"You said we would be there within the hour how much bloody longer woman!"
Maria met his glare with a friendly smile "I had not reckoned on the poor riding skills of my companions Thomas but we are close now." Gazing ahead to a narrow path leading up the side of a high rocky hill she had to make a real effort to keep her mounting excitement out of her voice. "That yonder path will lead us right to it."
"What possible reason could he have for hiding it here and not under guard in their fortress?"
"Power is a terrible thing Thomas and no man can ever be sure who is to be trusted. He killed the last leader of the Assassin to obtain it and knows any of his underlings would do likewise to him given the chance." Slowing her mount to a slow walk she pulled back on the reins and stopped him at the foot of the path. "There is one steep path between you and that very power Thomas I wonder if you will be able to resist its pull."
He groaned inwardly when he saw just how steep the path was. They would have to walk single file and navigate some incredibly dangerous looking ledges on the higher part of the hill. "Is there a sheer drop on the other side of that path?" Pointing up at the sharp turn his eyes refused to stop gawking at.
"Yes there is and there is another about 30 feet past that one too but if you feel uncomfortable about making the climb you can always wait here. " Chuckling to herself she stood waiting for his response.
Cursing the horrible woman to hell and eternal damnation he dropped from his steed and started the walk up determined to be in front so they would not see how afraid he was of the heights they would soon be scaling.
Furious that he was now facing this hill in the blistering mid-day heat one of the men grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and all but threw her onto the path, "Move it Thorpe and heaven help you if this is a wasted effort."
Three men in front with two behind and the bad tempered upstart behind her had just made her decision about which to kill first that much easier. "Push me again you flat footed knob and I will cut your damn throat!"
Thomas heard her words and grinned at the air ahead. He knew it would be her throat being slit and the idea of that was becoming more attractive with every passing second but for now he had to play along. "Hold your tongue soldier you are addressing the first woman ever to be made a knight."
Unlike Thomas Maria made no attempt to hide her amusement, it was almost time for the games to begin and playing nice wouldn't matter once they reached the bend ahead of them. "Speaking of which Thomas now we are in no doubt about our own allegiances perhaps you will tell me what you and Talbot where really doing at Masyaf? I can't decide whether it was courage or idiocy which took you to the gates of that place."
Without turning his head he threw his reply over his shoulder, "The offer was neither genuine nor fake. Had the assassin's taken us hostage Richard would have corroborated out story because he does wish for an alliance of sorts with that pack of hounds and we... well we would have been heroes in the eyes of a king. But the truth is we were never really in any danger no man of such lowly circumstance would dare harm an English noble and during the visit we obtained some very useful information."
'He would have killed you both and not batted an eye doing it.'
"So the Lion heart really does fear for his life?" If he heard her he chose not to reply and Maria was in no mood to repeat her question. Looking over Thomas' head she saw the bend coming ever closer and her hand moved to her waistband. 'Kill or be killed my girl and you are not about to fall at the hands of a man who doesn't merit his own suit of armour.'
Their horses left a cloud of dust in their wake as the four riders rode at break neck speed along the dry pathways that led them ever deeper into the countryside. Stephen had to confess the assassin was an exceptional tracker and had not missed a single sign left by their quarry which considering their speed was more than impressive. In the beginning he had doubted the man's ability but on the few occasions he had caught a glimpse of the hoof prints they were following his doubts were assuaged – they were on the right track and God alone knew how. Suddenly the horse in front reared to a complete stop and the knight saw what caused it, six horses grazing at the foot of a jagged looking hill. "What is going on Maria?"
Swinging his leg over the horse Altaïr dropped nimbly from his saddle "We won't know that until we catch up with them."
The sun beat down on the group without mercy and the Lord was beginning to learn why knights complained about the heat all the time. He was only wearing chainmail over his upper torso and sabatons over his boots but the metal retained every drop of the sun's heat and before they reached the first corner he was breathless and sweating profusely. Maria didn't fail to notice the condition of the men escorting her wasn't much better than that of their leader and their condition –although a cause for hope- appalled her. Never under her own watch would the men have been allowed to become so slovenly.
The rise and fall of her own chest was steady and her face although beaded with sweat and covered with dirt was nowhere near as flushed as the men's was. Never one to miss an advantage she decided to delay her attack until they had used up what looked like the last of their energy traversing the steepest part of the hill. "Don't lose heart men it might look vertical but I assure you there is good grip underfoot and once past the next bend the summit is in sight."
She heard one of the men behind her mutter something about the devil's whore and her white teeth beamed out from her dirty face like stars in the night sky. 'Keep talking little man the more breath you waste the better.'
William Marshal lowered his sword red with blood and looked around in disbelief. There were bodies everywhere and a good number of them had perished by his hand. Men, woman and children and most armed with nothing more than fear were dead or dying on the docks in front of St John's Gate and he knew something had gone horribly wrong. His men were in a similar state of shock but most of them had not taken part in the actual slaughter and he felt the eyes of the soldiers all moving from the fallen to him, the man who had struck the first blow. Searching his memory for something, anything to justify this reaction he couldn't think of one single person in the crowd who had posed any real threat and yet they died.
Muttering to himself he moved among his men "It was that damn relic. It takes years off you but destroys the mind. The knight who returned with it was a madman fit only for death and none since could hold it without falling under its blood lust."
Searching the faces of the men he commanded he looked for understanding but saw only fear and confusion in equal measure. "Thank God my son is not here to see how far I have fallen." Taking his helmet from his head he let it fall to the ground. "This is what I tried to protect them from, this sort of lunacy but order must be maintained. Civilisation cannot exist without order and these people had to learn that the hard way."
His defences fell on deaf ears because the people about whom he spoke were dead and the only ones left to hear it had wielded their own blades or stood aside and let the carnage happen unchecked and were in no position to judge the truth of his words. He heard shouting coming from the market square behind him and knew reinforcements had arrived. He would tell them the people were out of control and had to be stopped by any means necessary and nobody would question him. Why would they? He was a knight of the Templars and a leader of men.
He turned to greet the French Knight who raced through the gates only to stop dead at the sight before him and opened his mouth to speak but no words came. His entire tunic was soaked in the blood of the civilians, his face smeared with it and his mouth bitter from the taste of the innocent blood. But he was William Marshal and he had to be strong, he had in fact been chosen for the very strength he would now draw on to get him and his order through this rough patch. "The bastards would not listen to reason Jean I had to use force." And just as he knew would happen, the face of his brother although still shocked showed nothing but trust and faith.
Altaïr was setting as hard a pace on foot as he had on horseback but the other men kept right on his tail just as determined as he was to reach her. In much better condition than the men who had travelled up just ahead of them but still human and feeling the effects of the severe uphill run in such strong heat. His legs were burning and he felt like his lungs were about to explode inside his chest but his feet kept pounding against the ground which sent up clouds of dust in protest at the disturbance. Chancing a look over his head he saw the top of the hill just around the next bend and knew if they had followed the right prints and if they had indeed came up this hill that he would be with her soon.
Never usually one for doubts the more he ran the more they crept into his head almost convincing him that he had missed something vital perhaps a set of prints which led into the trees and not onto the path they followed. He wanted to stop and look behind just to be sure but a glance at the disturbed ground ahead of him convinced him he was right, no one in their right mind would come up this pointless empty hill and these prints were fresh. And yet he found his eyes wandering to the trees so far below them and wondered...
"What the hell is that?"
It was the Englishman who saw the body first because he was looking in the right direction but Altaïr reached it first. A Crusader soldier lay on the ground with a gaping hole in his neck and a shocked expression on his face. Almost losing his footing at the edge of the hillside Altaïr took the next corner at break neck speed with his heart keeping a harder pace than any run could ever cause. 'Please let her be safe...'
The men behind her were slowing down even more exhausted because she was keeping an unsteady pace letting distance open up between those in front and them and then making them quick march to catch back up and while this wasn't exactly a stroll in the English countryside for her she was in better shape than the fat slobs behind her and knew that they would be faltering to the point of falling down in no time at all. The crest of the hill would be within sight after the next bend and then it would be her against five of them face to face and no matter their condition she knew that would be almost certain death. It was time to strike and strike fast, if either of the men behind her got the chance to scream she would be doomed.
Letting her step slow she navigated the small rocks underfoot and let the men ahead get fully out of sight before reaching into the waist band of her dirty leggings and wrapping her fingers around the blade she had hidden there. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it inside her head but her hand was steady and her mind sure. One final look ahead to make sure none of the leaders could see her and she found herself looking directly into the sun at its highest point in the sky. The glare blinded her temporarily despite having closed her eyes automatically it was too late; she had bright white flashes of light impairing her vision. Blinking hard she tried to clear the residual light from the sun but knew that time would be the only cure for it and time was something she had precious little of. Bending over she clutched her stomach and began to moan.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I have a stitch in my side I just need a minute to let it pass." Still grabbing her stomach with the hand holding the blade she waited for him to reach her and hopefully come close enough to examine her but he did more than that. Shoving her in the back he pushed her up against the rough side of the hill and barged past her telling her to "Get a fucking move on its too damn hot to be this exposed." and kept right on walking.
The last man came up to her a few seconds later with his cheeks ruddy from exertion and his hair sodden with sweat plastered to his head. "I'm not fucking carrying you Maria, get moving." He reached the same point she had a minute or so before and she saw the reflex action of his eyes suddenly closing trying to shut out the strong sun. Maria struck and struck hard. Swinging the armed hand at him the blade easily penetrated the soft tissue at the front of his neck and when she heard the sound of air escaping his wind pipe from an unnatural hole she knew this one at least would not be screaming. Turning quickly to the man about 15 paces ahead of her she broke into a gentle jog and caught him before he was fully around the corner. Wrapping one hand around his face she covered his mouth while the other hand drew the blade along his neck opening the veins on either side his spluttering moan was dulled by the firm hand pressing his mouth shut once most assuring silence for her deadly work.
Three more men to go and thankfully they were unaware of her intentions but that would not last. She was going to have to hit them fast and fight with everything she had. Running full tilt she saw them ahead of her their clothes covered in sweat and dirt and their backs to her all in a neat little row. Thomas was just setting foot on the open ground at the top of the hill and turning to hurry his men on when he saw her come tearing up behind them with a knife in her hand and murder in her eyes.
"KILL HER!" He screamed as he drew his sword but his words never came soon enough for the man at the back. Driving the blade hard and low just as the assassin had shown her, she stabbed his lower back and dragged the blade upwards as she withdrew it from his body. A small patch of blood formed on his gambeson and began to spread quickly and sure he was no longer a threat she made a dive over his still falling corpse to lunge at the next man. His sword was drawn and he stood as steady as he could on the uneven ground to meet the attack. She felt fingers grab onto her leggings and her momentum was destroyed as the dying man behind her caught her leg and dragged her to the ground. She kicked out hard and heard a sickening crunch as her boot connected with his nose immediately freeing her other leg he dropped entirely to the dirt and submitted to inevitable death but his last defiant act had cost her dear. Her attacker now stood over her and he was in no mood to play. So determined to finish her off quickly he put all of his focus into attack and left his body wide open as he set his sword on a downward path aiming for her stomach. Maria threw her body to the side and drove her dagger with as much force as she could muster into his chest. Both aims were true and both issued equally agonised howls as the cold steel made a new home for itself in their bodies.
Her blade shattered his breast plate and tore a viciously unforgiving path through his heart while his entered her body just below the ribcage. Her brain seemed to stop working and the only word it would produce was fire. It felt like her stomach was literally on fire and when she moved backwards to avoid the body about to land on her that feeling intensified to the point where she was certain she would pass out. She could see Thomas moving to her with his sword drawn but there was no way to collect herself her mind was reeling and her thoughts incoherent. More from instinct than thought her hand tugged at the blade still in the chest of the fallen man but it wouldn't budge an inch. Her feet pumped at the dirt underfoot trying to push her body away from approaching death but there was no power in her flailing legs she was helpless and he was no more than five feet away from her.
"MARIA!" The voice came from below but she fancied it was in her own head until she saw Thomas' head lift in the direction it had come from. His face twisted with pure rage, "No you will not survive this you bitch I promise you that, you will not be rescued." Maria knew he was right, for once the idiot had managed to correctly read the situation she would indeed not be rescued. Not even Altaïr could get up the last part of that hill before her attacker reached her.
A/N The end is so close I can taste it and for the first time ever I actually know what's going to happen :D I'll share with you just as soon as I get it written but only a few more chapters to go and this beast is done!