Mark Chadbourn - The Silver Skull

Тут можно читать онлайн Mark Chadbourn - The Silver Skull - бесплатно полную версию книги (целиком) без сокращений. Жанр: Прочая старинная литература. Здесь Вы можете читать полную версию (весь текст) онлайн без регистрации и SMS на сайте лучшей интернет библиотеки ЛибКинг или прочесть краткое содержание (суть), предисловие и аннотацию. Так же сможете купить и скачать торрент в электронном формате fb2, найти и слушать аудиокнигу на русском языке или узнать сколько частей в серии и всего страниц в публикации. Читателям доступно смотреть обложку, картинки, описание и отзывы (комментарии) о произведении.

Mark Chadbourn - The Silver Skull краткое содержание

The Silver Skull - описание и краткое содержание, автор Mark Chadbourn, читайте бесплатно онлайн на сайте электронной библиотеки LibKing.Ru

A devilish plot to assassinate the queen, a cold war enemy hell-bent on destroying the nation, incredible gadgets, a race against time around the world to stop the ultimate doomsday device... and Elizabethan England's greatest spy! Meet Will Swyfte—adventurer, swordsman, rake, swashbuckler, wit, scholar and the greatest of Walsingham's new band of spies. His exploits against the forces of Philip of Spain have made him a national hero, lauded from Carlisle to Kent. Yet his associates can barely disguise their incredulity—what is the point of a spy whose face and name is known across Europe? But Swyfte's public image is a carefully-crafted façade to give the people of England something to believe in, and to allow them to sleep peacefully at night. It deflects attention from his real work—and the true reason why Walsingham's spy network was established. A Cold War seethes, and England remains under a state of threat. The forces of Faerie have preyed on humanity for millennia. Responsible for our myths and legends, of gods and fairies, dragons, griffins, devils, imps and every other supernatural menace that has haunted our dreams, this power in the darkness has seen humans as playthings to be tormented, hunted or eradicated. But now England is fighting back! Magical defences have been put in place by the Queen's sorcerer Dr. John Dee, who is also a senior member of Walsingham's secret service and provides many of the bizarre gadgets utilised by the spies. Finally there is a balance of power. But the Cold War is threatening to turn hot at any moment... Will now plays a constant game of deceit and death, holding back the Enemy's repeated incursions, dealing in a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots, deceptions, secrets, murder, where no one... and no thing... is quite what it seems.

The Silver Skull - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию (весь текст целиком)

The Silver Skull - читать книгу онлайн бесплатно, автор Mark Chadbourn
Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

As they continued their baiting, Don Alanzo lost his footing in the grue and skidded into the bear's path. Driven into a frenzy by frustration, the bear roared and dropped its head low, throwing all its weight into a ferocious attack. Don Alanzo sprawled before it, unable to move.

Reacting instinctively, Will swung himself around the central pole and kicked both feet into the side of the bear's head. As it lumbered and half skidded in surprise, Will dragged Don Alanzo out of its path.

"Best not toy with him," Will said.

Barely had he scrambled halfway across the pit when the bear returned furiously, its jaws torn wide. Will flung himself to one side. The teeth snapped air a mere inch beyond his heel. Angered by Will's blow, the bear had found a new reserve of speed and strength, and it was all Will and Don Alanzo could do to keep away from its jaws and claws.

Each lunge came closer, and at the last Will ran, placed one foot on the wall of the pit, and propelled himself onto the bear's back, clutching an arm around its throat. The bear's roar was deafening as it attempted to swat him off. Writhing on its back, he ducked this way and that as the claws came within a hairbreadth of his face. But with each twist, he exerted more pressure on the bear's throat until its swats became feebler and it began to stumble. Finally, it fell to all fours and Will rolled off its back.

Don Alanzo levelled an unsettled stare at him. "You are insane."

"We only know we live when our heart beats faster," Will gasped. "Now, I think we are done here. Shall we be away?"

Before the bear had recovered, Will cupped his hands for lion Alanzo to propel himself to the top of the central pole. Half slipping, he steadied himself on the top and then leapt to the edge of the pit. Two of Pickering's men rushed him, but he ducked beneath their grasping hands, turned, and thrust both of them into the pit. As they shrieked in terror, he reached an arm down and hauled Will to safety.

In their brief glance was a mutual admission that the truce was over, and as Will turned to his men, lion Alanzo disappeared into the melee. Three of Pickering's men came at Will with cudgels and daggers. As they neared, confident in their numbers, Will activated the sheath Dee had given him. The blade burst out of its hidden compartment along his forearm, and with one fluid swing he slashed the throat of the first man and planted the knife edge into the heart of the next. Startled, the third man fell before an elbow rammed into his face.

The crowd roared its anger. Bounding to his men, Will slashed the restraining ropes. As they quickly freed themselves and turned to fight, Will fought his way through the crowd to where Pickering was rapidly disappearing into the throng. Before he gave pursuit, Will put his weight against the long table and heaved one end into the pit. The bear hesitated for only a second, and then launched itself up the table.

Chaos erupted across the fair as the bear crashed over the edge of the pit and into the crowd. The screams and shrieks were drowned out by roars as it tore through flesh and bone.

With grim determination, Will rammed his way through the fleeing people, throwing bodies right and left. Two conflicting targets fought for his attention: the Silver Skull and Grace, both of whom had been standing behind Pickering, held tight by his men. Now they were both lost in the swell.

In the confusion, stalls were overturned, their owners fighting furiously with their former customers. Shattered lanterns sent flames leaping to canvas and wood and then up into a blazing column that only added to the panic; in the city, fire was the greatest threat.

Through the whirling bodies, Will glimpsed a gleam of silver bobbing towards the other side of the courtyard. As he neared, he saw Don Alanzo leading the Silver Skull through the throng towards one of the alleys heading off the courtyard. Will cuffed a wild-eyed drunk who stumbled into his path and tossed him onto a stall, but Don Alanzo had now been lost to the torrent of people.

Above the hubbub, Pickering's barking orders rolled out. His men drew their attention from the bear, the fires, and the fights towards lion Alanzo, and Will.

Troubled that he could no longer see Grace, Will redoubled his efforts to break through the flow. When he finally emerged from the crowd, he caught a fleeting glimpse of lion Alanzo and the Silver Skull disappearing into the maze of alleys, but the cry of "Clubs!" was already rising up from Pickering's men as they surged towards him.

Will sprinted across the cobbles, but he had not got far when the chilling howl of a hunting dog echoed over Alsatia.

The Hunter was close and drawing closer.

CHAPTER 16

The Silver Skull - изображение 41

The Silver Skull - изображение 42,ith her hood pulled low to hide her face, Grace sheltered behind the wreckage of a stall from the yelling crowd of cutthroats and customers washing back and forth between fire and the rampaging bear. Knots of Pickering's men beat paths through the mass. Certain they were searching for her, Grace regretted foolishly calling out Will's name; now Pickering would try to use her to control Will.

With frenzied roars, the lunging bear was surrounded by several men with staffs. Shrill screams echoed as raking claws tore one open from throat to groin, but within a minute the others forced the beast over the edge and back into the pit. A cheer went up, and as the bear's rage subsided, the panic receded. Grace knew she had to secure her escape while there was still some tumult to obscure her passing.

Keeping low, she edged around the stall until she glimpsed a path to one of the four alleys leading off the courtyard. Before she could move, a heavy hand fell on her shoulder.

Her startled cry was stifled by a hand over her mouth, and her head turned to reveal Miller's kind face. Grace recognised him instantly as one of the men who had been held prisoner alongside Will.

"Mistress, we must get you out of this danger," he said.

"Please," she begged, "Will is in great danger. You must help him."

"Will can take care of himself."

"No," she pressed. "I saw him in pursuit of Don Alanzo. The Spaniard will lead him into a trap-the Don has other allies in London. And the King of Cutpurses has dispatched his murderous crew on Will's heels. You must help him!"

Grace's pitiful expression moved Miller. "Very well. But stay here. I will fetch the others to help you-"

"Go!" she interrupted. "I will call if I need them."

With a nod, Miller threw his great frame in the direction Grace indicated. Glancing around, Grace spied Launceston, Mayhew, and Carpenter, who had now claimed cudgels and knives and were carving a path through Pickering's men with cold efficiency. They were too occupied to help her.

Determination blazed inside her. She would not be beaten down, nor afraid. Jenny's death had convinced her that life was hard, and easily cut short, and that living in fear only diminished it further. Setting her jaw, she waited for the path to the alley to clear again, and then leapt from her hiding place and ran.

Few women were there, and most of them were doxies or members of the criminal gang, but she moved swiftly without drawing attention to herself. For a while she was caught up in a hectic attempt to put out the blazes, but eventually the alley appeared in reach. Yet as her heart beat faster in anticipation, in the corner of her eye she caught sight of a bird mask fixed upon her, and for the briefest moment, she was caught in Pickering's unblinking stare. With no men close to hand, Pickering gave pursuit himself. Barging through the crowd, he closed the gap so quickly Grace knew that even if she reached the alley, he would be upon her soon after.

The clatter of his hobnails upon the cobbles rang at her back. With her breath burning in her chest, she slipped into the dark of the alley and only when her eyes adjusted did she realise it was occupied. Her startled cry faded at a familiar face.

"Kit!" she cried. "And Nathaniel!"

With a small group of the queen's men at their backs, Marlowe and Nathaniel advanced on the courtyard. Marlowe had his sword drawn, but Grace fell into his arms in relief.

"Thank God," she gasped. Glancing back, she saw Pickering come to a halt when he saw the new arrivals, and then turn and rush back into the crowd.

"Nat urged me to bring help when Will did not return by the appointed hour," Marlowe said. He turned to the men. "Seal off this courtyard. Let no man escape, for we will have an army of rogues at our back if word gets out that we are here."

"Will pursues a Spanish spy, and another of your men has gone to help," Grace said. "You must aid him-"

The words died in her throat as the howl of the hunting dog rose up again, this time laced with an insistent bloodlust. It had located its prey.

CHAPTER 17

The Silver Skull - изображение 43

The Silver Skull - изображение 44he twisting routes among the tenements were impenetrably dark, the buildings too high to allow the moonlight to reach the ground. Only the occasional glimmer of candlelight gleamed in the black windows. Will's footsteps echoed off the walls like stones dropped on ice. From somewhere ahead of him, a similar noise resounded, and from behind came the tramp of many boots as Pickering's men fanned out through the maze of byways. Their lanterns flickered like fireflies as they searched doorways and side alleys.

At a crossroads, he realised the footsteps ahead had slowed. Keeping close to a wall, he edged forwards until whispering voices emerged from the gloom, speaking Spanish. Another voice responded, mellifluous but with an unsettling note of menace.

Tracing the low conversation along an alley to another courtyard large enough to be filled with silvery moonlight, Will found lion Alanzo and the Silver Skull with the Hunter. Beside him, his dog's red eyes sparked.

Keeping well to the shadows where he could not be seen, Will spied on the scene, but within an instant the dog's hackles rose and it released a low, threatening growl. Peering directly at Will, the Hunter gave a knowing smile.

Will expected the Hunter to set his dog loose, but instead he removed an item from the pouch at his belt and kept it hidden in his palm.

Stepping out from the shadows, Will said, "You keep dishonourable company, lion Alanzo."

Don Alanzo eyed the Hunter. "A mercenary from Flanders."

"More than that. And worse." Will strode forwards, keeping his right arm and Dee's blade hidden behind his back.

"Leave here, Will Swyfte, as quickly as you can," Don Alanzo said. "I offer this advice as a courtesy. In return for you saving my life in the bear pit, I now save yours."

Don Alanzo's words could have been glib arrogance regarding his skills as a swordsman, but Will heard a powerful note of truth in them. "I cannot leave without the Silver Skull," Will responded. "I have been entrusted with the task of returning it to the Tower."

"Him," Don Alanzo snapped. "Not it. There is a man beneath this mask, and he has been held prisoner in this Godforsaken country for twenty years. You claim to be the civilised defenders of the true way, righteously holding back the conspiracy of barbarians beyond your borders, but you commit atrocities without a second thought. You persecute good Catholics-"

"Because you persecute us. You and your allies will not be happy until England is a memory."

Читать дальше
Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать


Mark Chadbourn читать все книги автора по порядку

Mark Chadbourn - все книги автора в одном месте читать по порядку полные версии на сайте онлайн библиотеки LibKing.




The Silver Skull отзывы


Отзывы читателей о книге The Silver Skull, автор: Mark Chadbourn. Читайте комментарии и мнения людей о произведении.


Понравилась книга? Поделитесь впечатлениями - оставьте Ваш отзыв или расскажите друзьям

Напишите свой комментарий
x