The unease that had been settling in Oskar’s stomach solidified into something else, something like a hard ball of ice.
“There is no news about Emeric or Magnus is there?” he said. “Ye aren’t taking us to the guild house?”
“Nay, I’m afraid we’re not going to the guild house. But thereisnews about yer friends, I wasnae lying about that. And ye’ll discover just what that news is as soon as we get where we are going.”
Oskar’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the men around him, assessing his chances of taking them down. The three in front had their swords raised, the three behind were positioned to flank him, their movements fluid, ready to pounce at Eberwyn’s command. He would have to be quick. If he took out the three behind him, he and Lily might have a chance to flee before the others could react.
As if sensing his thought Eberwyn said, “Dinna be stupid, Oskar. Perhaps ye dinna value yer own life, but what of that of Lady Lily? Make one wrong move and she will be dead in a heartbeat.”
He nodded upwards and Oskar followed the line of his gaze to see another man stationed on the roof of one of the buildings. He held a crossbow pointed right at Lily.
Oskar’s stomach knotted with fear. He tossed his sword into the dirt. He could not risk her safety.
“All right,” he snarled. “Ye win. We’ll come quietly.”
“What?” Lily cried, looking around in fright. “What’s going on?”
“It’s all right,” Oskar said. “Do as Eberwyn says. No harm will come to ye, I promise.”
“Glad to see ye have some sense in that thick skull of yers,” Eberwyn said. He turned to his men. “Bind their hands and blindfold them.”
Oskar’s jaw clenched but he didn’t struggle as they bound his wrists together with a thick length of rope and covered his eyes with a cloth. He was prodded into motion. They began walking once more, winding deeper into the maze of lanes and closes on the city’s western edge. As they walked, Oskar’s mind raced, thinking of all the ways he’d make Eberwyn pay for this betrayal.
After a winding journey in which Oskar lost all sense of direction, they finally came to a halt. Their blindfolds were removed and he saw that they were outside a nondescript door in the side of a townhouse much like his own, except it looked grander, like the residence of some wealthy merchant. The door swung open although Oskar couldn’t see anything beyond.
Eberwyn entered and his men pushed Oskar and Lily through the door. He found himself stepping into a paneled hallway that smelled of cloves. Two doors stood on either side of the narrow passage but Eberwyn ignored these and instead led the way to a door at the end. Beyond this, Oskar found himself traversing a narrow staircase that stank so thickly of damp he knew he was descending into a cellar.
Sure enough, at the bottom it opened out into a low room with a dirt floor, lit only by a guttering candle standing on a barrel in the corner. Two people were chained to the wall.
Magnus and Emeric. They sagged where they sat, seeming barely conscious. He took a step towards them but a voice suddenly rang out behind him.
“Ah, here ye are!”
Oskar spun as a man stepped out of the gloom at the back of the cellar. “The old gang all back together again! Isnae that nice?”
It was Alfred Brewer.
Chapter 15
Part of Lily’s brain warned her that she had to remain calm, but that part was drowned out by the sudden rage that gripped her at the sight of Alfred Brewer’s face. As he stepped out of the shadows, all she could see in front of her was the image of that cart careening through the market place, crushing anyone in its path. All she could hear was the screams of the injured. All she could smell was the stink of burning wood and cloth.
“You!” she cried.
She lunged at him and moved so fast and so unexpectedly that she surprised her guards and managed to land her bound-up fists into Brewer’s face before anyone could stop her. His nose made a satisfying crunch as her fist connected and he staggered back a step.
