The Radiant War

Chapter 26b

   The Brigadier stared at her thoughtfully. “You can get us to the Princess, past the guards?” he said.

     “Past most of them. I’ve been here before, once. I had to leave Paisley Palace for two weeks to attend my sick sister. I never had a sister. I’d been summoned here, to be briefed by Lord Krell. I took the opportunity to get to know the place a bit, just in case I ever needed the information.”

     The Brigadier nodded. He suspected that such behaviour came as easily to her as breathing. “So, which way do we go?” he asked.

     “Wait,” said Grey. “You trust this woman? How do you know she won't lead us into a trap?”

     “There are palace staff not too far away. If she wanted us captured or dead, all she’d have to do is shout. There's no need for elaborate schemes or traps. I think she’s telling the truth.” Darniss nodded vigorously.

     “So,” said the Brigadier to Darniss again. “Which way?”

     “There's a linen cupboard just down the corridor from here. It has a secret door leading into the next room, a storage room full of tables and chairs for the Venus banqueting suite. I ‘persuaded’ a maid to tell me about it, and then I killed her.”

     The Brigadier nodded, not surprised by her admission. They knew what kind of woman she was. There was little point trying to deny it now.

     The Brigadier turned to Tweed. “Do you know about this secret door?” he asked.

     “No. I've spent my time here trying to learn political secrets, not secret passages.”

     The Brigadier turned back to Darniss. “This secret door takes us past the guards?” he asked.

     “Past most of them. The ones guarding the way from the main body of the palace, but there are sure to be more guards further on. There’ll be no avoiding them.”

     “I never expected there would be. Very well, lead on.”

     The door was right where she'd said it would be, hidden behind a cupboard full of sheets and blankets. They pulled it aside and the Brigadier listened at the door. “Sounds quiet on the other side,” he said. He turned the handle and opened the door a crack.

     There was only darkness on the other side, so he opened it the rest of the way. A pile of stacked tables blocked their way, but Grey and the Brigadier pushed them out of the way until they could squeeze past. The room had two other doors, one of which, they presumed, led to the banqueting suite, but Darniss led them to the other door. Once again the Brigadier opened it a crack, and when they were sure the way was clear on the other side they went through.

     Tweed led them the rest of the way, and a few moments later they came to a door guarded by a serious looking man armed with a sword and a pistol. “This is it,” said Tweed as they came to a halt. “No-one goes further than this without authorisation from the King.”

     Grey moved the wheelchair in front of one of the portraits that lined the corridor. Some ancestor of the King, they supposed, and they pretended to study it while glancing at the guard out of the corners of their eyes. “He's an adoptee,” said the Brigadier, who had immediately noticed the layer of powder on his face and hands. “He's probably in continuous telepathic contact with other adoptees. Maybe with the Radiant as well. The moment we take him out, the alarm will go up. Everyone beyond this point will be waiting for us.”

     “Unless we take him out so quickly that he doesn't have time to send a warning,” suggested Grey. “A shot to the head. Instantly fatal.”

     “The others will still notice that he’s dropped out of communication.”