Tenfold

by Mark Hayden

  She pulled out the sword I’d recovered from the late chief. Lloyd had taken it from me, and one of the Clan had made a suitable scabbard, with both a belt and a shoulder harness. Hannah had insisted that this position go on the record, hence the presentation. The Duke didn’t make a fuss; she just handed it over and gave me a strange look, the sort of look that said she’d met her share of Gnomes in the past.

  Ian Drummond escorted the Royal Person away, and the whole thing had taken less time than it must have taken her to get into her rather splendid cavalry uniform.

  When we fell out, I took my sword and medal straight to show my parents and Mina.

  ‘Congratulations, son,’ said Dad. Mum gave me a hug.

  Mina gave me her secret smile. ‘This is very good,’ she said, ‘but I can’t deny being a little disappointed. Princess Anne is nice, but I was so hoping for Meghan.’ She grinned and put her hand through my arm. ‘We’re being summoned. Over there. Look.’ She pointed to Hannah. ‘And the Constable wants both of us, not just you.’

  ‘Can I have a proper look at that sword?’ asked Dad. Mother was off to discuss something with Francesca, so I handed it over.

  I kept Mina’s arm in mine as we went to see Hannah.

  ‘Good afternoon, Ms Desai,’ said Hannah.

  Mina gave a short bow. ‘Constable. I thought you spoke very well. Your care for your officers is clear to see, especially when Conrad takes his hat off.’

  The RAF cap was firmly in place on my head, and would be until I changed out of my uniform.

  Hannah looked down. ‘It doesn’t look quite as good on him as I thought it would. I’ll stick to malt whisky in future.’ She raised her eyes and gave Mina a long look. Mina looked back. ‘I have something for you, too. It’s useful having a sister in the police.’

  Mina said nothing. Hannah had retrieved her handbag. It didn’t go with the uniform at all, but it made her look much more like herself. When she swung it round to get something out, Mina said, ‘I’d love a Chanel tote like that. I hope you’re listening, Conrad.’

  ‘What’s a tote?’ I said.

  Hannah looked at me. ‘This. It was a thirtieth birthday present from Mikhail.’ She turned to Mina. ‘And that Marc Jacobs goes beautifully with your dress. As I was saying, I have something. Here.’

  She handed over an envelope with the flap open. Mina peeked inside, and I saw the burgundy cover of a passport. She’d had to surrender it when she was arrested and was expecting to have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get it back.

  Mina flicked to the main page, then looked at me. I shrugged. ‘You’ve put it in my family name, Constable. That was very thoughtful of you.’

  ‘I have an ulterior motive, but we’ll come to that in a second. This is also for you.’

  She handed over a USB drive, which Mina accepted with a quizzical look.

  ‘Conrad got that from the Gnomes in Earlsbury. I’ve used my contacts to get more. It’s the data you wanted for Project Midas, and I wanted it to come from me. If you’re going to work on it, I want it official, and I want you to get reimbursed. If that’s acceptable.’

  ‘Of course. I have more free time now.’ She said it as a challenge, when Hannah didn’t bite, Mina put the USB drive in her new bag and said, ‘And you should call me Mina. Please.’

  ‘Mina it is, and I’m Hannah. I’ve got an appointment with the Vicar of London Stone this afternoon.’

  ‘About Vicky?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes. I’m going to follow through on our idea and propose that she’s promoted to Watch Captain.’

  ‘Good. She’s earned it.’

  ‘She has, and now it’s your turn, Conrad.’

  She handed me an envelope. A padded envelope. A well sealed padded envelope.

  ‘There’s a voucher for business class tickets to the European capital city of your choice in there, departing tomorrow, and a government licence for the other item. Just text me your destination from the departure lounge, then drop it off at the Israeli embassy when you get there. Your time’s your own after that. Don’t worry, Mina, Conrad will explain everything. Have a good time and I’ll see you a week on Monday.’

  ‘Ma’am.’ I shook hands, as did Mina, and we went to rejoin my parents.

  ‘I fancy Madrid,’ said Mina. ‘Followed by a visit to the Costa Whatever. I could use the sun after winter in Cairndale.’

  ‘Seriously? You want to stay with Mum and Dad?’

  ‘The sooner we get to know each other the better. And you’ve told me often enough that they have room there.’

  When I asked Mum, she actually smiled. A smile that got even bigger when Mina said, ‘Mary, it would be lovely if you could teach me how to play bridge.’

  ‘Then it’s settled,’ said Mother.

  Dad held up the sword. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this, son.’ He drew out the blade a little. ‘That workmanship in the hilt is beautiful. Subtle and at least two hundred years old.’

  ‘How can you tell, Alfred?’ said Mina. Did she give Mother a wink when she asked him? I think she did, you know.

  ‘Because that scrollwork is a copy of a motif you only find in Ancien Regime decoration. It went right out of fashion after the French Revolution. It’s the blade, though. This is a weapon, not an ornament, and that blade is razor sharp. Look closely. What do you see?’

  He held it down for Mina to stare at. ‘Nothing?’ she said.

  ‘Precisely,’ he said. ‘There’s combat damage on the hilt, but not a trace of sharpening on the blade. Not so much as a nick. Where did you get it from, son?’

  Mother stepped in. ‘Alfred! You should know better than to ask questions like that. Anyway, we should be going if we’re going to catch the flight. You’ve got work to do when we get home. That pool won’t clean itself, you know.’

  We embraced and they made their way round the others. ‘Go on,’ I said. ‘What’s your ulterior motive?’

  ‘While she is telling me all about how to bid No Trumps, I will be getting all the dirt on Juliet Bloxham. I had a long phone conversation with Myvvy while I was on the train. This is war, Conrad.’

  I almost felt sorry for Jules. Almost.

  There were happy goodbyes all round, and the last to leave was Chris Kelly. ‘So you met my mother,’ he said.

  I had. In the Forest of Arden, on the case of the Phantom Stag.

  Chris gave me a rueful grin. He could guess what she’d said. ‘Would you like to come for supper when you’re back in town? You can make your own judgements about my home life then.’

  ‘That would be lovely,’ said Mina. ‘Just remember, no beef.’

  ‘Got it. And I need to talk to you, Conrad. Vicky was telling me about what you got up to in Niði’s Halls. I think you need a lesson on Quantum Topology.’ He saw the look on Mina’s face. ‘Not over dessert, obviously.’

  He made a hasty retreat, and we were free to walk out of Newton’s House and into the future. We held hands in the afternoon sunshine, and headed for the river rather than going straight to the hotel.

  ‘Where’s your sword?’ said Mina in alarm.

  ‘On my back. Feel it.’

  ‘Oh, my. That’s … that’s magick, I suppose. Let’s stop here. I’m out of practice in wearing heels, and I don’t want to scuff these.’

  We sat on a bench in Whitehall gardens. Neither of us could quite believe that this day had come, that there was no cell door waiting to slam behind Mina as she was locked up. I gathered her into my arms and stroked her hair.

  ‘Am I worth the wait?’ she said.

  I kissed her and savoured the moment. ‘Yes, but try not to get locked up again.’

  She pushed me away and stood up. ‘We’re going to Madrid tomorrow, Conrad. We need to get changed and get back out there. My summer wardrobe won’t buy itself, you know.’

  The End

  Conrad, Mina and the rest of the King’s Watch will return in Spring 2019 with Nine of Wands.

  The first of the Kin
g’s Watch Casebooks will also be available shortly - The Case of the Phantom Stag.

  The King’s Watch Casebooks are short stories which take place during the main action. Watch out for them!

  Coming Soon

  NINE OF WANDS

  The Fifth Book of the King’s Watch

  by

  Mark Hayden

  Gold.

  Beautiful and Deadly.

  And when you mix it with magick, doubly deadly.

  Conrad and the team are on the trail of a new source of Alchemical Gold that already has Dwarves, Gnomes and human Mages at each other’s throats.

  When the prize is gold, life is cheap, and nothing blinds like greed. Can Conrad keep his eyes open and see through the killing glare of gold?

  When the Tarot says Nine of Wands, you know you’re in for a bumpy ride.

  Want to know when NINE OF WANDS is released? Why not join the Kirkhams and become a Merlyn’s Tower Irregular? Visit the Paw Press website and join up for advance notifications.

  Available in Ebook and paperback from early 2019 from:

  www.pawpress.co.uk

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading this book; I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a review on Amazon. It doesn't have to be long. Reviews make a huge difference to Indie authors, and an honest review from a genuine customer is worth a great deal. If you've read any of my other books, please review them, too!

  The King’s Watch books are a radical departure from my previous five novels, all of which are crime or thrillers, though very much set in the same universe, including the Operation Jigsaw Trilogy that Conrad himself refers to as part of his history.

  You might like to go back the Jigsaw trilogy and discover how he came to the Allfather’s attention. As I was writing those books, I knew that one day Conrad would have special adventures of his own, and that’s why the Phantom makes a couple of guest appearances.

  A book should speak for itself, especially a work of fiction. To find out more about my books and join the Merlyn’s Tower Irregulars, please visit my website: www.pawpress.co.uk

  Other than that, it only remains to be said that all the characters in this book are fictional, as are some of the places, but Merlyn’s Tower is, of course, a real place, it’s just that you can only see it if you have the Gift…

  Thanks…

  This book would not have been written without love, support, encouragement and sacrifices from my wife, Anne. It just goes to show how much she loves me that she let me write this book even though she thought she hated fantasy. She still does, but she’s made an exception for Conrad.

  Although Chris Tyler didn't get to see the draft this time, his friendship is a big part of my continued desire to write, and thanks also due to the fellow members of Kendal Writers’ Café. Their critique of my opening chapters is always both merciless and justified.

  Finally, if you've made it this far, please, please, pretty please go on to the next page where Amazon will invite you to Rate this Book. I would be enormously and eternally grateful if you could leave a review. Thanks.