‘We aren’t going to kill anybody, Killane,’ I told him firmly. ‘I’m going to give Nerasin some instructions, that’s all.’
‘Surely y’ don’t think he’ll be after followin’ them, do y’?’
‘He’ll follow them, Killane. Believe me, he’ll follow them.’
‘I’ll be absolutely fascinated t’ see how y’ plan t’ manage that, Lady-O.’ He picked up a heavy chair and very slowly twisted it apart, making only a very small amount of noise. When it was all in pieces, he selected one of the legs and swished it through the air a couple of times. ‘Twill do nicely, don’t y’ know,’ he noted, brandishing his makeshift club.
‘What did you do that for?’ I asked him.
‘I’ll be after needin’ something’ t’ put th’ guards t’ sleep.’
‘Why don’t you check with me before you dismantle any more furniture?’ I suggested. ‘The guards won’t be any problem.’
‘I’ll not be after doubtin’ yer unspeakable gifts, Lady-O,’ he said, ‘but I think I’ll be after keepin’ me cudgel here – just in case.’
‘Whatever makes you comfortable, I suppose.’ I listened at the door for a few moments. Silence was settling over the castle. Here and there a door slammed, and the occasional bursts of laughter and rowdy song were quite some distance off. I opened the door slightly and looked at the two bored-looking guards at Nerasin’s door. ‘Sleep,’ I murmured to them under my breath, and a moment or so later they were sprawled, snoring, one on either side of the door. ‘Let’s get on with this, then,’ I said to Killane, and the two of us stepped out into the corridor.
The door was not locked, since it was supposed to be guarded, so Killane and I were inside Nerasin’s apartment in no more than a minute.
I cast my thought about the series of connected rooms and found that nobody was awake, and then my friend and I went on into the bedroom where Nerasin sprawled snoring and only partially undressed across the canopied bed. I noticed that his bare feet were very dirty.
Killane quietly closed the door. ‘Would y’ be after wantin’ me t’ wake him?’ he whispered.
‘Not yet,’ I murmured. ‘I’d better sober him up first. Then he’ll wake up all by himself, I think.’ I rather carefully examined the man who called himself ‘the Duke of Astur’. He was of a medium build, he had a big, bulbous nose and small, deep-set eyes. He had a weak chin and sparse, dark hair. He was none too clean, and his breath was like the odor from a freshly reopened grave.
Leeching the residue of strong drink from a man’s body isn’t particularly difficult, but I wanted something in place within Nerasin’s body before I did that. I probed rather carefully with my thought, located his stomach, and carefully etched away the lining of the stomach wall near its bottom. Then I abraded the stomach wall itself until there was an open sore there. Nerasin’s digestive juices should do the rest. Then, being careful not to move too quickly, I drained away what he’d drunk that evening. When I judged that he was just on the verge of noticing the fire I’d just built in his belly, I relaxed the muscles in his voice-box to the point that he wouldn’t be able to scream – not audibly, at any rate.
The putative Duke of Asturia awoke rather suddenly.
Judging from the slightly disappointed look on his face, soundless screaming isn’t very satisfying. His writhing was inspired, however.
‘Good evening, your Grace,’ I said pleasantly. ‘Isn’t the weather mild for so early in the season?’
Nerasin scrunched himself up into a tight ball, clutching at his stomach and trying with every ounce of his strength to push out at least a small squeak.
‘Is something the matter, dear boy?’ I asked, feigning some slight concern. ‘Something you ate or drank no doubt.’ I laid my hand on his profusely sweating forehead. ‘No,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t seem to be connected to any kind of food. Let me think for a moment.’
I drew a look of studious concentration over my face while my ‘patient’ thrashed about on his bed.
Then I snapped my fingers as if a thought had suddenly come to me. ‘Of course!’ I exclaimed. ‘How did I miss it? It’s so obvious. You’ve been a naughty boy, your Grace. You’ve done something lately that you’re very ashamed of. There’s nothing really wrong with your poor little tummy. You’ve got a guilty conscience, that’s all.’ Then I triggered a fresh flow of digestive juices into his stomach.
This time he was actually able to make a slight squeaking noise – I think he did anyway. I couldn’t be completely sure because he’d rolled off the bed and was crawling around under it. The squeaking might have been the sound of his toe-nails scraping on the floor-boards.
‘Help his Grace back into bed, Killane,’ I suggested to my grinning henchman. ‘I want to see what I can do to ease his suffering.’
Killane reached under the bed, caught Nerasin by one ankle, and dragged him out into the open again. Then he bodily picked up the squirming Asturian and casually dumped him back on the bed.
‘Allow me to introduce myself, your Grace. My name’s Polgara. You may have heard of me.’
He even stopped wiggling. His eyes bulged out. ‘Polgara the Sorceress?’ he whispered, looking slightly terrified.
The physician,’ I corrected. ‘You have a very serious condition, Duke Nerasin, and if you don’t do just exactly what I advise you to do, I can’t hold out much hope for your recovery. First of all, you’re going to send word to the people you have holding Duke Alleran’s son. Tell them to bring the little boy here immediately.’ Then, just to make sure he got my point, I released a fresh flow of gastric juices into his inflamed stomach.
He immediately tied himself into an intricately complex knot and became very cooperative. There was a bell-pull at the head of his bed and he quite nearly tore it from its mounting when he summoned assorted servants. He gave orders in a hoarse whisper and then fell back on his bed, sweating profusely.
There, now,’ I said in a motherly sort of way, ‘see how much better you feel already? I’m very pleased with how well your treatment is progressing. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time. Now then, while we’re waiting for your people to bring little Kathandrion here, we’d probably better go over the things you’re going to have to do to prevent a relapse of this dreadful condition. You really don’t want this to happen again, do you?’