Ben found himself wondering what inner demons were tormenting the American. Ben knew all about inner demons, from personal experience. At one time, his own guilty feelings over his lost sister had been the driving factor behind his relentless quest to travel the world saving as many kidnapped children as he could. Those kinds of motivations could drive a man to the most extreme lengths to do what he thought was the right thing. They could also lead a man straight to hell. Ben had come close to ending up there himself. Maybe Chris Holt already was.

‘We’ll worry about that if and when it happens,’ Ben said to Liebowitz. ‘For now, there’s not much we can do before morning. I suggest we find a building that still has three walls and a roof on it, set up camp for the night and get some kip. Tomorrow could be a long day.’

Chapter 40

One end of what had once been a dormitory still had enough intact, uncharred roof timbers to provide shelter for twenty-three huddled bodies. The few blankets and sleeping bags they had were shared out as democratically as possible, and they made themselves as comfortable as they could.

Meanwhile, twenty-three mouths needed to be fed and watered. Wolf gathered bits of burnt timber to use as charcoal while Ben built a fire in the remains of a clay chimney at the roofless end of the building, over which to reheat what they had left to eat. Even on meagre rations, the evening meal polished off every scrap of their remaining provisions.

‘That’s the last of it,’ Wolf said, doling out the final portion, which happened to be for the prince. He and his fellow Pathfinders were staying quiet, but looking a little healthier than they had back at their temple hideout. Handing him his mess tin Wolf said, ‘I’m afraid we weren’t able to offer you cucumber sandwiches and champagne, your Royal Excellency. Maybe I’ll pop out to Fortnum’s tomorrow for a hamper or two.’

‘Leave it out, pal,’ one of the prince’s men muttered, giving Wolf a challenging look that he quickly averted when Wolf turned his way with killer eyes.

‘I’m sorry, did you say something?’ Wolf asked.

‘No, nothing.’

Wolf’s hard expression melted into a golden grin. ‘My mistake. Enjoy your meal, fellas. I don’t know where the next one’s coming from.’