James Wyatt - In the Claws of the Tiger

“Hmm,” Krael said, a faint smile on his thin lips. “Perhaps it would be best to split up once we get out this door, and see who gets to Maija first.”

“And let you tear her apart if you reach her first?” Janik said. “No.”

“Besides,” Dania added, “the two of you can’t hope to face her alone. It seems that the six of us working together would have the best chances of reaching her, fighting through all the zakyas, and-” she caught herself.

“Killing her?” Krael said.

“And accomplishing our goal,” Dania said, turning away from the leering vampire.

Janik crouched in front of Krael again, looking him right in the eyes. “I want to trust you, Krael, and I’d rather work with you than against you on this. Can you give me any assurance that you’re not going to stab us in the back if we help you?”

“Long term? No,” Krael replied. “Short term, though, it’s just not in my interest. Leave you in here and try to face Maija and the Fleshrender alone, without even Sever beside me? That would be suicide-and believe me, I have little doubt that the Fleshrender would find some way to make sure I stay dead. You can always count on me to look out for myself, Janik. You know that.”

Janik stared into Krael’s red eyes a moment longer.

“Besides,” Krael added, “if I had wanted to betray you, I would have taken this opportunity to dominate your mind, forcing you to release me without anything in exchange.”

Even as he spoke, Janik felt the vampire’s presence probing at the edges of his mind, but Krael made no assault, no effort to take control.

Janik tore his gaze off Krael and stood. “It looks like we’re in this together.”

“For now,” Krael said.

Janik glanced at Dania, but she was distracted again. “Auftane, work your magic.”

Auftane kneeled behind the vampire and spent several moments in intense concentration. As far as Janik could see, no actual magic was needed-the dwarf had produced a set of lockpicks and was working them in a small keyhole set into one of the manacles. He chanted quietly as he worked, and Janik wondered if he was just improving his own concentration, manipulating the flow of magic in the manacles, or just singing to himself.

“There!” Auftane announced, and Krael stretched his arms up triumphantly.

“Auftane Khunnam,” the vampire said, getting to his feet, “I am indebted to you. Those were painful and damned inconvenient.”

“I look forward to giving them further study,” the artificer said.

“And now for my part of the bargain,” Krael said. Even as he finished his sentence, his body dissolved into a cloud of billowing vapors. For a moment, the mist was still recognizable as Krael, but then it lost all form and drifted to the door. It churned slightly as it seeped through the tiny crack under the door-and in a moment, it was gone.

The room fell silent.

Janik faced the door, his eyes unfocused but his ears straining for any hint of what was happening behind it. He listened for the sound of a bar being lifted or the lock opening. Beside him, he was aware of Dania rocking on the balls of her feet and flexing her fingers.

No sound penetrated the iron door. Janik heard Mathas grunt softly as he got to his feet, and Auftane made some clanking sounds, fidgeting with the manacles he’d taken off Krael. Dania let out a long, slow breath. Janik closed his eyes, every sound around him becoming an entity in a field of darkness. He could hear each of the others breathing-Dania slow and disciplined beside him, Mathas heavy and a little labored, Auftane uneven. No sound came from the warforged, or from the door before him.

A knot of worry formed in Janik’s chest, clenching his heart. Had Krael betrayed them again, leaving them here while he made his escape? Or just as bad, perhaps he had encountered zakya guards outside the cell that had overpowered him, the iron door blocking any sound of the struggle.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Dania beside him. She caught the movement of his head out of the corner of her eye and turned to meet his gaze. She shook her head slowly, then closed her eyes again.

She’s right, Janik thought. And she was right all along-we shouldn’t have trusted Krael.

“Well,” he whispered at last, “really, we’re no worse off than we were.”

“Except that our one hope is gone,” Dania said.

Janik was about to reply when a terrible clatter shattered the quiet of the room-a metallic clanging against the door. That was followed by the distinct sound of a bar being lifted off the door, then a key turning in the lock.

The door swung open, accompanied by a metallic scraping, and Krael stood in the doorway, a triumphant smile on his face.

“It damn well took you long enough,” Janik said.

Krael gestured to the floor at his feet. Scattered around him were all the weapons the zakyas had taken from them-Janik’s short sword and Dania’s long one, Auftane’s mace, and Sever’s silver-black adamantine blade, as well as the pouch of wands that Auftane carried. His own massive flail was already tucked into his belt.

“I had to kill a guard, retrieve the key, and liberate our weapons,” Krael said. “I think I accomplished all that rather quickly, truth be told.”

Krael stepped back as Janik retrieved his sword. He slid his slender blade into its sheath, then stooped to get Dania’s and Auftane’s weapons.

“That’s quite a sword you have, Dania,” Krael said. “Even the hilt bites.”

“Holiness hurts,” Dania said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Krael said, rubbing his hands together. Janik thought he caught a glimpse of terrible burns on the vampire’s right hand, but they were healing even as he looked.

Janik handed weapons to his friends and led them into the outer chamber, leaving the warforged to pick up his own sword. A zakya lay dead near an open door on the opposite wall. The creature looked shriveled-even its thick fur could not hide the way its flesh clung to its bones. Janik suspected it had been perfectly healthy before Krael got to it, and his stomach churned with revulsion. He tried to look away, but his gaze was drawn to its staring eyes, bulging in their sockets.

Auftane’s voice shook Janik out of his morbid observation. “Where did you find our weapons?” he asked Krael.

“Heaped on a table in the next room. The guard was stationed there but he came running when I opened the door. It’s entirely possible that there was a second guard who ran the opposite direction to raise an alarm.”

“Great,” Janik said. “Then we need to move. Where do we go, Krael?”

“This way,” Dania answered, starting out the door. Janik shot her a quizzical glance, but she did not see it. She was moving slowly, her head cocked slightly to one side, her eyes not quite focused. Auftane and Mathas waited for Janik’s lead, but Krael shrugged.

“That’s what I was going to say,” the vampire said. “We’ll find Maija on the lowest level.”

“Dania,” Janik said, hurrying after her and grabbing her shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“You don’t hear it?” Dania said, facing Janik but not really looking at him. “It’s calling me.”

What in Khyber? Janik thought. He gripped both of her shoulders and brought his face close to hers, trying to force her eyes to focus on him. “What’s calling you, Dania? Is that a voice you should be listening to?”

“I … think so,” Dania said vaguely. “It’s confusing.” Her eyes suddenly focused on Janik. “I hear them both, Janik, the binder and the bound. Come on, we need to move!” She turned and continued walking. With a quick glance back at the others, Janik followed, drawing his sword as he walked.

Wait a moment, he thought, and looked back over his shoulder at Krael.