Jatasura and his cousin did not kill me in my sleep. I wasn’t ready to ascribe the reason to benevolence or intelligence, but the important thing was I woke the next day.

  Attar still wasn’t there.

  I let the worry flow through me while I studied my own condition. I hadn’t had supper, yet still felt completely full. Nor was my mouth dry from thirst. The statue was worth more than the rest of the dungeon combined. This room would be an ideal headquarters for Brace and the others. Perhaps Attar would be among them.

  Jatasura and Hidimbi were already awake.

  “I will be setting out to the upper floors on the hour,” I told them, “Do you wish to accompany me or wait here? This room, though a prison to you, would serve my companions well.”

  “We will follow,” Hidimbi spoke for a change, and Jatasura did not protest, “I wish to get out of this room. But you said you were heading down?”

  “It is a journey of many weeks, months, or even years ahead of us. A safe place with food and water is more important.”

  “It is dark in here.”

  “One of my companions glows as I do. With the light of the sun.”

  “Another god?”

  “Another blessed by the gods.”

  The cousins smiled simultaneously. I would be drinking from my tea cup at the nearest excuse.

  Write spell here

  Scorch, Sword, Scintillation II

  Scorch, Sword, Scintillation III: An invisible blade dances and strikes with the base force of 1936 lbs. The sword is replaced an hour later by an identical version. A fireball appears in the centre and is likewise replaced after an hour. One light, twice as bright as a candle, swirls about it, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Another light joins in at the end of the first hour, and ends an hour after the first light fades. This is then repeated, providing 6 hours of light total. All move independently following the whims of their master.

  The cousins quietly kept watch while I worked, which raised their worth in my esteem. I’d still use the cups when there was a need for water, but I felt myself minutely relax and a tension at the base of my neck I hadn’t been aware of until now eased.

  “Ready?” I asked them.

  They both smiled and spread their arms. All they had was their rags. Food would have started being an issue if not for this room.

  “Then let us begin, we have a lot of ground to cover.”

  ***

  It was half an hour to the base of the stairs alone, and then over an hour to the top. The stairs were so long in fact, that travelling from one end of the seventh floor to the start of the sixth floor was faster than the previous set of stairs alone.

  From there we made it to the base of lift. Originally I would have thought to clear the rest of the path back to the upper floor, but that was so Brace’s party could follow. If we were going to move everyone, two lift spells (with supplementation to handle the weight of supplies) would suffice. Better even to take an extra day of trips than to risk pushing out into more cockatrice territory, especially with two charges in tow.

  Lift

  The actual lift was still there on the fourth floor when we arrived, which made the journey to the second floor take only an additional hour rather than the rest of the day.

  The journey had so far been uneventful, but then again, that had been the point of clearing every room and destroying every door between the eighth floor and second.

  During our travel I asked the cousins questions about themselves, which they mostly deflected into a discussion of their homelands and people. According to Jatasura they had been captured by the warlocks for their exoticness, and kept as a conversation piece or pets rather than a tactical or political acquisition. They’d rarely been let out of their cell, and when freed they’d been forced into the roles of servants for the amusement of the prison wardens. They’d never, except for when they’d arrived, been allowed into the fort proper.

  From the second floor it was another hour to the base. Crawling through the walls took quite a bit longer with two extra uncoordinated people.

  Attar ran out to greet me, “Oswic! I’d hoped you’d return. Who are your friends?’

  I wrapped him in a quick embrace, “You found your way to safety! I was worried.”

  Attar pointed as his new slippers, then vanished again, reappearing in the centre of the room, “They bring me back here,” he said, running back over, “it is such a coincidence I doubt it is one. I experimented while you were gone to put my worries at the back of my mind. I wasn’t sure you could manage without me.”

  He was grinning, a fact only I with my ring could feel.

  The others joined Attar. Brace had a small on her face, but a worry in her eyes, Cillian was the same. It was the boon and curse of working with numbers: you started thinking in them. Conan by contrast was still relaxed. He was a hunter, and more people merely meant more hunting. Current rates indicated nothing of his future.

  “I found these two, Jatasura and Hidimbi, in a most peculiar cell,” I said by way of introduction, “All needs of food and water are met, so long as the statue is not touched. It is somewhat smaller than this room, but secured from all direction. It is also dark, but Astra can provide light.”

  Tadgh leapt on the spot, one foot and then the other, “Let us make haste at once! I will pack my bags!”

  I called him back, “Tomorrow Tadgh. I want all my spells. The journey is long, down all the way to the eighth floor. It took the three of us five hours and we moved quickly and silently. Seventeen people will be slower. I don’t think the lift can take all our weight at once, not with our supplies.”

  Erin smiled, and if not for Astra standing right next to her I would have swooned, “This is wonderful Oswic. We’ll be much closer as you descend, and we’ll have to worry less about ambushes when we leave to gather water.”

  Speaking of which-

  I dimmed the light of my skin and let out a sigh of relief.

  “Hand me your skins, I will take Astra to light the way and we will gather some water. The journey worked up a thirst in me, and I’m sure our guests are the same. Attar, could you please introduce them to the others?”

  Jatasura and Hidimbi’s eyes had been darting between Astra and Attar the whole time, only briefly sparing a glance for Oscar and Oisín. I was sure they’d love to become acquainted with the necromancer.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Astra and I left through the secret door beyond the skull and down the fifty feet to the room housing the pool.

  Only once we ducked around the doorway and into the far corner of the room did Astra speak, “They feel hungry. They wish to eat us all. Especially you,” she said with a shudder.

  I poured a bit of water into my cup and sipped from it thoughtfully.

  Love. Affection. Concern. She wanted to keep myself and the others safe. She wanted—oh my—I took the cup from my lips. Invisibility had its perks. My face was hot enough to make tea in my mouth.

  The short of it was I could trust Astra. And Astra knew what others were feeling, which made my embarrassment all the greater when her lips quirked into a slight smile and a blush of her own appeared. Invisibility was useless.

  More importantly, she knew what the cousins were feeling, and they were not trustworthy, as I’d felt before.

  “Are they dangerous? Do they think they can overcome and kill us? Or is it merely a strange fancy or a foreign way of thinking?”

  “They are self assured but uncertain. Cautious. They both fear you. I think the woman is more eager to attack and see what happens than the man. He is patient. They felt relieved when both of us left together.”

  I shouldered my pack. The waterskins would have to wait, “Then we must return immediately. Even if Attar can stop them, I have no wish to see my friends die a second time before he does.”

  ***

  The cousins had not made their move by the time we arrived. It was a relief, but it left me with the awkward position of exposing them.

  Sword Storm III

  Magic Swords III

  The names would suggest I’d just summoned six swords, but in reality I’d only summoned two. One by each neck of our freed “prisoners”.

  Jatasura glanced down at the invisible blade with a raised eyebrow, whereas Hidimbi favoured an expression of contempt. These were not normal humans. Even I couldn’t see my own swords.

  I handed Stovepipe my cup as he was nearest and pointed my spear at Jatasura, “Drink from the cup Stovepipe, it will tell you their true intentions.”

  “You trust the cup?” asked Jatasura.

  It was a good question. Myrra’s soul and my own experience had shown me its nature, but it was possible both were mistaken.

  “I trust Astra,” I said.

  “You hardly know her,” said Jatasura.

  How could he know that?

  Jatasura continued, voice calm, temper level, “She is blindingly beautiful. Even I have heard of the Princess Astra, lost nearly one hundred years ago. Yet she has hardly aged a day. The Golden King took her as his consort, and he had many a corrupt necromancer under his employ. Traces of their magic still linger on her. I suspect you met her in these very dungeons. The rift has only been active for several weeks under your own admission. Are you really going to condemn a man to death on the word of a woman you’ve known for less than a month?”

  “The cup says he wants to escape with his life. And devour your heart. They are both so hungry,” Stovepipe took the cup from his lips and twisted them in disgust, “I’d rather not know more.”

  Jatasura didn’t even waver, “Think Oswic, for the sake of your own soul. The cup was found in a warlock’s lair. Astra’s blessing is reading through a veil of dark magic. I have no reason to impugn her character, but I do not trust the Bleak Fort.”

  It would be the work of a warlock to turn prisoners against each other. But then why had Astra and Brace and the huldra not elicited the same suspicion?

  It was a fantastic excuse at the very least.

  I sighed leaned against the skull.

  “We have no way to know the truth of the matter, as you said. I’ve only known Astra for a few days, and much of the time in between was exploring,” I admitted, “But bonds have always been forged in the past despite distrust and danger, and without blessings and magical artifacts to seal them.”

  I moved my swords back from Hidimbi’s neck first and thrust out my hand, “Do you swear you mean us no harm provided we offer you none?”

  “How can I, after you put a sword to my neck?” she hissed.

  Jatasura sighed.

  “I’ll swear,” he said, “We will both swear. We don’t have to trust each other, but we both have the warlocks as our common foes. Set your bone wall around your own camp when you sleep. As you’ve no doubt gathered, we have talents beyond normal men. We require very little sleep and can see through most illusions. We will keep our own watch until and if that happy day comes when you can trust us.”

  I reached out my hand, “Then swear it.”

  Jatasura raised a finger, “First you swear you will do me no harm. You have me at a disadvantage.”

  There was a time when I would have fallen for that.

  “Yes, but I have you at a disadvantage,” I said.

  He chuckled, “Fair enough. On my honour, I swear I will not harm you or yours unless I am first offered harm.”

  He’d also sworn on his honour, which wasn’t actually the same thing as saying he wouldn’t do it. Only his honour would suffer and I doubted a cannibal cared. Was denying a cannibal a meal an offering of harm?

  “Do you have any plans to harm us?”

  “Of course I do. You have a sword to my neck. I’d be a fool if I wasn’t looking for a way out.”

  He was slipperier than a dobby. Or maybe that was just my bias slipping through.

  “Swear on your life you won’t harm us. Swear that you intend to follow the path of all that is Good.”

  Jatasura gritted his teeth, “How long will this nonsense play out before I receive your oath in kind? We are not fairies to be bound in chains of promises. I thought I’d escaped slavery when you first knocked down my cell door,” he sighed, “But I will give you your oath: I swear, on my life, to enact no harm against any in the room here, provided they enact no harm against me. I also swear to follow the path of all that is Good, as best as I am able.”

  It should have been enough, but too many coincidences entered his words. Too many outs and concealed meanings. Too many subtleties which would have made Old Tom Oldshoe proud. I was a cautious man. Jatasura was a cautious man. It might be have been what set us against each other. He’d already expressed his frustration, but I’d have to frustrate him a bit more.

  I shook his hand, “You are an honest man, Jatasura.”

  “I try to be,” he said.

  I addressed his cousin, “Now, Hidimbi, if you could also simply say ‘I intend to follow the path of all that is Good.’”

  Jatasura’s eyes widened a fraction and I felt his heart spike. Both were controlled and stilled a moment later. Freaky. Even the druids couldn’t control the beating of their hearts directly.

  “I also swear to follow the path of all that is Good, as best as I am able,” said Hidimbi.

  “And that your life is forfeit should you forsake Good intentions?”

  “I do so swear,” she said calmly.

  Liar, mouthed Attar. I’d gotten good at reading lips after days of exposure with my ring.

  Jatasura had been right. I couldn’t trust Astra or the cups fully. Even if there was no interference from dark magic, I didn’t know them, not truly. But I knew Attar inside and out. Better than he knew himself in some ways, as I’d seen ten years of his own life he hadn’t. He wouldn’t know how to deceive me if he tried.

  And Attar hadn’t called Astra a liar.

  Jatasura had been far too clever, but Hidimbi had taken the bait.

  It was a shame absolutes were so few. I had everything I needed to believe Jatasura and Hidimbi were some sort of man-eaters. Ogres with a prettier smile. But there was always a chance Astra was an enchanter and we were all under her spell, set to turn us against each other.

  Jatasura smiled and bobbed his head in a funny little half bow, “It is hard to find trust in the place where trust is broken. I sympathize, even if I am insulted. Now, your vow.”

  I’d killed in cold blood before, but I didn’t wish to again. Would be safer to banish them or keep them close? I would be using my own friends lives as bait. Even if it would keep them safer in the long run, the path was not mine to choose.

  Then again, a friends’ choice was for their friends to make the right choice.

  Best not to think of whose choice it was. I had the power and the knowledge. The choice was mine. The burden would be mine either way.

  “Then I also swear on my life as Hidimbi did: to do you no harm and to follow the path of all that is Good, as best as I am able,” I said.

  Jatasura did his little bow again, “At least we have said it. Let the gods preserve us.”