Chapter 2

The Dark Tower

James led David down a dozen dimly lit corridors and stairways until they came to a small dark room with no windows and two doorways.

"Remove your clothes.", the butler droned.

David stared at him and then went ahead and did it. He knew that it was pointless to argue with the zombie, not to mention how stupid he would feel if he tried. James took David's clothes and left the room, closing the door behind him. David stood in darkness, shivering just a little from the cold, and feeling as helpless as he had in years.

The other door opened. On the other side there was a large circular room, dimly lit by a glowing red chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling. Below the chandelier there were two tables with shackles upon them, empty of any occupants. David saw some gruesome looking stains on the tables, and he couldn't fight off the feeling of impending doom.

The only other occupant in the room was another zombie standing like a statue beside the door. The zombie pointed to one of the tables and stared lifelessly into David's eyes. Again, David wanted to protest, but he stopped himself.

"Her castle. Her rules.", David muttered as he walked over to one of the tables and laid down on top of it.

As the zombie closed and locked all the shackles David wondered if this would be his final resting place. He wondered if he'd been betrayed by someone, one of his men maybe, and why. He wondered if the next voice he heard would be Drakov's. He'd had nightmares about being captured and tortured, and most of those nightmares looked a whole lot like this. Then he had another thought, maybe reversing the aging process hurt quite a bit, and maybe he was being restrained for his own protection.

David didn't like that thought either.

"So this is what lies within the dark tower.", David thought to himself.

He was partly right. The dark, windowless tower in Kendra's castle contained exactly the same things: two tables, a red chandelier, and a person long dead. But that was not where he was. The room he was in was buried far below the castle, cut deep into solid stone. This is where Kendra worked. And in connecting rooms, inaccessible to those far above, was where Kendra lived.

Kendra worked with powerful magic, and she made deals with powerful people. In her many centuries she had learned that both were very dangerous, and protecting herself was something that she took very seriously. She had learned her lessons the hard way, trusting her clients, trusting her servants, and trusting her abilities to defend herself. All three had let her down at one time or another. So secret rooms and subterfuge had become her allies. That had been the way of her people ever since they were driven underground.

Rarely did she venture out, allowing her servants and her raven familiar to be her ears and eyes on the surface. Even when she met with her clients she did not do so in person, preferring the safety of using an illusion to talk with them. Those who had treacherous designs were thwarted at their attempts to destroy her, and more often than not they met with a grisly demise. One powerful enemy brought an army against her and laid siege to her castle. He did not succeed. And the wraiths who protected the fearsome and tight mountain passes expanded their numbers greatly with his fallen soldiers. But even if her castle had fallen, Kendra knew that she would be safe far below, and that she would have been able to start over.

Perhaps Kendra was paranoid, but for good reason, and she knew many tricks that others could play to try to get to her. That was why she preferred to meet her guests stripped of all their belongings and locked into a rack. Then she would use her magic to ensure that her guest was perfectly harmless, and only then appear before him in the flesh.

Satisfied that her guest could do her no harm, Kendra emerged from the darkness and walked towards David. Her clothes were elegant and regal, like those David had seen her wearing in her portraits, and the jewels wrapped around her body shone dimly in the low light like the stars in the night sky. David also noticed that Kendra appeared smaller and more delicate that she did when he had seen her in the dining hall. That was another of her tricks, to make others more afraid of her. But the fire in her eyes and the look of calm confidence on her face were enough to make any mortal man think twice about betraying her.

David felt cold, alone, and afraid. Kendra's voice broke the silence, its tone doing little to make him feel comfortable.

"You will be young once more and you have your friend to thank for that.", the dark woman's voice echoed through the chamber.

That made David realize that he was fortunate to be where he was, a thought that had completely escaped him.

"I'm glad that she did.", David replied. "I guess that she felt indebted to me, for helping her rescue her father."

David winced a little and regretted admitting so much. Here he was giving up information and he wasn't even being tortured. Then he relaxed, realizing that it probably didn't matter at all.

Kendra nodded towards the zombie who turned and walked into the shadows. She walked up next to David, close enough to touch him if she wanted. He looked up into her dark face, silhouetted against the chandelier, and saw only her glowing red irises. It was a vision he knew would return to him in his nightmares.

"You are satisfied with Lynn?", Kendra asked, sounding as if she already knew the answer.

David nodded. He had wanted more. But he also knew that what he wanted was something that he could no longer have. Kendra had given him all that he had asked for, and he was grateful for that.

David heard the clanking of chains drawing closer. He turned to look and saw the zombie leading a nude Drow male towards the other table. The Drow was bound by a set of chains which the zombie did not bother to remove as he locked him into the other table. David looked closely at him, noticing his gaunt physique and distant stare. The man looked as if he no longer had any will to live.

"Your years will go into him.", Kendra explained. Then she noticed the sympathetic look that David was giving the other man.

"Do not pity that one.", Kendra said sternly. "He is a disgrace to his people and himself."

David was wondered if he should ask what the man did when Kendra seemed to read his mind.

"For his betrayal he deserves far worse.", Kendra explained. "But he is working off his debt by giving me what he has left."

The Drow male stared silently at the darkness above. David looked at him a little longer and then put him out of his mind. That was something that he did quite easily. He'd become desensitized to the plights of those unlucky enough to bear Drakov's punishments. But even then, the feeling that he was directly benefiting from the suffering of another didn't make him feel all that good.

David watched as Kendra produced the Hands of Balican. She took one in each hand and placed them on the two restrained men. The right hand she placed on David, the left on the Drow. Slowly she began to chant in an ancient tongue. The consonants clashed and the vowels sounded foreign and evil. The dark woman closed her eyes and David felt magical energy flowing into him from the hand. David saw a blue glow forming around the hand that was touching him which slowly spread over his body. A red glow wrapped around the body of the Drow beside him who remained passive and distant.

The dark woman's chanting grew louder and more urgent. David felt the magic starting to work within him. His entire body began to tingle and his hairs stood on end. The feeling grew more intense and his body began to feel as if it were on fire. He couldn't help but struggle against his bonds and he heard a low moaning sound coming from the man on the other table. Kendra's started shouting the final words of the incantation, channeling great power between the two men. The pain in David's body grew and he fought the urge to cry out. Amidst the pain and the shouting, David wondered if Kendra was reversing the spell and aging him further. That was what it felt like. So he hoped, desperately, that he was wrong.

Kendra shouted the final magic word. It echoed through the chamber, seeming to quench all the magical energy in the room. The glow around each body faded away and the two men gasped in relief as the pain subsided. As soon as he could David lifted his head and looked at his body. A slight smile crossed his face as he saw that he looked like himself again. He was young once more.

"Thank you.", David said. Whether he meant it to Kendra, or the gods, it didn't seem to matter. Kendra did not reply. To her it was only business.

Drained, but making a conscious effort not to show it, the dark woman put away the hands and took a step away from the tables, stopping when she heard the other Drow pleading.

"Please, your grace.", the Drow moaned weakly. "Set me free. Haven't I suffered enough? Isn't my debt repaid?"

"Be silent.", Kendra said calmly. "Soon, perhaps. You have done a great deed. But it is too soon to know how great."

"I…have?", the weary Drow replied, confused.

"Look at the man beside you.", Kendra said, turning to leave. "He may one day be the ruler of Falkovnia."

The lifeless stare returned to the male Drow's eyes. Now it was David's turn to be confused. A million questions entered his mind and he didn't know which one to ask. A moment later it was too late. Kendra had disappeared into the darkness, her words echoing though the chamber and through David's mind.