place where they could conceal their greatest treasure.”
Erdis Cai’s red-tinted eyes got a far-off look in them, and Makala sensed that he was picturing this fabulous treasure, whatever it might be.
“What treasure could be so valuable that a people would create an entire hidden city to safeguard it?” she asked.
“What indeed? Come now, we mustn’t be late.”
He started toward the city, with long, purposeful strides, and Makala hurried to keep up with him.
“My crew and I discovered Grimwall during one of our earliest voyages; although if truth be told, we blundered across it after losing our way in a dense fog. Still, a discovery is a discovery, eh? Grimwall was deserted then, its occupants having long ago departed. We decided to make this our home port, and it served us well for many years. No one but myself and the crew of the Seastar knew of Grimwall’s existence, let alone its location, and that still holds true to this day.”
As they walked among the black-garbed, shaved-head citizens of Grimwall, the people stopped what they were doing and turned toward Erdis Cai, prostrating themselves on the ground as if they were in the presence of a living god. Cai paid them no notice as he passed through their ranks, as if their obeisance was not only normal and expected but also boringly routine.
“You keep speaking of your crew, but so far the only member I’ve seen is Onkar. Unless some of the raiders-”
“None of those you see around you belonged to my original crew. These are all new recruits, culled from those whom Onkar brings me, though I confess that we’ve been doing this so long that some of these people are actually the children of those we first captured. Don’t concern yourself about my former shipmates, lass. They’re still around, as you’ll soon see.”
As they continued walking through the city, Makala kept her eye out for possible escape routes, but she saw nothing that looked promising-no tunnels, no other stairwells, nothing but domed houses with semicircular doors and no windows, and everywhere she looked, bald men and women who revered the vampire walking at her side as their lord and master.
For the first time since she’d been captured, she began to hope that Diran was coming to rescue her, for it certainly looked like she wasn’t going to be able to get out of here on her own.
The domed buildings became fewer and farther between until they gave way to a large amphitheater carved into the ground. The greenfire braziers that ringed the top level of the amphitheater were larger and blazed more brightly than others in the city, no doubt to provide more light for whatever activities took place here. The circular stone seats were empty, save for one person sitting on the lowest level: Jarlain. Onkar stood on the smooth stone floor at the center of the amphitheater, holding the hollow curved horn of some large beast in his hand.
As Erdis Cai and Makala began to descend into the amphitheater, the undead explorer nodded to Onkar, and the vampire commander put the horn to his lips and blew a single long low note. He then walked over to Jarlain and waited for Erdis Cai and Makala to reach the bottom.
Makala heard noise behind them, and she glanced over her shoulder. The citizens of Grimwall were entering the amphitheater, summoned by the blast of Onkar’s horn. Obviously something important was going to take place here tonight, but what? Whatever it was, Makala doubted it would be pleasant.
Erdis Cai reached Jarlain and sat next to her. He gestured for Makala to sit on his other side, and after a moment’s hesitation, she did so. Onkar remained standing, though he set the horn down next to Jarlain, then grinned at Makala, looking at her with something too close to hunger in his eyes.
“I trust you’re enjoying your stay so far? We’ve got a bit of entertainment for you this evening. Something special.”
Erdis Cai flicked his gaze toward his former first mate, eyes glowing a brighter red, but his voice remained calm as he spoke.
“That’s enough, Onkar. We don’t want to ruin the surprise for her, do we now?”
Onkar glared sullenly at his master, as if he’d been sternly rebuked and resented it, but all he said was, “Yes, Captain.”
They sat in silence for a while after that as the amphitheater seats slowly filled. Erdis Cai’s subjects came down as far as they could, and they managed to occupy the entire bottom five rows before the last of them was seated. No one sat within twenty feet of Erdis Cai in any direction, however. While most of the citizens were men and women in the prime of their lives, there was a scattering of children and oldsters, though none of the latter appeared older than their early seventies. Makala wondered if any of them had belonged to the crew of the Seastar. Certainly they were old enough.
Onkar gave Erdis Cai a questioning look, and Cai nodded. Grinning, the vampire commander stepped into the middle of the stage area and raised his hands. The citizens had been speaking in hushed, excited whispers, but at Onkar’s signal they quieted instantly.
“People of Grimwall! Tonight you have the privilege of being present to witness your master dishing out a well-deserved dose of justice! As you no doubt know, the Black Fleet and I came home yesterday after a successful raid on Port Verge!”
Onkar paused and the citizens, who counted the Black Fleet raiders among their number, cheered. When the cheers died down, Onkar continued.
“Of those we brought back with us, five have been found to be unsuitable for one reason or another. Tonight, they will be punished for proving unworthy of serving the master!”
More cheering, this time with a decidedly bloodthirsty edge to it.
Makala had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered something Jarlain had told her.
The old washer-woman will be punished, naturally. Perhaps I made a mistake assigning the old shifter to laundry duty, but I can only choose from those whom Onkar and his crew bring me.
Makala turned to Jarlain, but the woman just looked at her and smiled.
“Let the failures come forward!” Onkar commanded.
The audience had left space for a narrow pathway on the opposite side of the amphitheater, and now two raiders began walking down, escorting five people bound with wrist manacles. Three men and two woman, one of whom was, as Makala had feared, Zabeth.
CHAPTER
Makala tensed, ready to leap out of her seat, but Erdis Cai put an armored hand on her shoulder to keep her still.
When the raiders had marched their prisoners to Onkar, they turned and marched back. Other raiders sitting in the bottom-most row, a dozen in all, now stood. They were armed with bows, and they nocked arrows and took aim at the prisoners.
Onkar gestured at the archers as he addressed the prisoners. “As you can see, if you try to escape, the archers will fire upon you. Understand?”
The prisoners, including Zabeth, nodded miserably.
“However, Erdis Cai is not without mercy,” Onkar continued. “Your punishment shall only last a short while. When it’s done, should any of you survive, you’ll get a second chance to serve the master, but I must warn you-it’s been a while since we had anyone survive-a long while.”
Scattered laughter among the audience, mostly from the raiders in attendance.
Onkar walked up to one of the male prisoners, a reedy fellow with red hair and a thatch of beard. “Hold out your hands,” he ordered.
The man did so, the chains of his manacles jingling as he trembled. Onkar took a key out of one of his pockets and unlocked the man’s manacles. They fell to the stone floor of the amphitheater with a clang, but Onkar made no move to pick them up.
