Max woke with a pounding head. The sweet scent of the Soothing Cloud of Sleep had turned violently bitter. His nose burned, and his throat was dry as if lined with sandpaper. Nearby was the sound of a crackling fire. There was something else, too, low and in the background, just on the edge of hearing. A sound more felt than heard. A deep, low continuous chanting.

Max wanted a drink, an aspirin, or a bacon sandwich. But more than any of that he wanted to roll over and drift back to sleep. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious, but he’d woken totally unrested and still as tired as he had been when he’d left the skeleton lord’s dungeon. He tried to roll over but found he was sitting up and held in position by ropes. He opened his eyes to check his bonds, but it set his head thumping even harder as if his head was a washing machine filled with rocks.

Max closed his eyes and wished the headache would settle down. With eyes closed tight, he realized someone was behind him, and they were sitting back to back and tied together. He realized some part of the dry mouth was due to the gag that was in his mouth. He risked another glance, tentatively opening one eye a fraction. All was dark. Had he been asleep an entire day, held in unconsciousness by the powerful Dark Mage spell? Then he noticed the darkness was in fact due to a bag over his head. He closed his eyes as his head banged again.

Max tried to topple sideways but found that someone was tied next to him. And on the other side too. Slowly Max drew a picture of his situation. He was tied to three others, one at his back, one at either side. The others started moaning as they too woke from the spell induced sleep. Max heard footsteps approach, and then the bag was taken off his head.

Turning to his left Max saw the thick curls of Debhora erupt out from the bag that was pulled up and off her head. On his right was Shazera. Behind him, Anita, he hoped. Then he caught her scent and recognized it was her. Being so close to his friend and trusted ally, even in this terrible situation, gave him courage and hope.

He pulled and tugged, testing the strength of the rope and the knots. His ankles were tied together with Fine Rope. His elbows were tied to Anita’s elbows behind him. The two Assassins were tied in the same fashion. All four of them bound into one great knot.

The low chanting grew louder and nearer. Max turned his head this way and that, trying to work out where it was coming from. He thought he could pinpoint the location until he arrived at a disconcerting understanding. It was coming from all around.

Max looked up into the dark hood of a Dark Mage standing over him, the face hidden in the shadows within. Dozens of Dark Mages surrounded them, the fire flickering off the dark robes throwing long shadows that danced in the darkness.

Debhora and Shazera were struggling to speak through their gags. They struggled against their bonds. Shazera turned to her right and gave Max a fierce stare that was as deadly as an Assassin blade. Max shrugged innocently.

“I didn’t tie you up,” Max said to Shazera.

The Dark Mage pulled the gag from Shazera’s mouth and went around the circle removing the others.

“I wouldn’t mind if you had tied me up,” Shazera said, “if it was just you and me, but did you have to bring all your friends?”

Max looked up at the circle of Dark Mages, the chanting swelling and rising, growing in intensity, growing in threat. Max didn’t know what they were chanting, but he didn’t think it was to wish him and his companions good fortune. In his limited experience, sitting at the center of a circle of hooded figures all closing in and chanting, while being tied up with three young ladies, was not a sign that things were going your way.

Shazera looked up into one of the dark hoods. “Hey, I thought we were working together. You hired me to get you the young Mage, the Darkbringer. Well, I got him for you, so come on, untie me, and give me my gold.”

Debhora struggled against her bonds, her honey voice wracked by her sore and dry throat. “The Assassins’s guild will not be happy if you Dark Mages go back on our little deal. You wanted the Darkbringer. Well, now you have him. Untie me. Now.”

Max looked from Shazera to Debhora. Just before they’d been knocked unconscious, the pair of Assassins had convinced him that they wanted to join his party, and now they were asking for the payment for delivering him into the hands of the Dark Mages.

Anita spoke with a groggy, husky voice. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” she said. “You should have killed us when you had the chance.”

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“The Dark Mages wanted warm bodies,” Debhora said. She looked up at the Dark Mages all around. “And we got him for you, didn’t we? Ok, you can renegotiate the fee. I’ll take fifty percent. He was easy to capture. Fifty percent of my arranged fee is acceptable even though I’ll still have to give the Assassins’s guild their percentage of the original fee.”

“I caught him,” Shazera said. “I’ll take twenty five percent of the arranged fee, and you can keep Debhora for your experiments. She’s the darkest Assassin you’ll ever meet. If you want to experiment on the darkness, she’s your girl.”

“You snake, Shazera!” Debhora said. “I swear on the poisoned chalice, I will never work with you again.” She struggled in a sudden violent effort to break free of the bonds, tugging with her elbows and kicking with her heels. She let out a shriek of frustrated anger.

Max looked back and forth between Shazera and Debhora on either side of him as they traded insults and threats to kill, dismember, disembowel, and drain the other of blood.

A Dark Mage bent forward and cut the bonds at the elbow holding Max to Shazera and Debhora. The two Assassins were pulled to their feet. Their ankles still bound, hands bound before them but free from the bonds with Max and Anita. Max was still tied by the elbows to Anita behind him, his hands tied in front of him, his feet bound at the ankles.

Shazera and Debhora smiled down at Max. Debhora gave Max a wink and clicked her cheek.

“No hard feelings, sweetheart. You really are a handsome young man, and I’d love to wear you out, but it looks like you’ve got an appointment with these Dark Mages.” She held her bound wrists up to the Mage with the dagger. She looked at the dark hood and nodded at her bound hands for him to cut the ropes.

The Dark Mage grabbed Debhora by the wrists, another Dark Mage grabbed Shazera, and they dragged them to a tall post standing before the burning fire.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Shazera shouted, her voice breaking with rage. “We had a deal. We brought you the Darkbringer. What are you doing? Let me go.” Shazera punched and kicked as best she could with her hands and feet tied together. The Dark Mage half dragged her, half carried her to the tall post. The two Assassins were stood with their backs to the post and bound with a single rope wrapped around them from chest down to the knees.

The Dark Mages spoke as one, the voice booming in the dark.

“Assassin Shazera, Assassin Debhora, you have been with the Darkbringer for too long. Formed attachment to the Darkbringer. The Darkbringer spreads his influence to all those around him. You are now a link to the darkness too. We will draw the darkness out from you.”

“What do you mean, draw the darkness out? You will let us go when you have finished, won’t you?”

“You will be consumed. You will be drained. You will bring us more understanding, more power.”

Max felt sorry for the Assassins. He wasn’t sure if he thought they deserved whatever terrible fate these Dark Mages had planned for them. But then his concerns for Debhora and Shazera evaporated when a pair of Dark Mages lifted both he and Anita to their feet.

“Don’t worry, Max,” Anita said. “These Dark Mages disturb the balance. The Druids will restore the balance. The Mage council of Essillt will not let this abomination survive. We may lose today, but ultimately, Eveirea will win, and the Dark Mages will lose.”

Max wasn’t too encouraged by thoughts of any future defeat for the Dark Mages. He was rather more concerned by the imminent defeat of Anita and himself. The bonds holding Max and Anita together were cut. Max was dragged away from the fire towards another stake on the edge of the clearing. He was bound to the stake and positioned facing towards Shazera and Debhora across the clearing. Anita was dragged to a point in between the two stakes. She did not go willingly, and she fought like a tiger, punching with bound hands, knocking a Dark Mage backwards and to the ground. She lashed out sideways and caught another on the chin. More Mages rushed in and seized her by the arms. Another stood before her, his hand out, palm up. He blew as if blowing her a kiss. He blew white dust off his hand and into her face. She went limp in an instant.

A Dark Mage brought a large wooden block and dropped it to the ground. Anita was forced to her knees and bent forwards over the block. A Dark Mage walked forward, a large, bladed axe with a long handle in their hands. The axe was longer than Max was tall. Anita’s head was placed on the block by a Dark Mage, and then the axe was placed lightly on the back of her neck.

The Dark Mages started chanting, and Max felt a dark force deep in his chest being pulled across the clearing towards Anita and over to Shazera and Debhora. A dark energy spreading between them. It pulled at Max’s heart. Debhora and Shazera screamed and writhed in agony. Dark Mages came and placed piles of chopped wood and bundles of straw doused in oil at the feet of the Assassins, and then a Dark Mage with a flaming torch marched over to stand there. The flaming torch held high, waiting for the moment to bring it down and set the wood alight.

The Dark Mage standing over Anita raised the axe.

Janet appeared directly before Max, tiny at first but growing to full size in an instant. She was surrounded by a deep, dark border that seemed to be stretched and torn. She looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Something is happening, Max,” Janet said. “The Druid’s blood will form a focal point for the dark portal as they draw the darkness from you and these two Assassins. You have to do something to stop them, or I’m going to be pulled apart, half of me back to Earth and half of me to Eveirea.”

Max struggled at his bonds.

“I haven’t got any spells,” Max said, struggling. “All my spells are used. I still haven’t rested yet. I was unable to activate any spells. I can’t break these bonds without a blade. They’ve got me tied up tight. Can you do something, Janet?”

“All I can do is to tell you to act now.”

The axe high above Anita’s head started downwards with a sudden swift stroke.