Page 111 of The Last Kingdom

Fenn nodded.

Chapter 63

RIFE AND TERRY KNIGHT USED THE DARKNESS FOR COVER AS THEYapproached Neuschwanstein. Snow had begun to fall in a steady burst, emerging out of the blackness as gleaming flakes in the castle’s bright floodlights. Swaths of frost-feathered pines rose around them. The time was approaching 6:00P.M.He and Knight had driven up as far as they could, parking beside another vehicle, which had most likely brought Fenn, Malone, and Koger. Hopefully, most of them would not have a need for a return trip home. At least not in a car. Maybe a hearse.

He stopped.

They’d passed no one on the short walk up the twisting asphalt incline, the castle surely closed for the day. But there would be employees still inside, closing up the place. Cameras too. Probably lots of them. Outside as well.

So they had to be careful.

He led the way as they rounded the final bend and approached the main entrance. A large courtyard extended past the gatehouse, the white limestone and wall bricks illuminated by more bright halogen lights. Snow covered much of the cobblestones and iced the roof tiles. Several doors were visible, along with a multitude of windows, most dark. To his right he saw lights through a set of glass doors and caught movement beyond.

Employees.

He pointed ahead.

Knight headed up a flight of stone steps to an upper courtyard. Rife followed, keeping a watch out for anyone. They hustled over and climbed another set of exterior stairs that led to double wooden doors. The iron latch opened. They slipped inside and, before closing the doors, a quick scan of the courtyard revealed that all was quiet.

“What now?” Knight asked.

He’d taken some time earlier and studied a rough schematic of the castle’s interior. They were inside a vaulted hallway, dimly lit, that led deeper inside. A spiral staircase should be at the end of the corridor, one that would take them to the third floor.

“We wait.”

But first.

Rife found his phone and sent a text to a man he’d posted in the distance, keeping a watch on the exterior for anything unexpected.

A moment later came the reply.

They’re here.

He turned to Knight and whispered, “We’re good. Come with me.”

* * *

STEFAN STEPPED FROM THE HELICOPTER OUT INTO THE COLD. ALBERTfollowed him, struggling to climb down. They both moved away as the blades wound down. They’d landed on a lit concrete pad, dusted with snow, among the trees not far from Neuschwanstein. The pad was there to accommodate high-profile visitors, like the Duke of Bavaria and his brother, the prince. Albert led the way as they headed for a trail outlined by a string of low-voltage ground fixtures. He knew they were beyond the castle, on another rocky mount, the roar of the waterfall in the Pöllat gorge close by.

Snow crunched beneath their shoes.

He felt like Ludwig II, parading around in some nocturnal adventure, thinking that darkness somehow provided security. If anything, the night allowed threats to move about more easily, unnoticed. And yet here he was parading through an alpine forest, atop a rocky crag, with a sibling he’d long resented, headed for a castle one of his ancestors had struggled to erect but never finished. That seemed the Wittelsbachs’ fate. Emperors, kings, and dukes in a nearly constant struggle to succeed. Yet always failing. Every. Single. Time. Amazing that the family held on to Bavaria for eight hundred years. But it had been gone for a little over a century. Maybe a reprieve might be in the making. One orchestrated by two Wittelsbachs working in concert. One in the twilight of life, the other in his prime.

They emerged from the trees to a spectacular sight of Neuschwanstein, a couple hundred meters away, carefully placed lighting revealing the castle in all its glory.

“Ludwig possessed a great vision,” Albert said. “One that can only be appreciated in this day and age.”

He agreed. But there was a more pressing matter. “Are we going inside?”

“Not yet,” Albert said.

He was curious. Ming had told him on the phone to get here. Fast. “What are we waiting for?”

“I am quite close with the castle’s curator and he told me to wait until he called.”

“For what?”

“I’m not sure.” Albert motioned. “While we wait, let us take in the view from the bridge. I’ve always enjoyed that sight.”

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