Although we could enchant him and force him to talk, we have no idea what threats may still face us today, those that may require magic. If we can I am determined to proceed by physical, rather than magical means, unless I have no choice. Now for the next part of the play; at least I prepared this with Theodora last night. She gestured Theodora forward. “You may not have noticed my lover,” she said. “Look at her eyes. Do you know what they convey?” The true look of fear appearing in Dharmal’s eyes showed that he did indeed know.
Theodora spoke up, her voice taking on as grave a tone as she could. “You fear your eternity now. Are you really willing to take the risk that, if I am not happy with what you say, I cannot arrange for far worse to happen to you? If you are, then I truly admire your courage and you will come to regret your stupidity.”
Almost instantly the sweat started to stand out on Dharmal’s brow in the chill morning sun and his eyes began to flick from Theodora’s stare to Bianca’s knife to the surrounding cliffs and back again to the start. Suddenly Bianca came to life. She knelt down beside him and reached for his flaccid organ with her left hand. Rani had already noted that, although Dwarves may not be able to have children with humans, it seemed, from her limited experience, that at least the men were built roughly the same. Bianca gave a playful squeeze of the sack beneath and was rewarded with a yelp. She smiled again and waved the knife around over Dharmal’s body, gently applying pressure, but not yet breaking the skin.
“Please don’t talk,” she said confidentially to Dharmal. “Rani wants you to, but I don’t…I swore an oath to St Ursula for Rosa, who you had tortured, raped and murdered and I had to watch as your people did it to her. I want Rosa to look at us from above this day and have cause to smile.” It could be heard when she gave another, slightly harder and longer, squeeze. She was rewarded by a shrill and prolonged scream as Dharmal tried to shrink into himself. “Father Christopher will not heal you for us, as he is a holy man, but I am sure there are herbs and potions here. I think you will be stubborn, and we will be delayed in this village for some time while we prepare for the next part of our quest, so I will have all winter to play with you. You will not have to sleep; one of us will keep you awake like this all of the time.” She squeezed his genitals. It must have been quite hard as this time Dharmal writhed and cried out in now quite genuine pain. “What is more I saw some fine toys in the room of one of your women. I am sure that some of the women she used them on would love to use them on you. We can all stay busy for hours each and every day taking turns playing with you.” She had a wistful looking smile on her face as she began to stroke his penis with the point of her knife. “What is more I am told that one girl here can make anyone rise to the occasion if she wants to. I will make a bet with you that she could do that and I could cut this off with one of my very sharp knives when you are erect and we could stop the bleeding and one of the embroiderers could sew it back and we could heal it again and I am sure we could do that at least once a day…won’t it be fun?” Bianca was smiling broadly and digging a little deeper with the knife as she ran it over his skin around his shaft, catching in his hair and leaving little cuts as it broke free. “I wonder how long your mind will last. Do you think that you will be able to stay silent before you go mad?” Mad? The expression that the girl had on her face is not entirely what I regard as sane. Her smile looked sewn in place and her eyes almost looked through him.
Rani could see Dharmal look past Bianca at his former slaves and then back again to Bianca’s face a few times and then he broke. Suddenly, and beyond his volition, he voided himself and began to weep. “Keep her away!” He lifted his head and said to Rani, “I’ll talk, I’ll talk…just keep her away from me.”
Rani looked at Bianca. Her face had suddenly gone blank, and slowly a look of disappointment grew on her and she looked up at the former slaves. Rani followed her gaze. Well, I can see many genuine looks of disappointment. Some of the women’s faces have the look of a starving dog looking at a feast that is about to be given it. Others just looked hard and predatory. Some looked happy with that bright-eyed happiness that told you all was not well in their heads. It seems that what Bianca had been suggesting as a course of action is very popular with them. Maybe they were her real audience after all, not just Dharmal. I wonder what Dharmal is seeing written on their faces. I wonder if that is what broke him?
“Please take t’is mad woman away,” said Dharmal. “I’ll talk. I promise.”
“I think that we both know that she should stay there just in case your memory starts to fail,” said Rani. “In the same way I am sure that if she just keeps running the knife around it will help you remember so much more.” Bianca started, almost as if waking up, and the knife began moving again, tracing lazy paths in his body hair and around his genitals.
Dharmal swallowed and began, “I went a searchin’ for Dwarvenholme with group of friends from Copperlevy ’n’ other parts of t’North-West. Unlike most Dwarves who search we didn’t just wander around looking at mountains. We decided that t’ere were spells of protection on t’entrance ’n’ so we went lookin’ for t’old roads ’n’ followed ’em all ’n’ found where t’ey all ended up. Most were at one place ’n’, although we could not see it, we decided t’at t’is must be t’main gate. It was.” He stopped talking and looked at Bianca, who smiled back and leaned a little harder on the point. Dharmal gave a yelp. “We sat t’ere for many days looking for way to open t’door ’n’ t’en, almost by accident, one of our people said: ‘I am a Dwarf comin’ home’…and t’door opened. We went inside ’n’ began to look around. It was quiet ’n’ t’ere were just t’normal creatures ’n’ animals of t’underworld t’ere. As parts started take our interest ’n’ we began to find t’ings, we were split up. I was with two others when we was attacked by some sort of wraith. T’other two fought hard ’n’ I used this to try to run back to t’others for help. I failed. My way was blocked by two others. I fought t’en. As I was fightin’ I called out t’at, if’n t’ey spared me, I’d be t’eir servant forever. T’ey stopped ’n’ drew back. I looked behind ’n’ t’ere were others behind me. I was surrounded. T’ey started to move ’n’ I moved in a circle of ’em. We came to a hall where t’ere was a magic diagram. T’ey moved me into t’centre of it ’n’ formed circle round me.”
“How many were there?” demanded Rani.
“One hand,” said Dharmal.
Suddenly Bianca spoke up in a hard voice, one that had certainty in it. “He is lying,” she said and, leaving her knife where it was, she used her other hand to reach down to him and give a very hard and long squeeze where it would have the most effect.
Dharmal screamed incoherently and shrilly until it tapered out to a whimper: “I was, I was, I am sorry,” he said in obvious pain when he had regained his voice. “T’ere were t’ree hands or perhaps more of t’em, I t’ink.” Rani looked at Bianca. Could the girl somehow detect lies? Treachery? Evil? She had heard of people able to do all of those. She nodded for Dharmal to continue.
“T’ey told me of t’is valley ’n’ t’empty village in it…it’s been empty since T’Burning…’n’ t’ey told me how to gather people who would follow any order. T’ey told me t’at I would be given instructions…in t’e mine is a locked area ’n’ in it is a mirror mounted to t’rock. T’Masters can talk to you t’rough it…”
Bianca said, “That is not the whole truth is it?” This time she idly drew a line down Dharmal’s stomach with the point of the blade leaving an oozing trail of blood in his hair and cutting across the lines of tattoos.
Dharmal was sweating and trying to wriggle away from her while whimpering with pain. He was bound too tightly to do that. “I am sorry, so sorry, no…t’ey do more t’an talk…t’ey take over your mind ’n’ drain everything t’ey want from it. T’ey can hurt you or make you…very happy.”
“Where is the map?” asked Rani.
“What I said about t’at is all true. I had instructions, whenever I f
ound one, to send Ahmed, with the map, to ’em. I don’t know why t’ey want it. He had to go again last night, again I do not know why or when he will be back. Sometimes he does other things when he is away. He sometimes says what, sometimes he does not.”
“Is that all?” asked Rani.
Dharmal thought for a moment and then looked at Bianca, poised above him. Rani followed the gaze and saw the sweet and almost loving smile Bianca gave him back as she reached out and gave him a gentle squeeze of his balls as a reminder. With a short shriek he shuddered and swallowed and seemed to think about what he should say. Finally he came out with: “We have two recruiting men out. One was due back yesterday from t’north ’n’ one is due today or tomorrow from t’south.”
“Who gives you information in the towns and cities?” asked Rani.
“Many people do. I do not know all of t’ose who work for t’Masters. T’ey keep themselves secret. Mostly we just pay people or use magic to get people to talk. We get messengers.”
“Are there any other ways into the valley other than the river?” asked Rani.
Dharmal shook his head. “Not t’at I know of…no. How did you get t’rough without us detecting you?”
Rani ignored Dharmal’s question and was about to ask another of her own when she felt her lover’s hand touch her shoulder as Theodora interrupted. “Do you raid into Darkreach or do you have people there?”
“I tried to go once, but we failed. Sometimes I t’ink t’at t’at is where Ahmed goes. Sometimes I t’ink it is back to t’Caliphate.”
Theodora nodded. “I cannot imagine the Granther liking people who call themselves ‘Masters’, however wrong they may be…he would not be in league with them. He must not know about them…what do these so-called Masters want?”
“I don’t know. We raid, we find t’ings, ’n’ we kill t’people t’ey tell us to. Sometimes we are given magic to do a certain job with. Sometimes we work with…other beings.”
“They must have some access to Darkreach, it would have been them who sent the roused dead to me,” Theodora said to Rani. To Dharmal she asked, “Did Ahmed go east about a month and a half ago? Did he say he went to Darkreach?”
Dharmal gave a short reluctant nod, looking at Bianca as he did so. “He had to release some of the Master’s servants, he said t’at much. He didn’t say why.”
“How do you open the gate without an alarm? Does it just alert you or does it have defences?” asked Astrid loudly from the veranda. What a practical question. I wasn’t thinking of that angle.
Dharmal twisted his head to the side to look up at her and then back down to Bianca. She was smiling and nodding in encouragement at him, so he continued, “T’ere is a device beside my bed. I usually have it with me. If’n you untie me I will get it ’n’ bring it back.” This time it only took a slight jab from Bianca for him to add. “T’ere are many devices by my bed. T’is one looks like a spider. If’n someone touches t’gate or tries to cross above it t’ere is a small chirp. If’n you press its middle it opens t’ gate. Otherwise anythin’ t’at tries to cross will be blasted with spell and t’gate will not budge.”
I am running out of ideas…Astrid may not be the only one with a good question. “Anyone else have any other questions?” Rani asked generally. “Do you have anything to add?” she asked Dharmal. “Remember that more than your life is on the line here.” Bianca moved her knife and, drawing back, stabbed him sharply with her blade into his buttock. It broke the skin and sank in a few fingers deep. Rani saw her eyes widen. It was probably further than she had meant to stick him, and it had him shrieking and pulling away until she pulled it out again leaving a trickle of blood to flow out. He kept up a low susurration of pain. He obviously had not noticed the expression on Bianca’s face.
Frantically Dharmal shook his head, but Rani was looking at Bianca. She is quiet. “Will you let me go now?” said Dharmal.
“Who said anything about letting you go?” Rani almost laughed. “You were given two choices. You could tell everything straight away and get a quick death or you could delay. You chose the second. Now you get to die.” She stopped and addressed the former slaves. “He is now yours. Do what you want to with him.” Dharmal began to whimper. “All that I ask is that you are finished with him before dark and that he is truly dead before then.”
“Can’t we take our time? I like Bianca’s ideas,” said Verily almost cheerfully. “I am sure we can keep him alive for a very long while… weeks before he loses his mind. I know about being hurt and healed.” She approached Dharmal and kicked him hard in the groin. He screamed and tried to curl in on himself against his restraints in agony. She waited until he stopped making noise before asking, “Don’t I, Dharmal dear?” Her smile on an otherwise blank face was even more terrifying than Bianca’s had been.
“No, we need him dead in case we have to leave,” said Rani.
“You cannot do that yet, we cannot protect ourselves,” said another former slave.
“Yes,” said Verily. “We need to learn things, and besides, if Ayesha is right then we may have things to teach you.”
Rani considered her words for a moment before nodding and said, “We will all talk about these things tonight…now we need to prepare for Ahmed and the others. Goodbye Dharmal. I will think of you the next time I see an earthworm.”
Dharmal began to scream as his former slaves closed in on him. He tried to struggle, but restraints made it a futile effort. Rani tried to close her ears to the sound but his screams and cries didn’t stop until nearly nightfall, and his howls, his whimpers, his cries and his pleas served as a disturbing backdrop to the events of the rest of the day. His screams continued, gradually becoming more incoherent when he finally lost some of his tongue and then most of his mind. Former slaves moved about doing other things or re-joined the circle around their former tormentor.
~~~
Preparations were set in train. The mages went up to Dharmal’s room to look for the amulet he had spoken of. It was easy to find. Beside the bed was a leather case. Rani prodded it and then cautiously opened it. It contained a telescope, a small rod and a small broach in the form of a spider with a pentangle with five garnets set in it on its back. “I will wager this is the rod they use to find magic,” she said. Picking up the rod, she pointed it at Theodora. It gave a low buzz. “I wonder if the pentangle is for the warning patches,” she mused. “I guess we will find out when the horses come back. We can search for the rest of his magic later. I suppose that it is too late to ask.” She cocked her head. Dharmal’s screams confirm what I said. They headed downstairs.
What do we do next?…Someone on watch with the detector and someone to fetch the horses. Astrid was sent out to the lookout with the telescope and magic-detecting rod and Bianca was sent to get the horses. “Do you need someone to help you?” asked Rani.
“What about Esther?” asked Theodora.
Bianca snorted. “I am already tending her and she has no problems with me; besides, everyone else will be busy. You need to strip these bodies and get rid of them. I only have to go for a short walk and then ride back.”
“Well hurry, we don’t want you caught out.”
As they were about to leave Thord came running up. “I’ll have to go,” he said to Rani. “Hillstrider’ll attack you if’n you try ’n’ do anything to him without me t’ere.” Luckily he didn’t see Bianca’s face. She had nearly laughed at the idea that she would be in danger from a sheep…I guess that her warhorses could deal with it, even if she could not.
Astrid gave Basil a kiss as he stayed on the veranda and the two girls and the Dwarf set out. Eventually the spider chirped, as if it was a cricket and Rani pressed it. “Hopefully he told the truth,” she said.
Chapter VIII
Bianca
It is nice leaving the violence and the screams behind and to be thinking only about horses. It is temporary, but it is a relief. Astrid interrupted her thoughts by showing her and Thord where to leap over the w
arning wards. I wonder if this really necessary? The way Thord leapt you would hope not. The Dwarf’s short bandy legs are not meant for jumping.
When they reached the path to the lookout, Astrid said, “Wait here until I reach the top and look around for a bit. It is no use being on the road if the southerners are almost here. You would be trapped out there.”
Bianca watched Astrid mount the path while Thord looked at the trail and the rocks. Astrid leapt up it rapidly and surely, pausing twice to look around and see if she was being watched. From below they could see when she gained the top and started with the rod. She checked it by pointing it at Bianca and Thord. They could only just hear its beep above the noise of the water. She then circled around. Apparently nothing was within range to set it off as she waved at them and put it away. Next she used her own eyes, and lastly the telescope.
Bianca was interested in her surroundings. To my side and below by two good paces the small river rushes, deep and black coming around the curve to the valley, splitting around the rock, and disappearing under the stone bridge. On the other side of the bridge is a waterfall. I can hear that. The occasional twig or leaf shows how fast the water runs. I will need to make sure that no animal goes over when we come in. Anything that falls in that river will not survive the experience and one could drag others with it.
~~~
Astrid
Astrid waved Bianca and Thord on and, sitting and keeping a lower profile, she kept an eye on them, as well as checking the approaches and the air towards the mountains. As she waited she thought about the last few months. I have fled home to avoid a loveless, indeed a detested, marriage and I have instead found love. I didn’t realise it at first. I thought that it was just lust, but I did. Last night I nearly lost my love and I didn’t realise the love until it was nearly gone. Father Christopher is right. In the old days this is how most Wolfneck marriages started. While I enjoy what we are doing, I don’t just want the love-making. I have found a man I enjoy being with who enjoys me and I have decided that I am going to keep him. He makes me feel warm inside when he looks at me with his quiet smile and I sometimes just want to hold him. When I get back to the village I am going to tell Basil that we are getting married…and if he refused? I will cross that bridge if I come to it. I don’t think he will, but he has this duty that he cannot tell me about and it might interfere. Now, time to stop gathering wool and get back to watching. Bianca and Thord are almost approaching the slope that leads to where we have hidden the camp and the horses. I’ll bet Bianca’s mind is firmly on the task.
Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2) Page 11