"Drop the weapon, or he dies!"

Adaira stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of her, the henchman's words ringing in her ears. Said henchman obviously didn't appreciate her hesitation. His grip around the unconscious captain's throat tightened and his eyes narrowed at her.

"I said drop the weapon now!" His head whipped towards the side where, Adaira only noticed now, her brother had wrestled Dalgliesh to the ground and was holding a rock above his head, ready to smash it down. "You, too! Drop that rock immediately, or I will twist this bastard's neck!"

Adaira watched as her dear brother inspected the masked man for a moment, with a look in his eyes he reserved for idiots and younger siblings. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

Knowing her brother as she did, Adaira instantly raised the dagger in his direction. "If you say 'Be my guest', I'll stab you in the foot!"

Her brother closed his mouth again.

Smart choice.

Now, if only she knew what the smart choice for her would be. A choice that would let both her and the people she loved get out of this mess alive, maybe?

If only it were so simple.

"This is the last warning," a growl reached her ears. "I said drop it!"

Time was up.

Adaira glanced down at the dagger in her hand. Then she looked up at the masked man. His face might have been hidden, but his eyes were not, and in their depths, she could see the merciless intent to kill. Slowly, reluctantly, she loosened the grip on her weapon, until—

Wham!

—a rock hit the masked man in the back of the head. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the man collapsed to the ground, revealing the grimy, scruffy, glorious figure of Lillian Linton.

"Need a hand?" she enquired, raising the one that still held the blood-stained rock.

Adaira's lips twitched. "No, I'm doing perfectly fine, thank you. I usually take part in knife fights in my spare time."

She had hardly finished those words when she noticed several more dirty, masked figures staggering up the riverbank. They looked like they'd been put through the ringer, but judging by the fierce glare in their eyes, that was not going to stop them.

"You do?" Lilly cocked her head. "How fortunate. So, I can leave all these to you?"

"You little...! Don't you dare skip out on me!"

"I think," was Lilly's laconic reply, "even if I want to, it's a little too late."

Adaira looked around, and it didn't take her long to see her friend was right. They were about to be surrounded. Yet she didn't just mean the three masked men who were slowly approaching. Oh no.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Adaira's breath caught in her throat as she stared in the direction of the marching sound at the distant dust cloud. No, Dalgliesh's goons really weren't her greatest worry right now. The real problem was the bloody army that was marching on the city!

Everyone, even Adaira's brother and his arch-enemy, froze in place as, one after another, they realised that they were about to have company. Adaira's eyes widened as she spotted a familiar flag showing superimposed red, white and blue crosses. Not something she wanted to see in the middle of an Indian rebellion while still mostly wearing Indian garb.

"Hahahahaha!"

Dalgliesh's laugh echoed across the riverbank. Throwing his head back, he clenched his fists and swept a victorious look over everyone present, as if he were the king and we the minions at his feet.

"You're dead," he said, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Just wait till the army gets here, and you will be—"

He didn't get any further than that before Mr Rikkard Ambrose's fist connected with his jaw.

"We have to get out of here now!" he growled. "Or else, we're finished!"

"Oh, sure." Adaira smiled brightly at her dear brother, in a way that promised future doom. Gesturing at the three men about to surround her and Lilly, she continued, "I'll just wrestle three grown men to the ground and beat them unconscious, then we can skedaddle."

"You do that," he agreed without the slightest sign of having noticed her sarcasm. "And be quick about it."

Then he ducked under one of Dalgliesh's punches and slammed his elbow into the man's gut.

Cursing her dear brother under her breath, Adaira lunged forward. This was her last and only chance. She and Lilly were two women up against three burly men. If they wanted to even have the slightest chance of success, they would have to fight dirty.

So, without hesitation, Adaira bent down mid-run, scooped a handful of dirt off the ground and flung it into the masked man's face.

"Gagh! Rrrgh! Gck!"

Spluttering and coughing, the man stumbled backwards.

Throwing literal dirt into someone's face...not bad as far as dirty moves go. Ha!

Instinctively, the man's hands went up to his face, trying desperately to wipe the dirt from his eyes—which was exactly when Adaira's fist slammed into his gut, hurling the man to the ground. Unfortunately, the same didn't apply to the second one.

"Ooof!"

The wind was knocked out of her as the second goon rammed into her. With all her might, she tried to get away, to move out of range before the man could get a good grip on her. If he managed to grab her or wrestle her to the ground, she was dead.

Bloody hell! What now? Lilly is still busy with the third goon! I'm all alone here, completely helpless, and without anything but my dag—

Oh.

Right.

She still had that.

Without the slightest hesitation, Adaira raised the dagger (which she had definitely not forgotten due to panic) and stabbed down hard.

"Aaagh!"

The masked man bellowed in pain as the blade dug deep into his side. Intent on not wasting the chance, Adaira grabbed another fistful of dirt from the ground and hurled it straight towards her opponent's open mouth. Coughing and choking, the man went down, both hands clamped around his throat.

So...neither of his hands is available for self-defence? How convenient.

Fast and hard, Adaira rammed her knee into the masked man's bollocks. Another howl of pain was ripped from her opponent's throat. Smiling grimly, Adaira ripped out the dagger, raised it high into the air once more, and—

—and a pair of hands closed around her throat from behind.

Drat! Who is it? The fellow I took down before? Did he get up again already?

That suspicion was proven wrong a moment later when a horribly familiar voice entered her ear.

"Well, well now, Miss Ambrose. It seems it's time for us to get reacquainted. I'm sure your brother would be so delighted."

"D-Dalgliesh?!"

"You recognize my voice?" A finger caressed the side of Adaira's throat, making her shudder. "I'm flattered, darling. I didn't know I had an admirer."

Dalgliesh. It was really Dalgliesh. But that bastard had been fighting her brother! If Dalgliesh was now here beside her, that meant Rick was....

A chill took hold of Adaira's heart, and she didn't dare finish that thought. But she couldn't resist the temptation to look. She shifted her gaze and, out of the corner of her eye, tried to catch a glimpse of her brother—only to see the vague figure of a man in local attire fighting fiercely against three masked men at the same time.

Hell! The rest of them have woken up!

Despair filled her heart. Something which didn't slip past Dalgliesh.

"Ah, so you've noticed, have you?" He leaned forward, bringing his face into her line of sight, along with it a sickening smile. Something sharp, like a blade, touched her cheek. "How about we give your dear brother a little show?"

A roar came from behind Adaira, and she practically felt her brother throw himself against his foes, trying to get to her by any means. But three against one was three against one, after all, especially when dealing with highly trained fighters. It was not something Adaira had ever considered before, but...even Rikkard Ambrose had his limits.

"Do you hear that?" The blade of the dagger—her dagger, which he had snatched from her hand, she realised—slid along her cheek. "I think he approves of our closer relationship."

Adaira snarled. "Go to hell!"

"Oh, I don't think I will. After all, don't you remember what they say? The road to hell is paved with good intentions." He chuckled, sending a shiver down her spine. "But sending you down there instead, Miss Ambrose? That is another matter altogether."

The dagger dug more deeply into her skin.

Adaira heard another roar. Closing her eyes, she sent a prayer to the heavens for her brother and James—only to suddenly realise that roar hadn't come from her brother's direction. Nor had it been her brother's voice. No, it was even better!

"Dalgliesh!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Adaira saw a huge, mud-covered something rushing towards them. A moment later, a moving mountain crashed into the nobleman with enough force to hurl him off his feet and send him flying several yards through the air. With a wet sound, Dalgliesh slammed into the muddy ground, and the dagger slipped out of his hand. Before he'd even had time to twitch a finger, let alone stand up, the huge figure was upon him. The huge, bearded, turban-wearing figure.

"I'm going to make you pay," Karim snarled. "For everything!"

Somehow, with the marching feet of the approaching British Army thundering in her ears, Adaira didn't think he was just talking about the recent murder attempt.

Pushing himself up from the ground, Dalgliesh sneered. "Your money-hungry master hasn't been able to make me pay a single penny since the day he was born. What makes you think you're different?"

"This," Karim answered and, without the slightest hesitation, raised his fist.

Wham!

With a broad grin on her face, Adaira watched as the massive Mohammedan pummelled Dalgliesh into the ground. It was truly a sight to see! Where was a camera when you needed one?

Unfortunately, the nobleman didn't stay down for long. Rolling around and jumping to his feet, he aimed a jab at Karim.

"You churl! Savage! You dare touch me with your filthy hands? I am Lord Daniel Eugene Dalgl-mmmph!"

"Oh?" Withdrawing his fist from where he had buried it in Dalgliesh's gut, Karim cocked his head. "Lord Dalglmph? Didn't know you had changed your name. Good to know. I will know what to write on the tombstone."

"Your own, you mean?" Dalgliesh snarled, pulling something out of an inner pocket. "I'm afraid you won't have the opportunity to write on it."

Then he flicked his finger, and a blade snapped out of the object he was holding in his hand. No...not the object. The knife.

"Die!" he hissed, and rushed towards Karim, unleashing a flurry of stabs and slashes.

The bodyguard leapt back, retreating farther and farther. One slash got too close and Adaira's eyes widened as the blade headed for Karim's throat, but he deflected it with one arm. She winced as she heard the knife scrape over bone.

Come on, Karim, get him! You can do it!

At least she very much hoped he could. Otherwise, they would be screwed.

"I'll skewer you like a pig!" Dalgliesh hissed and aimed another stab at Karim's vitals. "Just stand there and take it!"

"That's how you like people to behave, don't you?" Karim's dark eyes narrowed. "You enjoy people just having to stand there and suffer because they don't have the power to fight back. Well, I have news for you, Your Lordship..."

He swept his arm across the landscape, pointing at the city of Delhi, where armed rebels were rushing to the walls, ready to resist the approaching British troops.

"...things change!"

And, quick as a snake, he struck. Ducking under Dalgliesh's knife, he rammed into the nobleman with his shoulder, lifting him bodily off the ground. An instant later, Dalgliesh was slammed into the dirt. But before Karim could jump on top of him and pin him to the ground, the nobleman aimed a kick at his privates and, when Karim leapt back to avoid the blow, jumped back to his feet.

"Is this all you can do?" Dalgliesh hissed. "Push others down to roll in the dirt like a swine? Fight like a man!"

"You mean fight like you want me to, so you will have the advantage?" Karim enquired, one bushy eyebrow raised. "No, thanks."

And with that, he hurled himself towards the nobleman once more. Adaira watched, breathless, as the bodyguard kept circling around his opponent, trying to get close enough to bring his superior height and weight to bear. But Dalgliesh was no fool. Rather, he obviously was an experienced fencer and used the long knife in his hand to great effect to keep Karim at bay.

Adaira frowned. This wasn't working. Karim wasn't going to get through.

Which was why she decided to act.

"Aaaagh!" Dalgliesh stumbled back and stared down at his bloody hand, swelling rapidly where it had just been hit by a stone. His head whipped around to find its origin—only to land on a grinning Adaira. Her smile widened as she waved at him. In response, he snarled in her direction—which happened to distract him just long enough for Karim to act.

"Nnngh!"

Dalgliesh let out a pained grunt as the knife was knocked out of his hand and two massive arms closed around him.

"Now," Karim growled, "it's over!"

Then he slammed Dalgliesh to the ground again. The nobleman tried to escape once more, but he found two big hands firmly wrapped around his throat.

"You've been strangling my homeland for decades," the massive bodyguard growled. "Now, let's see how you like it!"

Then he tightened his grip.

By now, Adaira was grinning from ear to ear. This was it! This was what she had been looking forward to—Dalgliesh finally getting his comeuppance! It was just a pity she couldn't deal out the punishment with her own two hands. If only—

She was so focused on the fight in front of her that she nearly missed the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. Nearly. She moved just in time to avoid the pair of arms trying to grab her from behind.

"Dammit! Hold still, you little—!"

Whirling around, Adaira came face-to-mask with one of Dalgliesh's men. A glance to the side told her that her brother was still struggling with his three opponents.

Dammit! Another one has woken up?

And this time she did not have a weapon. What should she do now? What should she—?

He leapt forward! Before she'd had time to react, the man had grabbed hold of her wrist, pulled her towards him and captured her in a firm grip.

"You there!" he shouted at the other three. Adaira saw her brother, Lilly and Karim freeze in mid-motion, turning their heads to see what was happening. Judging by their scowls, they were not pleased. "Stop! Get down on the ground! And you, big oaf, let go of His Lordship!"

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"No," Karim growled. "No, I don't think I will."

"Are your eyes blind?" the henchman hissed. "Do you want me to strangle her to death?"

"He doesn't," a very familiar, male voice suddenly came from behind the man. A voice that, even with an arm around her throat, made Adaira smile and butterflies appear in her belly. "He just sees more than you do."

"Wha—"

The henchman whirled around, just in time to see the fist heading straight towards him.

Wham!

--------------------------------------

My dear Readers,

The countdown begins! Nine chapters left till the end of the book and, along with it, the end of the entire Storm and Silence series. I hope the big finale will be "adequate".

Yours Truly

Sir Rob