Flanking the man on both sides were two bulky warriors that were dressed in yellow and looked ridiculous. But the murderous look in their eyes suggested that humour was the last thing on their minds.
“Well, well, well,” the armoured man said, laughing. “Look what we have got here. A bunch of criminals that -”
“Let us go!” Lynx yelled, struggling against the ropes in vain.
“I don’t think so,” the warrior said. His smile morphed into a snarl. “You will pay for what you did.”
“What did we do?” Lynx asked.
The man said, “Remember Voldmir? Where your good-for-nothing friends freed you from execution. Well, you injured plenty that day. And one of them was my brother. The doctors say he will be unconscious for at least a month.”
“I am sorry, Mr Unknown,” Lynx said, sincerely. “But that kind of risk comes with the job, you know?”
“No, I don’t know! Enough!” the man said. “Don’t call me Mr Unknown. I am Cad.”
Lynx spoke again. “Well, Cad -”
Suddenly, mid-sentence, Lynx stood lightning-fast, lifting the tied up chair along with him. Cad and the armoured guards had no time to react as Lynx spun himself in the air. The chair whipped across the air and hit Cad, sending him crashing away.
The two guards ran towards Lynx.
Lynx ducked under the knife of the first guard and whipped his chair against the thigh of the second guard. The chair legs broke apart from the impact. Lynx dodged another attack of the first guard and propelled himself forward, tumbling to the ground. The last few parts of the chair broke, and Lynx freed himself from the broken chair.
He delivered a quick palm strike straight to the other guard’s stomach. The force sent the guard striking against the railing of the chariot. Lynx hooked his leg around the other guard and brought him down too with a single strike. Lynx ran towards Matt to free him when…
“Don’t move.”
Lynx turned slowly and raised his hands. Cad was holding an Oculus in his hand, its barrel pointing towards Lynx’s head. Lynx couldn’t help but snarl. Lynx’s own creation was being used against him.
“You have done enough damage. Your time is up.” Cad’s face was still red from the earlier attack with the chair.
Daniel was sitting tied to the chair close to Cad and he suddenly saw Lynx winking at him. It was a very subtle sign, but Daniel didn’t miss it.
Daniel mustered all his energy and lifted the chair; he somehow took two steps forward, hitting Cad. Daniel’s head struck against Cad’s waist, and a grunt of pain left Daniel’s mouth.
As he fell, Cad pressed the trigger and a single Cule shot out. Luckily, the aim was off and didn’t hurt anyone. Lynx at once delivered a hard blow to Cad and got him disoriented. Lynx dragged Cad to the railing of the chariot and bound him with ropes.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” Lynx said, as he finished tying Cad to the chariot. “A minute later, I was the one tied up. Ha! Tit for tat! Ha, Ha!”
“Will you stop gloating and free us?” Matt interrupted. “My arms are so numb they feel like needles.”
Lynx hurried over and freed them one by one by cutting the ropes. He also started tying up the two unconscious guards.
Just as they finished taking control of the situation, Matt pointed towards an opening on the wooden floor in the chariot. “Hey! What’s this?”
Lynx opened the lid and looked inside. “I can see some stairs. They are probably going to the basement of the chariot. We need to check. I’m going first. Follow me.”
Lynx leaned inside and tapped the first step with his sword. Nothing happened. He climbed down onto the first step. Then he tapped the second step and placed his feet on it. The others followed. Clearing the third step, Lynx reached the fourth one. He stood on the fourth step, and as soon as he tapped the fifth step, the sword dropped from his hand and got sucked into the fifth step.
“How did that happen?” a surprised Matt asked.
“It’s a kind of magic portal called a wormhole,” Lynx replied. “It seems that it leads to a specific place, which must have been decided by Grim. Just avoid the fifth step by jumping over it.”
They avoided the fifth and moved further, checking every step for more traps. There were none. The stairs ended at a door that led them into a small room in the basement of the chariot. There was a table in the centre and many chairs around it. The room was empty.
Lynx was intensely thinking something.
“Is something going on in your mind?” Matt asked.
“Yes. The fifth step can be a boon. Let’s make good use of it. I think it’s high time we ask Cad why the Sorcerers of the Circle intercepted us. If he tells us, it would be great, or else the fifth step can be a sinkhole for him.” Lynx revealed his plan in a measured tone.
“Let’s do it,” Daniel said excitedly.
“But before that…” Lynx quickly went upwards and in half a minute, had both the unconscious guards poised over the fifth step. Lynx released the guards and they disappeared into the wormhole.
Then he went up and dragged Cad onto the stairs, near the fifth step. Lynx slapped Cad until he woke up.
“What... Where?” Cad sprung into consciousness and spluttered.
“I don’t know how you came here. I am not interested to know that either,” Lynx said. “But if you don’t answer our questions, a wormhole is waiting for you.” He pointed his finger at the fifth step.
Cad’s eyes widened. “What do you want?”
“Did you know we were coming?” Lynx asked.
Cad remained silent.
“Look, we can make this easy,” Lynx said. “I can simply throw you into the wormhole and be done with it. I don’t have much patience. Did you know we were coming?”
Cad gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
“Who told you?”
Cad was silent.
Lynx waited for five seconds and shouted, “Who told you?”
“I... I, uh, I... forgot,” Cad
