Wintercraft: Blackwatch Read Online Free

himself up on to the rocks at the base of the cliff. The boy was right behind him, and the moment he slithered up on to solid ground Silas grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him to his feet.
     
    ‘They knew ,’ he said coldly. ‘They knew I was coming. How did they know?’
     
    The boy did not answer.
     
    ‘What is this?’ Silas dragged on a leather cord hung round the boy’s neck and found a glass lens hanging there.
     
    The boy cried out as loud as his pitiful lungs would let him. ‘Here! He’s here!’
     
    Silas grabbed him by the neck and loomed over him. ‘You have chosen the wrong side, boy,’ he said. ‘Pray that you never see me again.’
     
    The lad’s eyes widened in fear, but he was not looking at Silas; he was looking behind him. Silas saw a shadow move in the reflection within the boy’s eye. He watched it carefully, saw the gleam of a blade shining in the moonlight, and dodged smoothly as it stabbed towards his back. The man wielding it stumbled, the boy ran and Silas killed his attacker instantly with a swift snap of the neck.
     
    Silas reached for the rock face and pulled himself up the cliff, hand over hand, making for a ledge a few feet above him. The rocks were slippery and smooth, but he reached the ledge, got to his feet and drew his sword ready to defend himself. The ledge was part of a curved pathway sliced into the cliff rock and Silas followed it upwards to gain the advantage of higher ground as the rest of the Blackwatch closed in.
     
    The sea roared against the cliffs as he climbed higher. His crow screeched a warning and he stopped, spotting a bowman posted up ahead, watching the waves. Silas moved along the rock face, staying out of sight, and took the bowman by surprise. The man loosed an arrow, missed his target, and was dead before the arrowhead found its way into the sea.
     
    More Blackwatch moved in, flanking Silas on both sides. There was nowhere to go. Arrows flew, but Silas was fast on his feet, dodging every one until a second net edged with weighted blades launched towards him from the dark. The net tangled around him, capturing him beneath it. Silas fought to free himself but the rope had a metal core that could not be cut. He stopped struggling as his enemies gathered around him. He waited, choosing his moment.
     
    ‘Secure him.’
     
    Silas did not see who had given the order, but he had no intention of letting anyone see it through. Only six men were left, five with bows or swords raised, and one – the leader – standing behind them, silhouetted in the moonlight. Silas waited until they had crept close enough and then stood up quickly, making the net lift with him. The Blackwatch scrambled to secure the edges and Silas lashed the ropes, using the weighting blades as weapons against them. Two men died when their throats were slashed and a third fell to a thrust of Silas’s sword. He wrenched the net up over his shoulders and threw a fourth man into the sea, leaving only the leader and his last man standing close by.
     
    ‘Silas Dane,’ said the leader. ‘Welcome back.’
     
    Silas knew that voice, thick with the deep tones of the Continental north. The voice of an enemy. It had been twelve years since he had heard it last.
     
    ‘Bandermain,’ he said. ‘I should have known.’
     
    Silas’s fingers flexed around the hilt of his sword, eager to fight, but this was no time for bloody reunions. The Blackwatch never worked alone. For every group Silas had encountered in the past another had always been posted nearby, and he did not have time to fight them all. He had been betrayed by a child, and the enemy had found him before he had even set foot on land. His arrival on the Continent was not going to plan.
     
    The last Blackwatch agent raised his bow ready to let loose an arrow. Silas looked out across the ocean, and as the bow snapped he bolted straight for the edge of the path. The arrow snicked behind him, dangerously close to his