fool.’
Darkmount removed the guard from beneath his arm and shook him like a tambourine.
‘Er … are you sure that’s the best way to wake someone up?’ asked Nibbler, looking on with wide eyes.
‘Knocked out many Stomen lately?’
‘Er … no, I tend to flame them.’
‘So you haven’t knocked any out and had to revive them?’
‘Um … no.’
‘And would you consider yourself intimate with the physiology of the Stoman body?’
‘I’ll, er … just shut up and leave you to it, shall I?’
‘Answer the question!’
‘Ah … no.’
‘Well, why don’t you close your prattling mouth and leave this to me?’ snapped the bishop. Bending over, he glowered at Nibbler. ‘Or would you like to spend the rest of the day standing around cracking foolish, immature jokes?’
‘Stop picking on him,’ said Charlie, stepping forward. ‘He’s sorry, I’m sorry and I’m pretty sure that guard is going to feel sorry when he comes to. Let’s just please get on with it. I need to know what’s happened to Jensen and Kelko.’
‘Hey, he’s waking up!’ Nibbler pointed enthusiastically at their prisoner.
‘Gaaahh,’ groaned the guard, his head lolling around and his eyes unfocused. ‘What happened to me?’
‘I happened, you unrepentant worm,’ rumbled Darkmount, the baritone of his voice rolling off the wall like an avalanche.
The soldier, realizing his predicament, reared back his head and opened his mouth. Darkmount slapped him before he could cry for help.
‘Enough of that nonsense! Tell me what happened to the two Tremen being guarded here or I’ll stuff your head into that wall and leave you hanging there like a festive ornament.’
The guard’s eyes flashed to the wall then back to the bishop’s serious face. It didn’t take him long to crack.
‘They’ve been taken to the Soul Mines of Zhartoum,’ he babbled, then flinched as Darkmount raised a threatening fist.
‘When did this happen?’
‘This morning,’ gabbled the soldier. ‘They got processed pretty quickly and –’
‘And what of the dog that accompanied them?’
‘It went with the Tremen!’
‘You mean they’ve gone?’ asked Charlie, putting her hand on the soldier’s wrist.
‘Y-yes!’
‘So they’re not in the city?’
‘No.’
‘Well, where is this mine?’
‘It’s to the north-west of –’
‘Be silent,’ snapped Darkmount. He gave the guard an idle shake to emphasize his demand, then turned to Charlie. ‘If your friends have gone then that is that. It no longer affects us.’
‘What do you mean it no longer affects us?’ protested Charlie.
‘It means that they are beyond our immediate reach.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to go after them then!’
‘There is no “we” in this matter, little girl!’ spat Darkmount. ‘I agreed to help you in this matter provided that they were still in the city.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘Pah! Your ignorance is despicable! We have a deal. I have done my half now it is up to you to honour your side of the bargain.’
‘What! But my friends need help, we need to go after them, we need –’
In a fit of anger Darkmount smashed the guard against the wall. ‘Listen, child, a deal is a deal! You. Will. Uphold. Your. Side. Of. The. Bargain!’
Charlie and Nibbler backed off at the sight of the enraged bishop. Black waves of anger shimmered above his head, shoulders and clenched fists.
‘A deal is a deal!’ he repeated. ‘If you want to find out what your pendant is capable of you will hold true to your side of the bargain or I will walk, right here, right now and you will never – so I swear by Rock and Crystal – never learn its secrets!’
Charlie staggered backwards as she stared at the incensed Stoman. Thoughts and emotions cascaded through her heart and mind. Jensen, Kelko, Sic Boy, her parents, Bane, Bellania, her grandma, Lady Dridif and all the other tangled threads in her life. What could she do? She stared at Darkmount and knew, just knew, that this was a make-or-break moment. If she wanted the pendant’s secret, she’d have to go with him, but at what cost?
‘Nibbler.’
‘I’m here, Charlie.’ He was hunched into a taut, streamlined pose, as if he were ready to spring on Darkmount at any moment.
‘If I go with him will you sort out the others?’
‘No.’
‘What?’
‘I said no.’
‘Nibbler, this isn’t the time to be joking! I need you to do this.’
‘I’m sorry, Charlie,’ he said with genuine concern in his eyes, ‘but I’m not going to leave you to do this by yourself. No way, no how. Kelko and Jensen can look out for themselves, they’re adults, they’ve got Sic Boy with them and they’re experienced. They know what they’re about and they know