Neversfall - Ed Gentry [105]
Taennen eyed the big formian but stood over the Chondathan, lowering his voice and scowling as best he could. "How many more of you are underground?"
"To the hells with you, Maquar," Rhalov said.
"Approximately forty," Guk said. Rhalov's eyes went wide staring at the formian.
Uncertain what was happening, Taennen continued. "Why are you here?"
Rhalov said nothing, but Guk spoke. "For coin." The Chondathan stared at Guk, his lips pursed, his brow furrowed.
"Why are the Chondathans here?" Taennen asked. Again, Guk spoke when the human would not, saying, "For coin."
Taennen growled at the answer, upset with himself for being so vague, and angry at the stubborn prisoner.
"Is there a way to use the tunnels to enter Neversfall?" Taennen asked, turning to face Guk in anticipation of the response.
"Yes," Guk said, eliciting a moan from Rhalov. "Where? How?" Taennen said.
Before Guk could respond, Rhalov did. "I'll speak! Just get it out of my head!"
"Speak," Guk said, though Taennen was uncertain whether he had stopped his magical reading.
"Enter the tunnel where you just exited. Take the second tunnel left, the first right and the second left again. You'll see a ladder built into the rock," Rhalov said.
"Is it guarded?" Taennen asked.
Rhalov nodded. Taennen paced, running his fingers through his dark hair.
"Who is in charge? Bascou?" Taennen asked.
The Chondathan grinned and shook his head. "You know who."
Taennen lashed out and slapped the man's face. He already knew the answer but could not bear to hear the name aloud. His suspicions confirmed, he turned from the prisoner and stared at the ground.
"You are finished with him," Guk said.
"Yes. We'll tie him up and come back later…" Taennen started to say but was cut short as a glow caught his attention.
He turned to see what looked like the bars on a prison cell, horizontal lines crossing verticals, beams of blue light floating before Rhalov. The strange, lighted lattice floated forward, pressing slowly into the Chondathan, who loosed a high-pitched scream as his torso was seared by the strange force. A sound like meat sizzling on a skillet and the rough scraping of a shovel filled his ears. Rhalov's scream was cut off as the bars faded from existence on the far side of his body and he slumped to the ground.
"For all the One," Taennen said, turning from the sight of the man's chest splayed open and the smell of burnt flesh.
"You did that?" Taennen said, facing Guk.
"He defied order. Be careful that you do not," Guk said with no hint of threat in his voice.
Taennen wanted to scream, to denounce what the formian had done, but he knew it would do little good. While he objected to the deed, he was not in a position to argue. His mind turned to his next task, and there was a pressing matter still to attend. He wondered what part of himself he had lost that might have objected more strongly. Could he get it back?
"You helped me get the information I needed. Now what? We were even, and now I am in your debt again," Taennen said.
"You will need help at the fortress," Guk said.
Taennen squinted but agreed.
"His answers, and our help in taking the keep. That we offer," the formian replied. "And what price do I pay?"
"We lost many of our kind and all of our workers. We need workers. We cannot return with fewer than we had when we left," Guk said.
"I can't give you back your prisoners. They're not slaves. They'll be freed," Taennen said, taking a step backward. "Not them," Guk said.
Taennen cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. After a few moments he understood what the formian was suggesting. The idea made him sick at first. But the idea of not seeing justice done broke his heart. He wanted an end to all the wrongdoing at Neversfall.
"Fine. Any of the invaders we capture…" he said, unable to finish the sentence. Part of Taennen was disgusted with himself, another part proud for making a hard decision that he knew was the right one. The decision had not been as hard as he imagined. That bothered him.
"There are others near," Guk said.