Chapter 26
- You won't do it, Loxley,' the sorcerer hissed, barely containing the fury in his voice, - After all, you're not an idiot, and you know perfectly well where your soul will go in this case. But this time, nobody's gonna get you out of there and bring you back to life. So put the knife down. You're not crazy enough to willingly condemn yourself to eternal torment.
Robin raised his eyebrows.
- What makes you think I'm not crazy? After all the things you've done to my mind, giving me horrible visions, confusing my mind, robbing me of my will, how can you be sure I'm still sane? What if my hand trembled and you and I went to visit Asriel. Can you imagine how happy he'd be?! Don't push your luck. Order your goons to drop their weapons and step back five paces.
- You'll regret it, Locksley,' said the Baron icily.
- Come on!' Robin shouted, making a sudden movement with the knife in his hand.
The sorcerer held out his palm and ordered the soldiers to drop their weapons. They obeyed silently. The swords clattered to the floor. The guards stepped back and stood still, waiting for further instructions.
- Nazir, Jon,' Robin called softly, still staring at the sorcerer, 'Get your swords, free Marion, and get out of here as soon as you can.
- And you? - Little John said excitedly, 'We're not leaving you here, don't even think about it!
- I'm coming with you,' Robin said calmly, and the big man breathed out a sigh of relief.
Nazir, always silent and reserved, nodded briefly. He and John selected the most appropriate swords from the pile of swords on the floor and hurried to free Marion.
The baron's men stepped aside to give them a way. Robin, moving slowly forward, held his knife hand to his chest and kept his eyes on the sorcerer.
Marion was no more than a dozen paces away. Robin could have covered that distance in a few leaps. He couldn't wait to hug Marion, but he felt there was no hurry. The Baron still stood motionless, his gaze fixed on Locksley, and somehow Robin was sure that if he looked away, something irreparable would happen.
Nazir cut the ropes, freed Marion from the gag, and the exhausted girl practically fell into Little John's arms.
- Robin! - she shouted.
That shout made Locksley flinch. His heart quickened. How long had it been since he had heard her gentle voice calling his name! Robin suddenly had an unbearable desire to see her face, to look into her marvellous, most beautiful eyes.
He only lost control for a moment, turning his head slightly to catch Marion's gaze, and it proved to be a fatal mistake.
An unknown force at the same moment grabbed him, lifted him in the air and, like a rag doll, threw him aside, smashing him against the nearest column.
The stunned Sherwood archer collapsed heavily to the stone floor. The knife fell from his hands. The same invisible force picked him up again, and Loxley felt himself suspended in the air a few feet above the floor.
His nose was bleeding, and his eyes were swimming in multicoloured circles. Through the noise in his ears, somewhere very, very far away, he heard Marion's scream of terror again.
-You really are a fool, Locksley,' Robin thought with annoyance, 'You shouldn't have looked away. Salvation was so close.
- You vile scum! - The Baron's voice was like the hiss of an enraged viper.
With great difficulty, Loxley finally saw the figure of the black magician in front of him. The sight of Simon was frightening. His mask of icy indifference, which had once astonished mere mortals, had long since fallen off. The sorcerer's face was contorted in a grimace of fierce hatred, his mouth twisted in a predatory grin, his pale blue eyes almost out of their orbits and blazing with hellfire.
His right hand with its curled fingers was outstretched and pointed towards Robin. Obviously, it was his magic that was causing Loxley to hang helplessly in the air.
- You seem to have forgotten that you're dealing with a powerful sorcerer, you fool,' the Baron said through gritted teeth, - You think you can compete with me? You pathetic wretch. Your insolence will cost you dearly.
With those words, he squeezed his fingers lightly, and Loxley felt as if a giant vise were squeezing his chest. His ribs cracked. He twitched, gulping for air, but the inexorable force continued to grip him like a dry blade of grass caught in a millstone.
- Let him go, you devil! - Little John shouted, raising his sword - I'll not be frightened by the devil's tricks! I'll blow your head off and rip out your rotten heart! You'll never rise again!
A second more and he would have lunged at the sorcerer.
The Baron didn't even look in his direction.
- Kill those three,' the sorcerer said casually to his servants, 'I'm sick of them.
The soldiers were just waiting for this. Picking up their swords from the floor, they rushed to attack the Sherwood brigands. Nazir and John instantly hid Marion behind their backs and took an unequal fight. The numerical advantage was certainly on the side of the sorcerer's servants, but each of the forest brigands was worth ten experienced warriors, the fight did not promise to be easy.
Meanwhile, the warlock continued to torture Loxley with relish. He loosened his grip slightly, allowing Robin to take a breath and come to his senses.
- You have no idea what awaits you in the not too distant future, my rebellious friend,' the sorcerer said with a cold, bloodthirsty smile, - Oh no, I certainly won't kill you, but there will come a time when you yourself will beg for my death. I will listen to you moan under the blows of the lash, how you will howl in pain the moment the red-hot iron touches your flesh. You're going to meet the rack, my boy. You don't have to die to experience the torment of hell. As soon as your old wounds heal - new ones will appear in their place, and it will last forever.
Describing the details of future brutal torture, the Baron even covered his eyes with pleasure. He was hungry for revenge. The wayward Sherwood outlaw has deceived his expectations, and now the Baron will have to find another source of life-giving power, while at the same time penance his blunder to Asriel. He couldn't forgive Robin for that, nor could he break the spell that bound them both. No wounds inflicted by Loxley, except fatal ones, could harm the warlock himself, so he could safely keep Robin in the dungeon and continue to torment him for years.
Simon clenched his fist again, and Loxley wheezed and twitched helplessly in the air again.
Marion saw and heard it all, despite the noise of the battle. Fury instantly boiled in her blood. She looked around for something to throw at the sorcerer. Her gaze fell on an iron helmet that had fallen from the head of one of the soldiers who had fallen in battle with the Sherwood Outlaws. Without a second's hesitation, Marion grabbed it and threw it as hard as she could at the still-frozen warlock. The helmet hit Simon directly in the head. The sudden impact made the black mage lose his balance and almost fall.
The invisible link between him and Loxley, who was hovering in the air, was instantly broken. Robin collapsed to the floor and lay motionless, seemingly unconscious.
The enraged Baron turned towards Marion and her loyal defenders.
- That's it, I've had enough! - he growled angrily, his eyes glaring, - Can't you fools handle a couple of pathetic brigands and one skinny maiden? What the hell are you fools good for?!
These words were addressed to the soldiers, who really couldn't do anything about Robin's mates. Their resistance was too desperate.
With one sharp sweep of his hand, the warlock drew a magical sign in the air. Lightning flashed dazzlingly from the ceiling and thin streams of flame ran across the floor, soon encircling the Sherwood brigands and Marion in a ring of fire. A bright orange whirlwind surged upwards, showering Robin's friends with unbearable heat. Marion, Nazir and John found themselves in the centre of the fire trap and stood with their backs pressed against each other in an attempt to stay as far away as possible from the solid wall of fire that surrounded them on all sides. There was no rescue.
The Baron laughed evilly.
- A handful of ashes! That is all that remains of you now, my valiant forest friends! Pray, for your time is up!
Grinning triumphantly, the sorcerer began to slowly shrink the circle of raging flames around them. The men tried to cover Marion as best they could, though they realised it was useless. A few moments more and the merciless fire would consume them.
- Simon de Bellem! - suddenly there was a harsh shout from behind the sorcerer.
It was Robin's voice. There was something about him that made the sorcerer's heart clench uneasily. A bloodthirsty grin slowly slid off his face. Full of misgivings, he turned around and saw the Sherwood archer. He stood at the stone pillar, staggering and holding his chest with both hands. He was pale as a sheet. When his eyes met the Baron's, Robin smiled and said quietly but distinctly:
- Prepare to meet Azriel, sire...