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XIV

Weary from the heat and light, Orm and Sihtric sat in the shade of an awning and sipped water laced with lemon juice. They looked out over the scaffolding that encased the arbalest.

Sihtric said, 'The principles are simple, but the devil is in the detail, Orm. Our ambition constantly outruns our capabilities. On the arbalest, for instance, I've lost count of the number of spring shafts we've stripped, the bow arms we've fractured. We learn, step by step.' He riffled through the much-thumbed sketches of Aethelmaer's designs, with elaborations and annotations added by Moorish scholars. 'It is as if the wretched Aethelred was given a glimpse of the future. And we poor fools labour to build the machines of another century with the tools and materials of this.

'But there remains the central mystery of the Incendium Dei, which will give the punch to these weapons. Look, here is the scrap of cipher Aethelmaer left.' He pointed to a line of spidery lettering, headed simply Incendium Dei: