the-secret-crusade-oliver-bowden

can draw their attention away from me, I might reach Al Mualim.’
‘I will do as you ask.’
‘The men we face – their minds are not their own. If you can avoid
killing them …’
‘Yes. Though he has betrayed the tenets of the Creed, it does not
mean we must as well. I’ll do what I can.’
‘It’s all I ask,’ said Altaïr.
Malik turned to leave him.
‘Safety and peace, my friend,’ said Altair.
Malik smiled wryly. ‘Your presence here will deliver us both.’
Altaïr dashed along the barbican to the main courtyard and now he
discovered why there had been no villagers in the marketplace. They
were all here, crowded into the courtyard, filling it. The whole village
surely. They milled around aimlessly, as though barely able to lift their
heads. As Altaïr watched, he saw a man and a woman collide, and the
woman fall, landing heavily on her backside. Neither acknowledged it,
though. No surprise, no pain, no apologies or angry words. The man
staggered a little, then moved off. The woman stayed seated, ignored by
the other villagers.
Cautiously, Altaïr moved through them towards the tower, struck by
the silence, just the sound of dragging feet and the odd murmur.
‘The will of the Master must be obeyed,’ he heard.
‘O Al Mualim. Guide us. Command us.’
‘The world will be cleansed. We will begin anew.’
The new order, he thought, dictated by the Knights Templar, yes, but
one Templar above all. Al Mualim.
He came into the entrance hall of the tower, no guards there to greet