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THE BASTARD
COMPLETE SERIES

JACK PORTER

INK RIOT BOOKS

Copyright © 2022 by Jack Porter
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a
book review.

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Readers and Rogues
 CONTENTS

Book 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
 Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47

Book 2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
 Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44

Book 3
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
 Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33

Afterword
Books by Jack Porter
BOOK 1
 CHAPTER ONE

J ust because I was in the central market to kidnap the daughter

of a wealthy merchant didn’t mean I couldn’t indulge in a bit of
petty thievery first.
It was mid-afternoon, and while the clouds hadn’t parted, the
rain had stopped and there was a feeling of lightness in the air. The
change of seasons had finally arrived, dragging the town away from
the gloom of winter to the slightly lesser gloom of spring.
Consequently, people were out and about, smiling, talking, and
even laughing as they strolled between stalls, ignoring the mud on
their boots and enjoying the afternoon.
To most of them, I would have been nothing more than another
stranger, enjoying the sights and smells of the market just like
anyone else. Of medium height and build with dark hair, I wore a
large leather pouch over my tunic and coat, the type of thing the
King’s messengers might wear, although that was something I
wasn’t. No, I was a thief—ahem—opportunist.
So yeah, just another stranger.
Except…
I was noticeably more handsome than other people, with an
open expression, easy smile, bright green eyes, and innocent
features.
It wasn’t vanity, just a simple reflection of the truth. More than
enough women had confirmed it, and more than once my charms
had helped me out of a jam.
 And my natural charms weren’t my only good quality. I was
stronger and quicker than I looked and could generally hold my own
in a fight. And with that quickness came a lightness of touch that
really helped in my chosen profession of opportunism.
I couldn’t help but catch the mood of the crowd as I made my
way through. Smiling, I nudged a middle-aged man making a deal
with a much younger prostitute, and he didn’t notice my fingers
lighten his coin pouch by the weight of his silver. I passed a fruit
vendor serving a pair of plain-looking women, and he never saw that
his barrel of apples and pears became a little less full. I danced
around a vendor with a cart selling dried meat on a stick, but left
him alone because I knew he was desperate, and also because he
dried his wares out in the sun where all the flies could taste them.
Along with the myriad of vendors, the market boasted a number
of entertainment options. A juggler on stilts threw glittering knives
through the air, and I remembered a time not too long ago when I
had made my coin the same way.
But these days, I found it much easier to pick the pockets of
those who watched, all while feigning clumsiness.
“Excuse me,” I said with a smile as I dipped into another man’s
coin pouch.
“Forgive me,” I said as I nudged a fat woman, distracting her and
the merchant she was talking to so I could filch a small round of
brie.
“Sorry,” I said to a beggar as I tripped over him, spilling the coins
from his cup into the mud and returning only a small portion of
them.
And I wasn’t the only one in the market plying my trade. I saw
others, men and women both, doing as I did, and street urchins as
well, kids dressed in rags and using speed more than skill.
By mutual unspoken consent, we stayed out of each other’s way,
but I had to smile at the sheer number of people who would find
themselves leaving the market with less than they realized.
It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, and within a
surprisingly short time, my satchel was bulging with ill-gotten gains.
I had walked the entire length and breadth of the market, and was
beginning to wonder if my target had failed to show despite what
Rolf had said, when finally, I spied her at a fabric merchant’s stall,
admiring the different fabrics.
I paused for a moment, not even bothering to hide my interest,
and admired her from afar. Rolf’s description had been more than
enough. This was definitely my target.
“A redheaded beauty,” the Blackcoat had said. “As tall as you,
and with curves in all the right places. She will likely be wearing a
green dress, and its quality will be clear, but it’ll be cut for more
practical wear than other high-ranking ladies would choose.”
Rolf had offered one of his lecherous grins at that point. “She’ll
stand out in a crowd, mark my words. You won’t miss her.”
If anything, the Blackcoat had undersold the woman’s beauty. To
my eyes, she was special, and I almost reconsidered going through
with the plan.
But I’d made a deal with Rolf, and he wasn’t the sort of man to
take kindly to me backing out. Especially when he and a couple of
his men were already waiting in a nearby alley.
I smiled. Rolf and his regular cronies couldn’t do what I could do.
Sure, they could resort to brute force and violence to get the job
done, but to lure a woman like this out of the market? To make her
leave willingly, without suspicion?
That’s why Rolf had approached me for the job.
And, anyway, it wasn’t like we were going to hurt her. She was a
wealthy merchant’s daughter, and while I could get by easily enough
by picking pockets, Rolf had promised that the merchant would pay
gold to have his daughter returned unharmed.
For a quick afternoon’s work that might even be fun, I had
figured why not, and gone along with the plan.
All I needed now was an excuse to talk to her.
In an unconscious gesture, my right hand went to the medallion
at my neck. At first glance, the piece was next to worthless and
looked like a large coin made of wood. But it had long since been
worn smooth, and the patterns were gone. Whenever I felt the
need, I would rub it for luck, and so far, it hadn’t let me down.
And yet, it was more than a simple good luck charm.
 I had been no more than a boy, maybe six or seven years old,
when a beautiful woman with dark hair and pale skin had hung it
around my neck. I still remember her sad smile and the words that
she spoke.
“I made this for you, Mordie. It may not look like much, but
there’s power within it. In a moment of need, all you need to do is
break it into two, and everything will turn out all right.”
I remember gripping the medallion in my pudgy, boyish fingers,
and feeling a slight tingle on my skin. “It’s magic?” I asked, and the
beautiful woman nodded.
So far, I’d never been in a position to test if the woman’s words
had been true. Sure, I’d grown up on the streets–that was the last
time I’d set eyes on the woman–and had found my fair share of
trouble there. But since I’d always been able to talk my way out of
it, it hadn’t seemed quite right to test out the magic.
It had been a long time since my fingers had tingled at the
medallion’s touch. Whether the magic remained in it or had faded, I
didn’t know. But I still rubbed it for luck, remembering the beautiful
woman even as I wondered who she was, and why she had given
me such a gift.
Of course, I also wondered who I was. I had no parents, and not
even a last name to call my own.
Which is why I was in the marketplace, making a living from
kidnapping a merchant’s daughter. That’s how things were in this
impoverished and crime-ridden city.
Although considering what I was about to do, it wouldn’t be a
stretch to suggest that I was part of the crime problem.
 CHAPTER TWO

I thought about just wandering up to the redheaded woman and

introducing myself, but figured she might be the type to get
annoyed by that approach.
With someone like her, I would need a more valid reason.
Fortunately for me, one presented itself within moments of me
letting go of my medallion.
It came in the form of one of the street urchins. He was hurrying
along the aisle between stalls as if he was up to no good, but not as
if he was being actively chased.
I turned as he moved past me and snagged him by the back of
his dirty tunic, halting him in his tracks.
He struggled. “Hey! I ain’t done nothing!” he shouted, and I
dragged him down a side aisle, out of the woman’s view. I didn’t
want her to see me, not just yet, and especially not in the company
of this kid.
“I know you haven’t,” I said. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt
you.”
“Then fuck the hell off and leave me alone!” the boy shouted.
Then he conjured a knife from somewhere and tried to reach around
to stab me. So I grabbed his wrist and held it firm.
“Quit it. Or do you not want a chance to make some easy coin?”
I asked him.
That got his attention. He tried to look around at me, but I was
still behind him. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice full of
suspicion. “Are you one of them Nancy types looking for a bum boy
or something? Because I’m telling you, I ain’t into that type of
thing–”
I laughed. “Nothing like that, I promise.”
“Then let me go!”
“I will. And if you listen to what I have to say, I’ll give you a
couple of coppers. How does that sound?”
“A couple of coppers just for listening?” he asked.
“That’s what I said.”
He stopped struggling. “Make it three.”
I laughed again and let him go. As quick as a blink, he turned
around, his knife still at the ready and a frown on his twelve-year-old
face. “I’m listening,” he said. “But you make one funny move, and I’ll
cut you where you stand.”
I had to admit, I liked the boy already. He reminded me of myself
at that age. “I won’t,” I said, holding my hands out in surrender.
“Promise.”
He seemed to relax a little, the hand holding the knife lowering
slightly. “What do you want?” he repeated.
“First, what’s your name?”
“You can call me Samuel, if you like.”
“Samuel,” I repeated, not knowing or caring if it was his real
name. “I want you to steal someone’s coin pouch for me.”
He looked at me with deep suspicion. “You what?”
“You heard me,” I said.
“You want me to steal a coin pouch?” he asked, his tone
incredulous. “What the fuck for? Why don’t you steal one yourself?”
“What for is my business. And it isn’t a coin pouch, but a
particular one.” I grinned at him. “And it would defeat the purpose if
I was to take it myself.”
He was still staring at me in confusion. “And if I’m going to take
the risk and all, why should I give the coin pouch to you? What’s in it
for me?”
“How much do you usually get when you steal a coin pouch?” I
asked him.
 “Who said I did? Thieves lose their hands around these parts,
don’t you know?”
I really did know. I’d come close to losing a hand or two myself.
But as I’d grown older, I’d become better at picking my targets.
“Maybe you’re not the street urchin I’m looking for,” I said,
pitching my words so he would take it as a challenge. “I was looking
for someone willing to make some easy coin. Someone with skills I
can use.”
It was a dismissal, but I didn’t turn away. Instead, I simply
waited for Samuel’s response.
I could see his mind ticking. Despite himself, he was curious.
After all, it wasn’t every day a stranger approached with such an
unusual offer.
“Hypothetically,” he allowed. “If I was such a thieving knave as
you seem to think, I reckon I’d make a small handful of coppers, and
maybe a silver or two from each pouch.”
Given how young he was–and how unlikely it was that he would
be as choosy about his targets as I was with mine–I doubted he
made as much as he claimed. But I didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll give you twice that if you do the job,” I said.
“Twice–” Samuel began, but cut himself off. His eyes were almost
bulging at the thought. And I knew what he was thinking. Such a
score as the one I was talking about would keep him fed for a
fortnight. More if he was careful.
It might even help him buy a new tunic and shoes for his bare
feet.
I didn’t say anything else, just waited for the cogs in his head to
continue to spin. Finally, he offered a small nod. “Who do you want
me to rob?” he asked.
My smile grew broader. “Put down that knife, and I’ll tell you.”
 CHAPTER THREE

“T he redhead wearing the green dress. She’s beautiful. You

can’t miss her. Have a look, but don’t do anything yet.
Okay?”
There were people everywhere, strolling past us without a care in
the world, ignoring me and the boy. I ignored them too, as well as
the stallholders, but kept half an eye out for any Blackcoats who
happened to be wandering by. Not all of them were like Rolf, and I
didn’t want to get arrested before the job was done.
Samuel couldn’t see through the crowd, so he had to make his
way closer to my target. I loitered where I was, and he quickly
returned.
“Got her. At the fabric merchant.”
“Good,” I said. “Now, here’s the thing. You have to make sure
she sees you.”
The kid shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “She ain’t gonna see me.
They never do. I’m too good for that. Hypothetically speaking, of
course.”
He said it with more than a little pride, and I believed him. After
all, he was still in possession of both of his hands.
But that wasn’t the point. “No, the thing is, I want her to see
you. I want her to know what you’ve done. Got it?”
“You’re fucking daft,” he said.
“I have my reasons. Do you understand?”
He deflated a little. “Whatever. It’s your coin,” he said.
 “Good. There’s one more thing. When she sees you, take off at a
run, but head towards me. I’ll be following close by.”
Samuel didn’t ask any more questions. He just nodded.
“Good. Are you ready?”
The boy looked quickly around as if to make sure there were no
Blackcoats about. Then he nodded once more.
“Off you go, then,” I said.
Samuel didn’t waste time. Once more, he darted through the
crowd, and I did my best to follow at what seemed to be a casual
stroll. I positioned myself so I could see the redheaded woman in
the green dress without random marketgoers getting in my way.
Samuel moved with confidence. Within just a few seconds he
reached the woman, and his knife flicked out low and quick. It was a
move I knew well, having used it myself more times than I could
remember. A swift cut through the straps and the coin pouch would
drop neatly into his hand.
Nineteen times out of twenty, and the mark would never know it
had happened. But the twentieth…
The woman was quicker than I expected. She turned swiftly, a
look of steel-eyed determination on her face as she reached out and
caught the boy by the arm.
He was as shocked as I was, having never expected the woman
to act with such speed. I thought my simple plan might be over and
done right then, and that I would have to think of another excuse to
meet her.
But Samuel twisted and pushed, sending the woman against the
fabric merchant’s shelves as he launched himself away. The woman
cried out as the boy caught sight of me and grinned his triumph,
holding the woman’s coin pouch out in front.
I smiled in return, but this wasn’t supposed to look like a meeting
between conspirators. So, as he got close, I stepped to one side,
grabbed his arm and stuck my foot in front of his, using his
momentum against him.
He landed face-first in the mud. “Hoi! What do you think you’re
playing at?”
 As casually as you please, I stuck a knee in the middle of his
back and plucked the woman’s coin pouch from his grip. “Quiet,” I
hissed. “Here’s your money. Now struggle, and I’ll let you go.”
I dropped a different coin pouch next to Samuel’s face. He
grabbed it, continued to curse, and put on a show good enough that
I could feign being unbalanced. I let him go, and he took off before
anyone else could try to help me.
I ended up with one knee and one hand in the mud, but it was a
small price to pay. Plastering a look of bemusement on my face, I
hauled myself back to my feet and found myself looking straight at
the woman in green.
She didn’t look pleased. Her eyebrows were still furrowed in
anger, and I realized she wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
So I grinned very broadly. “The kid got away,” I said. “But I
believe this is yours?”
With that, I presented the woman with her own pouch,
completely unmuddied.
Suddenly, her anger evaporated, and she favored me with a smile
so brilliant it chased all my thoughts away.
It was like looking at a sunrise after a stormy night. Like standing
in a field of wildflowers just to enjoy their beauty.
Rolf’s description hadn’t done this woman justice. She wasn’t just
beautiful. She was spectacular, from her brilliant, clear blue eyes to
her perfect teeth.
For the first time in my life, I found myself as clumsy and tongue-
tied around a woman as I’d seen Rolf become.
The Blackcoat was brutal, effective, and cunning to boot, but he
had the tongue and soul of a cabbage when it came to women. Just
as I did, right at that moment.
Fortunately, it was her turn to speak.
“Thank you,” she said, and held out her hand.
Automatically, I handed over the coin pouch. Then I simply
stared, enraptured by the exquisite woman before me. But I wasn’t
the only one. She seemed as interested in me as I was in her.
At the same time, it wasn’t exactly the height of decorum for two
strangers to stare at each other in the middle of the market, and the
woman was the first of us to reach that conclusion. Her smile faded
just a little, and I sensed she was about to turn away from the mute
standing before her.
“You have the most beautiful eyes,” I said, breaking free from the
spell of her beauty, and that was enough to prevent her from leaving
right away.
She blushed instead. “Thank you. You are very kind,” she said.
Then I frowned in feigned puzzlement. “But surely, a lady such as
yourself would never be unaccompanied on a trip to the market.
Where are your guards?” I asked her.
Her smile returned, and this time there was a hint of
mischievousness within it. “They’re around, somewhere. I fear I may
have given them the slip. It’s something my father has warned me
about, but I can’t help it. I don’t like that they follow me all the
time.”
The way she said it gave me hope. Aside from her beauty, I’d
picked her as the rich, spoiled daughter of a wealthy merchant that
Rolf had described, closeted and aloof. But if she liked to give her
guards the slip, then maybe there was more to her than that.
I offered a laugh, and just like that, I became a co-conspirator.
“And yet, that freedom comes at a cost. Would the boy have picked
you to steal from if your guards were nearby?”
“A small price to pay,” she replied. “And besides, it turned out
well enough in the end, thanks to you.”
“My pleasure,” I said.
I knew that even without Rolf’s promptings, I would have wanted
to get to know this woman better. I studied her for a moment more,
letting my smile broaden, knowing that the time had come to push
things a little. “Although,” I continued, allowing a hint of
mischievousness into my voice, “when a man comes to the rescue of
a beautiful woman, she usually offers some sort of reward?”
The woman laughed. “Rescue?”
I offered a shrug but kept my grin firmly in place. “What else
would you call it?”
The woman looked at me sideways, as if sizing me up.
Apparently, she liked what she saw, because she nodded to herself.
 “And what boon would that be?” she asked.
I gave her my best grin. “Two things, actually,” I said. “First,
would you tell me your name?”
It wasn’t funny in the least, yet the woman laughed as if it was,
an open, innocent sound that sounded like music. “My name is
Anwen,” she said, and that matched the name Rolf had given me.
“And you are?”
“Mordie,” I supplied.
“Mordie,” she repeated, as if it was important for her to
remember. “And what was the second part of this boon you ask for?”
The way she spoke suggested she was worried I might ask too
much. As indeed I may have done on another occasion. But with
thoughts of Rolf and his men a million miles from my mind, I gave
her a different answer.
“There’s a tavern nearby that serves an unusual drink. It’s a taste
imported, they say, from a distant land. They call it cocoa, and they
serve it hot with marshmallows. It’s like nothing you’ve ever
experienced before. Accompany me there for a taste.”
There really was a tavern that served such a drink. I’d discovered
it only a few weeks before, yet had been back several times since,
and not just because the tavern girls were buxom and willing. The
drink was as I described, warm and sweet and delicious, and I didn’t
know why the whole of the city hadn’t latched onto it.
A part of me hoped that Anwen would turn me down. That she
would walk away, and I would never see her again. Because this was
still part of Rolf’s plan, to get Anwen away from the markets and into
a place where Rolf and his henchmen could take her from me.
Even thinking about Rolf and his men felt like a betrayal. Yet I
kept my smile on my lips and awaited Anwen’s reply.
“I shouldn’t…” she began.
“You shouldn’t have left your guards behind, either,” I replied,
teasing her gently.
Anwen raised an eyebrow. It had been the right approach. I’d
always been good at that sort of thing. Knowing when to press and
when to back off, and knowing just what to say to get the result I
was after.
 She laughed once again, the sound of small bells. “My father will
be wondering where I am–” she started, but it wasn’t really a
refusal. She was asking me to come up with a reason to take the
risk.
And it didn’t need to be a very good one.
“It’s not far from here. How long were you planning to spend in
the market? We can be back as soon as you like.”
Still, she seemed hesitant, so I used the best, most compelling
argument I had.
“You’re right,” I said, grinning broadly. It was a good grin. I knew
it was, having practiced it on numerous other women. It gave me a
roguish look that they found hard to deny. “You should be a dutiful
daughter and return to your father with all possible haste. After all,
it’s not like I just saved you from a thief or anything, is it?”
As I spoke, I held her eye, and she had the decency to look
scandalized. Yet she never lost her smile either, even when she
swung her purse at me in mock outrage.
“Oh! You are a beast!” she said, and once again I could tell I had
pitched it just right. She knew I was teasing but also that I was
correct. I’d done her a favor, and so far had gotten nothing more
than her name in return.
I decided to lay it on even thicker. “It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t
owe me anything. I’m sure that anyone else who’d seen that street
urchin take your coin purse would have acted as I did. Of course,
nobody actually did, but I’m sure it was just a matter of time.”
Anwen couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.
I had won.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll try this drink you like so much. At great risk
to myself, no less. But if I am late returning to my father, then
beware. I cannot save you from his wrath.”
She said it lightly, but I detected a note of truth beneath her
words and wondered which merchant family she belonged to. Even
so, I grinned once again and offered Anwen my elbow, which she
happily accepted.
Then the two of us strolled through the market, with me feeling
more than a twinge of guilt that the tavern in question was the other
way entirely.
 CHAPTER FOUR

I did my best to stay relaxed as I led Anwen into an alley that was
far more grimy and unclean than anything she was used to. Her
smile began to fade as she picked her way through the mire, and
her uncertainty increased at the sound of something small scrabbling
about up ahead. Probably a rat, or maybe a rat dragon, one of those
flying, scaled beasts that preyed on the vermin and which most
people put in the same category.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” she asked, and I felt another
pang of guilt.
“Oh, sorry!” I said, doing my best to sound cheerful. “I shouldn’t
have taken you this way. It’s just the quickest route between the
market and the tavern. If you like, we can backtrack and find a more
civilized way.”
It seemed to reassure her because her smile returned. “No, this
will be fine. Although you lose a few points for taking me this way.”
I managed another smile and wondered if it wasn’t too late to
turn around. But by now, Rolf would already know we were there.
He–or one of his men–would have kept Anwen in sight from the
moment I first spotted her in the market. He would know I’d done
my job, would know that Anwen and I were already in the maze of
alleys where he and his cronies hid.
If I was to turn around now, he would know I’d done it on
purpose, and while I counted Rolf as a friend, he was a dangerous
bastard with his sword and his fists. I wouldn’t have been surprised
to learn that more than one corpse pulled from the docks had been
put there by him.
And, really, it wasn’t like we planned to hurt Anwen. Just an
afternoon of impromptu captivity, for a significant price.
If the woman had been less beautiful, and had failed to turn my
head as she had, would I even have hesitated?
The answer was no. I would have gone through with the plan
without batting an eye. Because, while I wasn’t part of Rolf’s regular
crew, in all the jobs I’d done with him before, he’d paid up as
promised, and the money was good.
So what was the difference?
I didn’t owe Anwen a thing. She was just another target. And I
was an opportunist.
With that thought in mind, I continued to lead the way, trying not
to pay attention to how heavy my feet became, or how gloomy and
miserable the day had become.
Anwen seemed to catch some of my mood. She half-turned
toward me as we walked and stared at my face with uncertainty. I
tried to pretend I hadn’t seen her, hadn’t noticed, but couldn’t keep
up the act. Before long, I sensed the space growing between us,
both physical and not. Then, without warning, she stood in place,
keeping her hand hooked around my elbow so I would stop as well.
“I’m starting to think,” she began. “That I shouldn’t have
accepted your invitation.”
I did my best to grin, but it felt sick on my face. In the end, it
was all I could do to shrug in its place.
“You might be right,” I admitted.
But it was too late. Rolf and his cronies emerged from the
shadows—three large, dangerous men wearing the black coats of
the city guard and evil expressions. They used their size and
unexpected presence to their advantage, blocking Anwen in from
each side as they approached.
The beautiful redheaded woman looked at them with an
expression of hope, seeing first the black coats they wore. Then that
expression faded as she understood how much trouble she was in.
 She cast one look of betrayal mixed with disappointment my way,
and I felt a cold knife of shame rip through my heart as her
expression became one of infinite loathing.
Durstan, the biggest of the three men, a brutal looking one,
reached for Anwen.
And she began to scream and fight, lashing out with a small
dagger she had conjured from somewhere, catching him across the
bridge of his nose and darting quickly away from his grasp, looking
for an escape. But she was boxed in.
Rolf had hung back a little and laughed at his henchman’s close
call. Durstan, however, let out a roar of pain and indignation, and
lunged at Anwen.
I wanted to intervene. Everything in me said that I should. But
that would be an unforgivable mistake, and I wasn’t prepared to
have Rolf as my foe.
And besides, while I could look after myself, Rolf’s men were
battle-hardened bruisers, more than capable of shunting me to one
side if they wanted to. No, the time for me to change my mind had
passed.
As Durstan caught Anwen’s hands in his fists, the beautiful
woman began screeching like a fish wife. She hurled all sorts of
colorful abuse at the men, calling them every name under the sun.
She lashed out with her feet, and even tried to use her teeth.
In different circumstances, I would have applauded.
Even though he had blood running down his nose and over his
lips, Durstan was doing most of the work, with Rolf and the other
man hanging back. And the big, brutal-looking man was angry. I
feared for Anwen’s safety.
“Don’t hurt her,” I ventured, and Durstan shot a look my way.
“Or what?” he demanded.
But to my relief, Rolf took it as a signal. He reached forward and
clamped his hand over Anwen’s mouth from behind.
“That’s enough of that,” he snarled into her ear.
But Anwen simply redoubled her efforts.
“I said enough!” Rolf said, and gave her a shake. “We don’t want
to hurt you, but we will if you make us. Now, stop your struggling. It
won’t do you any good. You’re coming with us, and if all goes
according to plan, you’ll be back with your father by the end of the
day.”
Anwen didn’t seem to care for Rolf’s words one way or the other.
With Durstan still gripping her hands, she tried to stomp on Rolf’s
feet.
Rolf jumped out of the way. Yet he seemed to appreciate
Anwen’s fire, but not in the same way I did. He was grinning, yes,
but it had a malicious feel to it.
“I said stop it! If you don’t–ah!” he yelled, the last as Anwen’s
most recent stomp caught him a good one. “Bitch!” Rolf said. He
shot a glance at the third man. “Bryce! I’m done with this trollop!
You brought the rope? Tie her up! We’ll carry her.”
With that, Rolf withdrew his hand, and Durstan unceremoniously
dumped Anwen onto the ground. I winced as she fell. She seemed
slightly stunned by the impact, and it took her a moment to regather
her breath. When she had, she began screeching and cursing once
more.
Neither Rolf nor his men seemed the least bothered by the
ruckus. As quickly and efficiently as he could, the wiry, tough-looking
Bryce did as Rolf asked, swiftly binding Anwen’s ankles and wrists.
Then he took a length of rag from the pouch he wore at his side,
balled it up, and stuffed it into Anwen’s mouth. That done, he used
another piece of rope to keep it in place, tying it tight around the
back of her head.
Then the three men stepped back to admire his handiwork. To
her credit, Anwen still struggled, but there was little she could do,
and her curses came out as muffled grunts.
I looked at her with regret and couldn’t help but notice the
lingering stares from Rolf and his crew.
I had no claim on Anwen, and from the last look she’d thrown my
way, any initial attraction she might have felt for me was long buried
beneath a layer of hate. But I still didn’t want to see her come to
any harm.
“So, am I done?” I asked, more to draw Rolf’s attention to me
than anything else.
 “Huh?” Rolf said, turning my way. “Yeah, sure. You did your job
well. You’ll get your cut, as we agreed.” As he spoke, he waved me
away, and I knew he meant to dismiss me.
I could have walked away. And perhaps it would have been
better if I’d done just that.
But I’d seen how Rolf and his men had looked at Anwen and
knew what they were thinking.
While I was a long way from being innocent myself, there were
lines I’d never crossed. As far as criminals went, I was fairly
harmless. Happy to go along with most things. I would fight when I
had to, run if need be, but I’d never killed anyone in my life, as far
as I knew.
And the idea of rape?
I found it abhorrent. Women were to be seduced and cherished.
I could see few reasons to hurt one.
Especially one as special as Anwen.
So, instead of walking away, I ignored Rolf’s dismissal. “You said
you wouldn’t hurt her,” I said.
Rolf’s ugly, square face broke into a grin. Some time in his youth,
he’d ended up with a ragged scar on his cheek, beneath his left eye.
Time had faded the scar, but it was still visible, especially when he
tried to hide his emotions. It was like a signal of danger, and pulsed
red when he didn’t like what he heard.
As it was doing then.
“So I did,” he said. “And?”
The way he said it sounded like a threat. But I didn’t back down.
“And I’m hoping you still intend to honor your word.”
Rolf barked a laugh. “Ha!” he said. “Look at that! The pup has
some teeth after all! And here was me, thinking you were nothing
but a pretty boy with a talent for taking your dick into places it
doesn’t belong!”
It was, I admitted, the first time I’d stood up to him. I was much
more prone to simply going with the flow and accepting whatever
opportunity came my way. But Rolf was my friend, and Anwen… I
didn’t want to see him hurt her.
 So I stood my ground. Rolf cast a glance at Bryce and Durstan.
Then he looked back at me and gave another grin. But I didn’t feel
any warmth from it.
“So be it,” he declared. “We’ll take her to a quiet spot and send
her father a message, just like we planned. She’ll be fine.” He kept
grinning, and I kept not trusting his grin. “That make you happy?”
he asked.
Still feeling a chill from his grin, I slowly nodded and said, “I’d
like to go with you.”
Rolf’s grin faded a little. “And why is that?”
I shrugged. “If you don’t plan to hurt her, why does it matter?”
Rolf cast another glance at his men, both of whom were glaring
at me. But they weren’t my concern. They would do as Rolf told
them. His position with the Blackcoats was surprisingly senior.
Behind the brutish exterior was a cunning mind that the King himself
seemed to find useful.
Rolf thought about it for a handful of heartbeats.
“Okay,” he said finally. “You can come along.” Then he turned
back to his men one more time and interrupted their curses and
grumbling. “Pick her up,” he said. “And be gentle about it. Or our
friend Mordie here might object.”
I knew he was mocking me, but at that point, I didn’t much care.
All that mattered was that Rolf was going to keep his promise, and
that Anwen would be okay.
 CHAPTER FIVE

R olf and his men were Blackcoats. The King’s guard.

Responsible for the safety of the Crown and the city of
Camelot as a whole. Still, they were known to be corrupt, and
it wasn’t uncommon to see them carrying squirming women about.
None of the passersby saw fit to comment, with most averting their
eyes and scurrying away, desperate not to be involved.
I followed along, wondering what I was doing. I kept telling
myself that Rolf was my friend, that he wouldn’t lie to me. After all,
Rolf had been good to me so far. I’d completed many jobs for him.
At the same time, I didn’t trust Bryce or Durstan at all. Never had.
That said, what was I going to do if my instincts proved correct?
It was a good question, one to which I had no answer. So I
followed along as they headed toward the docks by the river, and
tried not to think too much about it.
Finally, we reached Rolf’s destination—a door no different from
others we’d passed, set in a stone wall. When opened, it revealed a
dimly lit room filled with ropes hanging from the rafters, barrels, a
couple of chairs, a pile of sacking that looked like it could be
someone’s bed, bargepoles, and more.
It was a storage room. It looked like the type of place a dock
worker might use, and it came complete with a wooden plate of
moldering food, flies, and rats scampering into the dark corners.
Rolf’s men unceremoniously wandered in and dropped Anwen
onto the pile of sacks, and Durstan grinned as she sat up and glared
around. The other man, Bryce, closed the door behind me, cutting
out much of the light. Yet neither the door nor the shuttered window
were perfectly made. There was still enough light to see by,
especially when Bryce also cracked the shutters open a little.
Then, he turned to Rolf. “Now what?”
“Now we get a message to our guest’s old man, asking for
ransom,” Rolf said.
Durstan hadn’t stopped leering at Anwen since he put her down.
But at Rolf’s words, he turned his lumbering bulk about.
“And while we are waiting?” he asked, his intent clear. “It’s been
a while since I tasted flesh as fine as hers.”
I wanted Rolf to shake his head, to deny the man absolutely.
After all, hadn’t he said more than once that Anwen wasn’t to be
hurt? But instead, Rolf cast a glance at Bryce.
“What about you, Bryce? What do you think we should do while
we wait?” Rolf said it as if he didn’t have a preference either way,
and was merely taking a poll.
I stood there, wanting to say something. But Rolf hadn’t asked
me. I glanced at Anwen and saw her expression of horror.
She wasn’t naïve. She knew what was being discussed.
“I think Durstan is lying,” Bryce said finally. “He ain’t never
touched a woman like her in his life! Goats, that I’d believed. Pigs,
horses, probably them all. And I’d be a bit worried to let him in the
same room with a chicken. But a woman like that? He’s dreaming!”
Rolf seemed to see the humor in Bryce’s comment. Nevertheless,
he turned away from Bryce and let his gaze settle on me.
“The thing is, it makes sense to keep her in one piece,” he said.
“After all, there isn’t a merchant alive that would pay for damaged
goods. However, I’m not entirely sure that what Durstan has in mind
would be considered damage at all.”
As he spoke, his eyes bored into mine, and I felt he was testing
me. Yet that was secondary to me. What mattered most was
Anwen’s safety.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt her,” I repeated.
He nodded blithely. “And I’m a man of me word. But as I say, it’s
the definition of ‘hurt’ that’s in dispute. What do you reckon,
Durstan? Could you have your way with her and not hurt her at all?”
The big brute of a man grinned nastily. “I could give it a go,” he
said.
Rolf turned his attention to me, and there was something
mocking and disdainful in his expression. “Here’s how I see it,” he
drawled. “You’ve proven your usefulness more than once. You have
a way about you that allows you to do things others can’t. But the
thing is, that isn’t enough. If you’re going to be part of my crew on a
regular basis, I need to know I can rely on you. And that you’re
willing to do whatever it takes.”
I didn’t like where this was heading one bit. I glared at Rolf,
aware that Durstan was looking at me like I was some sort of snack.
In times past, I would probably have given him a smile and offered
some sort of reassurance. “Anything you say, Rolf. No problem.”
Something like that. Because I’d been happy to go with the flow.
But he’d never really pushed me before. Never brought me close
to any line in the sand. And this wasn’t what I’d signed up for.
“Speak plainly,” I demanded.
Rolf actually laughed. He did that too much, whether angry or
happy, and I was beginning to hate that grin on his face.
“The rabbit bares its fangs,” Rolf said dangerously. He cast a
glance at his men, who were both grinning at the joke. But I wasn’t.
I was still glaring at him.
“It’s like this, Mordie,” Rolf said. “We’ve reached a crossroads,
you and I. From here, it can go one of several ways. Either you can
show me your worth, and we will keep working together. Or you are
done.” He paused, allowing a sneer to twist his top lip. “So, which
will it be?”
I looked about, assessing Rolf’s men. Durstan was the biggest,
most obvious threat, but Bryce was more wiry and quick. And he
wasn’t exactly small, either. As for Rolf, he hadn’t made a move,
hadn’t shifted at all. Yet somehow, he still remained the biggest
threat in the room.
“Speak clearly,” I repeated, knowing I was treading on dangerous
ground. “What do you mean?”
 “Well, Mordie, it’s like this. Either you show me that you are loyal
to me above all else, or you show me enough that I can forgive the
odd lapse in the loyalty department. Either you sit back and watch
as we all take our turns at your girlfriend here, or you stand and
fight for her honor and show me what you’ve got.”
It was like he’d punched me in the gut. I felt winded and started
to become dizzy. I’d heard in the past that Rolf was a bit of a prick,
but he’d always been friendly to me.
“Well, Bastard? Which is it?”
It was a question without any real answer, and Rolf knew it. I’d
never wanted to see Anwen hurt and still didn’t. But to fight Durstan
and Bryce both at the same time?
I wasn’t bad in a fight, but these two were dangerous.
What did that leave? Could I make it past them to the door and
simply run away? The cowardly thought made me sick.
Even if I could run, it wouldn’t help Anwen.
Then again, maybe nothing could. Maybe I should have just cut
my losses...
No, I thought, hating myself for even considering the option.
It might have been stupid. Foolish, in fact, to risk it all for a
woman I had only just met. But she wouldn’t have been in this mess
if it weren’t for me. And I was tired of being an opportunist.
It was time to make a stand.
As fast as thought, I drew my knife and crouched low.
 CHAPTER SIX

D urstan didn’t wait for Rolf to signal, or anything. He just let out
a roar and hurled himself at me, swatting my knife aside with
a contemptuous slap of his hand. I managed to hold onto it,
but the blow had unbalanced me, and it was all I could do to lurch
backwards out of the way.
I stumbled and crashed into the floor, sending bargepoles
toppling over and letting go of my knife to avoid braining myself
against the wall. All three Blackcoats laughed at my clumsiness, and
I distinctly heard Rolf mutter the word, “Pathetic,” as he watched.
But I didn’t have time to worry about that. I scrabbled away from
Durstan and Bryce, both of whom were approaching, Durstan with
his hands outstretched and Bryce gripping a piece of wood he’d
grabbed from somewhere.
While neither man had drawn their swords, that didn’t mean I
was safe. It just meant they didn’t think of me as much of a threat.
I scrambled to my knees, couldn’t immediately find my knife, and
so reached for one of the bargepoles.
The pole had a hard, metal hook on one end for fishing ropes
from the water. I swung it as hard as I could, whacking it against
Durstan’s arm. He let out a roar of anger mixed with pain.
I seized the moment to regather my feet and did my best to keep
the Blackcoats at bay. And, much to my own surprise, I found myself
grinning broadly. Quite by chance, I’d found a weapon that tipped
the balance in my favor. All I needed to do was keep the pole aimed
at Durstan and Bryce, and they wouldn’t be able to hurt me.
Even Rolf seemed impressed, but Bryce and Durstan’s
expressions were a matched set of fury and hate. I jabbed at them,
one at a time, moving quickly enough so they couldn’t grab my pole
and tear it out of my grip.
“Are we done?” I yelled at them. I shot a glance at Rolf. “Have I
shown my value yet? Or do you want to see more?”
“Foolish boy,” Bryce said in reply. “We have only just begun.”
With that, Bryce stepped to the side, opening a space between
him and Durstan. It quickly became difficult to guard them both with
my pole, and they knew it. Each of them took turns to feint toward
me, pretending to lunge when I was covering the other.
I began sweating with the effort and wondered what I had to do
to end this.
Bryce lunged again, and I jerked the tip of the poll toward him,
then Durstan got in on the act. This time, I swept low, hooking the
man’s ankle with my pole, and using all my strength to upset his
balance. He hopped and turned half around, so I charged at him and
knocked him flat on his ass.
For good measure, I gave him a solid kick in the guts, then spun
to face my remaining opponent.
Only too late did I see that Bryce had used the time to pick up a
heavy piece of tackle, a wooden piece of equipment that I vaguely
thought might have something to do with ropes and the unloading
of cargo. It was as big as my head. And Bryce was swinging it like
he meant to fling it right at my face.
At the last moment, I tried to duck beneath it and out of the way.
But the heavy piece of wood caught me a solid hit on my shoulder,
and I dropped the pole and fell onto the floor next to Durstan, who
was already back up to his knees.
The huge man looked at me with a grin, and that mixed with the
blood on his face only added to his menacing demeanor. “You ain’t
even a warm-up,” he said. “Your girlfriend had more fight in her than
you do.”
 I clutched at the pole again, but Bryce stomped on my hand. I
howled as Durstan grabbed the pole and wrenched it away from me.
He used it as a support to help him back to his feet and then loomed
over me like a giant.
This time, I couldn’t scramble away. There was nowhere to go.
And there wasn’t anything handy to fling at him.
The fight was over.
“You think you can kick me and get away with it?” Durstan
growled. “Well, two can play at that game!”
With that, he began kicking me with his heavy, booted feet,
lashing out again and again. All I could do was curl into a ball and
bring my arms up to protect my face. It wasn’t the first beating I’d
ever suffered, and I figured I could take it. At some point, however, I
realized Durstan wasn’t alone, and that Bryce had joined in. Beyond
them, I could sense Rolf and wondered why he didn’t put a stop to
the beating.
As each solid blow landed, I started to think that maybe they
weren’t going to stop.
What would happen to Anwen? From my spot on the floor, I
could see her trying to get free from her ropes. But even if she
managed that, she would have to fight her way past Rolf and his
men if she had any hope of escaping.
In any event, I was done. I couldn’t save her. All that was left to
do now was wait until Durstan or Bryce’s boot caught me in the
head hard enough to turn out my lights, and whether I would wake
up again or not was up to the fates.
I prepared myself for oblivion, expecting nothing more, and was
as surprised as anyone else when the door burst open and a
monstrous, shaggy beast of a dog bounded in.
The dog was quickly followed by two men wielding knob-ended
clubs, and they didn’t hold back.
By then, I had caught enough blows to my head that I could
barely see straight, and the world had started to darken. But I still
understood that these men wore the gray coats of protectors rather
than the black of the Blackcoats, and they didn’t hesitate for a
moment.
 They were Hellfire and fury, and laid about the kidnappers with
gusto.
Rolf, Durstan, and Bryce were taken by surprise. Bryce aimed one
more kick at my head, then started to yell as the dog launched itself
at him.
The world faded out for a moment.
When next I could see, the Blackcoats were all gone, and Anwen
was sitting up on her pile of sacks, rubbing the circulation back into
her wrists. One of the Graycoat guards stood above me, a knob-
ended club raised in his hand.
“What about this one?” he asked.
Anwen gave me a look of disgust. “He worked for them, too,”
was all she said, and the knob-ended club descended.
The beating I’d gained from the boots of Bryce and Durstan had
already set up an ache that reverberated through my bones. But the
knob-ended club was like a cannonball in comparison.
It hit me flush on the back of the skull. I saw stars, then
blackness.
Strangely, my ears kept on working for a few seconds more. I
heard the huge dog whine for attention, and Anwen say, “Good boy.
You found me.”
Then, as I listened to Anwen and her rescuers leave, my hearing
faded as well.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

I dreamed of beautiful women. Not of Anwen, but the one from

years earlier, the woman who’d given me my wooden amulet.
Yet it wasn’t that scene which played out in my mind, but
another, from earlier still.
It was an image of frantic activity and fear.
The woman I’d seen before held me tight as she hurried through
wide halls of polished stone, past columns of gold and magnificent
works of art on the wall. It was a place of luxury like no other, and
even my poor, rattled brains understood that such majesty was to be
revered.
Yet the woman hurried along, paying no mind to anything save
for the need to move.
“But why must you take him?” said someone, another woman of
extraordinary beauty, yet pale and wan, as if she had been recently
ill. She struggled to keep up with the woman who’d given me my
amulet.
“Because of the prophecy. The King will try to kill him. If you
wish to see your son live, this is the only option.”
At this, the beautiful, sickly woman seemed to crumple. She
stopped hurrying, and instead stayed in place, her face becoming an
image of anguish and pain.
“But I won’t survive outside the castle,” she whispered.
This brought the first woman, the one who was holding me tight,
to a halt. She gave the sickly woman a look of empathy.
 “I know,” she said. “Yet even if you stay within it, your years will
be few.” She reached out a hand to touch the sickly woman’s face. “I
wish it were otherwise, but there is nothing I can do. But as you die,
know that your son will continue to live. I will see to it.”
The beautiful, broken woman would not be consoled, and her
tears flowed in rivers. She seemed on the verge of collapsing onto
the polished stone floors but held her place. In fact, after another
moment, she drew herself up as tall as she could, gathering her
dignity.
“I wish your words weren’t true,” she said. “But I know they are.
So take him, and with all haste, leave this place behind you. Keep
him safe. And when the time comes, tell him who he is.”
At this, both women caught the sound of footsteps behind them,
and the beautiful, sickly woman’s expression became one of anxiety.
“Go now. I will delay them as best as I can. Hurry! And by all the
fates, please keep him safe.”
The dream faded with an image of the woman who’d given me
my amulet hurrying further down the extravagant corridor, with me
in her arms.

For an unknowable length of time, the dream was all I knew. My

sleeping self was oblivious to everything else. Not even the pain of
my bruises got through.
Then, I could feel rough hands upon me, pawing at my tunic and
breaches until they found the wooden amulet at my chest.
Suddenly, I was awake. I scrambled up into a sitting position and
battered the groping hands to the side.
“What the hell are you doing?” I barked, and that was enough.
The questing hands were already gone, and their owner shuffled
away.
Only then did I get my first glimpse of where I was. And even
then, it was far from clear. One of my eyes was swollen shut, and
the other wasn’t far behind. In addition, my head was pounding, and
I could feel the results of every kick that had landed.
But it didn’t take a lot to figure things out.
The stench of vomit, shit, and piss. A press of dirty men wearing
rags and exuding despair. Rough stone at my back, and a hint of iron
bars beyond the men around me.
And rat dragons feeding on a naked corpse lying on the floor.
I was in jail.
It took a few minutes to clear the fog from my brain. Fortunately,
it seemed that the beating I’d taken had left me bruised but
unbroken. While my head ached, and two of my teeth felt loose, I
still had all my fingers and toes, and most of my skin remained
intact.
I’d lost my satchel and my coin pouch. And, while I’d been
sleeping, somebody had stolen the boots from my feet.
It wasn’t the first time I had seen the inside of this jail, and if I’d
had to bet, I would have put money on having once been held in
this very cell. It was more of a cave, really, with bars at the
entrance. The city jail was built into the caverns below the castle.
At least when I’d been here before, I’d known how I’d got here.
This time, my mind drew a blank.
I remembered the kidnapping attempt well enough, and knew
what the outcome of that had been. But what had happened
between then and now? How had I gone from getting knocked
unconscious in the storage room to waking up here?
I had no idea, and as I glanced around, I saw no one to ask.
These men in the cell with me seemed a surly lot. Shifty and
suspicious, as if each of them feared the others would take the tunic
from their backs.
As it appeared they would.
With my head still throbbing, I decided not to start any
conversations. Instead, I rested my aching head against the wall and
contemplated the fading images of my dream. I’d never had that
one before. It was as if the beating had dislodged it from some long-
forgotten memory.
 At some point, there was a commotion up front as one of the
guards tossed a few stale ends of bread through the bars, and the
prisoners did their best to kill each other and take what they could. I
watched from my place against the wall but didn’t join in. I’d already
suffered one beating and didn’t care to experience another.
Not long after that, one of the rat dragons feasting on the corpse
took note of me. Most people didn’t like the diminutive monsters,
treating them as the vermin they hunted—shooing them out of the
way or kicking them aside.
But I’d always found the rat dragons fascinating.
This one seemed curious. A mix of vibrant gold and green scales,
it looked me up and down while standing on its hind legs. No bigger
than my two clenched fists joined together, it resembled the dragons
of old, complete with horns, wings, and a sinuous tail.
Out of instinct, I held out a hand in a gesture of friendship.
“Come on,” I said to the creature. “I won’t hurt you.”
The rat dragon puffed a small cloud of smoke in defense and
leapt backwards. I laughed quietly, acknowledging that in a place
like this one, the creature was probably right to react suspiciously. If
the inmates could catch it, they might be tempted to eat it, and
probably wouldn’t even bother to try to cook it first.
I kept my hand out and repeated my greeting. “Come on,” I said
again.
This time, the rat dragon approached with more courage, coming
right up to me and sniffing my fingers. I waited for some seconds,
gaining its trust, then slowly moved my hand until I could scratch its
head.
To my infinite surprise, the rat dragon stayed where it was,
although at first it seemed to do so out of shock. Then it relaxed,
and even nuzzled against my fingers.
I smiled. “There’s a good boy,” I said. “Or are you a girl? Either
way, see? I told you I wouldn’t hurt you.”
The rat dragon seemed happy to accept my scratches. In fact, it
came closer, making a noise deep in its throat that wasn’t like
anything I’d heard from a rat dragon before. It was a low drumming
sound that seemed to indicate pleasure.
 “You’ve got a friend for life, there,” said someone. I glanced over
and saw that a wiry old guy who looked to be made of grime and
rags had come up next to me.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
The old man chuckled. “I knew a youngster who had a way with
the rat dragons, much like you seem to do. It was fun to begin with,
having them follow him around, but he soon learned they wouldn’t
stop. Few people seem to have the knack of it, but if you tame one,
he’s yours for life. But then, I guess that ain’t very long for either of
us anymore.”
I frowned, not completely sure what the old man had meant, but
the rat dragon chose that moment to butt my hand with his head, a
gesture I took to mean that he wanted me to keep scratching.
I felt a sense of kinship with the creature that surprised me, and
immediately forgot about the old man.
“You like that?” I asked. I reached out with my other hand as
well, and after a moment of uncertainty, the green and gold creature
accepted double scratches at once, enjoying both the eye ridge rubs
and under his jaw.
“Watch out for his teeth, though, mind,” said the old man. “They
have quite a nasty bite, and the wounds can get infected.”
For some reason, I didn’t think my new friend would bite me. It
seemed that in this foul, stinking place, I’d found a friend.
I didn’t know how long I sat there playing with my new friend
before there was another disturbance. This time, it wasn’t a guard
with a few ends of stale bread.
Someone was running a club back and forth along the bars,
making an awful racket. The effect on the prisoners was dramatic.
To a one, they cowered away from the front of the cell, giving me a
clear view of who was there.
Rolf.
He was looking over the prisoners with a sneer on his face, and I
knew he was looking for me.
I surged to my feet, spilling the rat dragon from where he had
nestled himself in my lap. He made a grumpy trilling sound and
turned away in a huff.
But my focus was on Rolf at the bars.
He saw me then, and his face split wide in a shit-eating grin.
“Mordie!” he said. “There you are, you bastard!”
 CHAPTER EIGHT

I was caught midway between suspicion and relief. My first

thought was that Rolf was here to get me out, as he’d done a
time or two before. In fact, that’s how I’d met him. I’d been
caught running a scam a few years ago, a betting thing with a
simple wooden ball and three cups, where the marks had to bet on
where the ball ended up. The way I worked it, I played it fair for the
first go, but upped the bet on the second, and palmed the ball so
the mark couldn’t get it right.
I’d made the mistake of targeting a young man with a heavy coin
pouch and not much going on behind his eyes. But he turned out to
be the kind to rat to his father, who just happened to be a noble in
the King’s Court.
End result, I ended up in jail, with the prospect of losing a hand
in my future.
Except Rolf had whispered a few words in the guard’s ears,
slipped a coin into the right palm here and there, and I was back out
on the street, bemused at my luck, but more than happy to accept
the strange twist of fate.
It wasn’t until a few weeks after when Rolf had approached me
to take part in a job.
However, I wasn’t entirely sure where I stood with him now. Or
where he stood with me.
I picked my way across the cell, doing my best to avoid all the
unpleasant things on the floor, and approached the bars
simultaneously wanting to throttle him and hoping for freedom.
“Mordie, Mordie, Mordie,” he said. “You’re not half so pretty as
usual, you know that? You really should learn how to protect that
face of yours in a fight. It is by far your most valuable asset, and
you’ve gone and made it look a right mess.”
He said it without the slightest shred of sympathy. In fact, unless
I missed my guess, he was almost gloating. I felt a hard knot of
anger form in the pit of my stomach and wanted to wipe the smirk
from his face. But Rolf had always been a bastard, and just because
he was sneering at me didn’t mean he wasn’t there to let me out.
So as much as I felt like reaching through the bars, gripping his
balls, and giving them a hard twist, I gritted my teeth and kept my
tongue civil.
“Yeah,” I said. “Next time, maybe tell your thugs to aim their
kicks away from my head.”
At this, Rolf barked a laugh that I would have sworn was
genuine, and for just a moment, I allowed myself to hope.
When he calmed down, I ventured a broken smile.
“So, you going to get me out of here?”
He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he stepped back from the bars
as if to give himself room to look me over.
“You know,” he said finally, “in this world we live in, there’s two
types of people. Those who have what it takes to get by, and those
who do not. Winners and losers. Leaders, and the rest.”
He paused then as if chewing things over, and I felt a buildup of
dread in the pit of my stomach, next to the hard knot of anger. Yet I
didn’t say anything in return. Instead, I just waited, and eventually,
he continued.
“Look at you, all beaten up, your boots missing, standing there in
just your tunic and breaches. You’ve got nothing, don’t you? Nothing
at all. And the funny thing is, when I first saw you, I figured you for
someone who could have had it all.”
I didn’t know where he was going, and despite everything, my
confusion must have shown most of all, because he laughed again.
But this time, his laughter was malignant. Aimed at me. And
there was little in the way of humor in it.
 “You’ve got the looks, that easy charm of yours. People are
drawn to you, like flies are drawn to a pile of shit. Men, women, it’s
like you lead a charmed life, and I once thought you were destined
for so much more.”
And then he paused, as if waiting for me to confirm or deny the
truth of his words.
Again, I said nothing, even though his words rang partly true.
But it wasn’t by chance. I’d learned early on that some people were
drawn to me, and that they would often give me things as a result.
Just offered to me, out of the blue.
I liked it. It seemed an easy way to live. Not only did it lead to all
sorts of fun times, especially where the women were concerned, but
it also helped me out of the old tight spot as well.
What Rolf didn’t know was that I’d worked hard to broaden my
appeal as much as I could. Because I liked being that guy, the one
everyone wanted to know.
So I learned how to say the right thing at the right time, how to
give a gentle nudge just when I needed, to get the outcome I
wanted.
Rolf hadn’t finished, though, and when I didn’t respond, he
continued. “But that’s just the half of it. You’ve got skills as well. As
a thief, there aren’t many better than you, and as a con artist–well,
you had our friend Anwen wrapped around your pinky within
seconds, didn’t you?” he barked another laugh. “Why, I bet she
would have got down in the mud and polished your knob with her
tongue right there in public if you’d asked her to. Am I right?”
I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of an answer to that, so
I said, “Do you have a point?”
His grin returned, but there was nothing friendly about it.
Instead, it was wolfish. Predatory. And I was his prey. That hard
knot in my stomach grew.
“Of course I have a point!” he said. “My point is that you could
have had it all! Skills like yours, you’re not even that bad when it
comes to a fight. But you have no ambition! No drive for success!
Here’s you, five years after I pulled you out of this place and where
are you? You’re right back in here!”
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Last Supper, 253
Laufen, 131, 167
Laufen salt mine, 24
Law, 52, 280
Leclancher, ⸺, 69, 70, 74, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83, 88, 94, 95, 98,
101, 123
Lederhosen, 80, 138
Léhar, Franz, 165
Lenbach, 78
Leonfelden, 86, 87
Leopold, King of Belgium, 165
Lesley, Capt. Everett Parker, Jr., 285
Limburg, 266
Lindbergh, Charles, 14
Linz, 78, 82, 83, 87, 101, 102, 111, 113, 117, 123, 124, 125, 128,
151, 161
Linz Collections, 163
Linz Museum, 160, 162, 164
List of Protected Monuments, 248
Loggia dei Lanzi, 56
London, England, 17, 19, 20, 267
London Naval Headquarters, 19
Longchamps, 21
Longuy, Lt. Pierre, 256
Loser, Mt., 138
Louvain, 255
Louvre, 145, 205, 206, 207, 234, 239
Lovegrove, Lt. William, 264, 265, 266
Lower Bavaria, 282
Lucienne, 36
“Lucky Rear,” 53, 56
Ludwig, Prince of Hesse, 249, 250
Ludwig bridge, 57
Ludwig I, 56
Ludwigsburg, 229
Ludwig II, 215, 237, 238
Ludwigs of Bavaria, The, Channon, 214
Ludwig-Strasse, 56
Luftwaffe, 22, 180, 204
Luithlen, Dr. Victor, 167
Luxembourg, 147

McBride, Col. Harry, 273, 275, 278, 279

Macmillan Committee, 20
“Mad King” of Bavaria, see Ludwig II
Madonna and Child, Florentine sculpture, 92
Madonna and Child (Madonna from Bruges), Michelangelo, 27,
142, 143, 144, 149, 159, 161, 164, 207, 223, 224, 255
Madonna of Bürgermeister Meyer, Holbein, 250
Madonna of the Divine Love, Raphael, 152
Magdalene, statue, 205
Main River, 46
Mainzer Landstrasse, 29
Manet, Édouard, 232
Mannheim, 229, 279
Mannheimer Collection, 91, 92, 106, 151
Man with a Turban, Rembrandt, 194, 195
Marburg, 32, 118, 231, 235, 278, 283, 294
Margarethe, Landgräfin of Hesse, 40, 249
Maria, 139, 165
Maria-Elisa, Princess of Lucca, 93
Marienberg fortress, 46
Marseilles, 195
Maspero, M., 287
Master of the Holy Kinship, 206
Mathilde-Strasse, 226
Matisse, Henri, 241
Mauritshuis (museum), 200
Medical Office, 20
Mediterranean Sea, 42
Meegeren, Henrik Van, 201, 202
Meer, Capt. ter, 267, 268
Mein Kampf, Hitler, 152
Mellon, Andrew, 148, 152
Mercury and Venus, Boucher, 234
Merkers, Germany, 16
Merkers mine, 32, 49, 119, 278, 287
Merrill, Comm. Keith, 279
“Merry Widow Waltz,” 165
MFA&A, see Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of U.
S. Forces, European Theater
Michel, Dr. Hermann, 183
Michelangelo, 143.
See also Madonna and Child
Miedl, ⸺, 267
Military Government Detachments, 33, 35, 40, 66, 103, 127,
139, 176, 236, 237, 248, 249
Miller, Maj. Luther, 219, 220, 221, 223, 224
Miller, Maj. Paul, 189
Millionen Zimmer, 144
Mineral Kabinett, 144, 148, 160
Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences (Holland), 202
Ministry of Fine Arts (Belgium), 256
Moldau River, 100, 114
Monastery of St. Florian, 161
Mondsberg chamber, 166
Monte Cassino, 152, 153
Mont St. Martin, church of, 58
Mont St. Michel, 17
Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of U. S. Forces,
European Theater, Howe assigned to, 15;
Webb heads at SHAEF, 18;
offices at Versailles, 21;
Kuhn in, 25;
and SHAEF, 28;
La Farge with, 31;
at Munich, 58-59;
work of, 118;
Walker inspects, 192;
 official position, 195-196;
Ritchie joins, 251;
Howe as Deputy Chief, 255;
personnel problems, 257, 273, 283-284, 293, 294;
headquarters transferred, 259;
restitution, 264;
removal of art works to United States, 272, 275-292;
mentioned, 40, 135, 254
Monuments of Middle Ages, 61
Moore, Lt. Lamont, described, 105-106, 107;
Howe meets, 116, 117;
previous work, 118-120;
Canova Muse, 121;
to Linz, 123, 125;
to Munich, 126, 127;
to Alt Aussee, 128, 129, 130;
operations at Alt Aussee, 131-171, 173-177;
and Kirstein, 177-178;
to Berchtesgaden, 179, 180, 185, 186, 187;
and Hofer, 181-182;
and Dr. Michel, 183-184;
and Göring Collection, 189-213, 219;
trip to Munich, 213-214;
to St. Agatha, 224-225;
to Frankfurt, 227-229;
Special Team, 228, 231, 256;
and Walker Hancock, 232;
at Neuschwanstein, 239-240, 266;
Rochlitz, 241;
Belgian restitution, 244;
trip to Coburg, 247, 249, 251;
resumes evacuation at Alt Aussee, 254, 255, 258, 277;
assigned to Wiesbaden, 278, 279;
mentioned, 114, 216, 221, 223, 253, 259, 269
Mouscron brothers of Bruges, 143
Mozartplatz, 82, 187
Münz Kabinett, 160, 164
Munich, Smyth assigned to, 32, 33;
Howe to fly to, 52, 53;
field work begins, 54-79;
back to, 93, 96, 98, 99, 102;
Stout visits, 106;
exhibitions, 151;
convoy to, 159, 218, 236;
trips to, 161, 162, 213, 217, 272;
Haus de Deutschen Kunst in, 166;
Rothschild jewels, 174;
Central Collecting Point, 196, 220, 222, 231, 244, 251, 271,
282;
museums of, 238;
to Paris, 245;
Third Army Headquarters, 246, 260;
return to, 254;
last operations in, 255;
convoys from Amsterdam, 257;
French representative in, 264;
plane from, 268;
Vorenkamp’s work, 269;
Belgium representative in, 280;
et passim
Munich Pact of 1938, 65
Muse, Canova, 121
Musée du Jeu de Paume, 23, 245, 264, 265, 266
Mussolini, Benito, 55, 184, 185, 209, 210, 223, 225
Mutter, Dr., 89-99, 102, 113, 114, 116, 121-124
Mutter family, 124
Myers, Capt., 125
Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, The, David, 197
Naarden, 270
Naples Museum, 152
Napoleon, 93
National Gallery, Edinburgh, 199
National Gallery of Art, 16, 105, 192, 273, 278, 279, 289, 294
Nattier, ⸺, 150
Netherlands Government, 270
Neue Residenz, 247, 248
Neue Staatsgalerie, 64
Neumann, Johann Balthasar, 47
Neuschwanstein, see Schloss Neuschwanstein
Newark Museum, 105
New York Times, 274n., 288, 290, 292
New York Times Overseas Weekly, 289, 290
Night Watch, Rembrandt, 270
1923 beer-hall “putsch,” 64
Ninth Army Headquarters, 118
North Sea, 42
Nürnberg, 236, 243-258, 272
Nunnery on the Mathilde-Strasse, 226

Oberammergau, 215, 282

Ober-Donau, 154
Obersalzberg, 192, 223
Offenbach, 280, 281, 282, 285
Office of Military Government for Germany (U. S.), 291
Olympus and the Four Continents, 47
101st Airborne Division, 180, 190, 209, 210, 222
Ooley, Capt. Wyman, 35, 36
Opera House, Frankfurt, 29, 35
Opera House, Wiesbaden, 31
Oppenheim, E. Phillips, 20
Orly field, 17, 19, 21, 28
Ortenburg, Countess of, 250
OSS, 20, 128, 241, 249
Ottobeuren, 215
Oud Bussum, 270

Pacher, Michael, 165

Painted Queen, The, see Queen Nefertete
Palace at Darmstadt, 250
Palace of Versailles, 115
Palais Edinburgh, 249
Pannini, 185
Pannwitz, Mme. Catalina van, 194
Pannwitz, Van, Collection, 194
Paris, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 37, 148, 167, 194, 195, 199, 215, 223,
227, 239, 241, 245, 264, 265, 279, 280
Paris Naval Headquarters, 19, 26
Parkhurst, Lt. (jg) Charles, 240
Passau, 113, 117
Passion of Christ, altarpiece, 206
Patton, Gen. George, 57, 228
Patuxent airport, 13
Pau Museum, 146
Peck, Sgt. Edward, 188, 189, 202, 204, 208, 212, 222
Pelz, Lt. Milton A., 249
Petites Écuries, 21
Philip of Hesse, 40, 249
“Photo Marburg,” 234
Picasso, Pablo, 241, 242
Pilsen, 254
Place de la Concorde, 18, 23
Place Vendôme, 17
Platter Hof, 192
Plaut, Lt. Jim, 20, 128, 131, 132, 133, 179, 181, 184, 241
Pötschen Pass, 131, 171, 184
Poland, 50, 196, 252, 254, 260, 272, 293
Poland, King of, 252
Polis, Lt. Col. H., 267
Polnische Grausamkeit, Die (The Polish Atrocity), 224
Polyhymnia, statue by Canova, 93
Pompeii, 152
Portrait of a Lady Sealing a Letter, Chardin, 234
Portrait of a Young Woman, Bordone, 166
Portrait of Pope Clement VII, Sebastiano del Piombo, 152
Portrait of the Artist in His Studio, Vermeer, 151
Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, Whistler, 232
Posey, Capt. Robert, Third Army Monuments Officer, 58, 59;
described, 60, 67;
sends Howe to Grassau, 68;
Hohenfurth evacuation, 104, 105, 107, 108;
Howe to Alt Aussee, 128;
and Ghent altarpiece, 147, 148;
Bormann letter, 155;
Rothschild jewels, 175;
instructions to Howe, 178, 179;
and Michel, 184;
plans, 215;
St. Agatha pictures, 223;
sends team to Hohenfurth, 227;
Belgian restitution, 244, 245;
demobilized, 246;
mentioned, 62, 75, 78, 85, 103, 112, 139, 177, 213, 214,
219, 225, 236
Posse, Dr. Hans, 163
Posthumus-Meyjes, Col. W. C., 270
Poulard, Mère, 17
Prague, 254
Presentation in the Temple, Master of the Holy Kinship, 206
Prien, 72, 73
Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, 46, 47
Prince Regent of Belgium, 244
Prinz Karl Palais, 55
Prinz Regenten-Strasse, 55, 57
Prinz-Regenten Theater, 66
Property Control, 63
Prussia, King of, 145
Punxsutawney, Pa., 118
Putnam, Capt., 204
PX rations, 129, 256

Queen Nefertete, statue, 50, 286, 287

Rackham, Arthur, 80
Rae, Capt. Edwin, 50, 51, 53, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 253,
254, 261, 271
Raphael, 262
Ratensky, Lt. Samuel, 277, 284, 285
“Raven, The,” Poe, 167
Red Cross Club, 18, 31, 266
Reeds, Cpl. James, 259, 261, 263
Regional Military Government office, Munich, 33
Regnitz River, 248
Reichsbank, Frankfurt, 32, 48, 51, 52, 53, 108, 246, 261, 287
Reichskanzlei, Berlin, 151
Reichszeugmeisterei (Quartermaster Corps buildings), 57
Rembrandt, 44, 150, 151, 153, 262
Renders, M., 191
Renders Collection at Brussels, 191
René, 36
Reparations, Deliveries and Restitution Division of the U. S.
Group Control Council, 195.
See also Group Control Council
Residenz, at Würzburg, 47, 48, 280
Restitution Commission, 270
Restitution Control Branch of the Economics Division, 259, 263,
264
“Return of the Old Masters, The,” Exhibition, 270
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 150
Rhineland museums, 32, 118
Rhine River, 266
Ribbentrop, von, 130
Ribera, 185
Richmond, Duke of, Van Dyck, 198
Rifkind, Judge Samuel, 281
Rijksmuseum, 154, 267, 269, 270
Ring of the Nibelung, Wagner, 66
Ritchie, Andrew, 251
Robert, Hubert, 172, 185
Roberts, Justice, 15
Roberts Commission, 15, 20, 25, 31, 192, 262
Rochlitz, Gustav, 241, 242
Roel, Jonkheer, 267
Roget, Roger, 71, 81, 82, 83, 95, 96, 98, 101, 134
Rollin, Armand, 232
Rorimer, Lt. James, 105, 238, 280
Rosenberg, Alfred, 22, 100, 101, 114, 149
Rosenberg, castle of, 114
Rosenberg, Dukes of, 100
Rosenberg Task Force, see Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg
Rosenheim, 102, 109, 128
Rosenheimer-Strasse, 57, 71
Ross, Gen., 279
Rothschild, Baron Édouard de, 198
Rothschild Collection, 91, 106, 151
Rothschild jewels, 174-175, 177
Rothschild Library, 281, 286
Rothschild treasures, 239
Rothschilds, of Paris, 205
Rothschilds, of Vienna, 151
Rousseau, Lt. Ted, 128, 131, 132, 133, 179, 181, 183, 184, 241
Royal Monceau (hotel), 18, 19, 21, 223
Rubens, Peter Paul, 78, 150, 153, 172, 182, 198, 199, 235, 245
Rudolf, of Mayerling, 93
Rue Berthier, 27, 30
Rue Castiglione, 17
Rue de Rivoli, 17
Rue Presbourg, 19
Russian Ballet, 167
Russian Military Government, 294
Russian Zone of Occupied Germany, 248, 249
Ruysdael, Jacob, 235

Sachs, Prof., 50
Sacra Conversazione, Vecchio, 152
St. Agatha, 131, 184, 223, 225
St. Barbara, statues, 207, 224
St. George and the Dragon statues, 207
St. Gilgen, 128, 130
St. John, 148, 253
St. John Nepomuk, 100
St. John the Baptist, panel, 145
St. Paul, 253
St. Paul’s, London, 21
St. Peter, 253
St. Wolfgang, 128, 165
St. Wolfgang See, 130
Salonika, 144, 160
Salzburg, 24, 25, 59, 61, 68, 81, 83, 102, 111, 113, 125, 128,
130, 162, 168, 171, 175, 176, 178, 182, 187, 192
“Sammlung Berta,” 151
San Francisco, Calif., 14, 15, 166, 240, 257
Saskia, Rembrandt, 194
Sattler, Dietrich, 256
Saxony, 55
Schatzkammer, 252, 253
Schiller, von, 186
Schiphol airport, 267, 268, 271
Schloss Banz, 250, 271
Schloss Friedrichshof, 40
Schloss Konopischt, 164, 165
Schloss Kronberg, 38
Schloss Lichtwert, 110
Schloss Linderhof, 215
Schloss Marzoll, 225
Schloss Matzen, 109, 110
Schloss Neuschwanstein, 148, 215, 219, 227, 236, 237-242,
266
Schloss Rossbach, 42, 44
Schloss Stauffeneck-Tiereck, 225
Schloss Tambach, 249, 250, 251
Schloss Wiesenthau, 253
Schmedes, von, 109
Schönborn family, the, 47
Schuvalov, Prince, 78
Schwannenstadt, 125
Seduction, Boucher, 197
Self-Portrait, Rembrandt, 233
Seligmann, Paris art dealer, 206
Seventh Army (U. S.), 105, 228, 238, 260, 269
“Seven Wonders of Bavaria,” 215
SHAEF, 15, 18, 21, 49, 59, 195, 248
SHAEF Headquarters, 28, 29, 38
Sheehan, Lt. Col. John R., 86, 87, 89, 93, 99, 102, 113
Shrady, Lt. Frederick, 135, 136, 139, 140, 148, 156, 162, 165,
167, 179, 182, 183
Siberechts, Jan, 185
Sieber, Karl, German restorer, 136, 140;
and mine train, 141, 142;
Ghent altarpiece, 148;
evacuation of Alt Aussee, 149, 150;
 described, 154;
Hitler’s plans for destruction of mine, 155-156;
in the Kammergrafen, 162-163, 173-174;
mentioned, 153, 183, 184, 185
Siegen, Westphalia, 32, 119
Siegen mine, 107, 118, 232
Sigismund, Emperor, 252
Silesia, 250
Sinn River, 42
Sisley portrait, Renoir, 232
“Sittenbilder,” 163
65th Infantry Division, 82
Slade Professor of Art, 18
Smith, Col. Hayden, 272
Smith College, 257
Smyth, Lt. Craig, to France, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21;
at Versailles, 26, 27;
assigned to Munich, 33, 34;
need for guards, 62, 63;
at Verwaltungsbau, 64, 65;
Howe stays with, 66, 67;
inspects pictures, 77-78;
lends packers to Howe, 80, 81;
Rothschild jewels, 177;
visits Berchtesgaden, 216, 217;
Belgian restitution, 243, 245;
“Westward Ho” shipment, 276;
mentioned, 54, 127, 214, 254, 258
Soldier King, see Frederick William
Solly, Edward, 145
Special Evacuation Team, 228, 236, 247, 254, 256
Speisesaal (of Prinz Regenten Theater), 66
Spitzweg, 78
Springerwerke, 148, 149, 153, 166
Staatsarchiv, 231, 233, 235
Staedelsches Kunstinstitut, 44
Standen, Lt. Edith, 50, 51, 246, 259, 261, 263, 264, 272, 280,
285, 290
Stars and Stripes, 284
Staedel, the, 44
Steinbergwerke, 134
Stettin Museum, 249, 250
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 269
Stevensville, Newfoundland, 16
Still Life with Dead Peacocks, Rembrandt, 269
Stockholm Museum, 280
Stokowski, Leopold, 182
Stone, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske, 289
Stoss, Veit, 252
Stoss altarpiece, 27, 253, 263, 272
Stout, Lt. George, USNR, described, 31;
plans for repositories, 32;
visits to Munich, 58, 59, 61-62, 106-107;
advises Siegen evacuation, 118;
as part of team, 128;
introduces Howe and Moore to Alt Aussee mine, 134-144;
opinion of Sieber, 154;
loading techniques, 156-161;
leaves for Pacific, 167-170, 178;
on the “old masters,” 208;
 on removal of art works to the United States, 262;
mentioned, 53, 66, 68, 77, 131, 149, 162, 180, 212, 245,
263
Stradivarius violins at Innsbruck, 110
Strasbourg Cathedral, 27
Strigel, Bernhard, 198
Strobl, 131
Stuttgart, 228, 229, 282
Sudetenland, 89
Suk, Capt. Egon, 271
Sverdlik, Dr., 95, 96
“Swan country,” 237
Switzerland, 44, 146, 179, 194

Table of Organization, 231, 283

Taunus Anlage, 29
Taunus mountains, 31, 266
Tel-el-Amarna, 286, 287
Ten Cate Collection, 195
“Teppich-Beisser, Der,” see Hitler, Adolf
Terceira, 16
Thacher, Major Coleman W., 87, 99, 101, 120
Theatinerkirche, 56
Third Army (U. S.), 57, 59, 62, 104, 110, 129, 147, 169, 176,
186, 222, 226, 228, 247, 251, 260, 271
Third Army Headquarters, 53, 66, 68, 76, 103, 107, 112, 177,
210, 214, 219, 226, 236, 238, 245, 246
Thoma, 78
Throne Room, 238
Thüngen, Baron and Baroness, 43
Thuringia, 32
Tiepolo, 47, 78
Tiffany’s, 238
Tintoretto, 150, 153
“Tiny,” 217
Titian, 24, 150, 153, 168
Titus, Rembrandt, 194
T.O., see Table of Organization
Transient Officers’ Mess, 126
Transportation Office, 32
Traunstein, 81, 179
“Treasure Room” of Walter Farmer, 284, 286
Treppenhaus, the, 47
Trianon Palace Hotel, 27
Trier, 147
True Cross, 253
Truman, Pres. Harry S., 230, 275
Tuileries Gardens, 23
12th Army Group Headquarters, 31
26th Division (Yankee), 100, 126
263rd Field Artillery Battalion, 86, 87
Tyrol, the, 108, 109
Ulm, 228
Ungaria, the, 86
UNRRA, 248
United States Forces, Austria (USFA), 247, 251
United States Forces, European Theater (USFET), 229, 231,
235, 251, 252, 255, 259, 260, 263, 264, 271, 272, 283
U. S. Group Control Council, 49, 106, 229, 230, 259, 261, 283
United States Zone of Germany, see American Zone
University of California, 253
University of Frankfurt, 37, 53
University of Munich, 225
Unterstein, 180, 187, 224
Upper Bavaria, 282
Upper Franconia, 247
Urfahr, 87, 124
USFET, see United States Forces, European Theater
USFET Mission at The Hague, 268
USFET Mission to France, 265
Utrecht, 266

Valland, Rose, 23, 24, 264

Vanderbilt, Paul, 281
Van Dyck, 143, 150, 153, 172, 185, 235, 245
Van Meegeren, 270
Van Meegeren fake, 199
Van Pannwitz collection, 194