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.He dropped to his knees then fell flat on his face at the edge of the ladder hatch.Kath picked up her sword.It was time to finish it but before she could act, Murdoch’s body started to move, very slowly.With supreme effort, Matvei had managed to clamber up the ladder.He stretched his head up and into the loft.Murdoch’s head quite literally disappeared from Kath’s view as Matvei’s jaws clamped shut around it.The General had time for one conscious thought.No.Matvei shook the man violently, breaking his neck, then pulled the body towards him.It slithered through the hatch, dropped past Matvei and landed on the floor with an audible thump.: Bad taste :“Must be terrible!” Kath agreed, taking a deep breath.She began to laugh.“I’ll come down the ladder slowly,” she told him, “my legs are shaking.”Out on the street, the fight between the bodyguard and the settlers was over.The handful of southerners who had survived the frenzied attack had fled.The colonists looked at each other, then at Stuart MacIntosh’s body.“What do we do now?” asked one.“More convicts coming this way,” said another.“I can hear shouts.”“Where are the women and children?” asked the first.“Mostly at the northern wall area.Hidden in houses.That won’t save them though.It’s only a matter of time before they manage to get us all.”They looked a picture of misery and dejection as Kath and Matvei re-appeared.“The field army are holding their own,” encouraged Kath as she and Matvei got close enough so that they could hear her words, “hold on a little bit more.I’ll let them know what is happening down here.Help will come.”“But will it come soon enough?” asked the first man, wiping his bloody sword on one of the deceased bodyguard’s cloak.“Murdoch?”“Dead.”Despite the death of the convict leader the settlers continued to be forced back, building by smoking building but as the word spread about their General’s untimely end, the southern attack began to falter.Murdoch had appeared to the majority of the convicts as an almost godlike and immortal figure.He had led them from their first small victory in the south to this gigantic one in the north.It seemed impossible to think that he was dead.And if the immortal Murdoch could die, then so could they.Instead of driving forward with abandon, the non-regular troops especially began to have doubts.Instead of obeying their orders they began looking around for items to loot and women to rape.They started to roam the streets, smashing open cabin doors and ransacking all they found within.The men grew angry as they realised there was little of any worth to steal.The handful of women they found were brutally gang-raped then killed.Without Murdoch in control, some began to ignore the first rule about the molestation of children.The situation was getting out of hand.The regular troops continued to fight, but without the irregulars’ support, found the going tough.The northern quarter of the settlement continued to remain in colonial hands.Baker and Smith were forced to call a temporary halt to the street clearing operation and begin to rein in their more troublesome troops.The news of their leader’s death did not trouble this duo.It opened up windows of opportunity for both.All the regular colonels bar Duchesne began to wonder if they might be the one who might take Elliot Murdoch’s place as overall leader.The jockeying for power had begun.Once the men got tired of looting and were brought under control, they would complete the takeover of the settlement.The colonists were going nowhere after all.Murdoch, egotistical to the last had seen no need to appoint a second in command.He had enjoyed watching the manoeuvring for position.Unfortunately, except for Duchesne none were aware of their deceased leader’s doubts about the ability of the Larg to win their part of the battle.The Colonels saw no need to rush the men forward and Duchesne kept his knowledge to himself.The newly appointed Colonel Cracov was nowhere to be seen.He was eventually found in a deserted cabin, bemoaning the death of his mentor, convinced that if he had remained in charge of the bodyguard his General would still have been alive.The Colonels sent a detachment of regular troops to oversee the looting, to make sure it went no further.To their immense chagrin, although they looked long and hard for the majority of women and children, they found only two more strays, both with babes in arms and with sundry young children in their care.After due consideration, the two mothers were left alone.The two women did not realise until much later just how incredibly lucky they had been.Sporadic fighting continued in the areas where the two sides rubbed against each other.The southern troops were convinced that as soon as the Colonels got themselves sorted out the final assault would begin.This time they would fight on until all the colonial men were dead.Larya turned a stricken face to Jim.: I cannot ‘hear’ Kolyei :: What ? :: Something has happened, I cannot sense his mind :: Broadcast the order direct :Larya composed herself and took a deep breath.: I am ready :: NOW :Larya’s telepathic mind-send thundered out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]