The 9th Heresy by Spencer Wilder

Author:Spencer Wilder
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784627393
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd

33: LEAVING MONTOLIEU BEHIND

Leaving the hospital was a welcome shot in the arm. Being discharged hadn’t come a moment too soon for James. Four days of tedium listening to the constant buzz from the overhead fluorescent light strip interwoven with the incessant ticking from the wall clock had sent him near stir-crazy.

The only relief from the pain of recovery had been the much appreciated twice-daily visits from Amélie. The thoroughgoing pleasure etched upon her face every time she entered the recovery room was a godsend for him, as with few of the hospital staff speaking any kind of coherent English, James was at times left feeling alone and vulnerable, and more so following the ill-favoured visit made by Calvert.

A first step outside in days, and the air smelt fresh compared to the pungent smell of disinfectant James had been forced to endure. He breathed in, wanting to taste the warm air; to rid himself of the lingering antiseptic flavour coating the back of his throat. For a split second he forgot the advice the doctors had given him about his lung remaining ‘sore for a considerable time to come’. The sharp stabbing pain, as his lung inflated fully was instant. He clutched his chest, doubling over and coughing.

Amélie placed her hand on his back, rubbing gently.

‘Are you sure you are OK?’ she asked as James spluttered violently, coughing up the remains of the blood that had settled on his lung.

He wiped his hand across his mouth, cleaning a small amount of blood from his lips. ‘Yes, I’m OK,’ he replied hoarsely, yet nevertheless glad to be away from the confines of the hospital room, albeit in some discomfort.

As they made their way from the hospital entrance to the car park where Gilbert’s old green Daimler Sovereign was parked beneath the canopy of one of four fully-grown sycamore trees, uneasiness seized hold of both James and Amélie; yet neither revealed their feelings of paranoia and fear to each other, hiding the unshakable concern that somewhere unseen, from near or far, Calvert may be watching and alert to their every move.

Eyes darting rabbit-like back and forth, James gazed around, searching for a sign of either Calvert or the dark-coloured Range Rover. With no suggestion of either being in the vicinity of the hospital grounds, he patted his hand upon the bonnet of the Daimler and smiled broadly as though greeting a trusted old friend.

‘It’s so good to see you again,’ he said warmly, the sight of the car offering nostalgic reminders of journeys made in it as a boy.

*

The hotel offered safety and a brief respite for James. Yet he would not be stopping for any length of time. Instead, he and Amélie were to leave Montolieu around 3am the following morning.

Such were their genuine concerns over being hunted by the clandestine Guardians of the Order of the Righteous that they had elected to travel a much longer, but less obvious, route to the Portuguese city of Tomar, via Perpignan, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Madrid.

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