The guard yelled, "You'll be working no hellish magic on me!" and fled the dungeon. Naitachal heard his running steps fading down the corridor.
"Well, so much for that," Lyam said. "I guess we'll wait until the King returns."
"Or somebody else. I don't particularly like the idea of waiting. It might not be the King who returns first."
Naitachal thought for a long moment. "Captain, are you certain there's no other way out of these cells?
Some kingdoms have secret means of escape, should the rulers be imprisoned in their own dungeon by enemies."
Lyam exhaled his breath in a long, deep sigh. "That is a brilliant idea, but no, I'm afraid we never devel- oped such exits in this dungeon. This palace is, however, over a thousand years old. There just might be -- "
Before Captain Lyam finished the sentence, Nai- tachal became aware of a new presence in the dungeon. Lyam stopped speaking, evidently noticing the newcomer at the same time.
"You won't be going anywhere, traitor," Sir Jehan said as he came closer to their cells. Soren was close behind him, holding a wooden reed of some kind.
Does he know the King was here? Naitachal thought, as Kai looked in his direction. The Dark Elf gave him a warning look. Don't say anything, he mouthed, hoping the boy understood.
Jehan smiled. "With one exception, that is. You, Kai.
You'll be joining your friend in the Association Hall now."
Soren stepped forward, went over to Naitachal's cell, and as if he was about to play the reed instru- ment, held it up to his lips. The sudden expulsion of breath launched something that pricked Naitachal in the leg; he looked down, and plucked the little dart from his flesh.
"What have you -- " Naitachal began to say, but the paralysis of the drug the dart delivered was already having an effect. He crumpled like a wad of silk, his body folding over as if he had no bones left. He lay on the dungeon floor, spread uncomfortably across a length of chain, unable to move.
I suppose the drug will kill me next, he thought, with an amazing lack of emotion. But in a few moments it became evident that, at least for now, it would leave him very much alive. Whatever it was, its effect was new to him.
It seems that Jehan and Soren are quite the experi- menters with drugs. This one -- and one they use on the King? If it works the same on humans as it does on me, it must wear off periodically, as it did just now.
He tried, but found raising magic impossible; the drug had paralyzed his ability with complete effective- ness. Even the power of Necromancy was lost to him.
He reached for the energy, the dark energies of death that once came so naturally to him, but found only a thick wall, blocking him. In the few moments b Soren hit him with the dart, he might have been capa- ble of shielding himself. But a poisoned dart was the last thing he'd expected.
Bravo, Soren, he thought in frustration. What do you do for an encore?
Naitachal observed the goings-on in the dungeon passively, completely helpless to intervene. Ca Lyam watched in equal frustration as the four guards entered after Sir Jehan, unlocked and entered Kai's cell, and seized the boy. The Prince flailed with the chains helplessly as the much larger men pulled him towards the corridor.
"As I expected. He's not going to cooperate,"
Jehan said. "Soren, would you please do the honors?"
Without objection, Soren aimed, and fired a da Kai, which hit him in his right buttock. The boy yelped, spat back at Soren, and then collapsed in a fleshy puddle much as Naitachal had. The drug's effect was total. Kai lay there, eyes open, panting like a frightened puppy, but clearly unable to move.
The largest of the guards picked the boy up, flung him over a shoulder, shackles and all, and fol Soren and Sir Jehan out of the dungeon.
Chapter When Alaire came to, wizards of the Association were lifting him out of the wagon and laying him on a small, flat cart. His first urge was to struggle, to try to get away, but his arms and legs wouldn't respond; in fact, he couldn't feel his arms and legs. All he could feel was his head, pounding. He could see and hear just fine, but saw only what was in front of his eyes, for he could not even move his head. As they wheeled him towards the Association Hall, he developed a sinking feeling why he was paralyzed, and how it had hap- pened.
They've immobilized me with magic, Alaire thought, in panic. Or with a drug. First they rapped me on the head so I would stay still long enough for them to perform the spell, or whatever they did. The ball of fear in his stomach was cold and hard, like a ball of ice. What are they going to do with me?