Book 2: The Wolf Hunts
Chapter 16
The witcher literally stopped in his tracks. He had one foot in the air when he heard the unmistakable noise so he lowered his raised foot back to where it had been on the cavern floor and listened closely. After several moments, he continued forward in total silence, now even more cautious of where and how he stepped. He crept around a bend in the passageway and suddenly froze again. On both his left and right, crouched behind boulders and stalagmites, were several dozen Redanian soldiers hiding in the complete darkness. In addition to swords on their hips, almost all of them carried a crossbow. He had no idea how long they had been hiding there, but they had no torches or campfires lit, and he couldn't smell any smoldering embers. They must have been waiting for at least a couple of hours. Since they were waiting in the dark, then it could only mean that they were planning an ambush, for light would have spoiled the element of surprise. And if they were planning an ambush, then there was pretty much only one logical conclusion to be made. And it wasn't good. The witcher cursed to himself.
If Geralt had not possessed decades of experience in highly dangerous situations, he would have been completely unnerved, standing just yards away from what looked to be close to fifty of Radovid's men. Hidden by the darkness, he now understood how Benny felt when under a disillusionment spell, and he briefly wondered if he could ever manipulate the chaotic Power enough to cast such a spell for himself. It would be something he'd definitely want to try later on – assuming that there would be a 'later on.'
The witcher maintained his slow, controlled breathing and carefully surveyed the surroundings. He listened closely and could hear a couple of soldiers whispering. Based on their comments, he gathered that they had been waiting down in the cavern for a while and that their nerves were starting to fray. Good, thought the witcher. He hoped he could use that to his advantage. His eyes moved upward towards the ceiling of the cave. He nodded to himself at what he saw, and then he slowly turned and walked away, the Redanians never even aware that he'd been there.
oOo
"Does this help us or not?" Evie asked Benny in a whisper.
Earlier, they'd all heard loud shouting coming from above. At first, they thought that the bank guards had somehow removed their gags and were making noise. However, Ves had just come down to the basement to report that Redanian soldiers were rushing towards the northern side of the city – the side opposite to the bank's location. And that could only mean one thing – a Nilfgaardian invasion.
"That's got to help, right? If the Redanians are focused on defending the city's walls, then we should be able to get in and out of the palace that much easier."
Evie nodded in agreement. "Let's hope."
oOo
"Wait a second," said Roche. "You're telling us that there are fifty soldiers down there – in the dark?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you," answered the witcher, his eyes boring into those of the Temerian. The five of them - Geralt, Evie, Benny, Roche, and Ves - were in one of the offices in the bank's basement with the door closed.
Roche shifted his eyes over to Ves. The both looked like they had just bitten into a rotten apple.
"Just how well do you know your men, Roche?" asked Geralt.
"Screw you, Witcher. I vouch for all of them," said Roche, taking a step toward the monster-slayer.
"Is that right? You once told me you don't trust anybody," the witcher growled.
"Wait," interrupted Evie. "Geralt, what's going on? I'm confused."
"What's going on is that those soldiers down there in the dark can only mean one of two things. They're either waiting on a Nilfgaardian attack to come through the caverns. Or, they're waiting for us. And if they're waiting for us, then that means someone told them we were coming." Geralt was speaking to Evie, but his eyes never left Roche.
"Well, it wasn't any of my men."
The witcher shook his head. "Just how much do you trust those spies of yours that are inside the palace?"
"Not completely, but…it can't be them. They didn't know anything about tonight."
"Roche," interrupted Ves.
"What?"
"Let me go check the men. I'll be right back."
Roche nodded.
Three minutes later, Ves walked back into the office, looking angry.
"Markinson's not here."
"What? Well, where the hell is he?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, but this afternoon, he did say he had to go to our other safe-house to pick up his Redanian uniform. I could have sworn he was with us tonight when we came to the bank, but now…I'm not sure he ever returned."
"Damn it, Ves! And you're just telling me this now!"
"Hey, I'm just finding out about it myself. Besides, you're in charge, Roche. It's the commander's responsibility to know where his men are!"
"Enough!" growled the witcher. "You two can argue later about who cocked this up. Markinson – who is he?"
"He's a good man and a good soldier," answered Roche. "If he's not here, then obviously, something happened to him, but…he'd no more betray Temeria than I would. We don't even know he said anything. Maybe the Redanians are down there because they got word about Nilfgaard's invasion."
"I agree with Roche, Geralt," said Ves. "I know Markinson. He's Temerian through and through. The only way he'd rat us out is under extreme torture."
"Swell," mumbled the witcher to himself. "Well, regardless of why they're down there, they are down there," the witcher growled toward Roche. "So, we've gotta figure out what we're gonna do now. Tonight might be our only chance of getting into the palace so we gotta come up with something."
"What are our options?" asked Benny.
Geralt was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I see…maybe three options. With the Redanians focused on the attack to the north, we could, maybe, climb the southern wall. That is, if we've got some grappling hooks and rope. But I don't know how inconspicuous we could be. I'll be honest – I don't like that option at all. There are way too many opportunities to be seen."
"Agreed," said Roche.
"A second option - we bypass the soldiers down below and try to find an alternate route through the caverns to the palace. But there's no guarantee that there even is an alternate route or what might be lurking along those other paths. There could be something worse than soldiers waiting for us. Or three…we take the fight to the soldiers below. We do now have the element of surprise."
Roche grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment off the office desk, turned the parchment over with its blank side up, and then handed Geralt the quill.
"Draw us a layout of the cavern and where the soldiers are situated."
Five minutes later, they all left the office to debrief Roche's men on the upcoming mission. As they were walking out, Geralt got Evie's attention and she stayed back.
Evie spoke before he could even say anything.
"I know. I know. You want to make sure that I know to stay behind everyone, out of harm's way."
The witcher nodded. "You read my mind. I really wish you would've gone with Lydial to wait with our horses outside of town."
"We discussed this, Geralt. What if we can find Claude but can't break him out? I need to be there so that I can talk with him."
"I know, and I agree. I just don't like it." He sighed deeply. "But, then again, it has been about four days since you were last in mortal danger so…I guess we're past due."
She gave him a small smile. "I'd laugh if it weren't so true."
oOo
Geralt paused and turned around. He saw the long line of men behind him. Leading everyone through the dark caverns, it had taken him twice as long to reach the Redanian ambush site as when he'd been alone. He had walked extra slowly to ensure that no one behind him stumbled. Noise discipline was crucial if they were going to pull this off. Since they were easily outnumbered two-to-one, then surprising the Redanians was their only chance of walking out of those catacombs alive.
oOo
Ratibor was finally able to wriggle one hand free from the ropes. He reached up and pulled the gag from his mouth.
"Hang on, boys," he whispered to his fellow bank guards. "Another minute and we'll all be loose. And then we'll go find those bastards."
oOo
The White Wolf was kneeling on the cavern floor at the edge of the wider area where the Redanians were hiding. This wider area was about fifty feet long and bottle-necked at both ends. He reached into a small satchel on his belt, removed a violet-colored potion, and quickly downed it. In addition to the satchel at his waist, he also had two bandoliers crisscrossing his chest, and attached to both were of a variety of bombs. He unclipped three, holding one in his right hand and two in his left. He turned his head and looked behind him at Roche and all his men. The witcher could easily sense the adrenaline already flowing through them in anticipation of the battle.
Geralt stood and looked to his left and right one final time and inhaled deeply. He exhaled slowly, and as he came to its end, he tossed the three Devil's Puffball explosives towards the Redanians on his right as quickly as possible. When the bombs made contact with the hard ground and nearby rocks, there was no huge explosion. However, in the quiet cavern, the cannisters cracking was loud enough to get everyone's attention and, suddenly, the Redanian soldiers jumped to the ready.
Before the soldiers on the right had even begun to feel the effects of the poisonous gas enveloping them, Geralt had thrown three more bombs – Dragon's Dream – towards the men on the left. Like the first three bombs, these three did not emit any bright light when they detonated. Thus, the cavern – though now noisy with men's gagging, coughing, and shouting – was still completely dark.
As soon as the third Dragon's Dream had left his hand, Geralt took off in a sprint along the left-hand side of the cavern. As he ran by those soldiers, he held his left arm straight out to his side and signed a continuous stream of Igni flame. The flammable gas from the bombs immediately exploded in a violent, fiery blast, engulfing almost all the Redanians on that side of the cave. The soldiers who didn't catch on fire were still severely singed from the explosion.
Now that dozens of flame-covered bodies were illuminating the entire cavern, the witcher knew he was no longer concealed by the darkness so he cast a Quen Sign as he came to the northern end of the ambush site. He immediately turned and threw a Dancing Star bomb high in the air above the coughing Redanians on his original right. The explosive detonated against the stalactites on the cavern's ceiling. As large chunks of rock were falling down on top of the soldiers, Geralt was already grasping several more bombs and tossing them towards soldiers on both sides of the cavern.
The Dragon's Dream gas exploding into flames had been the Temerians' signal to engage. They fled into the area – on the opposite end of where the witcher was now standing – and began filling every non-Quen-protected individual with as many crossbow bolts as possible.
oOo
Upon hearing the sound of explosions echoing through the catacombs and up into the palace dungeons, Radovid's giant-sized body-guards, Ivan and Igor, looked at each other. They immediately knew something was amiss. Their king's orders to Winski had been to capture – not kill. Possessing the intuitive connection that characterized many identical twins, Ivan and Igor didn't even bother speaking. They simply nodded to the other, lowered the visors on their helms, and rushed down into the dark cavern.
oOo
Roche gave a battle cry, and he – with his men – drew their swords and charged into Redanians. The good news was that Geralt's surprise attack had incapacitated over half of them. The bad news was that there was nearly two dozen of Radovid's soldiers still alive, and they were desperately fighting to stay that way. Captain Winski was a battle-hardened soldier, and he quickly rallied his troops for the melee. And, fortunately for them, they had already been warned that their enemy would be wearing Redanian uniforms. Thus, there'd be no hesitation on their part to strike with lethal intentions.
oOo
"Damn it," Geralt cursed to himself.
The witcher stood on the north end of the cavern, temporarily isolated from the main fight on the south end. The last bomb that he'd tossed had knocked several large chunks of stalactites from the ceiling. The dust it had thrown up into the air obscured his vision, and he wanted to wait a few seconds for it to dissipate. Charging blindly into battle was a quick way to the grave – even for a witcher. Plus, with both sides wearing Redanian uniforms, he didn't want to kill any Temerians by accident.
He was standing there, protected by his Quen, and about to rush into the fray when he felt a light thump against his back. It wasn't painful at all, but immediately his Quen shield disappeared. He turned around and saw, entering the cavern from a narrow passageway, two of the biggest men he'd ever seen in his life. Malek would have looked normal-sized next to them. They had swords and shields drawn, heading his way. In addition to their size, he also noticed that they were wearing heavy, full plate armor from head to toe. Other than horizontal eye-slits and some holes near the mouth and nose to aid in breathing, even their faces were completely protected.
He tried to cast another Quen, but when nothing happened, he cursed again. Dimeritium, he thought to himself. It made sense. As paranoid as Radovid was against magic users, the White Wolf wouldn't be surprised if all of his soldiers had some type of magic-inhibiting weapons on their person.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of deep chuckling reverberating out of the two giants' helms.
"Ohhh…what's wrong, witcher? Can the freak not use his magic?" asked one in a mocking tone.
"You'll have to face us like a man…no mutant tricks…just swords," said the other. "We'll see who wins then."
The two giants slowed as they neared the witcher, and then they began to circle him, one moving to his left and the other to his right.
oOo
Both Evie and Benny were crouched behind cover in the narrow, bottle-necked area. Neither had any skill in wielding a sword, and even though Evie possessed a cross-bow she didn't want to blindly shoot it into the crowd. Thus, they had both stayed back when Roche and the others had charged ahead. Several Redanian corpses were on the ground still burning brightly and giving off just enough illumination that the combatants could see their enemies.
Evie's eyes scanned the melee in front of her, but she couldn't see her husband anywhere. The soldiers' shouts and the clanging of metal on metal was echoing off the cavern walls so loudly that, at first, she didn't hear Benny yelling her name right next to her. He grabbed her by the shoulder to get her attention.
"Evie!" he yelled again. "We've got trouble."
She saw him pointing to his right. A group of eight men, carrying torches and swords, were running up the passageway towards the melee. She recognized them immediately - the guards from the bank.
oOo
Geralt ducked as an enormous, long-sword hissed through the air above him. He immediately dodged to his left as a second, identical sword sliced downward right where he'd been standing. He spun to his right and slashed his steel weapon across Ivan's shoulder, but his blade barely made a scratch against the heavy armor. He quickly rolled away as Igor brought his blade downward to cleave the witcher in two.
"Is that the best the little man can do?" mocked Ivan. "You're a wee man with a wee sword."
"You can't run forever, little man," added Igor.
The witcher came to his feet and turned toward the two Redanians. As they were starting their second approach, he quickly whirled between the two giants. His blade whipped around him, and sparks flew as it struck their armor a half-a-dozen times. He came out of his whirl and immediately rolled away, just avoiding their massive swords being swung in his direction. He had actually felt the wind brush his hair as one blade just missed splitting his skull. As he faced the two men, he, once again, heard more mocking laughter.
"Impressive dancing, freak. But your little witcher sword can't beat true Redanian knight's armor."
"He's like a little gnat, Igor. Buzzing around, but nothing more than a nuisance."
"Keep buzzing, little gnat. We'll swat you in time."
Geralt realized that the two men – even while wearing the heavy armor - were incredibly quick for their size. And just as importantly, they seemed to work well together. And given the strength of these men, he doubted if his armor would make a bit of difference against their steel. He might as well have been wearing a light, cotton shirt and trousers. He couldn't afford a single mistake against these two. Just one slip of the foot, just one dodge in the wrong direction or a split-second too late, and he'd be cut in half.
While keeping his eyes on the threat in front of him, he brought his hand up to his chest and quickly ran it across both bandoliers. He cursed under his breath when he realized that they were both almost completely empty. With his fingertips, he could only feel two explosives remaining. He blindly grabbed one of them and backhand tossed it at the giant on his left. The bomb shattered against his shield, and Geralt immediately cursed again. It was a Dragon's Dream, which was pretty much worthless since he needed a fire to ignite the gas and he couldn't cast an Igni at the moment.
"I think he's getting desperate, Ivan."
"Keeping buzzing, little gnat. You'll tire soon."
The two men were again slowly approaching the witcher. They swung their swords at the same time. Geralt dodged to his right, parrying the sword on that side. He spun close to Igor and threw his right hand upward, ringing the pommel of his sword off of the man's metal helm, hoping to disorient his opponent. It clearly didn't work, for the witcher was knocked backward at least ten feet as Igor connected with a massive backhand punch with his shield-covered arm. Geralt flew through the air, and as he hit the ground, he rolled back onto his feet, immediately expecting their next attack. He didn't have to wait long.
Igor chuckled as the two giants circled the witcher.
"Ha! I swat you, little gnat."
They attacked a third time, with the exact same results as before – the witcher just barely dodging their blades and his own blade doing no damage at all.
"I think he's slowing, Igor."
"Yes, it will not be much longer, brother."
The cat-and-mouse game went on for only one more turn – with Geralt using his incredible reflexes and dexterity to avoid their attacks but also not able to penetrate their thick armor – before the witcher realized he'd have to change his tactics. Their plate was just too thick. And they were right. He could feel his muscles starting to tire. It was just a little, but a little was all it would take for him to taste death down in those catacombs.
His eyes scanned the two giants, looking for weaknesses, and he quickly knew what he'd have to do. He would need to draw them in closer.
oOo
Evie aimed and fired her crossbow again. While, at this point, she couldn't distinguish Roche's men from the Redanians, it was obvious to her who the bank guards were due to their uniforms. She was having no trouble differentiating one from another since they had dropped their torches before joining the fight and the flames were lighting up the surroundings. Though there was now enough illumination in the cavern for all combatants to see, the battle itself had turned into total chaos. Since everyone there was wearing similar Redanian garb, the bank guards didn't know who was who and just began attacking whomever was closest. At several points, a Redanian and Temerian actually teamed-up, turning and fighting side-by-side against an attacking bank guard.
Several men died due to the guards' unexpected attack from behind, but given how heavily they were outnumbered, the eight bank guards all quickly perished. At that point, Winski and Roche's men continued their fight against each other. Evie really had no idea how the battle was going – which side was winning – but she could clearly hear Roche's voice as he barked out orders and encouragement to his men.
oOo
Ivan and Igor were circling the witcher again. Ivan, on the witcher's left, swung his blade horizontally while Igor's sword – a fraction of a second later – slashed downward.
Geralt sidestepped away from one attack and parried the other. Time seemed to stand still as the three of them watched the witcher's sword fly through the air and land fifteen feet away on the cavern floor.
The two Redanians turned to look at the witcher, who was simply standing there very still, his hands down at his sides. One of the two giants then unexpectedly sheathed his sword and dropped his shield.
"The little gnat is mine, Igor. I'm going to crush him with my bare hands," said Ivan as he slowly moved to the witcher's left while Igor – with his sword still drawn – moved to the right.
In the shadows of the dark cavern, neither man could see the tiniest of smiles come to the witcher's face. Immediately, Igor swung his blade at Geralt, and a spit-second later, Ivan lunged forward to catch the witcher in his mighty grip. The White Wolf both side-stepped Igor's blade and rolled under Ivan's out-stretched arms and towards the giant. As he was in mid-roll, he reached down to his thigh and unsheathed his knife. He came to his feet – but still in the crouched position – right next to Ivan's out-stretched leg. With a swift back-handed motion, the monster-slayer drove his knife blade deep into the back of the Redanian's knee – just sliding it through the gap between two pieces of armor. The witcher was already rolling away - just avoiding Igor's second sword attack - before he even registered Ivan roaring out in pain. Geralt came out of his roll on the balls of his feet and saw that Ivan was down on one knee and struggling to stand.
For the first time since the battle had started, the witcher spoke.
"Careful…this gnat can bite." When neither man responded, he said, "What? No more witty banter?"
Igor looked at his injured brother and then back to the witcher.
"I will kill you," he snarled.
"Come and get me."
As Igor slowly and cautiously approached the witcher, Geralt glanced down to his bandolier and smiled as he recognized his last remaining bomb - a Samum. Instantly, he grasped the explosive in his left hand and back-hand tossed it toward his attacker. The bomb detonated against Igor's shield, the white-light explosion temporarily blinding the giant of a man. The witcher immediately took three, swift steps forward, and on the third step, he bent low, his right knee touching the ground. His face was only about a foot from the Redanian's codpiece when he swung his right arm in an upward arc, driving the knife into giant's unprotected groin area – just between the codpiece and the thigh armor.
Igor screamed in agony, but the witcher wasn't done. He quickly withdrew the knife, reached up and grabbed the forearm of the Redanian's sword arm with his left hand, and then thrust his knife into a slight gap near the large man's elbow. Geralt twisted the blade as he withdrew it, slicing through tendons and ligaments. This elicited another howl of pain and caused the giant to drop his blade.
The White Wolf immediately rolled twice – once away from Igor, and then the second time, over towards his steel sword. He scooped it up and came to his feet in one, smooth motion. He turned to face Ivan who was now standing but also struggling to put weight on his right leg. Then, the Redanian bellowed a battle rage, and despite the injury to his knee, he ran at the witcher. The monster-hunter, crouching low and on the balls of his feet, stood perfectly still as Ivan charged at him. At the last instant, as Ivan was bringing down his sword towards the witcher's head, Geralt deftly moved diagonally – forward and to the left. Ivan's blade slashed through the air and, missing its intended target, dug deeply into the ground of the cavern. The witcher shot his left fist forward and slammed it into the back of the giant's right shoulder. That punch, along with the momentum of the attack, caused Ivan to be completely facing away from the White Wolf. In a flash, the witcher stepped forward and bent low, and once again, swung his knife in an upward arc. The blade found the flesh of Ivan's groin. As the giant screamed and fell forward on the ground, Geralt withdrew his knife and then jammed it into the back of Ivan's left knee - again, right in the gap between the armor. The witcher didn't think the man would stand again – ever.
Geralt heard a noise behind and immediately rolled to his left without even looking. He sensed a blade swishing overhead, and when he came to his feet, he saw that the other giant had dropped his shield and was now wielding his sword in his left hand. Igor swung his blade again, but it was very uncoordinated in his off-hand, and the witcher easily side-stepped the attack. The next two attacks the White Wolf simply parried. The giant was moving slowly, his groin injury clearly affecting him. On Igor's next attack, Geralt - still holding his sword in his left hand - parried the blade to the side as he pirouetted towards the giant. As he came out of his spin and was facing the Redanian, he brought his right hand up high and plunged his knife blade right through the eye-slit of the man's helm. He quickly pulled the knife free and skipped away from his adversary. He looked at the giant who was just standing there, silent and still. The witcher was prepared for the man to attack again, when a second later, the Redanian fell face-forward, slamming into the cavern floor.
The witcher quickly sheathed both his sword and knife and then picked up Igor's large weapon. The giant had easily wielded it with one hand, but for most men, given its weight, it could have only been used as a two-handed sword. The White Wolf walked over to the still-prone Ivan, who was moaning in agony from his injuries.
"You were right, funny man. My sword did nothing against your armor. But, my little knife…it stings like a bitch, doesn't it?"
Upon hearing Geralt's voice above him, Ivan immediately swung his left arm out, attempting to grab the witcher by the leg and drag him down. But the monster-slayer was too smart for that. He'd expected the move and easily hopped back out of reach. Ivan then pushed his upper torso off the ground with his massive arms and turned his head, looking up at his adversary. The Butcher of Blakiven sneered.
"Now, let's see how your dead brother's blade will fare, shall we?"
The witcher brought the heavy, great-sword high above his head and, with incredible force and a guttural grunt, he swung downward towards the giant's neck. To the witcher's disappointment, Ivan's head did not fly off from his body, but the blade did completely slice through the chainmail that was supposed to protect the back of the giant's neck in the small gap where the helm and body armor did not meet. The Redanian's body fell to the ground limp and dead, the blade of the sword stuck in place.
The White Wolf gave a short nod of his head.
"It'll do."
At that point, the witcher turned his focus to the southern part of the cave, where Redanians and Temerians were still in the middle of their own battle. He let go of the giant's sword, unsheathed his own, and then ran towards the melee.
oOo
Evie was staring at the carnage in front of her. Almost everyone down in the cavern was dead or wounded. She watched Roche prowling around, and whenever he came across a still-breathing Redanian lying on the ground, he'd drive his sword through their heart. Part of her wanted to protest, but the guilt was eating away at her, and she suddenly seemed to have lost the backbone to stand up to the commando. As if reading her mind, the Temerian – after finishing off the last living Redanian - turned and strode purposefully towards her, Geralt, and Benny.
Ves looked up and saw him heading that way and said, "Roche, don't." But he paid her no mind so she ran up alongside of him.
"Dureb, Harkel, and Nueman," said Roche in a soft but clearly angry tone as he stopped in front of Evie.
"What?" she asked.
"Dureb…Harkel…Nueman," he annunciated very slowly. "I don't know who else of my men may have died by the bank guards' hands, but I know that those three did. Those were three damn-fine soldiers and damn-fine patriots. Dead…because of your bleeding, pacifist heart. Live with that," he growled out.
"Roche, that's uncalled for," said Benny.
The witcher unsheathed his sword. "Back the hell off, or I will kill you."
Evie reached out to grab Geralt's right arm. "No, Geralt, don't. He's right."
He turned to look at his wife. She nodded her head ever so slightly and looked him in the eyes. "He's right," she repeated in a whisper.
The Temerian just glared at the two of them.
"Witcher, whatever you owed me, whatever I owed you…we're even now. We're done."
He looked at Evie with contempt and shook his head several times.
"Let's go, Ves," he said as he turned and marched back to where his three other still-living commandos were huddled.
"It was great meeting you, Benny," said Ves sadly, giving the mage a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Geralt," she said, offering her hand. The witcher paused for a moment before moving his sword to his left hand. He then reached out and grasped hers. "We couldn't have made it down here without you…so, thanks."
The witcher just nodded.
"Ves, let's go!" yelled Roche from the other side of the cavern.
Ves glanced at Evie but didn't say anything. She quickly shifted her eyes back to Geralt.
"See you around, Witcher," she said with a smile as she started backing away. "Who knows what the future holds, right?"
With that, she turned and sauntered over to her fellow Temerians. Almost immediately, the five of them moved northward through the cavern, towards the palace, aiming to kill a king.
"It's not your fault, Evie. Roche is just upset right now," said Benny.
Evie didn't respond. Her head was lowered and she was staring down at the floor of the cavern.
"Geralt?" she whispered.
The witcher sheathed his blade and turned to look at his wife.
"Yeah?"
"Just how many people are going to die because of me?" she asked, her voice breaking.
Geralt stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. She immediately started crying so Benny walked away.
oOo
"Oh…no," said Evie, her voice full of anguish.
"This him?" asked Geralt, holding a man's head upright so that she could see his face.
She just nodded, afraid that her voice would betray her if she tried to speak again.
It hadn't taken the witcher long to scout out the dungeons of Radovid's palace, find and subdue the dungeon keeper and his assistants, and confiscate their keys. The three of them had then spent the next ten minutes looking through all the cells for Claude – Evie's ex-husband and one of the Continent's foremost experts in archeology.
Claude was currently hanging limply against one of the stone walls in the cell. If he had once been a healthy and handsome man, he wasn't anymore. His arms were stretched out above him and his feet were a good distance from the floor. His wrists and ankles were shackled to chains that ran through four separate iron hoops that were attached to the wall. All of those chains were connected to a larger one that ran through a pulley near the ceiling, keeping him suspended off the floor.
"Benny, hit that lever," said Geralt, pointing to one side of the cell.
Benny did so, and Claude's body collapsed into Geralt's waiting arms. The witcher laid him down gently on the floor and then removed the iron shackles from his wrists and ankles.
"Is he dead?" asked Evie, her voice barely above a whisper.
Geralt looked up at her. He could see the fear all over her face.
"No, I can hear his heartbeat…but it's not strong." He turned to his friend. "Benny, we're definitely going to need you."
The mage knelt down next to Claude. He mumbled a spell to himself and both of his hands suddenly glowed with a purple light. He then placed his hands about an inch from Claude's head. After a moment, he began moving his hands over other areas of the archeologist's body.
"He's alive but just barely," Benny said as he continued the examination. "I don't sense any major injuries, per se, but he's clearly dehydrated and malnourished. There's no telling when he was last given food or water. More concerning is that his body also seems to be flush with infection. Who knows how long it's been attacking his brain and other organs."
"Can you save him?" asked Evie.
"I…I don't know," he replied, looking up at her.
"Well, do what you can," said Geralt, standing up. "I'm gonna check the halls. Make sure we don't have any surprises."
Geralt shut the cell-door behind him, withdrew his steel sword, and then began silently moving through the dungeons. He listened closely and could just pick up the sound of men shouting somewhere way above him in the palace. It sounded as if the situation was frantic up above, but, luckily, no one was fleeing down into the dungeons just yet. Five minutes later, when the witcher returned to the cell and opened the door, he saw Evie and Benny both kneeling next to Claude. Evie had her head bowed down, and it was clear she was crying again. As Geralt sheathed his sword, Benny got to his feet and walked over to where the witcher was standing.
Geralt looked at Benny, and the mage just shook his head.
"He's too far gone for my magic to bring him back. If we were near a Place of Power, then I could tap into it and maybe heal him enough to, at least, bring him back to consciousness. But I don't sense any additional power down here, and I doubt he'll last another half day even if we could carry him out of here."
Geralt looked over Benny's head at Evie. He cursed to himself. She was already beating herself up over the deaths of Roche's men, and now this. He stared at his crying wife for several moments longer and then nodded his head. As he looked back down at Benny, he reached up and grabbed his wolf-head medallion.
"What about this?" he asked in a whisper, looking the mage in the eye. "Could you tap into my medallion's magic and save him?"
Benny paused for a second before answering. Then, he nodded.
"Yeah, theoretically. But, Geralt…afterward, it'd be inert. Nothing but an ordinary piece of jewelry. Are you sure?" asked the sorcerer in a whisper of his own.
The witcher nodded. "But let's keep it to ourselves. In her emotional state right now, it wouldn't surprise me if she wanted to fight me on it."
"Got it."
Geralt looked at his wife again and then quickly removed his medallion. He handed it to Benny, who palmed it.
"Evie," said Benny, turning around. "I'm going to need you to come over here by Geralt. I'm going to try one more spell, but it's very powerful, and I don't want you near me when I do it, okay?"
She looked over at the two of them and nodded her head. As she was walking towards Geralt, Benny moved back to Claude's side. He knelt down, and Geralt saw him place the medallion on the floor between his knees so that it couldn't be seen by Evie. He looked over at Geralt again, as if asking for a final confirmation. Upon seeing Geralt give a nod, he turned back to Claude and began speaking a long and intricate spell.
Evie's eyes went wide as she saw the light around Benny's hands grow much brighter than they had before. She could feel the air in the dungeon cell change, and the hair on her arms and neck started to stand on end. She immediately looked up at Geralt. He looked down at her and nodded.
"It's the Power. He's harnessing a lot."
She shivered uncontrollably. It felt as if a thousand, ice spiders were crawling across her skin. She stared in fascination as she watched Benny lower his hands toward Claude's body. As the mage kept chanting the spell, Claude's entire body began to glow. This continued for several minutes, and with each passing second, Evie felt more and more uncomfortable. She sensed a great pressure on her body, as if an invisible force was pressing in on all sides, and she started to feel pain in her abdomen. Suddenly, just when she didn't think she could take any more of it, the glowing light blinked out and Benny collapsed, falling forward across Claude's chest.
"Benny!" she yelled.
She and Geralt rushed forward, and he grabbed Benny and turned him over so that he could lie supine.
Evie sat on the floor. "Geralt, rest his head in my lap."
The witcher did as he was asked, and she looked down at her friend. A slow trickle of blood was running from both of his nostrils. She reached down to stroke his cheek and was shocked by how cold he was. She looked up at Geralt, fear in her eyes.
"Geralt, he's freezing! What do we do?"
"Baby, I…I don't know," he said, shaking his head. He then reached up and felt the mage's neck. "Damn it, he's got no pulse."
"Geralt," she cried, tears coming to her eyes anew. "He can't die, too!"
Suddenly, the witcher had the craziest idea.
"Get up!" he yelled to Evie. "Get away from him!"
He grabbed Benny and pulled him away from Claude. He then reached down and grabbed the front of his vest. He pulled the two sides apart, the vest's buttons flying through the air. He then did the same to Benny's shirt. Evie was now standing, looking down at her husband and her friend – the mage's chest completely exposed.
"What are you doing?" she asked frantically.
Geralt instantly thought back to the new witcher Sign that he'd been working on since last fall. The new Sign with which he'd surprised Eskel. He'd never actually used it in a real fight because that was not the time for experiments, but now…
"I have no idea," he answered back. "Just stay away. Whatever you do, don't touch him."
He knelt next to Benny and rested his palm against his chest. He maneuvered his fingers into a special configuration, and with all the will-power that he possessed, he thought of lightning.
Immediately, he felt a charge at the end of his hand. Pain shot up his arm at the same time that Benny's body spasmed on the floor.
"Son of a bitch!" the witcher growled, shaking his hand back and forth and then flexing it several times.
He looked down and saw a blackened palm-print on Benny's chest over his heart. He quickly reached up and checked his pulse. Still nothing.
He put his hand back over Benny's heart again and looked at his wife. He gave her a nervous smile.
"Maybe not so much intensity on this one."
He cast the Sign and sent another bolt of lightning – this one not near as powerful or painful - into Benny's heart. The mage's body jerked again. The witcher then reached up again to check for a heartbeat. He kept his fingers on Benny's neck for five, ten, then fifteen seconds.
"Well?" she asked.
The witcher looked up at his wife and then slowly smiled. He let out a half-laugh, half-exhalation.
"It worked. I don't know how, but it worked."
Evie immediately knelt down next to Geralt and hugged him as she cried tears of relief. She then turned to Benny and put her right hand on his chest, which was now slowly rising and falling. As she watched her friend breathe, she grasped Geralt's hand with her left and squeezed hard.
"Evangeline?" came a hoarse voice. "Is that you?"
Evie immediately jerked her head towards Claude, whose eyes were now open and focused on his ex-wife. She couldn't help herself. Overwhelmed by it all, she started crying again.
"Excellent," said Geralt. "You're awake."
Claude raised himself up and rested on an elbow. He looked at the bare-chested, unconscious man lying next to him. He looked at his crying ex-wife. And then he looked at the frightening, white-haired man who was clearly a witcher.
"Yeah," he answered. "I'm awake. Very confused…but awake. Who are you?"
"Geralt of Rivia, and we need to know everything you know about the Sword of Destruction."
"The Sword of Destruction?" He looked at Evie and then back at the witcher. "You've gotta be kidding."
"Do I look like I ever kid?" growled the witcher.
Claude looked at the twin swords on his back, the armor spotted with blood, the incredibly scarred face, and the fierce, cat-like eyes boring into his own.
"No…no, you don't."