There were rumors that he was older than any man had a right to be. Some said he was immortal. Wallace didn’t believe that though he did think the barefoot man was hundreds of years old.
For some reason the villain had a particular hatred of the MacGregors. Many times he had tried to overthrow them though he had never succeeded.
The MacCallisters had eventually done his workfor him, though it seemed by the sound of the struggle out there, he was not that grateful.
The sounds died slowly away. The battle was ending. Who had won? It was impossible to tell. Sometime later he heard a key scraping in the lock once more. Had they come to feed him at last? Was the battle done? Was it even possible the MacCallisters might have won?
The door opened and a bald man swept in, his body wrapped in a plain black woolen cloak. His feet were uncovered. He carried no candle, leaving that to his minions who crowded into the doorway behind him as he advanced into the cell, smiling down at Wallace.
“There it is,” he said to the crowd behind him. “What we came here for.” Reaching down, he pushed his hand through the rib bones of Jock’s body, picking up the letter and staring reverently at it.
“If you’re here to kill me,” Wallace said, getting to his feet. “Get it over with.”
The barefoot man ignored him . “We slaughtered them all to get this. In good shape despite so long in this filth.”
Wallace said nothing. As he looked the letter crumbled to dust in the barefoot man’s hand.
“What? This cannot be. I had no time to read it.” He pointed at Wallace. “What did the incantation say?”
“I cannot recall.”
The barefoot man smiled at him. The smile did not reach his eyes which were as icy cold as a frozen loch in midwinter.
“I would like to make you an offer, Wallace MacGregor.”
“How do you ken my name?”
“That does not matter. What matters is you have a chance to leave those chains. Would you like that?”
Wallace said nothing, sensing a trap.
“The incantation you so foolishly used on your father has a far greater purpose and you had no idea, did you? Lucky for you, there is something you can do. Take a trip and fetch me back a silver key. It will be in the hands of the woman you seek. What you do with her is up to you but I must have the key. What say you?”
“I will parley no deals with the devil.”
“Who told you I was the devil?” His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to Wallace. “I am far worse. I am a necromancer.”
Wallace shuddered, trying to conceal his disgust. “So make a deal with the MacCallister corpses.”
“You are awfully brave for a man in chains. All right, how about this? You undertake the journey to retrieve the key for me. It’s such a little thing, won’t take you any time at all. Do that and not only will you have the woman, I will bring your father back to life. You would not get a better offer from the Lord himself.”
Wallace managed a smile. “You think you can convince me of nonsense because you have a silver tongue? Such a thing is impossible as you know.”
“Oh, is it?” The barefoot man turned and stooped over the skeleton, muttering words to himself. At once the air was thick, swirling mists curling past the ankles of the watching crowd, sweeping in, turning the cell into nothing but fog.
The words grew darker, more guttural. Wallace felt things clawing at his mind, fat fingers that came from nowhere, tugging at his flesh, creeping over him, rushing past, more following. The sensation was like no other. Still the incantation continued.
The barefoot man loomed out of the fog, grabbing his face, making him look down at the cell floor. From the mist a head emerged, one that caused him to gasp with shock. “Father?”
The eyes focused on him, the mouth opening to speak. The head vanished and with it went the fog. There was only a skeleton on the floor, nothing else. The barefoot man let go of Wallace’s face, tapping the top of his head.
“There, there. It’s hard to lose a father isn’t it. I feel your pain, Wallace, I really do. You should be grateful to me. It was the MacCallisters who took him from you and I have just slaughtered them all. Did I mention the woman who holds the key is the last of the MacCallister line? Think what you could do with her? Bind her in these chains? Maybe have a little fun with her first. Or after. She won’t be able to escape, will she? Perhaps you could deflower her?”
“Do not speak of such indecent things.”
“All right, no need to get touchy. Listen, do this little thing for me and you shall have your revenge and I shall bring your father back for good. You’ve already seen I can do it. What say you to such an offer?”
“You would truly bring my father back to life?”
