A murder in Marienburg w-1

by David Bishop

  “Anything, brother,” Lothar promised.

  “Kill me before the witch hunters get here.”

  Lothar glanced at the captain. “You summoned the witch hunters for him?”

  “I had no choice,” Kurt admitted. “I’m sorry.”

  “They’ll torture me and torment me, all in the name of their god,” Joost continued, his voice becoming a scratchy, vile hiss of venom once more. “They seek glory for their god by vanquishing Chaos, Lothar! You must stop them, you must strike them down. Kill them for me, boy!”

  The younger Holismus staggered back from his brother, horrified by the twisted personality fighting its way to the surface of Joost’s consciousness. “No. I can’t do that-I’m sorry.”

  “You’re weak! You were always weak, the baby of the family! No use to anyone for anything!”

  Lothar clamped both hands over his ears, trying to block out the taunting, insistent voice. “No!”

  “You’ll die in this place. They’re coming for you. They’re going to feast on your soul, Lothar!”

  “No!” The watchman collapsed to the stone floor, eyes rolling back into his head. Kurt moved to him, checking Lothar was not badly hurt.

  “He’s fainted, that’s all,” the captain said. “Probably just as well.” Heavy footfalls came down into the basement from the staircase. Kurt got to his feet and strode to Joost, jamming a forearm against the Chaos convert’s throat so Joost’s head slammed into the wall. “How long have we got, Captain Holismus? How long until the ratmen come?”

  “You’ll all be dead before you see another dawn,” Joost replied, his voice normal again for a moment, his eyes a pale blue instead of black, tormented slithers of darkness. Then Chaos took hold of him once more and he resumed spitting abuse at the watchmen, goading them with threats of doom. Joost tried to bite off Kurt’s fingers when the captain clamped a hand over Joost’s mouth to stem the abuse.

  The former captain of Three Penny Bridge choked, green bile oozing out between Kurt’s fingers.

  “Step away from that monstrosity!” a stern voice commanded. Belladonna was shoved aside by five witch hunters, dark cloaks swirling around them as they stormed into the cell. She was about to protest but a menacing glare from their leader silenced her. “My name is Brother Nathaniel of the Temple Court and I hereby claim the prisoner Joost Holismus. You will surrender him into my custody.”

  Kurt stepped away from the wall, letting the Chaos creature free to fight anyone who came near it. Several of the witch hunters took blows to their bodies and faces as they sought to subdue Joost. Through it all he kept ranting and hissing at them. “Even if you carry me away, I shall return! I will rise up, with an army of followers to reclaim this unholy place in the future! Mark my words, you fools, mark my words!”

  Once the prisoner was unconscious, Brother Nathaniel stepped forward and ripped the bolt from Joost’s body with needless savagery. The witch hunter’s eyes gleamed at his triumph. “I have waited a long time to take this sinner into custody,” he crowed. “Today is a good day for the Temple Court!”

  “You’re welcome,” Kurt said wryly.

  The witch hunters glared at him until Brother Nathaniel gave a signal for them to remove Joost. “Don’t think this has removed you from my suspicions, Captain Schnell,” he said as the other four carried Kurt’s predecessor away. “All you’ve done is earn this station a reprieve. My brethren and I will be keeping a close watch on this place, waiting for the next taint of Chaos to become apparent-and it shall.”

  “Good to know we’ve got someone looking after us, isn’t it?” Kurt said to Jan and Belladonna.

  “What a friend we have in Brother Nathaniel,” the sergeant agreed.

  The witch hunter noticed Joost’s brother on the floor. “I’d watch that one, if I were you. All too often the Chaos infection spreads along the bloodline. Once one sibling goes, the others often follow.”

  “You got what you wanted,” Kurt sighed. “Shove off.”

  Scowling even more than usual, Brother Nathaniel strode from the cell.

  Kurt looked down at Jan on the floor. “I suppose you’re going to complain I should have been nicer to him. Making friends and influencing people, all that dung you always preach.”

  The sergeant stood up, one hand rubbing his forehead. “Those kind of friends we can live without.”

  “Maybe, but we still need allies if we’re going to outlive Joost’s predictions,” Belladonna observed. “You told the rest of the station we could expect reinforcements. When are they getting here?” She watched as the two men exchanged a look. “There are no reinforcements coming, are there?”

  “Not from other watch stations, no,” Kurt confessed.

  “From anywhere?”

  He shrugged. “Otto seemed to think he might have better luck.”

  “Seemed to think?” she asked, disbelief all too evident in her voice. “Might have better luck? That’s what you’re pinning all our hopes on now?”

  Kurt folded his arms. “Well, what do you expect me to say? We’ve got nine Black Caps in this station, a handful of weapons for each of them and a building that’s seen better days. So, no, I don’t think much of our chances, but I’ve been in worse fights and I’m still alive. Sometimes you’ve got to believe in yourself-especially when you’ve got nothing else left to believe in. Is that good enough for you?”

  Belladonna let out a long breath of exasperation. “Well, I guess it’ll have to do, won’t it?”

  “Maybe not,” the captain replied before striding from the cell. “Somebody take care of Lothar!”

  “Where are you going?” Jan called after him. A low rumble of thunder echoed in the background, as the coming storm fought its way in from the ocean.

  “Don’t let anybody leave until I get back!” “You’ve taken my cousin Abram into custody?” Lea-Jan Cobbius had to admire his visitor’s pluck. Few watch captains dared seek an audience with the master of the Stevedores’ and Teamsters’ Guild, and fewer still started such an audience by announcing they had arrested a member of the Cobbius family.

  In fact, Kurt Schnell was definitely the first and almost certainly the last. “May I ask on what charges?”

  “Two counts of murder, plus extortion and torture. There may be more.”

  “I see.” Lea-Jan rested both elbows on his desk, forming his fingers into a steeple. “Well, I was wondering where he had disappeared to. Abram attacked one of my men early this morning and vanished not long afterwards. A drunken brawl, I imagine. He does have rather a bad temper.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “Indeed. And is that why you’ve come here-to inform me of his arrest?”

  “I have a witness who says Abram’s a lieutenant for Adalbert Henschmann, as well as being a member of your guild. I felt it my duty to inform you of this lapse in judgement by one of your members.”

  “Did you?”

  “It seemed only proper. The guild is an honoured and much valued part of this district, and naturally you wouldn’t wish to see its reputation tarnished by the actions of a maverick element.”

  “Naturally,” Lea-Jan agreed, nodding sagely. Plainly, Schnell was no fool, even if the captain was playing a dangerous game. “Well, what do you suggest my membership do about all this?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  The captain leaned forward on to Lea-Jan’s desk and stared into his host’s steely eyes. “Do nothing. Let what is about to happen take its course. Should others decide they wish to release your cousin, for whatever reasons of their own, it will trigger bloodshed on Three Penny Bridge. I’ve no wish to see the innocent members of the guild dragged into such a needless and doomed conflict.”

  “An interesting notion.”

  “Once matters have run their course, the guild will have won the respect of whoever emerges the victor. But whoever wins, both sides in the conflict will have been significantly weakened. All of this you and your members can achieve by
doing nothing, by remaining neutral.” Schnell stood upright again, his hands on his hips. “What could be easier?”

  Lea-Jan’s eyes narrowed. “Very well, Captain Schnell. The guild shall merely observe events.” He stood and offered the hand of friendship to the Black Cap. “I hope you have success in the coming hours. It would be a shame for the district to lose a man such as yourself so soon. I believe we could forge a fruitful working relationship in the future.”

  His visitor smiled as he accepted the hand. “Thanks, but I’ll worry about the future tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Molly was collecting her meagre possessions when Captain Schnell appeared in the bordello entrance, silhouetted against the queasy yellow light outside. A storm was gathering over Suiddock, the black clouds threatening to turn late afternoon into an early twilight. “I was wondering when you’d get here,” she said. “If you’re planning to enjoy the company of my girls before Casanova has you and all your watchmen killed, you’re too late. I’ve already relocated them to the far end on Luydenhoek until all this blows over.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it,” he replied. “Three Penny Bridge will be a war zone come sundown and I don’t want any innocent people getting hurt in the crossfire.”

  “Well, my girls and I have been called a lot of names in our times, but I can’t say innocent is one of them. Still, thanks for the thought.” Molly stopped packing and looked round the bordello that only days earlier had been an abandoned temple. “It’s a shame, I liked this place.”

  “It’s a good location,” her visitor agreed.

  “All the passing trade we could ever want.”

  “Watchmen right next door in case a customer starts causing trouble.”

  “Not to mention a few of your recruits that aren’t averse to being customers themselves-not that I’m naming any names, mind.” She sighed. “Yes, this would have been a good home for me and my girls.”

  “It still can be, when this is over.”

  Molly stared at him, a smile curling about her ruby red lips. “You believe that, don’t you?”

  “Let’s say I’m an optimist.”

  “Why? Way I see things, you’re neck deep in a hole and the tide’s coming in.”

  The captain shrugged. “When you’ve lost everything you ever loved, ever cared about-when you’ve got nothing left to lose-then the only way is up.”

  “You can still lose your life. You remember that, when the time comes.” She started past him, towards the door, but he caught her arm in his grasp. “You planning on starting something with me?”

  “Stay. I’ve seen the way you handle yourself when trouble arrives.”

  “My girls need me,” Molly insisted.

  “We need you,” the captain replied. His hand cupped the side of her face tenderly. “Please.”

  She was tempted. The look in his eyes, it was hard to resist. But resist she did. “You could charm the gulls out of the sky, Captain Schnell. But I plan on being alive this time tomorrow.”

  “So do I,” he replied. “Still, I had to ask. You understand, don’t you?”

  Molly nodded and smiled. “You got all the weapons you need?”

  “We could always use more.”

  “That’s what I thought. There’s a brace of pistols strapped to the underside of my bed, I keep them there in case any of my girls has problems with a customer. You’ll only get two shots from each of them, but it’s better than nothing. Oh, and there’s a locked chest at the back. You might find a few useful things in it.” The captain raised an eyebrow at her. “You’d be amazed what some men leave behind in here.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” the captain said.

  “Well, if you can prise the chest open, what’s inside is yours.”

  “Thanks. I’ll get my men to bring it round.”

  “Don’t bother, just use the adjoining doorway,” Molly realised he was staring at her. “You did realise there’s a hidden passage between this place and your station, didn’t you?”

  “No, but that might explain where Bescheiden keeps disappearing to.”

  “Dirty little sod’s in here twice a day, you know. Where he gets the money for it, I’ve no idea,” she commented. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to see how my girls are getting on.” Lightning suddenly cracked through the air, the flash of white light starkly revealing the fear in Molly’s eyes.

  Moments later came the boom of the thunder, rumbling on and on, echoing back and forth along the narrow alleys and passageways. “I need to get going, before the rain starts. You can catch your death if you get caught outside when the storm hits.” The captain removed his hand and stepped out of Molly’s way. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “That’s for luck. If half of what I’ve heard is true, you’ll need it.” Kurt ran back into the station as the second flash of lightning illuminated the rapidly darkening bridge. The thunder came a moment after, the boom a deafening roar of sound and fury that went on and on and on. As the last echoes died away, Kurt heard a match being lit. The station’s interior was near to darkness, so dense had the storm clouds overhead become. A yellow flame flickered into life as Jan lit an oil lamp and several of the other watchmen followed his example.

  Once all the lamps were lit, Kurt looked round the expectant, frightened faces of his recruits. Narbig lurked at the back in the shadows, alone and taciturn as always. Scheusal stood near the sergeant, the two of them not unlike each other in looks and stature. Belladonna and Gerta were together, the Black Cap comforting the tearful cook. Holismus was kneeling on the floor, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself. Faulheit held up a lamp to light the room, as did Bescheiden and Raufbold. In the holding cells were nearly a dozen men and three women, all of them awaiting transportation to Rijker’s for various crimes and misdemeanours. Not much to defend a three-storey building, Kurt thought. Not much hope to be had here.

  “We don’t have long,” he said. “This storm might be to our advantage, once the rains come. They’ll make life much harder for Henschmann’s thugs if they do decide to come in here and take Cobbius. They won’t be able to burn us out and they’ll soon get cold, standing in the rain. That’s the good news. The bad news is our reinforcements won’t be here before the deadline. For now, we’re on our own.”

  Jan stepped forward, his face resolute and determined as always. “We’re with you, captain.”

  Kurt let his gaze take in all the Black Caps, seeing those who had courage in their eyes and those who had only fear for company. He dug into his waist belt and retrieved the two pistols gifted to him by Molly. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. Narbig, I want you up on the first floor with Belladonna and Gerta. That’s your position and you’ll hold it, no matter what. We’re lucky the fish market and the abandoned temple are both single storey structures, so the only two points of access you’ll have to defend are the two staircases. It’s unlikely but possible the enemy might try to climb the sides of the station, so be aware of that threat and stand ready to repel any such attempts. Your main job will be to use the upper levels’ height advantage to fire down at any attackers you see. Understand?” Narbig nodded his agreement. Gerta held up a hand. “Yes, what is it?”

  “I could boil some soup,” she said, “and pour it over anybody who tries to climb the station walls.”

  Kurt couldn’t help but smile at her suggestion. “You do that. But save some soup for the rest of us. We could be defending this position for hours and everyone will need hot food to keep them going.” He looked to Belladonna but she made no comment and passed no judgement on her assigned position.

  Jan stepped forward. “Where do you want me, captain?”

  “The basement, I’m afraid. If my predecessor can find a way of infiltrating the station down there, we need to discover it and seal that off. Bescheiden, Raufbold and Faulheit will help you stand guard over Cobbius. The tide is rising and it looks like being a bad one, driven in hard from the sea by this storm, so y
ou can expect things to get wet and wild down there. Hold on as best you can. If it gets too much, pull back to this level and we’ll block the staircases-but that’s a last resort. If we have to abandon the station, our best hope of getting out is via the basement. From there we can swim to safety, if necessary.”

  “Where do you want Lothar and me?” Scheusal asked.

  “You’ll be with me on this level,” Kurt replied. “We are going to block all the windows and barricade the doors, to secure the station from ground attacks. Everyone assigned to the basement will help with that for now. Those on the top floor can act as our eyes and ears until sunset.”

  “You can’t leave us in here,” one of the prisoners called out. “We aren’t part of your fight.”

  “Once the briefing is done, Sergeant Woxholt will let you go,” Kurt replied. “But there will be a record of your names, addresses and crimes sent to the nearest station, so don’t think of this as a reprieve. Consider it a respite.” Kurt turned to his former mentor. “What weapons have we got?”

  “The clubs and jacks issued to all watchmen, obviously-but they’re only good for close quarters combat. We confiscated plenty of daggers, short swords and the like when we reclaimed the station.”

  “That’s a start,” Kurt said. “Go next door to Molly’s place and you’ll find a chest near the back of the building. I’ve had a look inside and it’s loaded with crossbows, bolts, bows and arrows. Bring them into the station and divide the spoils evenly. Bescheiden can show you a secret passage that leads next door. Once you’ve got the chest in here, better barricade the passageway. We don’t want any unpleasant surprises once the fun starts. Right, any more questions?” He waited, but nobody spoke. “Good. You’ve all got your assignments, so get to them!” The Black Caps started to move, but Kurt halted them with a shout. “And hey! Let’s be careful in here. We watch each other’s backs and we can get through this-together!”

  A bolt of lightning stabbed down into the cobbles in front of the station, followed by a boom of thunder a split-second later. Everybody froze, transfixed by the spectacle outside. As the thunder died away, the rain began, lashing down on Suiddock. The storm had arrived, hitting the district with a vengeance. Kurt stamped his right boot down on the wooden floor with an almighty thud. “Move, people-move!”