Chapter 150: Do you believe that all of this is necessary?

Again Kerrass looked at the two of us. Kerrass raised his eyebrows at me. It would seem that this bit was up to me.

“There were lots of things.” I told him. Lots of small clues that gave you away and gave us clues as to what was going on. The absence of women anywhere around you. Yours was a court of men and in the modern world, that is increasingly rare. It was in the attitude of your guards and your....for want of a better word.....courtiers.” I sucked my teeth in thought. “Your mage made my skin crawl.” I found myself smiling at the thought.

“Yes,” Lord Cavill's mirth was warm suddenly and I was reminded of his charm. I tried to force myself to play on that but I didn't really get the chance. “Yes, he does that to people. I normally try to keep him out of such circumstances for precisely that reason but in this instance he was too useful. He needed to get a good look at you so that he could find you again.” His eyes narrowed a little. “But I sense that this isn't the entire thing?”

“No.” I smirked again. “It was your son's axe that he was training with out in the yard.”

“His axe?”

“Yes. He got it recently didn't he?”

“He did. He claimed that he bought it from one of the dwarven merchants that came through here. A brutal, disgusting weapon, I thought. Far too big. A weapon for the slaying rather than any kind of finesses.”

“He didn't get it from a merchant.” I told him. “He stole it from the body of a dead priest of Kreve. A knight Father Gardan who you might have heard of?”

A spasm of anger flashed across Lord Cavill's face. “His efforts towards some kind of vengeance against you, to throw his murder of the priest into your face after you humiliated him in court, I have no doubt.”

“Possibly.”

“Did he know that you would recognise it I wonder?”

“Did he care?”

Cavill grunted. “I'm going to knock the fuck out of him for this. So elementary a mistake. Our entire existence depends on our being hidden from the outside world. If he wasn't my only remaining heir then I would give him to the rack or the flogging post for a mistake like that That axe should have been left with the body or it should have been melted down or re-shaped into something more useful. Still....The axe of the Silver slayer.”

He shook his head.

“Still. Thank you for your time. I shall be there to see you off in the morning.”

This time Arthur did indeed open the door. In a practised manoeuvre we were preceded by half the crossbowmen while the remaining ones followed us out, keeping us at bay as we went.

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“Wait.” It was Taylor who suddenly turned in place. “My turn for a question There was a look of genuine puzzlement on his face. Taylor is a fascinating man and I wish that I get the chance to find out more about him, but he had this trick of using his face to be so utterly eloquent in his delivery and body language.

Sometimes he was as difficult to read as a statue but other times you could tell what he was thinking from across a wide open field.

Now he was standing there in abject amazed and amused horror.

“Wait.” He said. “Before we go, I just have a question.”

There was a pause as we all stood there and stared at him. Kerrass was out in the hallway and almost came back in. Arthur looked on.

Cavill was in the process of taking out a paper to read on the desk in the universal signal from everyone that they were done with this bullshit and moving on to the next item of business but he was looking up at Taylor now.

“Do you actually believe in all of this Horse shit?” Taylor began, “or is this just some jumped up excuse to be horrible to your fellow man?”

Cavill just stared at him.

Arthur's armour clinked as he shifted in discomfort.

“I mean seriously. I wanna know.” Taylor stood and stared the other man down for a minute or two. “Yeah,” he said after a while. “I thought so.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

He nodded to himself before making a “shooing” gesture to me to usher me out the door. “Pompous prick,” he stage muttered to me.

To be fair, I couldn't agree more.

We were led along the corridor and down a flight of stairs. In the same area of the mine or cavern or wherever the hell it was that we found ourself but there was no doubt in our mind that we had come into a prison. The doors were heavier and the walls were lined with guards. Men in the hooded cowls of the Hounds. This time they were not wearing the ridiculous armoured shapes hidden underneath and their weapons were good, well made things.

We were shown into a room. Several large and comfortable beds were there as well as rich rugs and tapestries on the walls. There were several comfortable chairs and a large table in the middle of the room upon which was a flower arrangement as well as a jug and three cups.

“Food will be brought shortly.” Arthur told us. His loosening up that had happened while we were travelling towards Lord Cavill's office seemed to have been undone. He was still polite but there had been a distance that had grown up between us as well. He was no longer trying to be friends. “After that, if you require the use of a woman then one will be brought.”

“What about privacy?” Kerrass asked. “Should a woman be brought, I don't really want to look at Freddie's pimpled backside while he goes at it.”

Taylor laughed. Arthur did not.

“There are bedded alcoves behind the curtains at the end of the room.” He pointed. “The curtains are heavy and are certainly opaque but I can do nothing about the noise should anyone be particularly....ah.....vocal.”

He seemed to run out of things to say for a second or two there before turning round and starting again. “We will bring you some more food at dawn and come for you two hours after that for the beginning of the hunt. I suggest that you get some rest as well as make use of the food.”

“Wait.” I said as he turned to go. “You seem like a good man. Why are you doing this?”

“It is the God's will.” He told me promptly and a little stiffly. I gathered that he had heard something that he didn't quite approve of. “How else am I guaranteed my place in paradise?”

I nodded. I was dealing with another fanatic here. Arguing was pointless at best and, given what we could look forward to in the morning, at worst it was just a waste of energy.

“Then where do we go if we need to relieve ourselves?” I asked.

“The curtain on the other end leads to a garderobe.”

“A hole in the floor.”

“As you say.”

I nodded again. “What's to stop us from just.....Refusing to be hunted. What happens if we just sit there and let you all take us. That defeats the le point of the exercise doesn't it?”

Arthur sighed and scratched his head. “That is one of the mysteries that I am not party to. Before being released I have seen Father talk to the sacrifices before hand but I have never heard what he says. But whatever it is that he says, it provides the necessary goading and the sacrifices often leap to their feet to begin the chase.”

“Do we get a head start?”

“A period of one day. Now I really have told you much more than I should have. You will learn the rest tomorrow.”

He closed the door on us.

Kerrass moved over to the table and poured a small cup of the liquid, sniffed and tasted it.

“It's clean.” He said and poured me a cup. “Get it down you Freddie, you will need your strength.”

I took the cup and found that he was right. I was tired, thirsty and hungry.

“What is wrong with me?” I asked.

“You were bled.” Kerrass told me. He and Taylor were prowling round the room. I suspect they were looking for anything that might be used as a weapon or looking for some way of escape. At one point I saw Kerrass looking at the holes in the walls that were far above us that, presumably, provided us with air to breathe. I saw him look at the holes and measure the distance before examining Taylor and I before dismissing the idea with a shake of his head.

“We were only asleep for a couple of days and woke up in the cage.” Taylor went on. He was moving along the walls, waving his hands around before the stones to see if he could feel a draft anywhere. “Then one day we went indoors and they came and dragged you out of the cage. We would have fought them but we were unarmed and all but naked at the time and they had crossbows.”

“Where did they take me?”

“They didn't say. But when you came back you had scars and needle marks in the crooks of your elbows. You were pale and your pulse was shallow. Normally after that kind of thing you would need to be fed and watered.”

“Good red meat and green vegetables” Taylor nodded. “Best thing to get you back on your feet.”

“But they didn't. They fed you so that you wouldn't starve.”

“The ever popular tube down the throat?” I asked

“The very thing.” Kerrass grinned.

“It's always me isn't it.”

“You deserve it though.” The grin vanished. “But you've also been lying in your own filth. They cared enough to keep you fed, not to keep you clean. Speaking of which, let's see if we can get you a bath.

A bath was provided, food was brought. It was simple but tasty fare. Bread, meat, cheese and some vegetables. Well cooked with what tasted like wild garlic and onions. A bath was brought as well as some clean clothes and I cannot deny that the feeling of cleanliness was wonderful. Not the first time that I have felt the undeniable ecstasy of being clean after having been so filthy but every single time it happens, it feels wonderful.

We ate, I cleaned myself up and then we gathered around the table for a small conference.

“So what are we going to do?” Taylor asked. “It seems a little....foolish to just head down and run for it when they let us go in the morning. We need some kind of plan.”

“We do. We're not in so bad a state as all that though.” Kerrass told him. “We're not some frightened villagers or one of the elves that it seems that they have used for this purpose in the past.”

“No, but I'm going to slow you both down.” I told them. I took a deep breath. “It might be better if you let them take me. We run for it for as long as we can, I don't know if we get any weapons or anything as part of the hunt but we run for as long as we can. When it's clear that I can't go any further then I will turn and attack them. Hopefully I can survive whatever they've got in mind for long enough so that you two can get help.”

“Brave of you Freddie, but a little foolish. Don't be too keen to jump on your sword just yet.” Kerrass smiled softly.

“Why?” Taylor asked. “I agree that we should fight as much as we can but Lord Frederick's right. Not because he isn't physically capable but he's weak from the blood loss and it takes time to recover from that kind of thing, not to mention any illness that that's going to leave him vulnerable to.”

“True, but at the same time, which of the two of us is going to be able to convince Lord whatever or whoever we bump into that we're not the fugitives that Lord Cavill claims us to be. I'm a Witcher and without Freddie's company, which lends me a certain amount of credibility and respect, people run from me and attack me. And all of those Lords that we will go to will see, at worst, a common soldier in you or Lord Frederick's manservant at best. Villagers will be afraid of both of us as again,” Kerrass gestured at himself “Witcher and you're a soldier. They're going to run a mile when they see either of us. We have to plan beyond immediate survival which, I agree, is going to need the two of us to carry Freddie a bit but later on....we're going to need him so.....” He wagged his finger in my face. “No heroic self-sacrificing.”

“Yes Kerrass.” I tried to look contrite and failed.

“But honestly though,” Kerrass went on. “We're not in too bad shape here. A Witcher, a soldier and a fighter. We're already much more than these bastards are used to and we can counter their herbal poisons. Also, we have help out there.”

“You mean Sir Rickard.” I said quietly. I couldn't see how we were being listened to but they did have a mage on the payroll.

“Yes. Sir Rickard with more than half a dozen of the most highly trained and deadly woodsmen that I've ever seen and I'm nearly a hundred years old.”

“Will they find us though?” I asked.

“Dan'll find us.” Taylor said nodding, a strange, prideful glint in his eye. “That man could track a bird in flight before shooting it down.”

“By now, Rickard knows that we're missing. He's a sensible man. He will tell people what's happened and by now, people are looking for us. And we, especially Freddie, have powerful friends. Another reason why it is vital that Freddie stay alive and in our company.”

“I can't contact them though.”

“Oh Freddie, a little naïve there.” Kerrass chuckled. “Your fiancée was called the Spider Queen of Angraal and that was not a cute nickname that they gave her. We both know that she can literally talk to spiders and that she once told you that spiders have a web of communication that covers the continent. The only way that she hasn't already found you yet is due to a magical null field or something that is hiding you from her. But that kind of thing would have to be finite, so all we have to do is to get out from that area and she'll snatch you up in a heart-beat.”

Taylor smirked. “Not sure how I would feel about a wife who could literally see me wherever I went and know what I was up to. But in this instance, I'll take it.”

“That's not including the amount of fuss that Sam will make along with the Church of the Holy Fire and the rest. We should still head somewhere but our main objective is going to have to be to survive. The longer that we survive, the better for us all.”

I felt myself nodding along with Kerrass' words and I saw that Taylor was being drawn in in the same way.

“The main problem.” Kerrass went on. “Is that mage of theirs. We only have their word for it that he won't get himself involved in this “most sacred of rites”. The danger is that if they come at us in a group, that we get overwhelmed. I would flatter the three of us that we can take on three or four of them. Even unarmed as we are and then we start to become equipped we become all the more dangerous but if that mage find us, tells them where we are and then they come after us in force.....” He sucked some air in between his teeth. “Then that is the most dangerous thing.”

We nodded and looked at each other for a bit.

“I'm going to get some rest.” I declared. “I think I'm going to need it if I'm replenishing lost blood. Someone wake me in a few hours so I can get something else to eat.” Kerrass nodded.

“And I'm going to see about a woman.” Taylor said, heading towards the door.

“Is now the time?” I asked him, but I was smiling as I said it. I was under no illusions. Kerrass' talk not withstanding, things were fairly dire. There were a lot of them against three of us. I was sick, Kerrass had lost the edge that his Elixirs gave him so the only one operating on full strength was Taylor. So if he wanted to spend his last comfortable night with a woman, then who was I to argue.

I did though. Because that's what friends are for.

“Probably not.” He told me with a smile. “But if I can convince her then she might be able to smuggle us a weapon or show us a way out.” He shrugged. “Unlikely given how much control the bastards seem to have over this lot but,” he shrugged again. “Worth a go.”

He spoke to the guard at the door. The discussion seemed to go along the lines of “What flavour would you like,” and he chose a blonde.

I dozed to be woken, as requested, some time later by Kerrass.

“Taylor?” I asked him.

“If you listen,” Kerrass said quietly. “You can hear him snoring the gentle sound of the disappointed.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently, she was less than entirely enthusiastic in her.....lovemaking and so he tried to send her away. He, like you and I, likes them willing and enthusiastic but it would seem that that's not what they go for round here. Instead she was meek, resistant and absolutely expecting him to @@@ her. But she protested and said that she would be punished if something didn't happen so.....”

“So......” I made the universal hand gesture of wanting to know more. The one where you rotate your hands in the air as if beckoning more noise to come out of Kerrass' mouth.

“So, I didn't ask any further. She left willingly some time later and he didn't @@@ her so I didn't enquire any further. She was unreceptive to the idea of helping us though.”

I shrugged and gave a little sigh. “We kind of knew that it was a long shot though didn't we.”

“We did. Eat something.”

I did and Kerrass sat watching me.

“Shouldn't you also be getting some rest?” I prompted.

“I will but I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Go on,”

“Why didn't you ask about your sister. He would have answered you, as it was my understanding that that was the deal after all. We would ask questions and he would answer them.”

“Would he though?” I washed down my current mouthful with some water and thought about what to say. “Since the night by the rock, I've been trying to be a bit more careful about my emotions and about how I do things regarding them. If I had asked about what was going on with Francesca and he told me that she had long since been fed to their dark God of Pleasure and torture. What would I have done?”

Kerrass said nothing.

“I don't know either.” I told him. “But there's a very real possibility that I would have got all three of us killed. If I had gone for him, which I might have, then you would have felt obliged to join in. Taylor would have as well because it would have been our last and best chance to make anything happen. But then eight crossbow bolts would have thundered across the room and the three of us would be dead. Francesca, would still be unsaved or unavenged.”

“But that's not the real reason is it?”

“No, no it isn't. If I had asked him. He would have something else to hold over me. Another string, another arrow that he could sent at me to put me off or upset me. Another means of upsetting me. It might be petty but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.”

Kerrass nodded. He watched me eat for a little while longer before he went to his own bed.

As promised, we were woken at dawn by a number of servants who brought us food and plenty of it. As he had the previous day, Kerrass checked it all to make sure that it was safe to eat before tucking in himself. It was only moderately disconcerting to see that Taylor shared his habit of eating huge breakfasts before action. I always struggle with this as I often struggle in the morning and if I try and force too much food down my throat too quickly then I end up feeling sick.

But that morning, I forced myself, despite the nausea and light-headedness that greeted me that morning. Fortunately, I knew what the cure was and I ate the food and drank the water until I could almost hear the water sloshing around in my belly.

Then we had a couple of hours before they would come for us. We spent a bit of time resting and allowing the food to digest so as to get the proper benefit from it before limbering up a bit. Doing some gentle warm-up exercises to prepare us for whatever lay ahead.

Again, Arthur was assigned as our escort and came with a smile and the general kind of aura of anticipation that you imagine in athletes before the contest, or students before an exam that they know that they are well prepared for.

Or a man about to embark on a date with a pretty girl where he knows that he's going to get lucky. I shuddered when that thought occurred to me.

“I have not brought the men with the crossbows this time.” He told us. “On the grounds that we're taking you to a place where you will be released anyway. Do I need them?”

The three of us looked at each other a bit before shaking our collective heads.

“Good.” Arthur nodded as though he was satisfied in some way. “As I said before, this is hard and I am completely understanding and full of sympathy when it comes to your plight. I will not ask for your forgiveness as I know that what you are going to go through is horrible and after the horn signals the start of the hunt, I will be among the first to leap to the chase. But here and now, I want you to know that I respect you and that I bear you no ill will. You should also know that your reward will be in paradise.”

I looked at him for a long time.

“Tell me,” I said. “Do you believe all of that? Do you believe that all of this is necessary?”

“Of course.” He seemed surprised at the question.

“Then do not pity me. I pity you. This was not your fault and this was done to you. I forgive you for your part in it. You are a weapon and a sick animal that has been turned against us. But I do hate the man that did this to us and who did this to you. You, I will kill quickly and cleanly when it comes to it. Him? I want to see that bastard suffer.”

Arthur listened to my little speech gravely before shaking his head. “Your hatred is unfounded but I understand it. Follow me now.”

He led us off, although there weren't any crossbow men, it would seem that Arthur wasn't entirely stupid. We did have an “honour guard” of four armed men in their hooded cloaks and there were other men who lined our way, holding torches aloft. It all looked ceremonial but I had no doubt that our end would come quickly if we made a break for it.

We were led down a ramp and along some corridors. The air smelled almost clean and the noise of toil and torture was almost completely missing from the air.

Eventually we came into a large cave. The guards who had lined the walls had followed us from our cells and there were more people feeding into the cave. They stood in rank upon rank. I don't know how many of them there were.

“Lebioda's hairy ballsack.” Taylor swore. “They've got a fucking army here.”

“A small one,” Kerrass muttered in response.

At one end of the cave we were led up some steps and onto a raised platform so that everyone could see us. There, stood twelve men. Their robes much richer than the rest, the gold patterning standing out and glittering in the firelight. They were all armed with a variety of weapons, most had swords although one or two people carried spears and large war hammers. One had a large axe, Father Gardan's axe.

Another of them was wearing a large pair of sharpened fiend antlers that must have been enormously heavy, the shape that I recognised from the night that Father Hacha was tortured to death outside of Kalayn castle. The twelve figures stood utterly still and the three of us were left wondering what was happening.

From further in the hall there came a drum beat which seemed to be some kind of signal. I presume that it was something to do with telling the assembly that everyone was there now because Lord Cavill took the huge crown of horns from his head and lowered his hood.

“Well here we are.” He said. He was grinning from ear to ear and I wondered if he was drunk. He didn't weave in place or anything and his words weren't slurred but he seemed a little delirious, as though he was enjoying himself far too much for what I assumed was quite a solemn occasion.

Maybe he was high on something. That is much more likely.

“Children,” he called as he walked to the front of the stage and addressed the assembly. “The time has come for another hunt.” The crowd seemed to sway in place and groan. It seemed oddly sexual and I felt myself shift in discomfort.

“Soon,” Lord Cavill went on. “We will be unleashed to the hunt, just as it always has been and always will be. We will chase our quarry in the form of the ancient rites of the God in order for them to be hunted and taken. They shall flee and fight as they always do and we shall chase and conquer as we always do.”

Another groan from the crowd.

“This trial shall be hard though.” He warned them in dire tones, it was the first time that he actually reminded me of a priest. Warning his congregation against the coming hardship. “Our quarry is a clever one. Indeed he is one known to us for he is brother of the treacherous house Kalayn.”

I felt myself grin as the crowd erupted into jeers and boos.

“You all know about how the new Lord Kalayn has turned his lands and his people against us. How he helped slay the last of the good and noble members of his family. How his older brother died in the service of The God. Indeed, it was this creature,” he spun and pointed at me with a trembling hand. I rather thought that the trembling was more theatrical than was entirely called for, “who saw to it that so many of our Brothers were fed to the fires of heresy and treason. Now the new Lord Kalayn scorns us and lessens us. He attacks us and showers us with scorn. One day, some day soon, he will be subject to our justice. But now we have his younger brother and he shall be fed to the God by your hand in our most sacred rites in order to appease the great and mighty one.”

I could feel the crowd almost vibrating in their hatred of me.

Lord Cavill turned back towards me and smiled.

“A bit much wasn't it?” I asked him. “Sam was never on your side, neither was I and by your own admission, Cousin Kalayn was trying to splinter off from your influence.”

“True,” he admitted, “But of all people Lord Frederick, you should know that when it comes to religion, we say what we need to say to whip our congregation into a fervour. Now.... the rules. In a short while we will release you and you head in that direction.” He gestured towards the end of the cave. “Just round the bend you will find the exit that turns you out into the countryside whereupon you can make your own way in whatever direction that you desire to do whatever you see fit. One day from now, we will come after you. Exactly twenty four hours from when you are released. We will not attack you in the meantime nor take any action that might result in your capture. You can run, walk, hide or have sex with each other if you prefer.”

Taylor opened his mouth to ask a question but Lord Cavill held his hand up to forestall and answered the question in advance.

“If you attack us at any point then we will defend ourselves accordingly and the rite will be over. We will reserve our most special tortures for you should you decide to take this route.”

“Still,” muttered Taylor, “A few dead cultists....”

“Now for the good news.” Lord Cavill continued, ignoring Taylor's comments. He gestured and a couple of men came forward with some of our belongings. I noticed that Kerrass' alchemy gear was missing for instance but our clothes, Kerrass' and my armour was present as well as Kerrass' and my weapons.

For a moment I saw Taylor look confused before he remembered that his fighting gear was with Sir Rickard.

“Feel free to dress and arm yourselves.” Cavill told us. “Also, here is food and water for the twenty four hours before we come after you.” More bags were deposited in front of us. I checked inside them while strapping my armour around myself. Sure enough, loaves of bread, some cheese and fruit as well as some dried meats. Trail rations to be sure but it was light and we would be moving fast. The water skins were of the kind that you could wrap around yourself.

“I can also tell you that Phineas will not be involved in your hunt as that would be cheating.”

“Not something that you seem to have cared about previously,” I commented quietly. Cavill's face didn't react.

“He is doing something else for me which leads us on to the bad news.”

He grinned again and for the first time, I began to see the madness and the hate that lived behind the eyes. He had seemed so rational before in his castle and even in his study the previous day.

“We are well aware of the presence of Sir Rickard and his gaggle of idiots.” he said.

I managed to keep my face still and fixed on his, I have no doubt that Kerrass also managed to keep his face still but Taylor must have given some clue.

“Yes, I am well aware of who you are....Taylor. Believe me, nothing would make me happier than if I had that jumped up bastard Rickard in front of me now. I would enjoy his death immensely but he and his band were last seen travelling the side-roads of my lands looking for you. We were watching through Phineas' divin..ackion.... mirror....”

“It's pronounced “divination” idiot.” Kerrass sneered.

“Quite,” Cavill's smile didn't waver. “But we saw you leave the road and leave your trail signs and as such we were able to erase those and lead him off in completely the wrong direction. We also had three of my guards who were tolerably close to your heights and builds dress up in clothes similar to yours and depart my castle in all the directions of the compass. Rickard is now hopelessly confused and is wandering this way and that way talking to people who are all giving him misleading information as they are just as confused by the decoys as he is. I intend to hunt him down and destroy him at my leisure at a later date.”

He laughed. I tried to keep my spirits up. It was a blow, to be sure but not a catastrophic one.

“Also,” Lord Cavill went on. “You should really reconsider avoiding writing everything down in those absurd journals of yours Lord Frederick. And then publishing them, of all things, so that even your enemies can read them.” He laughed and was joined by the other men on the platform. “It gives me access to all your strengths and weaknesses, for example,” He leant in close. “I know all about your medallion.”

He laughed.

This time I wasn't as successful in keeping my face still.

“Bastard,” I told him.

“On the contrary, I was born quite legitimately and as the eldest son of my house. Unlike you of course, but I was talking about your travel journals.”

He cleared his throat.

“They made for fascinating reading and I have read them many times, in minute detail. I was already aware that we had you to blame for the loss of so many of our sons and we had every intention of hunting you down and killing you. At some point in the future, maybe a year or three after your wedding had meant that you would no longer be publishing as much taking you out of the public eye. Then we had a quiet little murder planned after we had found away of countering your wife but then you just walked into our territory with no more protection than one man and your tame Witcher.”

“He is far from tame.”

“Yes, yes. Posture all you like. Would you like to know about your medallion?”

What hope that I had was dwindling in my chest now. I had come to depend on my pendant and the connection that it gave me to Ariadne. I had been trying not to think about it on the grounds that it would be a distraction and that I needed to maintain a front before my enemies. Now, I missed that connection keenly and felt on the edge of tears.

I often feel alone on the road. Yes I have Kerrass as the best friend that a man could wish for but sometimes, when he's off doing Witcher things like gathering herbs or training or working on keeping his own demons at bay. I am left by myself and I have been able to talk to Ariadne. The medallion had kept me from feeling isolated and now it was gone.

I also didn't know how I felt about Lord Cavill having read my journals. It was so... I felt oddly naked, almost violated. I pour my heart and soul into these journals that you, dear reader, are good enough to purchase and read. It had honestly never occurred to me that my enemies might get hold of them, read them and use them against me. It was like.....I don't know what it was like to be honest and I felt as though I was being stripped of my dignity, of my shield.

“You're going to anyway so why not get it over with.”

“You're right, I am.” Another grin. “Because, really? You only have yourself to blame on this one.”

He laughed and I dearly wanted, dearly, dearly wanted to wipe that grin off his face. But now was not the time for anger or rage. Now I needed to be cold. I needed to remain calm so that I could think clearly. We were not going to get out of this by my losing my temper and getting the three of us killed.

“To be honest, the problem of your medallion has actually been one of the biggest riddles that we've had to overcome in planning our destruction of you. We knew it existed and we knew that your vampiric lover could track you and contact you through it. We also knew that you could contact her which is, apparently, a separate issue. So Phineas took the matter in hand. First of all we took the relatively easy step of ensuring that you would not be able to contact her. But then....We needed to put you in harms way without her knowing about it so what to do, what to do.”

He tapped his index finger against his lips in a pantomime of a man trying to think his way through a problem.

“So Phineas got close to you so that he could have a look at it which is when we discovered how it worked. Would you like to know?”

I just stared at him.

“It's connected to your blood.” He told me, as I knew he would. “It's activated by proximity to your blood and that same blood pumping through your veins. A little obvious really once we started to think about it. Of course a vampire would think of linking it to a person's blood. So then the question became about how we were going to lead her off on a merry chase in the wrong direction when she inevitably started to look for you.”

I sighed as the answer occurred to me. I tried not to but, as I've said before, Lord Cavill was actually quite a compelling speaker and he drew me along with his chain of reasoning.

“I see you follow our reasoning.” Cavill told us. “The difficulty was that the blood doesn't stay “alive” for very long when it leaves the body. It starts to coagulate so we hit on the idea of injecting it into the body of one of my men.”

“Which will then climb onto a horse and ride off in a random direction, yes I see where this is going.”

“Not quite. It was a wagon as steered by another two guards. Unfortunately the process made the poor man rather ill and although we tried to keep him alive for a good length of time, the odds were that, at best, he wasn't going to live for very long. Apart from anything else, Phineas tells me that if we put your blood into him, then after a while it will become “his” blood and will no longer work to deceive the amulet.”

He took the time to grin again.

“Just to check.” I said suddenly. The day and a night head start that we've been promised. That starts from when we're released right? Because you're doing an awful lot of talking and.....”

Taylor chuckled. I would like to think that I got a smile out of Kerrass but I couldn't see him.

Cavill smiled at the humour.

“So the men that are with him were under orders. When the recipient of your blood dies, or after two days of hard riding. They will take a hammer and smash the amulet apart.”

That hurt. Not gonna lie but that really hurt. Despite my best efforts I felt my lips peel back from my teeth in a snarl

“They promised to bring me the shards of whatever was left though. I had Phineas enchant a hammer for the purpose although he promised that a normal sledgehammer would do the job. But I wanted to make sure that the amulet would be good and shattered by the time that they were done. I thought that one of the things that I would do would be to make you eat the crystal dust and the gold elements of the remains to see what they would do to your insides.”

“I would spit them back at you.” I told him.

He laughed though. He was the one with all of the power and he knew it.

“So, where does that leave us then? Let's see, we've distracted and removed the hope of reinforcement from Rickard and his troop of reprobates and murderers. We've removed any hope of rescue from your monstrous vampiric lover.”

I just glared at him.

“So what can we do next to make your hunt worthwhile. To stack the hardships and trials against you.”

Again the pantomime of thinking about things.

“Ooh, I know.” He gestured and men leapt out of the shadows wrestling me to the ground.

I would like to think that I might have made more of an impact but I was still weak. I know that Kerrass had spun to defend himself but he was carried down under the weight of a good half a dozen men. As he himself would say, the greatest swordsman in the world can be overwhelmed by superior numbers when he has his sword still in the scabbard.

Taylor, like me, had been lulled into a false sense of security by the extended speeches and had as much chance as I had.

“Just to be clear Frederick.” Cavill hissed into my face. “You are the sacrifice. You are the man who I want to destroy. You are the warning that I will send to my enemies, people like your brother, who stand against me and defy me. They will know what is coming for all of them.”

He gestured again and Taylor was dragged to his knees by the hair. There were men holding him by the arms. Strong hands grabbed me by the side of my head so that I couldn't move.

“I know,” Cavill grated on. “I know that you are, by far, the most dangerous quarry that we've ever hunted. We are aware that you know how to counter our skills, our poisons and our magic and moreover, you know them for what they are. I know, exactly how stupid it would be to release you and your Witcher, and your trained soldier. Believe me I know. Of all the people that we've ever hunted out of this cavern. You are the one most likely to escape.

“But I want to hunt you. I want to hunt you down so bad. I want to feel that satisfaction of grinding you into the ground beneath my feet. I want to see your face when you realise that there is no hope and that there is no-one coming for you. I want to be there when they tie you into the rack for the first time and we start to peel the skin from your bones.

“I wish I could be there, when your Sainted brother Mark hears that you were taken by so-called heretics and that your body and soul was corrupted. I would like to have seen your whore sisters face and hear her anguished cries when she learns that she will never see you again. I wish I could witness the rage of your vampire as she succumbs to her nature and becomes the monster that she is and needs to be put down.

“I wish I could be there and see your brother. Samuel Kalayn when he realises the folly of standing against me.”

I tried to spit at him but I couldn't. I couldn't turn my head.

“So now, I must take away your advantages.”

He must have signalled again as someone leaned across and cut Taylor's throat from ear to ear.

Cutting someone's throat is not easy. Even if your blade is razor sharp, it's actually much easier to stab someone in the throat and then wiggle the blade around. So I had to watch as the Hound, or whatever the fuck he was, dragged the blade across Taylors neck. It was a practised gesture though.

It also never ceases to surprise me that a man who has had his throat slit can't scream or cry out. I know why, but it's always surprising to me.

They let Taylor go then and he went berzerk. Charging after the people that had been holding him down but the sudden burst of strength didn't last long. He was already losing his balance as he slipped and fell on his own spilled blood. He tried to climb to his feet after that but it was already too late.

They held my head so that I was forced to watch. I made eye contact with him and I saw the panic that was in his eyes, his lips moving as the blood flow slacked off and eventually stopped.

“I'm sorry,” I tried to tell him but I think he was past the point by then although he calmed just before he went still.

Cavill spat on the corpse. “Bastard,” he said.

Then Kerrass was dragged round until he was facing me.

“Not your fault Freddie,” he told me. “Not your fault.”

He was prone on the floor. Unlike Taylor he was lying flat on the ground, limbs stretched out.

“Oh, I'm not going to kill you.” Cavill told him. “I did consider it but we need to hobble Freddie even further. You see, if I killed you, he could move at his own speed which will be fast when fuelled by his rage and pain. So we need to hobble him and tie a weight around his neck. We considered making that,” he gestured at the corpse that some men were carrying off, “be this weight but he might have been able to convince Freddie to leave him behind. You though? But what to do.”

Again, that same fucking pantomime. One of the men with Warhammers stepped forward. Took aim over Kerrass' left arm, drew back.

“Oh no,” I groaned.

The hammer whistled as it split the air. The sound of it striking Kerrass' arm was sickening. I thought that I could hear the bone shattering.

Another strike took care of the right arm. Kerrass groaned with the pain.

The rage came then. Like a warm and comfortable blanket.

“So now we can let you go.” Cavill told me but I wasn't listening. I just stared at him, imagining his violent death. But then the rage turned cold as I forced myself to look at the big picture. Cavill must have seen my calm descend as he signalled and then they let me go. I stood up. Straightened my clothing. My spear was on the floor where it had been knocked from my grip when I had been bundled to the floor but the dagger was still in my belt.

“Remember,” Cavill told me. “If you attack me now, not only will you not make it, but you will be taken off to the chambers of sacrifice and your death will be.....imaginative.”

I nodded as I accepted this point.

“Tell me,” I asked. “I was promised an answer to this yesterday. What would happen if I turned this dagger on Kerrass and myself. Let's say that we leave the cavern and I spoil these, your holy rites by simply giving us both a quick and clean death. What's to stop us from doing that.”

There was some laughter, led by Lord Cavill. “You would be surprised Freddie, by how many people have asked me that. They always wonder about what I will do and the truth is that I will do nothing. Because there is a goad that will keep you running. Something that will make you carry your Witcher companion when the pain means that he can no longer walk.”

“And what is that?”

“For the majority of people, the answer is “Hope.” The hope that you will be the one that finally manages to escape from us and our hunt. That you will find somewhere to hide and be kept safe from me snares. But that is too simple for you isn't it Lord Frederick?”

I didn't answer him.

“So, instead I have something different for you. Something that only I can give you. Something that, if you attack me now, I will never surrender to you before my companions drag you from my body. The only way that you will get this is if you flee, make it to safety and then return to take me alive to be interrogated. Would you like to know what that one thing is?”

I said nothing.

I continued to say nothing as he walked towards me.

I even said nothing as he bent and whispered in my ear.

“I won't be able to tell you what I did to your sister Francesca.”

He cackled as he stepped back.

“The only way, Lord Frederick, to find the answers that you seek is to take me alive and you won't be able to do that unless you return at the head of an army to get me out of these mountains.”

He gestured. Kerrass was helped to his feet, hissing and sweating with the pain. Someone handed Cavill a huge hourglass.

“Your time starts now.” Cavill said as he turned the glass over.

I nodded. My brain was working furiously.

“Just to be clear though.” I said. “If I attack any of you then you will defend yourselves....chamber of torture.....yadda yadda.”

“Yes.”

I nodded. The rage was still there. A lump of solid, flaming hot ice in the pit of my chest.

“Can I say something to your son?” I said.

Cavill shrugged.

I walked over to the axeman.

“Take off that damn fool hood.” I told him.

He looked over my shoulder, presumably checking with his father before pushing the hood back. I was left looking into the same handsome, brutal and bullying face that I had stood against in Cavill's court.

“Just so we're clear.” I told him. “You should give that axe up.”

He opened his mouth to speak.

“No, no.” I told him holding his hand up. “Don't taint the air with your stupidity. This is a friendly warning. That axe was the weapon of a good and holy man. He fought and slew so much evil with that axe that that kind of thing is bound to rub off on it and now you carry it. You, a heretic.”

I tried to put as much as I could into my voice.

“I don't know much about curses.” I said. “And I know even less about how magic works.....But there is magic in that axe and it will be the death of you. You should bury it where we buried the man you took it from. Or you should leave it with a church of Kreve or the Holy Fire.”

He began to sneer.

“If you don't.” I told him. “You are cursed and it will be the end of you. It might even be the end of everything that you hold dear. That axe will be your undoing and one day, some day soon, I am going to pluck that axe from your cold dead hand. Whether I be alive or dead, corporeal or spirit. I will come for that axe.”

I stepped back. “Just thought you should know.”

The room was silent and my foot steps seemed to echo. I walked to Kerrass and picked up the supplies.

“You ready?” I asked him with as much calm as I could manage. He nodded, his teeth gritted. He looked awful, grey and sweating.

We left in the indicated direction, round a bend and down a slope which led us to a cave mouth. Out of which flowed a stream.

It was, maybe, mid-morning.

[[[Chap 75]]]