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If I thought I would pull it off, I would throw them both against the wall, hard enough to snap them. In spite of myself, I wanted to know more about this Comus and his apparent imprisonment. It sounded like a kid's story to me, but Helene seemed to believe it.
Helene's eyes narrowed, but she nodded, clearly satisfied I would behave. At least for now.
"Come along then, time is short."
We continued on down a tunnel, and stepped out into another chamber, this one circular and with a domed ceiling. At least, it must have looked that way once. Like everywhere else here, gaps showed through the roof. Muted sunlight slanted down to hit the approximate centre of the chamber, illuminating a puddle of old, green water. It was probably full of mosquito larvae. Just the thought made me want to scratch.
"I think you need better servants here," I remarked.
Luther chuckled. "That's what I keep saying."
"When the Great One is free, there will be no need," Helene said. "It's unlikely the citadel will remain standing."
"Perhaps we should leave now." I eyed the ceiling uneasily. "I'd hate to come this far and die when that collapses on us."
"We are safe enough," Helene said.
If that was supposed to reassure me, it failed.
"So you say," I said under my breath. I waited for Helene to gag me again, but she didn't. Luther didn't put the blindfold back on me either, thank Hades. Evidently, wherever they were taking me, I was allowed to see it.
At the end of the tunnel, we started up a series of stairs. Like everywhere else I had seen so far, they were worn, but these had been cared for. I expected the treads to be slick with moss or moisture, but they were firm and dry, if short and narrow. Whoever built them must have been shorter and with smaller feet.
Beside me, Luther seemed to have even greater difficulty. He slowed and took each stair with deliberate care.
"According to a book I read once, people are taller now than they were a few hundred years ago," I remarked.
"That, or these were built by children," Luther grumbled. His smile was forced.
"Possibly," I agreed. "They kept children as slaves back then too."
Luther's brow twitched, but he didn't reply apart from a slight grunt.
"There will be no slaves when the Great One is released," Helene declared. "Everyone in the Vault will be free."
Luther nodded, but his expression changed from pleasant to ardent. "And those outside the Vault."
I pursed my lips. Whoever or whatever this Comus was, it sounded like he might make trouble for the Witch's Council. On one hand, I couldn't give them too much sympathy. On the other, they weren't all bad.
"I see you don't believe us," Helene said, "but you will come to."
"Really? When?" I asked dryly.
Helene sniffed. "Luther did not believe, at first."
I blinked at him. "Did you have to be convinced the same way I'm being made to?" I asked.
"I needed less persuasion to come here," he replied. "The moment I knew Helene was Hemathea, I was bound to the cause, by my own choice."
"At least you were given one," I remarked. "Not kidnapped, or handed over by someone you thought you could trust." If I ever saw Bain again…
"The subterfuge was necessary," Helene said. "The Keeper needed to see a display of our power. He would not have believed it otherwise."
I had to concede that point. Dex was not the sort of man to take words at face value. He would have wanted a full explanation of Helene's interest in me. Did Bain have one? I might never know the full extent of his involvement. I certainly wouldn't ask Helene. The woman would only tell me whatever she wanted me to hear, and no more. Luther too.
"Dex said I was free to go wherever I pleased, and do whatever I wanted," I said finally.
Helene stopped at the top of the stairs to regard me through heavy lidded eyes. She looked tired, as though the last few weeks had taken their toll on her. I couldn't bring myself to sympathise with her either.
