The Sceptre of Samnos

Ilandia Part 10

     He woke up on a hard, cold floor covered with damp sawdust. Diana was lying next to him a few feet away. They were both naked, their hands and feet tied, and gagged with thick wads of cloth stuffed deep into their mouths and tied in place with lengths of coarse rope. Their necks were tied by short lengths of rope to iron rings in the floor, so that they couldn't lift their heads more than a few inches. Diana was still unconscious, lying on her back, her pale skin covered with goosebumps from the icy cold air, but as he watched she began to stir, and he saw a look of puzzlement passing over her face as she found herself unable to move her limbs. Then full consciousness returned and she gave a spasm of horror as she realised her situation and saw Thomas lying beside her, as helpless as she was.

     Her first act was to roll over until she was lying face down in a panicked attempt to preserve her modesty, and then she began struggling against her bonds. She was desperately trying to say something, but nothing came out except a muffled squeak. Thomas could already feel, from the tightness of the strips of leather binding him, cutting off all feeling in his hands and feet, that he wasn't going to be able to free himself, and they couldn't get close enough to untie each other, but he struggled anyway, to demonstrate these facts to the cleric. There would be no escape unless the others rescued them.

     He looked around the room in which they were imprisoned. It was a slaughterhouse. The sawdust was stained with dried blood in places, as was the single long table under the room's only window, and a few rabbit corpses hung from hooks on the wall. As the full horror of why they were there sank into him he felt panic setting in and began struggling for real, but with no more success than Diana had had.

     The door opened and the old woman came in, holding a butcher's cleaver and an ironwood carving knife in one hand. Thomas was shocked at the change that had come over her. The dear old lady was gone, and in her place stood a hideous crone with black lips and fingernails. Tough, leathery grey skin stretched tight across her bones, and a few wisps of long white hair hung from the top of her head. She wore only a few tattered rags that did almost nothing to hide her body, not that there was anything to hide. Her voice had changed too, becoming hoarse and rasping at times, and at other times like the hissing of a snake.

     "So, ye've woken up, have ye?" she hissed. "Used to be I could strip ‘em, bind ‘em'n slit their throats afore they woke. I mest be gitting slow in me old age." She gave a gurgling laugh that chilled Thomas' blood. "Ah well, I s'pose I'd better git yer killed'n hung ter drain." She rolled Thomas onto his back and sat down on top of him.

     The feel of her wrinkled, dry skin against his own was the most horrible sensation of his life. He was really scared now, more scared than he'd ever been before in his life and he struggled desperately in pure panic but, frail though she seemed, the Mad Woman was much too strong for him. He tried to beg for mercy, but couldn't. Diana gave a muffled scream, not loud enough to be heard outside the room, let alone outside the house. Allis put a hand on his chin, tilted his head back until the bones in his neck creaked, and pressed the knife to his throat. Thomas felt a sharp pain as the blade cut his skin, and felt a warm trickle of blood run down his neck. Allis tensed her muscles, ready to slit his throat from ear to ear.

     Just at that moment there came a knock at the front door. "Oh drat!" she said irritably. "Who c'n that be at this time a day?" She climbed carefully back to her feet, her joints popping noisily. "Now don't ye go away," she told the wizard. "I'll be right back." She hobbled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

     By the time she reached the front door, she'd changed back to the dear old lady again, and she opened it to find Derek and Lirenna standing there. "Yes?" she asked timidly.