In the Claws of the Tiger

by James Wyatt

  More than that, though, Janik somehow felt that Krael wasn’t fundamentally different from himself. He had not seduced Maija away from him—Janik had grown so used to blaming Krael for what happened that he had a hard time separating his anger at Krael from his despair over Maija. And he was here for the same reason that Janik was: to claim revenge against the fiend that had destroyed his life. They had some common goals, both in the short term and in long-range pursuits.

  “You need me,” Krael said. “You’ll never find your way out of here without my help, and you’ll never find Maija.”

  “She might very well find us if we escape from here,” Janik said.

  “And she’ll overpower you again, probably kill you this time,” Krael said. “With me and Sever along, you’ve got a fighting chance.”

  “I don’t think so,” Dania said. “Now that I know what we’re facing, I think our victory depends entirely on my ability to force this Fleshrender out of Maija’s body. Two extra swords aren’t likely to make the difference—assuming we can recover our weapons.”

  “Both of us are very effective without weapons.”

  “Krael, stop begging,” Janik said. “It’s embarrassing.”

  Krael visibly bit back another sarcastic retort and looked away, toward the door.

  “Seems to me it’s an open question how any of us will escape, whether we decide to help each other or not,” Janik said. “But it’s certain that sitting in here arguing with each other isn’t going to get anyone out of this room.”

  Dania looked at the floor. “Sorry, Janik.”

  “Auftane, how’s your patient?”

  “I’m fine, Janik,” Mathas said. “Tired, but fine.”

  “Glad to hear it, old friend,” Janik said with a warm smile. He fought down the lump in his throat and turned back to Auftane. “Would you have a look at the door and see if there’s any way you can open it?”

  “Sever’s tried that, too,” Krael said.

  “Not to judge too hastily based on Sever’s appearance, but I suspect that Auftane is capable of more subtlety,” Janik said.

  “Agreed, Martell,” the warforged sneered. “All I can say is that the door’s too strong for me.”

  “And that probably means it’s too strong for any of us to break down, but my hope is that Auftane can find another way to open it.”

  The dwarf was peering into a tiny hole near the right edge of the door, about halfway up its iron surface. “I suspect this is the other side of the keyhole,” he said, “but it’s too small to get at the mechanism.”

  “I believe the door is barred as well,” Sever added. “Your lockpicks won’t lift the bar, Khunnam.”

  “He’s right, Janik,” Auftane said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Janik ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the door in silence for a moment. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. “Auftane, why don’t you take a look at Krael’s manacles. I want an assessment first, before you open them. Mathas, can you help him?”

  “I’ll try.”

  Auftane and Mathas huddled together behind Krael, examining the strange blue metal bonds as Sever watched over their shoulders. Janik stepped over to Dania, who had her head cocked as if she were listening to something outside the room.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

  Janik took her arm and drew her a few steps away from the others—as far as the tiny cell would allow. “What if Krael is our only way out of here?” he whispered to her.

  Dania pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “There has to be another way,” she said.

  “We’d all like there to be another way, but no law of the universe says a means of escape must exist, let alone a second choice. What if he’s the only way?”

  “Do you think there’s the slimmest chance we can trust him?” Dania said. “The instant he gets those manacles off, what’s to stop him from turning to mist, slipping under the door, and leaving us here to rot?”

  “I can’t think of anything,” Janik said, frowning.

  “Janik?” Auftane called, standing up behind Krael.

  “Yes?”

  Staying behind Krael and out of his line of sight, Auftane pointed at the manacles and bobbed his head, an exaggerated expression of confidence on his face. Janik nodded his understanding and turned to Dania.

  He lowered his voice further. “Assuming we can extract a convincing oath from Krael that he’ll help us if we help him, are you willing to go along with that?”

  “Are you asking me whether I can accept the lesser evil of helping him get free for the sake of the greater good of defeating Maija?”

  “I guess so, yes.”

  Dania sighed. “I have to bring him to reckoning for the evil he’s done, Janik. I have to. But if that happens after we’ve freed Maija from this Fleshrender’s grip, I can live with that.”

  “Thank you,” Janik said, clasping Dania’s shoulder before turning to the vampire. “Krael?”

  “Have you reached a verdict?” Krael said. “Decided my fate?”

  “Your fate’s up to you, Krael,” Janik said, “though Dania assures me that she has a particular vision of it in mind. But in the short term, let’s discuss what we can do for each other.”

  “A good idea,” Krael said, eyeing Dania.

  “Auftane here is confident that he can release you from these manacles. He’s no doubt motivated by the opportunity to study them in more detail.”

  “I’m pleased to hear that.”

  “So we can set you free, and we ask for our freedom in exchange. We get you out of the manacles, you go under the door and open it from the other side. At that point, we’re even.”

  “That sounds fair,” Krael said.

  “However,” Janik continued, “once we’re all out that door, I don’t think we’re done with each other, as much as we all might like to be. We have a goal in common, to extract our revenge from the Fleshrender. I’m not at all confident that we’ll go about that in the same way.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” Krael asked.

  “I mean that while Dania might be able to force the spirit out of Maija’s body, I suspect you’re more likely to force the spirit out by killing Maija. That’s not an acceptable approach.”

  “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.”
<
br />   “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.

  Sure enough, the vampire had the same distant expression that Dania wore. Did he hear the same voices? Seeing Janik look back, though, Krael caught himself and flashed a toothy grin at him. Janik shook his head and hurried to keep up with Dania.

  Dania was nearly across the next room, which was more of a wide hallway than a chamber. A few quick steps brought Janik right up behind her as she reached the door at the far end and threw it open.

  Despite her distraction, Dania’s reflexes were still razor sharp. She brought her shield up in a flash to block an arrow, and another glanced off an armor plate at her shoulder. Janik held his lantern up to light the room beyond, and nearly dropped it in surprise.

  He could not see the archers. All he saw was the giant.

  THE RAJAH’S PRISON

  CHAPTER 18

  The huge creature—a hunched, misshapen thing—stood a few paces from the door. Its skin was mottled gray, with splotches of pink like the scars of recent burns and patches of thick hair growing in haphazard places. Its eyes were widely spaced and uneven, and its drooling mouth had only a few teeth. The great hump on its back nearly scraped the ceiling of the large room. If it could have stood erect, Janik figured it would have stood more than three times his own height. One massive hand was clenched around what had been a stone statue—legs were still visible where the giant gripped it, but the rest was chipped and worn into a featureless club.

  A gallery circled the upper level of the room, and Janik guessed the archers were perched up there, taking cover behind the columns that lined its edge. Yes, he saw them, peering around the columns as they pulled back their bowstrings for another volley.

  Ignoring the archers and the arrows that clattered around her, Dania charged forward to engage the giant. Inspired by her, Janik found it hard to be afraid, despite the size of the brute, and he advanced behind her. The giant swung its stone club in a wide arc as they approached. Dania jumped back and the club swept the air in front of her
chest, while Janik hit the floor and rolled forward under the giant’s reach.

  Janik came out of his roll facing the giant’s knee. The monster tried to hit him with its club, but Janik easily dodged the awkward swing. The giant kicked at him, missing him with its foot but managing to brush his head with its rock-hard kneecap. Janik spun away from the blow, ducking between the giant’s legs and slashing at its hamstring with the tip of his blade. He cut, but not very deep, and the creature wheeled to face him again, kicking clumsily at him as it turned.

  That gave Dania the opportunity to close in past its wildly swinging club, and Sever charged up beside her. Their blades swung as one, biting deep into the giant’s legs. A blast of lightning from Mathas’s fingers engulfed the giant’s upper body, and Janik took advantage of its distraction to come in close and drive his sword up into its belly.

  The giant howled as a gout of blood splashed down on Janik. The stone club clattered on the floor, and for an instant Janik thought he had dealt a mortal wound.

  Then the giant’s arms closed around him, pulling him off the floor and squeezing him against the bloody wound in its gut. Janik’s arms were pinned to his sides, his sword hanging uselessly from his hand, and he struggled to breathe with the giant’s arms clenched around his ribs. He dropped his sword and started kicking, hoping to connect with a tender spot and startle the giant into letting him go. He heard Dania shouting, trying to capture the giant’s attention, and felt tremors rumbling the thing’s body as she and Sever continued hacking at it. The giant wheeled around to kick at them, but its grip did not weaken.

  Janik’s lungs started to burn and he changed his tactics. Instead of kicking blindly, he tried to bring his legs up between his body and the giant’s, hoping to work himself free of its grasp. It almost worked. Feeling its grip slipping, the giant wrapped one meaty hand around Janik’s neck and shoulders. Janik’s head swam as the beast swung him like a club at Dania. His legs crashed into her chest, and she sprawled backward onto the floor.