Faegan glared at them, then pointed at Uther.
"We need his knowledge of the maze!" he shouted. Then he leveled his iron gaze on the Valrenkian once more. "But once we are free," he added, "I just might hand him over to you."
Uther sneered haughtily at the wizard. "No, you won't! It's common knowledge that every member of the late Directorate took a vow against murder! Stop bluffing! It will do you no good!"
Faegan's return glare was as cold as ice.
"You're wrong, Corporeal," he growled. "I was never a member of the Directorate. I suffer no such restriction. Your comrades have conspired in the murders of two people I loved very much. If you wish to see another day, I suggest you cooperate."
Stunned, Abbey looked over at Adrian. Neither of them had ever seen the wizard so angry. Would he really kill Uther in cold blood? Abbey decided that it was time to intervene. She removed the parchment from within her robe.
The wizard's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"
Abbey passed it through the bars.
"It's Uther's guide through the sandstone maze," she answered, then she and Adrian explained how they had induced him to draw it for them.
Faegan unrolled the map and examined it, then looked back at the women.
"Well done," he said. "But how do we know it's valid? He may be trying to trick us."
"We believe it to be accurate," Adrian answered. "But we think it best that you enter Uther's mind, just to be sure."
Faegan nodded. He looked at the two warriors still dangling Uther in the air. "Hold him tightly," he ordered.
Ottikar gave the other warrior a nod and they put a bit more distance between them, tightening the stretch on Uther's arms. The Valrenkian winced.
"Good," Faegan said. He closed his eyes.
Smiling, Adrian and Abbey waited. Any moment now the Valrenkian's head would snap back and his eyes would widen. And then they would have their answer.
But as the moments went by the women began to wonder, and then to worry. Uther seemed completely unaffected. No azure glow appeared around him, and he continued to smile wickedly at the wizard. Abbey and Adrian turned to each other with concern. Then they looked back at Faegan.
Beads of sweat had broken out along on the wizard's brow, and his face clearly showed signs of strain. Finally he let out a long breath and he opened his eyes. Had he given up?
"What's wrong?" Adrian asked.
"I am able to call the spell, but not to use it upon him," Faegan answered.
The women were stunned. "But how can that be?" Abbey asked. "His powers don't begin to rival yours!"
Thinking to himself, Faegan rubbed his face with his hands.
"The two of you must have inadvertently made him immune to the particular set of calculations required to deeply enter his mind," he answered at last.
"How could that be?" Adrian asked.
"Tell me more about this serum that you made," he said to Abbey.
"Did you use laurel seed?"
Abbey nodded.
"And mandrake?"
"Of course. You're an expert herbmaster. You know the formula as well as I. I had to recall it from memory, but I think I got it right. It calls for both of those herbs, plus several more."
"It's not your fault-neither of you," Faegan said. He shook his head.
"What you didn't know is that when laurel and mandrake are mixed for this purpose, they must never be enhanced with an additional spell of the mind. To do so inures the subject against further such intrusions for all time. Adrian couldn't have known, because she has little or no knowledge of herbmastery. And Abbey, you didn't know because you are unfamiliar with spells that your partial blood signature lacks the power to employ. Only a full wizard or sorceress who was also an herbmaster would know this. You both have much left to learn, but I commend you for trying."
"I'm sorry," Abbey said.
"Don't be," Faegan answered. "You did what you thought best." He trained his gaze back upon the Valrenkian.
"You knew, didn't you?" he asked.
Uther grinned. "Of course, you old fool! I knew what was going on the moment I saw the beaker of green fluid in your herbmistress' hands. They obviously needed information, and any herbalist worth his salt knows that the formula for the serum contains both mandrake and laurel. You know as well as I that it's the laurel that gives the solution its distinctive color. And why else would a Sister of the Redoubt be there, too, unless it was to help augment the serum with a spell? I was fully aware of how this combination would inure me. Your servants have given me a gift that I could never have attained on my own. How ironic! I put on quite a show at the time, but I wanted this, wizard-and badly. Your women willingly gave it to me."
Abbey's face grew hard. Her hands were balled up into fists, her knuckles white. Then she thought for a moment, and looked to Faegan.
"Just because you can't enter his mind now, that doesn't mean that at the time of their application our efforts weren't successful, right?" she mused. "In fact, how could they not have been? For all we know, the map might well be genuine."
Faegan nodded. "Or a complete fabrication," he warned.
Traax stepped forward. "There's one way to find out!" he said harshly. "Leave me alone with this animal! I'll get the truth out of him!"
Swiveling around in his chair, Faegan looked at Traax. He knew that the warrior meant well, but he obviously hadn't thought his plan through.
"Don't you see?" the wizard asked softly. "That won't do any good."
"And just why not?" Traax demanded. He glared hatefully up through the stone bars at Uther. "Just give me the chance. We Minions have many ways of being persuasive, I assure you."
"Oh, I'm quite sure that you do," Faegan answered. "And I can think of nothing just now that would give me greater pleasure. But tell me, no matter how he answers, how will you know-really know-it's the truth?"
Traax scowled. "I see your point." He sighed. "But surely there must be something we can do."
"There is," Abbey said.
Faegan smiled, for he already knew the answer. "Tell us."
"We fly around to the entrance, and we force Uther to lead us through," she answered. She looked over at Sister Adrian. "That was the other reason I brought him-in case all else failed."
"Well done," Faegan said. He looked at Traax again.
"I think we have no choice but to accept those volunteers of yours," he said. "They will, of course, have to come from the other side of the lattice. Limit their number to two. Uther is unable to use the craft, so only physical restraint is needed. I will keep the map with me. Tell your volunteers to make a mark on the wall at every turn." Then he grinned at the Valrenkian.
"What say you, Uther?" he asked sarcastically. "Are you game for a little walk?"
Seething, the Valrenkian snarled something under his breath. The wizard only smiled.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said.
He turned back to Abbey and Adrian. "Ask for two Minion volunteers from your side of the lattice," he ordered. "Once you have sent them in with Uther, come to the top of the bluffs near the maze opening on our side. We will meet you there, to wait and watch. Then it will be out of our hands."
As Abbey's group started to soar away, the wizard lowered his chair to the ground. Duvessa, Traax, and Ox walked over. Duvessa placed one hand upon the old wizard's shoulder.
"Is this really going to work?" she asked.
Faegan sighed. "It has to," he answered. "Because if it doesn't we're going to be here for a very long time."