the symbol yet had power within it for the likes of Vychen. Cylla deftly slipped the chain over his head. I released my hold on him, allowing the chain to drop unimpeded into place about his neck, and the white jewel of the Symbol itself landed squarely against his breast.
He staggered, clutching his chest as though a burning brand lay against his breast, then crying out as his hands were burned when they touched the Symbol.
The others had been told it was a magical item with the power to subdue the general. The raid was dangerous enough; had they known his true nature they'd have refused the job. It was a risk keeping them ignorant, but worth it, I thought. Such strategy had worked well for me in the long ago past, after all.
I stepped in again with the smothering pad. Vychen was half-blind and half-mad from the pain of both weapons but still devastatingly strong. Before I could lock the stuff firmly against his face again, he swung wide and caught me a powerful blow to the body. I left my feet and went tumbling, feeling a terrible sharp pain in my chest. Broken ribs. I collided into someone; we landed in a tangle. Darl's agony was acute, but I forced him to draw breath.
'Rings, damn it!' I wheezed out, and hurriedly slipped mine off. As I struggled to my feet I saw Nanje and Cylla each trying to hold Vychen's arms to prevent him from tearing the holy symbol free.
Ag'n suddenly appeared as he removed his ring and waded in, throwing a massive fist at Vychen's belly, connecting with a massive thump. It seemed to have no effect. Vychen threw Cylla off, but Ag'n took her place, and his size and weight helped buy a little more time. Kelab became visible and aided Nanje, then Alvi, who danced around wanting to help, but uncertain just how to go about it.
'Get him on the floor,' I ordered hoarsely, making Darl stand despite his crippling pain.
'Heave-ho,' said Alvi, dropping and ducking into a ball behind the general's legs. Ag'n and Kelab pushed Vychen back so he stumbled against Alvi and the lot of them went down in a heap.
I staggered over and smashed the still dripping pad into Vychen's face. He bucked frantically but not for long. The noxious stuff finally overpowered him. He lay beneath us fully paralyzed and nearly unconscious from the combination of the holy symbol and the suffocating potency of the contents from the bottle: concentrated liquid garlic.
'Ugh,' Alvi panted. 'That smells terrible.'
'I'm sure he would agree with you if he could,' I said.
'He's one of those damned bloodsuckers,' said an outraged Kelab, who had also noticed the general's extended corner teeth. 'Strahd didn't say anything about that. We could have been killed.'
'We still can if we don't get out of here.'
'He knew this but didn't say a damned thing!'
'He told me and I thought it best to keep it to myself.'
'Since when did you start making choices for the rest of us?'
'Since I saw all the gold he was offering; now shut up and hold him fast. Nanje, keep this pressed to his face.'
She took over and I scrabbled for the leather pouch, bringing out one more brass bracelet that I slipped onto Vychen's wrist. The final item in it was another scroll with a traveling spell written upon it. I told them all to huddle close and carefully read the magical words written in silver ink on the vellum. As I uttered each syllable the ink vanished from the page in a tiny puff of dust. Between it and the connecting power stored in the bracelets the spell went active and Vychen's tent melted from our sight.
As soon as we reappeared in the Krezk camp stable yard, I thankfully cast myself free of controlling Darl, shaking off the disturbing double view of the world, not to mention his pain. He instantly collapsed even as I opened my own eyes to see Aldrick's worried face hovering near mine.
'Are you well, my lord?' he asked.
'Quite well. There is a dangerous prisoner outside who requires your immediate attention. See to it.'
'It worked?'
'It worked excellently. Make sure you retrieve that disk from Darl and bring it to me right away.'
'Yes, my lord.'
Word got out in the camp about the successful raid, news that bolstered the morale of all the soldiers. Darl was taken to the commander's office where he was agreeably silent, being fast asleep (my doing) and now under the tender care of Commander Resvalan herself. She'd already summoned her personal healer to see to his broken ribs. Doubtless he would have some confusion when he woke to find himself a hero with his friends for something he did not remember doing, but his monetary reward would likely more than compensate him for the inconvenience and embarrassment.
I quit the furor gathering around Resvalan's office for an unused barracks house nearby. It was the same one where all the slaughter had taken place a month ago. The troops refused to sleep there, so it had been converted into a storage building while they made do with other buildings, preferring their discomforts to the cheerless memory of blood and death here.
All the cots were gone but two, and one of those was occupied by the unconscious form of General Vychen. He looked ghastly, his face gray from the garlic. Six of the camp's largest guards stood over him, one holding a cloth cone just above Vychen's nose and mouth. It was permeated with liquid garlic, and was meant to keep him quiet. Like all of our kind, Vychen had no need to breathe, but as the stuff evaporated the guard dribbled more of the noxious liquid onto the cone so that its fumes would seep into the general's throat.
On Vychen's chest lay the Krezk holy symbol, which effectively held him in place. As it was atop his leather breastplate, he suffered no immediate burning damage from the thing. Were it on his bare skin, the reaction would have been most spectacular. I had no such weakness for either of the things, which was fortunate for us all, else I might be too distracted to begin the next phase of my plan.
Just to be certain that he was prevented from mischief, Vychen was also lashed fast to the reinforced cot by two inch thick ropes that I had specially prepared in the work room of my castle. They were soaked with a solution which I had developed meant to prevent him from dissolving into a mist or shrinking to the form of a bat or wolf. I wasn't sure if it would work, but thus far nothing untoward had happened.
Tied fast around his brow was the leather strip. The stone on the gold disk was milky white again.
'Are you sure you're up to this, my lord?' asked Aldrick.
'Darl was the one to take all the punishment from the fight; I am quite hale.'
'There are other ways of being weary.'
True, my mind was somewhat battered from all the mental work of forcing my will upon Darl, but the boulder, as they say, was rolling down the mountain, too late to stop. 'Just remember your instructions. It will be the same as before, but more so.
'Yes, my lord,' he said unhappily. 'I only wish there were some other way. For you to risk controlling that-that creature…'
'We do what we have to do, commander. My magic will keep me safe from his influence. Now see to your own duty.'
It must have been a terrifically unsettling thing for him, but he did nod, ready to carry out his orders.
I went over to Vychen, and the guard with the liquid garlic and cone moved out of the way. From my lead-lined box I drew out another flask of the same potion I had given to Darl, only this one was ten times stronger than the dose he had consumed. I lifted Vychen's head so his mouth dragged wide and poured the stuff down his throat. The stone flashed bright and went blood red again.
Vychen's reaction was considerably stronger and more alarming to watch than Darl's. The general's unnatural strength soon turned the cot into so much tinder, and he rolled and flopped around the floor like a beached pike, his convulsions too violent for anyone to approach. The ropes helped to some extent, but the wide-eyed guards kept a prudent distance.
I watched impassively until the fit was over, then retired to an alcove set up to offer me some privacy and sat down to stare at my crystal.
Though I could have easily taken over Vychen's will with my own via hypnosis, I had no desire to be so open about my ability with witnesses about. True, I could alter their memories to suit my wishes, but it seemed best to keep things simple. Besides, my hypnotic control of Vychen might stop at the border. This method, as the test had
