The snow storm had diminished to a light drizzle. Evie descended the cliffs in slow, controlled steps. The patrols had been eased up and only a few soldiers walked the rounds while the others sat around fires. Torches were burning brightly on the guard posts but Evie noticed with relief that there were still plenty of areas that were covered in shadows. Darkness was her greatest ally and once she blended into the shadows she moved like a wraith. She circled around most of the guard posts. Taking care to stick to cover, Evie sneaked through the campfire and entered the house the men had setup. A quick count revealed that there were 15 mercenaries inside the house. They were all in heavy sleep and Evie quietly threaded through the bunk beds and sleeping mats to approach a table at the far end of the house. Various documents were strewn across the table and Evie started to look for anything that might point her to George's whereabouts.

Her disappointment grew with each new document she read. There was nothing about George in them. A small creak sounded behind her and she reacted on pure instinct as she rolled over to her side and quickly crawled under to the closest bed. Holding her breath, she waited for what seemed like an hour. Finally she decided that the sound was most likely created by a rickety bed. Carefully, she crawled out and exited the house via the front door. The mercenaries outside were still huddled around the fire. She eavesdropped on the men as they talked about their various adventures.

The night was getting darker and she finally decided that she wasn't about to get anything useful out of these men. She was heading back to her camp when she heard the sound of a horse carriage approaching the village. Who would be visiting this place in the middle of the night? Evie didn't have to wait for long to find out. The carriage stopped beside the makeshift house and out came the familiar figure of Lucy Thorne. Something strange rushed inside Evie and she watched carefully as Thorne made her way to the Silver-Blood captain. It had been two years since Evie had encountered her inside the Tower of London. Lucy Thorne was the only one to have survived an assassination attempt made by Evie. Her attention was drawn back to the Silver-Blood captain who bowed to Thorne and began a conversation with her.

"Welcome Miss Thorne! I hope your journey wasn't too uncomfortable."

Thorne wasn't going to bother with courtesies. Evie knew that the older woman tended to get straight down to business. With her head held high, she replied in a haughty tone.

"No it wasn't. Now skip the niceties and give me the latest news."

The captain was taken aback by the boldness of the woman in front of him. He didn't bow this time and in a rather serious tone,

"Nothing much to report, to be honest. Your men have been working round the clock and my men make sure they get proper food and water supplies down the mine. A couple of wolves have strolled by and attempted to attack the locals but my men have kept the larger packs off the village. There aren't too many bandits around these parts and we've had quiet days for a while now."

"And the Assassin? Where is he?" Evie drew in a sharp breath as her fears were confirmed. George was indeed a captive. And now the Templars had him under their mercy. Who knew what they would do to him. She would break him out tonight.

Thorne gave further instructions to the captain and got back on her carriage. Evie would follow her. Surely an Assassin demanded immediate attention. The carriage drove at breakneck speed down the road and Evie soon lost them despite her best efforts. Luckily, there were tracks for her to follow. Ignoring the pain and exhaustion, Evie ran through the deserted roads, any ideas of a stealthy tail ignored as her heart raced. The road itself was covered with snow and trees on both sides. Occasionally she would see a cottage or some inn at the roadside but she didn't stop. For nearly 15 minutes, Evie ran until the carriage tracks took a sharp turn near a clearing. The carriage was parked outside an abandoned church of sorts. A single guard stood by the entrance and several others were huddled beside the carriage. Sticking to thick clumps of bush, Evie passed by the men around the carriage unnoticed. She pulled a throwing knife from her robes and took careful aim. With deadly accuracy, the knife connected to the guard's skull and lodged itself firmly. Quickly, Evie ran up to the crumpling body and caught it before it fell to the ground. She pulled the body around the side and entered the church warily. The place was close to collapse. The floors were rotted and the ceiling was barely standing. The hall was deserted but a light shone at the back.

Voices could be heard from behind the barely hanging doorway. Evie stopped to listen.

"-assure you that you will spend the rest of your days being tortured and abused. Unless you tell me how many of you are here of course." Thorne's voice was deadly calm.

A small chuckle came from the room and Evie's heart lifted as she recognized the man who had made that noise.

"I've spent almost 30 years operating in England. I've heard that particular threat over a thousand times Miss Thorne. You'll have to try a lot harder to come even remotely close to making me feel slightly intimidated."

"Our methods have become more refined in the past 30 years. I can assure, while you were hiding away in your hideout, we've been experimenting with the human anatomy. You would be surprised to see some of the more advanced methods we use to make it hurt." George didn't reply. He might have if it hadn't been for a guard that entered the church threshold just then.

He spotted Evie beside the door on the back and yelled out loud as he tried to draw his revolver. His hand was halfway to his gun when Evie fired hers. The bullet caught him in the chest and the man was flung back by the force of impact. A commotion followed as two men rushed out of the back. Evie snapped out her hidden blades and drove her left blade in the throat of one while the other ducked her jab. He pulled out a knife from his boots and swiped at her flank. Side-stepping, she punched the man's throat. He dropped the knife and clutched his windpipe. Evie kicked him squarely in the chest and the man crashed on the hanging door. The door fell apart and the man was knocked out. Men were now entering through the church threshold. Some of them had their rifles drawn while some had drawn out short swords. Evie ducked behind the seats as bullets hit the wall behind her. Lucy Thorne was shouting something but the racket made it impossible to understand what she meant.

Evie returned fire and two men fell, wounded or dead. One more rifleman remained while two guards were running towards her, short swords drawn. She flew out of cover and engaged the two men. Whirling left and right as the two men charged at her with balanced steps. She caught off a straight blow with her hidden blade bracer and the man staggered. She seized this opportunity to close the gap between them. The man had barely raised his blade when she drove her hidden blade under his raised left arm. Grabbing a fistful of his clothes, Evie jerked the guard in front of her just as the rifleman fired. She dropped the human shield and deflected a precarious jab the second man threw at her. These men are tough. The rifleman fired another shot and it missed Evie by inches. The swordsman thrust his short-sword at her and Evie dodged it. Using her momentum, she rolled towards the guard and thrust her blade deep into his abdomen, mid-roll. The guard dropped the sword and clutched his stomach. She swerved around his hunched figure and dispatched him with another stab, this time into his back. The rifleman fired but Evie reacted quickly. She threw another knife at him and it pierced his right arm. He dropped the rifle in pain and clutched the wound. Evie used this distraction to run straight at him. Triggering the hidden blade mechanism, she pounced on him. The Silver-Blood offered next to no resistance as she drove the hidden blade into his jugular.

Evie straightened her robes and stood quiet, waiting for Lucy Thorne to inquire. Half a dozen men lay dead and Evie knew that Thorne wouldn't risk an encounter with her again.

Their last encounter had been at the Tower of London. She still remembered that night like it was yesterday. Evie had killed Thorne's henchmen and punctured her shoulder with a dagger. She had had Thorne at her mercy. She was about to deliver the killing blow when she got distracted. There she was, Lucy Thorne, Starrick's most trusted lieutenant and Evie had been distracted by her….her chest. Lucy was on her knees and her breasts were heaving in a hypnotic rhythm. For a split second, Evie was hypnotized, her unsheathed hidden blade hanging in midair as she noticed the older woman's beauty for the first time. Soft, pouty lips, strong cheek bones and a gorgeous face. A second was all she had taken and that momentary hesitation was all Thorne needed. She'd shoved Evie aside and jumped out of the window, landing on a pile of bushes below. Ashamed of her failure, Evie had lied and told Jacob that Thorne simply got away. Some conflicting emotions had risen inside her for a while and it had taken quite a while before Evie had dismissed it as a lapse of judgement and temptation.

The memory of that night burned through Evie's memory and she vowed that she would not make such mistakes again.

"Anyone there? Tell me what's happening right now!" Thorne's voice rang through the church.

Evie remained quiet as she slid out of the church and sneaked quietly behind the back. A part of the roof had fallen in. She climbed to the roof and jumped, landing lightly on her feet. She was inside a dark room and Thorne was in the other room with George. Thorne was most probably alone now or else she would have sent another one of the men to check her surroundings. With no option left, Evie snapped out her hidden blade and kicked the door. It door swung open and Evie saw Thorne just beyond the door, a revolver in her left hand. She turned to face Evie but Evie was too fast, she ran straight at her and pounced on her like a tiger pounces on its prey. Thorne fell clumsily and Evie made sure the wicked edge of her hidden blade stayed just above Thorne's throat. She looked around and spotted George in a corner of the room, bound and gagged. Thorne glared at her and Evie threw her a feral grin.

"Looks like you're at my mercy Miss Thorne." To Evie's surprise, she looked at her with a smug expression and replied, "No, I believe it's the other way around." And then Thorne twisted her right hand. Pain flared inside Evie as she felt a dagger in her stomach. She had been careless. Thorne had a knife in her right hand and Evie hadn't noticed. She had been so intent on the kill that she hadn't planned the approach. Thorne wrenched free of the Hidden Blade and shoved Evie to the side. She got up slowly and dusted off her clothes.

"Well, Miss Frye. I believe I owe you a proper welcome to Wales." And then she kicked Evie in the face.

Blackness surrounded Evie and she felt her consciousness ebb away.