Then an elbow smashed me in the jaw.

Pain shot through my cheek, and I tasted the copper of blood. As my head snapped to the side, I lost control of my legs and sprawled onto my back.

I scrabbled to get away, panicking. A weight landed on me, a body, shoving me down. Strong hands grabbed my arms, then pinned them, crushing my wrists under armored knees. A hand covered my face and pushed, cracking the back of my skull into the stone. I saw stars.

Tom shouted in alarm and drew his sword. Sally squealed, tripping over her own feet as she backpedaled, landing hard some distance away. Her heel clipped the lantern; it rattled as it spun, teetering on its edge before finally deciding to topple. The glass cracked, and there was a flare of light as the oil in the ampoule ignited in the flame.

Fire, I thought dumbly, barely able to form any thoughts at all. Tom was already moving forward, as more silhouettes advanced from the secret passage.

The broad blade of a halberd thrust toward him. With Eternity freed from its sheath, Tom slashed downward. His sword lopped the end of the halberd off its pole, sending the blade clattering across the stone. A second stroke upward sent the next three feet of the halberd’s pole flying into the darkness. The man holding the weapon cursed in alarm and fell back. Eternity rang with a song of holy triumph.

Then the edge of a blade bit into my neck, and my thoughts returned with terrified clarity. Another halberd was thrust in Tom’s direction. A voice, harsh and biting, cut through the fight.

“Hold!”

The sword at my neck obeyed, the edge barely slicing my skin. The new halberd stopped its advance. Tom stood ready, his grip two-handed, Eternity held low, point high.

“Drop your—” the voice commanded, but it cut off, returning with surprise. “You?”

The man who’d shouted stepped from the passage. As he came into the light, I saw his livery.

He was one of the King’s Men.

From his insignia, he was a captain. In his hand he gripped a sword, but only half ready. He was staring at Tom, who still stood in a defensive stance.

“I know you,” the captain said. Then he spoke to his comrades—four of them, King’s Men all. “This one came back with the general,” he said, meaning Lord Ashcombe. “The girl, too. What are you doing here?”

Tom was confused. He knew we weren’t supposed to tell anyone what we were doing, but he also hadn’t expected to cross swords with the King’s Men. He looked to me, uncertain.

The soldier who held me pinned still had his blade at my throat. This wasn’t the time to be cagey.

“We’re following orders from Lord Ashcombe,” I said. “We’re here by his command.”

“I very much doubt that,” the captain said.

“That’s why we’re in the cellar,” I said. “We didn’t know about… that.”