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Back Shadow of the Hawk
Chapters (96)
  1. Cover
  2. By David Gilman
  3. SHADOW OF THE HAWK
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. CHARACTER LIST
  8. Map
  9. Epigraph
  10. PROLOGUE
  11. PART ONE
  12. CHAPTER ONE
  13. CHAPTER TWO
  14. CHAPTER THREE
  15. CHAPTER FOUR
  16. CHAPTER FIVE
  17. CHAPTER SIX
  18. CHAPTER SEVEN
  19. CHAPTER EIGHT
  20. CHAPTER NINE
  21. CHAPTER TEN
  22. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  23. CHAPTER TWELVE
  24. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  25. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  26. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  27. PART TWO
  28. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  29. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  30. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  31. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  42. PART THREE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  49. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  50. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  51. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  52. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  55. PART FOUR
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  58. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  59. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  60. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  61. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  62. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  63. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  66. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  67. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  68. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  69. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  70. PART FIVE
  71. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  72. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  73. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  74. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY
  76. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  77. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  78. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  79. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  80. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  81. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  82. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  83. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  84. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  85. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  86. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  87. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  88. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  89. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  90. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  91. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  92. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
  93. CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
  94. Author’s Notes
  95. About the Author
  96. An Invitation from the Publisher

They had climbed forty feet by the time they saw a dull glow at the end of the inclined passage. They looked up. Ten steps led to an opening. Blackstone took them two at a time and pushed against a stout wooden lid above their head. Blackstone cautiously lifted the trapdoor. It gave way with little resistance. They hauled themselves up. The tunnel led beneath the curtain wall and had brought them into the outer yard. They stood at the far end of the castle from where they had started and had come out beneath a stone canopy with wicker gates where barrels and sacks of grain were stored. It was clear someone had dragged a sack clear from the cover. Whoever had gone down had left it open, expecting others to follow. Blackstone strode out from under the canopy, turned and looked up. Sentries patrolled the battlements, their backs to the yard where torches and lanterns had been lit now that the sun was down. A hundred yards ahead a stout wooden canopied stairway led to a lower colonnade, and that ascended to one higher. These were the royal apartments. A door slammed closed at the end of the lower colonnade.

Blackstone passed the lantern. ‘Will, get back to the men. Keep everyone in the stables now the sun’s down. Stay cautious. If there’s a threat here it might come from outside the walls.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Up there,’ he said, looking to where a shadow glided across the face of a cresset lamp on the floor above.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Blackstone followed the same route as the shadowed figure to the upper tier of the castle’s colonnade. Cresset lamps lit the way every thirty paces. A figure moved at the far end of the passage: a sentry walking his route along the cross passage. Blackstone froze. Movement was the enemy. The Moor was a member of Pedro’s bodyguard. He moved out of sight. Blackstone knew that the far end of the passage was the approach to the King’s private chambers. A door closed somewhere ahead. He edged along the passage and saw a side corridor. It was darker than where he stood. There were no doors in sight so he followed the unlit corridor until a heavy door barred his way. He gripped the turning handle and raised the latch. Five paces beyond the door a dozen steps rose, twisting narrowly as they climbed higher into the castle’s tower. He followed them.