Three hours before, Odette, Saundra, and Francesca had been eating in the dining room while Magdala worked on new ammunition when Mei burst in. “He’s at the Tower.”

  Later, Magdala would regret what she said. “Impossible.”

  “That does sound…unlikely.” Odette put down her fork. “How do you know?”

  Mei turned to Magdala, her eyes pleading, so Magdala considered it. Where else could Dwayne be held? The only place she could think of was Sen Jerome’s, which was perfect, except for how many cenobites would be needed to keep the secret. And of course Mei was rarely wrong.

  Magdala sighed. “Is he guarded?”

  Mei let out a breath. “Twelve monks.”

  “How are they deployed?”

  Mei looked down. “I don’t know.”

  “Most likely,” Saundra tossed an apple to Mei and placed another in the middle of the table, “they’ll put three monks at the Tower,” she placed three sabnuts in front of the apple, “six to patrol the perimeter,” she placed two trios of nuts further out, “and put the last three on standby.” She frowned.

  “The stable then.” Magdala placed a bowl next to the apple. “How do we deal with three times the number of fighters?”

  Francesca raised an eyebrow. “Who’s fighting?”

  “Me, Maggie, Saundra,” answered Magdala, “and Odette.”

  Odette raised an eyebrow. “You’re including me? That’s presumptuous.”

  “You won’t help?” asked Mei.

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  The older woman’s expression softened. “I only brought the one crossbow to Bradford and you have it.”

  Mei blinked. “It was yours?”

  “Now, it’s yours.” Odette coughed. “At any rate, I can only help with scouting and coordinating, not assaulting.”

  “Will taking down twelve really be a challenge for you three?” asked Francesca. “You took down eight yesterday.”

  Saundra winced. “We were lucky.”

  “How so?”

  Magdala began counting on her fingers. “They could have knocked us unconscious, they could have surrounded us, the two missing cenobites could have come back.” She shook her head. “Father says relying on the enemy to make mistakes is for fools.”

  “So we’ll need more help,” said Francesca. “What about the Club?”

  Magdala shook her head. “They aren’t fighters or even duelists. They’d be a liability.”

  “Your father?”

  This time Saundra shook her head. “Action by the Lord Commander requires Royal decree or overwhelming evidence. However,” she grinned, “my squad and I don’t need either.”

  Magdala’s eyebrow lifted. “Isn’t Rutters your commander?”

  “He sure is, milady.” Saundra’s grin grew wider. “So he’ll definitely help. Add three more to our tally.”

  Francesca turned to Odette. “What about Lady Pol?”

  Odette shook her head. “She has to attend Magisterium meetings for the foreseeable future. And,” she held up a finger to forestall Francesca’s next question, “if you’re about to ask ‘Can we get the Magisterium involved?’, don’t bother. Dwayne will be dust before they make a decision.”

  “So we only have six.” Francesca glanced at Magdala. “Should I come?”

  Judging by the sergeant’s aborted squeak, Saundra agreed with Magdala: Francesca Lucchesi had no place on a battlefield. Still, that didn’t mean she should do nothing.

  “You can go get the Club,” said Magdala.

  Francesca frowned. “You said they couldn’t fight.”

  “We’ll need them afterwards.” Magdala clasped her hands together. “After all, we still need to investigate this ‘Day of Cleansing’ Lo Duca mentioned.”

  “I’ll go at once.” Francesca rose.

  “Wait!”

  All eyes turned to Mei, whose face flushed.

  “Yes?” asked Francesca.

  “There is…” Mei swallowed. “There is one more person who can help. But I do not know if he will.”

  “It can’t hurt to ask.” Francesca looped her arm in Mei’s. “Tell me who on my way out.”

  “I’ll follow,” said Odette. “Might as well get started on the scouting.”

  “Please do,” said Magdala. “We’ll meet up when we’ve gathered the others.”