raven, The Unknown at their centre.

'What do you mean, "retaken"?' demanded Denser, his eyes full of fire once again. 'Who has the ship at the moment?'

'It's a temporary situation,' said the mage.

'Who?' The Unknown kicked the base of the door which shuddered ominously.

'We think…' The mage paused, weighing up the admission in his mind. 'A small force of Black Wings have-'

The Unknown silenced him with a look and waved a finger. Beside him, Ilkar swore.

T bloody knew it,' said Denser. T bloody knew it.'

'Let us out. Right now,' said The Unknown, his voice dreadfully calm, belying the growing rage he felt inside. There, all was turmoil and in his head flashed visions of a three-way fight for the Elm which

could only end one way; and he did not want Erienne's blood slicking Arlen Bay.

'Those bastards, those bastards.' Denser had walked away from the door and was pacing a tight circle. 'Oh dear Gods, they've got her again.'

The words went straight through The Unknown and his heart went out to Erienne, almost certainly in the hands of her worst nightmare for the second time.

'Please, Unknown.' Denser's voice behind him was little more than a desperate gasp, all its earlier vitriol gone. 'You have to get us out of here.'

The Unknown still held the dithering mage's gaze.

'Now you listen to me very carefully. On two counts now. Darrick doesn't know what he's dealing with and we do. The Black Wings won't let him just storm the ship. They'll kill Erienne before giving her up. Believe me, we've seen their handiwork before and it was Erienne's sons that were the victims.

'This is too big for him, and it's too big for you. So let us out, give me a blade and we can prevent this getting completely out of hand.'

'I can't do that,' said the mage. 'The General was very specific'

'Damn his bloody specifics!' shouted The Unknown, fists pounding the timbers of the door with each word. 'They'll be the death of him. And you if you don't let us go.'

T can't,' he said, his tone all but beseeching.

'Then we'll do it without you,' said The Unknown. 'This folly has gone on long enough.'

'We have orders to kill you if you attempt to break out.'

'Try it. Now get lost or unlock this door.' The Unknown turned away and beckoned Denser and Ilkar to him. But his words were lost as a howl split the air, followed by a cry and the clash of swords.

'Gods falling, what's that?' Denser said, startled from his misery.

The Unknown smiled. 'Be ready.'

'For what?' asked Ilkar.