them.
“I came to ask your decision,” Lord Tomas said. He looked from Kormak to his wife. “I heard you…talking to my wife.”
Kormak said nothing. There was nothing to say. He could tell that behind his cold facade, Lord Tomas was incandescent with rage. He glanced at Wesley and his men at arms who studiously kept their faces blank, to avoid admitting they had noticed his humiliation.
“Take Sir Kormak to the dungeon,” he said. He strode forward and grasped Kathea roughly with the arm.
“You and I will have words, wife,” he said.
The guards surrounded Kormak, weapons drawn. There was nothing he could do except throw himself on their blades and he doubted that would do anybody much good.
Wesley tossed him his clothing. There was a smirk on his face now that the eyes of Lord Tomas were no longer upon him. “I think Lord Tomas has decided he no longer has need of your services.”
The cell was cold and damp and the bars were strong. Kormak had tested them and they resisted his strength. He cursed his own stupidity and the weakness that illness had brought. Somewhere in the mansion, a conspiracy of maniacs were going to unleash a demon, and he doubted that any of them had any real idea of what that meant. Kormak was not sure that even he did. No one had encountered a Ghul in hundreds of years since the Guardian Malos had hunted down the last of them. It had left a trail of death and mayhem hundreds of leagues long once it had been uncovered.
He grabbed the bars again and shook them but they would not give. One of the guards said, “That won’t do you much good. Man can’t bend iron that thick. Believe me.”
It was Marcus, the guard who had been there when Tarsus first treated him. There were three other men sitting at the table, playing cards.
“Your master is going to unleash a demon,” Kormak said.
“He told me you were suffering from delusions,” said the guard, “and needed to be restrained for your own good till you got better. I can see he wasn’t wrong.”
Kormak studied the man. He had keys on his belt. If he could lure him close enough he might be able to knock the man out and get the keys and free himself. And then he would only need to overcome three armed men, he thought sourly. After that he would find Lord Tomas and then what, he asked himself? The ritual would be guarded. Lord Tomas had clearly thought things out. Still, he would worry about that after he was free. He considered faking illness but he doubted that would put the jailor within reach.
These were cautious men and strong. He was not going to be able to fight his way out of here.
There was a sound of knocking from the door at the head of the stairs leading down into the cells. The jailor walked over and looked out through a slot. He said something and nodded and opened the door. Kormak looked up and saw the wizard Tarsus. The old man limped down the stairs, walked over to the table where the guards sat and helped himself to some of their wine. None of them objected. He seemed to have some trouble fumbling the stopper back on the jug. It took him some time to get in place then he came over to the cell door and looked at Kormak.
“You could have handled this better,” said Tarsus. His tones were very low.
“Have you come to gloat?” Kormak asked.
“No,” he said.
“Shouldn’t you be helping Lord Tomas free the Ghul?”
“I should be but I am not. I told him I was too sick.”
“Why did you come here?” Kormak asked.
“I came to help you,” Tarsus said. “It was one thing to talk about unleashing the Ghul when it was just a theoretical possibility. It is a different thing entirely since I have held the amphora in my hands. I can feel the evil in the thing. I want no part in setting it free.”
“Not even if it can help you stave off death?” Kormak asked.
“I doubt it can do that now. There is not enough time left for me to learn its secrets and even if there was, I am not sure I would seek immortality at such cost.”
“But you thought differently once.”
“Like I said, contemplating a thing in theory is different from putting it into practise. And I am old and tired and I will rest