But Lief, Barda, and Jasmine were trapped. And the Ra-Kacharz were upon them.
The great logs in the meeting hall fireplace had been lit, and the blaze threw a ghastly red light over the faces of the prisoners.
For hours they had stood there, while a useless search was made for Filli. The Ra-Kacharz guarded them grimly, their eyes growing darker and more stern as the minutes ticked by.
Exhausted and silent, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine awaited their fate. They had learned by now that it was useless to argue, rage, or plead. In bringing a furred animal into Noradz they had committed the most hideous of crimes.
Finally, Reece spoke.
“We can wait no longer. The trial must begin.”
A gong sounded, and black-clad people began to file into the hall. They arranged themselves in rows, facing the prisoners. Lief saw that Tira, the serving girl he had saved from punishment, was in the first row, very near to him. He tried to meet her eyes, but she looked quickly at the ground.
Reece raised his voice so all could hear.
“Because of these unclean ones, evil is abroad in Noradz. They have broken our most sacred law. They claim it was done out of ignorance. I think they lie, and deserve death. Others of the Nine believe them, and think imprisonment should be their fate. Therefore, it will be left to the sacred Cup to decide.”
Barda, Jasmine, and Lief stole glances at one another. What new madness was this?
Reece took from the shelf above the fireplace a shining silver goblet — once used for drinking wine, perhaps.
“The Cup reveals the truth,” he droned. “Noradzeer.”
“Noradzeer,” murmured the watching people.
Next, Reece showed two small cards. Each card had one word printed upon it.
He turned to the prisoners. “One among you will draw a card from the Cup,” he said, his dark eyes gleaming. “Who will be that person?”
The companions hesitated. Then Lief stepped forward. “I will,” he said reluctantly.
Reece nodded. “Face the front,” he said briefly.
Lief did as he was told. Reece turned away from him, and from his fellow Ra-Kacharz. He put his gloved hand over the Cup.
Lief saw that Tira was watching Reece with close attention. Suddenly, her blue eyes widened with astonishment and horror. She glanced quickly at Lief, and her lips moved soundlessly.
Lief’s face began to burn as he made out the mouthed words.
Both cards say “Death.”
Tira must have seen Reece replace the “Life” card with a second “Death” card hidden in his sleeve or his glove. Reece was determined that the strangers would die.
The tall red figure turned back to him, the Cup held high. “Choose!” Reece sneered.
Lief did not know what to do. If he cried out that the Cup held only two “Death” cards, no one would believe him. Everyone would think that he was simply afraid to face the trial. No one would take his word, or Tira’s, against the word of the First Ra-Kachar of Noradz. And Reece could easily change the cards around again if challenged.
Lief slipped his fingers under his shirt and gripped the topaz fixed to the Belt. It had helped him find answers before. Could it help him now? The fire roared behind him, lighting the tall figure in front of him with an eerie glow. The silver cup shone red like solid flame.
Flame. Fire …
His heart thudding, Lief stretched up his hand, dipped his fingers into the Cup, and chose a card. Then, like lightning, he whirled, seemed to stumble backwards, and dropped the card into the roaring flames. It flared for a moment, and was consumed.
“I beg pardon for my clumsiness,” cried Lief, over the horrified gasps of the crowd. “But you can easily tell which card I drew. Simply look at the one remaining in the Cup.”
Reece stood perfectly still, seething with baffled rage, as one of the other Ra-Kacharz took the Cup from his hand and plucked out the card that still lay within it. She held it up.
“The card that remains is ‘Death,’” she droned. “The prisoner drew the ‘Life’ card. The Cup has spoken.”
Lief felt Barda’s hand grip his shoulder. Weak at the knees, he turned to face his friends. Their eyes were relieved, but full of questions. They suspected that he had burned the card on purpose, and wondered why.
“Take them to the dungeons,” Reece thundered. “There they will live out their lives, repenting of the evil they have done.”
The eight other Ra-Kacharz surrounded Lief, Barda, and Jasmine and began marching them from the hall. The whispering crowd parted to let them through. Lief twisted his head, looking for Tira among the black-clad figures, but could not see her.
As they left the hall, they heard Reece’s voice raised once more as he spoke to the people. “Continue the search for the creature who has befouled our city,” he ordered. “It must be found and killed before nightfall.”
Lief glanced at Jasmine. She did not open her lips, but her face was pale and set. He knew that she was thinking of Filli — hunted and afraid.
The Ra-Kacharz pushed their prisoners through a maze of brightly lit hallways and down some winding stone steps. The smell of soap hung everywhere, and the stones under their feet were scrubbed smooth.
At the bottom of the steps was a large space lined with metal doors, each with a narrow flap through which a tray of food could be passed. The leading Ra-Kachar threw one of the doors open, and her companions pulled Lief, Barda, and Jasmine towards it.
Jasmine took one look at the grim, windowless cell beyond the door and began to struggle wildly. Lief and Barda, too, fought grimly for their freedom. But it was no use. They had no weapons, no protection against the whips of the Ra-Kacharz, cracking around their faces, stinging their legs and arms. They were driven back into the cell. Then the door was slammed behind them and a heavy bolt was driven home.
They threw themselves at the door, beating on it with their fists. But the footsteps of the Ra-Kacharz were already fading into the distance.
Frantically, they searched the cell, looking for weaknesses. But the narrow wooden bunks fixed to one wall could not be moved. The empty water trough fixed to another wall was solid as rock.
“They will come back,” Barda said grimly. “We were condemned to life, not death. They will have to give us food, and fill the water trough. They cannot leave us here to starve or die of thirst.”
But miserable hours passed, and no one came.
They had all drifted into an uneasy sleep when the scratching came at the door. Even when Lief woke, he thought he had dreamed the timid sound. But then it came again. He jumped from his bunk and ran to the door with Jasmine and Barda close behind him. The food flap had been pushed open. Through it, they could see the blue eyes of Tira.
“The First Ra-Kachar gave orders that he and he alone would bring you food and water,” she whispered. “But — I feared that he may have … forgotten. Have you eaten? Has the water trough been filled?”
“No!” Lief whispered back. “And you know that he did not just forget, Tira. That is why you came. Reece intends us to die here.”
“It cannot be!” Her voice was agonized. “The Cup gave you Life.”
“Reece cares nothing for the Cup!” hissed Barda. “He cares only for his own will. Tira, unbolt the door! Let us out!”
“I cannot! I dare not! You brought evil to our halls, and it has still not been found. All except the night cooks are sleeping now. That is why I could slip away and not be missed. But the people are afraid, and many are crying out in their sleep. In the morning, the search will begin again.” Through the narrow slit, the girl’s eyes were dark with fear.