Ned snuggled down, nodding his head to show he understood.
After Ben was bundled roughly back into the cell, he lay still, listening to the henchmen locking the barred door and pacing off down the passage. Then he went to work. Still bound, his eyes taped, the boy rolled about until he bumped the rough, rocky wall. Backing onto it, he wriggled along until his tightly bound hands encountered a small ridge. Then he began sawing at the cord, rubbing it back and forth along the stone protuberance. It was slow, painful work, and his hands were cold, swollen and numb from the tightly lashed cord.
“Ben, are you there, mate? It’s me, Ned! I’m with Arnela, watching the main entrance. As soon as we can sneak in we’ll try to rescue you. How are Karay and Dominic? Are they with you?”
Relief flooded through Ben as he replied, “Good old Ned. I knew you’d come. And you’ve brought help, too! Great! Listen, pal, I’m a bit tied up at the moment, so I’ll make it brief. I’m locked in a cell, somewhere below the big main cavern. I think our friends might be here, if those Razan returned me to the same cell. I know that sounds a bit odd, but I’m bound, gagged and blindfolded. I’m working on getting free. As soon as I know where I am for sure, I’ll keep contacting you. So you and Arnela be extra careful, you’ll be no use to us if you get captured. These Razan are no foolsthey know the inside of this mountain very well. I’ll speak to you later, take care now, d’you hear me?”
Ned’s answer came through to Ben. “I hear you, mate. Let’s hope we can get to you before too long!”
Ben had been sawing continuously whilst sending thoughts to the dog. Finally, he pulled, and the frayed cord snapped in two pieces. Using both thumbs, Ben pushed the gag up beneath his nose and levered the blindfold up until he could see a little. Then, with his teeth, the boy tore off the pieces of cord that were knotted tight about both his wrists. His numbed hands were useless for several minutes. He squeezed back tears, gasping as the blood flowed agonisingly back into his fingers. Finally, reaching behind his head, he untied both the gag and the blindfold.
Dominic and Karay were there, sitting, leaning askew at opposite angles, their eyes wide open. Ben saw their twitching limbs and ashen faces. He knew they were still trapped within the realm of nightmare. Drugged! Ben decided to use Ned’s methods of getting through to them, combined with a little addition of his own. Both the porridge and the water were still there outside the cell’s bars. He filled the ladle with water, splashed it straight into Dominic’s face and began slapping the boy’s cheeks hard, shouting in his ear, “Come on, lazybones, rise and shine! Up you come!”
Grabbing his friend beneath both armpits, Ben hauled him upright and gave his shin a smart kick.
The facemaker winced sharply, his hands scrabbling at Ben’s face as he whimpered, “Yeeeegh! Get these snakes off me, I can’t stand sn Ben?”
Hugging his friend close, Ben whispered soothingly. “There there now, hush, Dom. It was all a bad dream, the snakes are gone. Keep your mind on good and happy things. They won’t bother you anymore then.”
Dominic blinked tears from his eyes and rubbed his leg. “One of them bit me, Ben, a green cobra, right here by my knee. I think I’m going to dieit stings and pains. Oooohhhh!”
Ben wiped the tears from Dominic’s eyes. “That wasn’t a snake, Dom, ‘twas me. I gave you a good kick to wake you. Sorry about that, mate. We’d better get Karay back into the land of the living. Come on, lend a hand!”
Dominic splashed water in the girl’s face. Ben slapped her cheeks and tugged sharply at her hair as he shouted, “Up and about, miss! Let’s see you dancing and singing, pal!”
Karay screamed. She scratched and batted at Ben’s hands as they pulled her hair. “Eeeeee! Get away, you filthy crawly things! Ugh, spiders! Uuuuggghhh!”
Ben’s face was a fraction from hers. The girl’s eyes were wide and pleading as she sobbed to him, “Kill the spiders, Ben. Don’t let them get me. Kill them!”
It took an hour or more before Karay and Dominic were completely themselves, though they both complained of roaring headaches and some dizziness. Ben explained to them what had taken place. He told them about Maguda Razan’s death but had to lie about the visions she had seen in his eyeshe attributed her death to the fact that she was very ancient and must have had a weak heart.
Karay was only half listening at that stage. She was gazing longingly at the ladle in the water pail. “Ooh, my mouth is so dry, I’d give anything for a sip of water!”
Dominic was in complete agreement with her. Ben shrugged. “Touch that water, either of you, and within an hour you’ll both be fighting off snakes and spiders again, I warn you!”
Karay massaged her temples moodily. “Well, what are we supposed to do now, just sit here?”
Ben nodded. “There’s little else we can do. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got a feeling Ned might come to the rescue soon.”
Dominic stared curiously at Ben. “Is that a thought, or just a feeling, friend? Tell me.”
Ben’s mysterious, clouded blue eyes met those of the facemaker, and he was smiling oddly. “A bit of both, I think.”
Two Razan guards who had been posted inside the tunnel entrance stepped outside to enjoy the late-afternoon sunlight. Leaning their flintlock rifles against the rock wall, they stood idly basking in the warmth. They had not been there long when a tall cloaked figure came into view, tugging a black dog on an improvised rope lead. The guards shaded their eyes against the lowering sun, but they could not see the newcomer’s face, which was hidden by the overhang of the cloak’s hood. The dog dug its paws in, trying to resist being led. But the big, strong-looking figure hauled it along easily and waved a friendly hand at the two guards.
One of them nudged the other. “Look, there’s the black dog Maguda ordered everyone to search for.”
The other guard viewed the animal sourly. “Huh, lot of good that’ll do now that Maguda’s dead. They’re placing her in a tomb about nowmaybe they’ll bury it with her, eh?”
As the figure came closer, however, he challenged the person. “Halt, who goes there, an’ what d’ye want here?”
The big person spoke confidently. “Nought to worry about, friends, I am of the Razan. I thought Maguda might like a little gift. I found this beast wandering the lower slopes.”
The figure continued coming forward. The first guard broke the news. “You’ve come a bit late, brother, Maguda Razan died last night.”
The newcomer pointed to the inside of the tunnel. “Maguda Razan dead? She can’t be. There she is!”
Both guards turned to look into the tunnel. Arnelafor it was shelet go of Ned. Seizing both men from behind with her powerful hands, she banged their heads hard against the rock face. They dropped like two logs.
Ned winced at the sight of the two unconscious guards. “Oof! I’m glad I’m on her side!”
Arnela bound both men back to back with her long climbing rope and gagged them securely with their own bandannas. Grabbing a foot of each man, she towed them away easily and stowed them in their own former hiding place. Shouldering both firearms, she pointed to the tunnel. “You go first, Ned. Maybe you can sniff our friends out.”