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Dominic could contain himself no longer. Straining against the guards who held him, he shouted out, “You lie! Deceit and evil are in your eyes! Truth and honesty are strangers to you. Your world is built on wickedness and lies!”

Maguda turned her baleful glare on him. “Facemaker of Sabada, I know thee. Look at me! For one so young, thou hast a lot to say.”

Dominic’s gaze was unwavering. He stared straight at Maguda. “I’m not weak and ignorant, you cannot frighten me. My eyes see the truth—your spells and trickeries have no power over me!”

It was like a struggle of wills, one will trying to overpower the other. Maguda’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, and her head trembled as she intensified her gaze on the boy in front of her. Dominic’s gaze was calm and steady.

Karay had only looked into Maguda’s eyes for a few seconds before the power of them made her feel dizzy, and she turned her attention to the floor. Now she watched Dominic, amazed that he could look into the Razan woman’s eyes for so long. Ben moved slightly and groaned. Karay edged over to his side and placed her hand on his brow. The contest of wills continued until, much to Karay’s surprise, Maguda’s withered hand rose to shield her gaze.

Dominic still stood staring. His face did not register the horrors he had envisioned, though he had to control his voice to keep it level. “Death and decay are all I see in your soul, old one. You cannot hypnotise me—I have gifts of my own!”

Maguda Razan’s answer sent a chill through Karay’s heart. “There are other ways of bringing ye under my power, ways that bold young fools such as ye do not realise. This pretty girl, and the boy from the sea, they are thy friends, I believe …”

From between her clawlike fingernails Maguda cast a sly glance at Ben and Karay. Dominic tried to leap forward, but another Razan man tugged him back by the rope looped about his neck, and two more jumped in to assist the pair already hanging on to his arms.

Dominic felt helpless as the realisation of Maguda’s words swept over him. “Witch! Rotten hag! Leave my friends alone!”

Maguda’s triumphant cackling echoed around the vast vault. She pulled a grotesque face at Dominic. “Not so confident now, little boy, eh? Take them away, lock them in the deep dungeons. Let them ponder on what delights I have in store for insolent trespassers!”

After the three friends had been marched off, Maguda beckoned to a dark figure who had been crouching in a shadowy corner close to the cave walls.

“Thy senses did not fail thee, eh, Gizal? Thou wert the first to note the presence of those three young ones.”

Maguda’s staff tapped upon the floor as Gizal shuffled to the throne. “Have I ever failed thee, mistress? Touch, scent an’ hearing serve me better than the eyes of most folk!”

Maguda drew Gizal forward until she could whisper in the blind one’s ear. “What think ye of my prisoners?”

Gizal thought carefully before she answered. “The girl is nought, she can be bent to thy will in time. But the one they call the facemaker, he sounds like a problem to me. He is gifted. Thine eyes have no power over him. As to the other boy, the one whom Rawth laid senseless, I cannot say, I have no knowledge of him.”

Maguda stared at the ragged cloth that bound her aide’s eyes, as if trying to penetrate it. “But the dog, you sensed a dog. It remains uncaptured!”

Gizal sniggered. “What does it matter, mistress? Who cares about a stupid dumb animal?”

Maguda was silent for a moment, then she laughed. “Aye, thou are right, the beast is likely still running. Why fret about a dog? Gizal, ye did a fine job with our other beast, the bear. Little chance of that one running again. Here, my good friend, take this as a reward, and this also.”

The blind woman felt the five gold coins Maguda pressed into her hand. She also felt the little glass phial.

“My thanks to thee, mistress. Gold is respected by all, no matter whose hand it comes from. But what is this bottle?”

Maguda whispered confidentially. “I require thy services. I need thee to act as warden to the captives. They need to know the meaning of fear. Use the potion sparingly.”

Gizal cocked her head quizzically. “Even on the boy thy brother struck down?”

Maguda’s eyes widened. “Especially on him!”

Gizal nodded knowingly. “Ye fear him, mistress?”

Maguda’s nails sank into the blind crone’s arm as she hissed. “I fear no living thing! Cease thy foolish talk! As queen of the Razan, I have to be cautious. The omens have warned me against yon lad. But even he cannot resist my potions. Now go!”

The dungeons were little more than side caves deep down in the mountain’s lower tunnels, each one with an iron barred door fitted across its entrance. Karay and Dominic assisted Ben as the guards shoved them inside and locked the door. They lay on the floor until the sound of their captors’ footsteps faded. Dominic helped Ben to his feet, watching anxiously as his friend massaged the back of his neck. “Ben, are you alright?”

Smiling ruefully, Ben continued rubbing. “Oh, I think I’ll live, mate. That ruffian had a very heavy hand, though.”

Karay stood gripping the bars, peering back along the way they had been brought. “Did you see the poor old bear? I caught a glimpse of him as they marched us along here. They’ve got him locked up a couple of cells back, three I think.”

Dominic placed a sympathetic hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for the bear, too, but wouldn’t it be wiser to look at our own situation first? We’re hardly in a position to help ourselves at the moment.”

Karay sat down on the floor and sighed. “You’re right, Dom. So, what do we do now?”

Ben found himself a dark corner and snuggled down into his cloak. “Right now all I want is a bit of sleep. That was a cold, hard march up the mountain.”

Within a few minutes the other two had joined him, both of them wrapped tightly in their own cloaks and huddling together for warmth in the dank underground cave.

Ben immediately shut his eyes and concentrated on making contact with Ned. No matter how hard he tried, however, there was not a single trace of the black Labrador’s thoughts drifting anywhere in his mind. Ben hid his disappointment by reassuring himself that the dog would reach him when the moment was right. He drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Arnela watched the black Labrador as he wandered into her cave, limping and looking weary. Surrounded by her goats, the big woman had been dozing by the fire. At first she thought it was a dream, until one of the nanny goats bleated at the sight of the dog. Arnela came fully awake then. She began pushing goats out of her way. “Ned, is that you? What’s happened?”

The dog replied mentally, knowing she could not hear him. “I wish I could tell you, my dear lady, but first I must get this paw seen to. Look!”

Whining softly, Ned offered Arnela the sore paw. She inspected it gently. “You’ve sliced that on some sharp rock, poor boy—there’s a flap of skin hanging from the pad. Let me fix it.”

Ned bumped a big goat aside. “It’s my paw she’s fixing, not yours. Anyhow, you’ve got little hooves, bet they never get cut on the rocks. Listen, mate, if I give you a message, could you communicate it to Arnela?”

The goat’s jaws were working furiously around a mouthful of dried grass. It bleated dumbly at the dog: “Maaaahahaaa!”

Ned sniffed disdainfully. “If that’s the best you can do, then don’t bother. Oh, and mind your manners, keep your mouth closed when you’re eating, disgusting beast!”

Arnela cleaned grit out of the wound with warm water, talking in a comforting voice to Ned as she worked. “Don’t worry, boy, I won’t hurt ye. Stand still now. There, it’s nice and ‘ clean now. I’ll put some balm on it. This is good stuff for healing wounds. I make it myself with herbs and white ashes from the pinewood I’ve burned. Feels good and soothing, doesn’t it?”