‘We could have it all,’ the krol said as he turned away. ‘Don’t you understand we could carve out a kingdom, here? I would have a rampart built and a great feasting hall. What does Duke Stanislaw mean to us? Let the Polish lords cling to their dung-crested cities and feast in their smoke-ridden halls. We could have a kingdom far mightier than any the world has ever seen. So where are the hunters?’ Krol Gawel waved in Iwa’s direction. ‘Tell me where they are hiding and I will spare your life. Who knows, we might even give you to one of my woyaks and make you a lady like Alia here.’
‘They have run into the mountains and the woods.’ The words flew from her mouth so quickly that Iwa could hardly quell them. ‘Where none can find them. No one knows where they are, women were never allowed to follow the sacred paths. They were given to the hunters by Karnobog at the beginning of all things.’
‘And the hunters we have in the ships?’ There was a hard edge to the krol’s words, a hint of madness that lurked beneath his voice, and Iwa was too scared to even think of a lie. ‘The hunters are broken; they’ve gone off to join other clans, or wander the mountains like hermits.’
‘Hermits,’ the krol said. ‘So who are these people who dare to raid my camp? Tell me, are they in league with the demons of the night?’
‘They’re scattered and leaderless, and they haven’t any pact with any demons.’
‘Such lies,’ the krol smiled, ‘from such an innocent-looking girl. It’s a pity that your heart is turned against me, I’d have found a great use for you.’
‘Give her over to me,’ Wislaw said. ‘We can’t trust her, but she may be of much use still.’
‘No,’ Iwa looked pleadingly at Grunmir, ‘you have to leave the forest, before your doom falls upon you.’
‘As if she knows anything,’ Alia scoffed, as she poured out another cup of wine. ‘Her words are as empty as a broken pot and just as useless. I’d put her to scrubbing the floors – she can earn her keep at least.’
‘Let me go,’ Iwa pleaded. ‘Let me take my father out of here and I’ll tell you everything. After that I’ll walk right out of the camp and never see any of you ever again.’
Slowly the krol turned away from the sacks and stood before her. Then he began to laugh. ‘See how she treats me, this mud-soaked stripling? Am I not krol, do I not command? Four hundred armed woyaks stand as my ship guard, with more who’ll follow me gladly to death and, when I offer to make her a lady in my court, what does she do? Is she grateful, does she bow down at my feet in supplication?’ Then he stopped laughing. Once again the ache was upon him, the air closing about, thick with the stench of sweat and herbs. If only he could think properly. ‘Go to the prison hut…’ At the krol’s words, Grunmir began speaking softly to the woyak at his side. ‘…Bring the hand of the man who is bound there.’
‘No!’ Iwa tried to run but the woyaks forced her to her knees. ‘Please!’ she cried as she tried to conjure the lies that would get her out of this. And, all the while, she could hear the manikin’s laughter deep inside her head. ‘I’ll tell you everything, anything; just leave my father alone.’
‘More lies,’ Alia laughed. ‘The girl knows nothing, can’t you see that? Why not just throw her out of the camp, and her father too. Good riddance, and there’d be less mouths to feed.’
‘Don’t hurt my father.’ Iwa looked round at the impassive faces of the woyaks. ‘I don’t know anything; the clan have cast me out. Alia is right, they’d never trust me with anything, they didn’t even want…’ She drew back, confused. She’d almost told them about Katchka’s plan. Maybe Alia has told them already, she thought. But then the old woman was alive, so Alia must have kept quiet about the poisoned mushrooms. ‘…Me in their ship,’ she corrected herself. That was probably true. None of them would shed a tear if I didn’t come back, except for Katchka, and that would have been more to do with not getting those stupid mushrooms than anything to do with me.
In desperation she glanced round. At least Grunmir hadn’t moved, despite the krol’s command. ‘Perhaps it would be better to do as Alia suggests,’ he said. ‘She understands these people, knows their ways. Torture one and the rest withdraw. Getting anything from them is an impossible task.’
Except where the likes of her are concerned. Iwa couldn’t help but throw Alia a hateful glance. Katchka was right about you.
‘Give them both to the forest,’ Grunmir continued, ‘and be rid of them.’
‘Let us not be too hasty,’ Wislaw replied. ‘Loosening that tongue of hers might prove instructive yet. It would be a mistake to give up such an opportunity so readily.’
Alia opened her mouth, but Iwa couldn’t hear the words. All the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as, in the distance, she heard the crackle of ancient magic. There it was again, a low, barely audible throb. Alia closed her mouth but the sound continued.
‘It’s here,’ Krol Gawel said softly, his eyes filling with horror. In an instant Grunmir was at the door, Fang ready in his hand. The woyaks at the entrance retreated back into the ship, hands trembling as they readied their spears. Iwa was flung to the ground as the woyaks
