The Devil in Green by Mark Chadbourn Read Free Book Online

inclination for theological argument? The only way we can win them back is by playing a long game, by letting the Word filter out organically. And that is where the knights come into the equation.'
     
Finally, James took them to an area at the rear of the former Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum where the knights were sequestered. Several men were learning the art of sword-fighting, while others attacked scarecrows with halberds. All faces were intense and deeply introspective, the movements fluid and powerful. Distinctive uniforms marked them out: black shirts bearing the Templar cross in red against a white square on the breast and right shoulder, hard-wearing black trousers, heavy-duty boots and black belts.
There was another cadre of knights removed from the core group who duelled with each other with a frightening ferocity, at times lithe, then vicious, their speed and dazzling turns and dives revealing skills that set them apart. Their uniforms were also slightly different, with a blue stripe gleaming on the left shoulder.
The commander stood off to one side, watching the activity, his authority apparent in his rigid bearing. Up close, Blaine had a face that registered such little emotion that at times he resembled a wax dummy. He was in his mid-forties, his black hair badly dyed. Hard muscles filled out a uniform carrying the red Templar cross more prominently on the front. His heavy brows cast a shadow around his eyes so that he appeared on the verge of sickness, yet there was a street-hardness about him that gave a commanding presence.
He remained impassive when James introduced him as Blaine. 'It won't be a free ride here,' he said, with a Belfast accent. 'We had a couple in who thought they'd get fed and watered without having to give anything back. They didn't last the week.'
'We'll do what's expected of us,' Mallory said.
'You see that you do ... if you want to stay here. You're getting a shot at something people would give their right arm for. There's not much of value out there anymore. But in the next few years you'll see that being a knight will be a mark of respect. The country will come to love you. But you have to earn it.'
'What do we need to do?' Miller asked. The knights had adopted a routine akin to tai chi, with measured, graceful movements, the weapons whipping rapidly around their bodies a hair's-breadth from causing them harm. Their movements looked easy yet unbelievably difficult at the same time. 'How long did it take them to learn that?' Miller continued, agog.
Blaine's gaze flickered lazily towards James. 'You're sure you want to give them a shot?'
'I always go on first impressions. Besides, if we are here for anything, it is to offer hope, to take in those who come to us . . . for whatever reason . . . and give them a chance.'
Blaine grunted in a way that implied his complete disagreement with everything James had said, yet without seeming the slightest bit disrespectful. He turned back to Miller. 'You'll get full training. It'll be hard, and fast. We need men out there quickly. I warn you, a lot aren't up to it. We need to get you to the peak of physical fitness. You have to learn how to use weapons you've probably only seen in museums. You've got to learn skills - medicine, astronomy, herbalism, cookery—'
'And don't forget the spiritual guidance,' James said, with a smile.
'And you'll need to know the Good Book back to front,' Blaine continued without missing a beat. 'The poor . . .' He fumbled for an acceptable word.'. . . people out there will be looking to you for guidance. They don't want you telling them that Thou Shalt Not Pick Your Nose is one of the Ten Commandments.'
'Don't worry,' Mallory said. 'We'll make sure they don't covet any oxen.'
Blaine laid his gaze heavily on Mallory; it said, I've already got you marked as a troublemaker, and you'll have it knocked out of you in a day.
Mallory didn't flinch.
James was winningly courteous as he took his leave. 'These are desperate