16
‘By the looks of it, Ashdown Castle is lying in wait,’ said Jay.
‘For us,’ I groaned. ‘This is what Alban meant, when he said Ancestria Magicka had some kind of a spy at Court. They knew we were headed out here.’
‘And they hoped we would be coming out with something priceless.’
‘Which we are.’
‘We can’t let them get hold of those plans,’ said Jay.
‘But that’s why they’re here. And they’ve got Alban and Emellana and Mir. They must do. And they’re waiting for us to walk right into the trap, which we are presently in the process of doing.’
‘Hostage situation?’ said Jay.
‘Right. They’ll try to trade our friends for our loot. And ordinarily I wouldn’t hesitate to go for a trade like that, but this is no ordinary loot.’ I backed up until Ashdown Castle disappeared from sight, then dum
