They brought Gatren back a day later. We all heard the bang of the door opening and went to see what it was. Gatren was a bloody mess. Unconscious. They threw him into his cell and left, smirking back down the corridor at us and waving before they shut the door.
We all exchanged glances. There was nothing to say.
“We need a healer,” Sheo muttered.
“They have one,” I said.
“What?!” Hettar protested loudest but he wasn't alone. “How do you know?”
Lentro answered for me. “It's Ormal.”
“You knew?”
He nodded. “I woke during the healing, just enough to see his face. He looked dreadful. Terrified. Horrified.”
The memory came back to me. The voice I had not known saying 'make him live.' Not let him, or heal him, but make him. I hadn't thought about it, but it made sense now. Control. Whoever said this was all about control. What had Ormal said? I didn't remember, but I had recognized the voice.
It was Ormal.
“I heard his voice. I just remembered. He's with them, for whatever reason.”
“I can't imagine…” Lentro trailed off, then withdrew, his usually calm and friendly face looking unbearably sad.
The crash made everyone jump. It came from Kerral's door. He had withdrawn a little while back but we no longer noticed or commented on who we could see, and who only hear. The crash came again. The door opened inward. There was no chance of kicking it open.
I considered trying to persuade him to give it up, but there was no point and hell, he might succeed. For the first time I wondered where we were. If he did get out, kill a guard, get keys, let us out…I was fantasizing and knew it but what the hell… where were we? Undralt, I guessed. It was a barbarian town long ago, but remodeled in part six hundred years ago when first taken. As it developed, control passed back and forth many times. I guessed this part of this building was built with our masons by a barbarian ruler centuries ago. Why Undralt? Simple. We had been dying when brought here. It couldn't be far from where they had taken us.
One crash was followed too closely by another as a door banged open. For a second my heart leapt into my mouth and I moved fast to my door, sticking my head out. I was disappointed.
It was Ferrian and his two thugs.
They came for me and took me away.