That night I returned to the hospital to sleep. As I was settling in, the doctor stopped in and checked my condition, confirming I was in good enough health to travel once again. After he had left, I shut off the lights and went to bed. Instead of sleeping, I pondered the events of the day. Though I disagreed with Lydon of the Council on most of the issues he raised, he did have one point - the rising danger of the Mutans must be dealt with before the Mujadeen. And I was also in no mood to return to Ewark, even if my future depended on it. It wasn't fair that I had had to suffer through so much only to put my life on the line once again. But even those thoughts were nothing compared to the jealousy I felt. Was is possible that Suvan could fall in love with that pig-headed Vinc?
My tumultuous thoughts eventually gave away to an uneasy sleep.
I awoke. My eyes were greeted by darkness, but I found that I could not move. Before I could shout, somebody held down my arms while someone else affixed a gag to my mouth. I tried to struggle, using my legs to kick away the blanket, but it was too late since I was being held down by many hands. I could do nothing to stop them.
My body was then physically dragged out of the hospital. In the dimness of the moonlight sky, I could see that there were four of them, dressed in dark-colored robes that hid their faces from view. I was thrown face down into a waiting cart. The cart was then pulled and pushed along by hand for some distance before I was forcibly removed. There was a small house here, its windows dark and lifeless. One of my abductors knocked at the door which was hurriedly opened. I was brought inside where it was dark, and forced to sit on a chair where I was quickly tied down. Only then was my gag removed.
“Who are you?” I spat out.
“Just one moment,” a disembodied voice answered. There was a snap and an overhead electrical light turned on.
I blinked several times. It took me a moment to recognize Lydon. Behind him stood four more men. They were all dressed in black robes that reminded me of the man who had followed me into the city. I asked impatiently, "Why have you brought me here? Wherever this is."
He smiled benignly. “I will do whatever it takes to stop that fool plan of Ibam's.”
“But surely they will go on without me?” I countered. “What do I know that is so important to them?”
“You don't know Ibam like I do. He will spend much time fruitlessly searching for you, thinking that you don’t want to live up to your part of the bargain. And that will give time for my friend here to return to Ewark before you.”
The man standing closest to Lydon stepped forward. He threw back his hood to reveal himself.
To my surprise it was Hussen, the very man who had betrayed Tai to the Mujadeen. “What is he doing here?” was all that I could say.
Hussen laughed triumphantly. “You see, Mikel, it was a trick all along. The sub-Vizier decided to let you be rescued by that fool brewer Kalam. We knew about him all along. We then let you come here, providing me with the exact whereabouts of this Rebel city. It was I who stopped that desert patrol from killing you. It was I that saved you from that Mutan arrow. And it was you that led me here to luckily fall in with Lydon and his men. Once I told him that the sub-Vizier will be willing to make a treaty, he was most interested in what I had to say. Rasid will be pleased when I return to Ewark and tell him the good news. The rebellion will finally be broken and the Warlord will be sure to award me.”
I looked at Lydon to see how he reacted to this information. He merely nodded as if he already knew all of this. I said, “Lydon, this truce with the Mujadeen, do you really think Hussen here will help you on that account?”
He replied with a laugh. “I have been given certain guarantees. No harm will come to the people here, provided we give ourselves up to them. It's a better solution than the endless war we've been waging these countless years. There will finally be peace and we can instead concentrate on the Mutan threat.”
“It will be better,” Hussen agreed with a half-hidden sneer.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I would not trust Hussen. I would not trust Rasid. They do not care for anyone but themselves.”
Lydon merely said, “The agreement has already been made. You cannot talk me out of it.”
Hussen said, “Now I must be going. I'm sure you'll have a pleasant time here as a guest. It's too bad that we'll never meet again.” He then shook hands with Lydon and then left through the front door.
I slowly shook my head. I said, “By letting him go, you've just doomed everyone here. The Mujadeen will come and enslave everyone.”
“Maybe,” Lydon replied. “But afterward I will be made ruler of this town. There will be no more Council or Ibam telling me what to do.” His eyes shone with an unnatural light that I found discomforting. This man lusted for power, not the safety of the Rebels.
Any further ranting on his part was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Lydon froze, his face frozen with shock. He drew the sword at his side. The other three did the same.
“Open up!” someone shouted from outside. I recognized the voice - it was Vinc. With a sudden crack, the door burst open. In rushed Vinc and several of his men. My captors dropped their weapons, not wanting to fight the best troops in town.
“Did you see a man leave?” I asked hopefully.
“I saw no one leave,” Vinc replied with a shake of his head. “We have only just gotten here ourselves. Suvan went to check on you and found that you were missing. Lydon here was an obvious kidnapper, so after visiting his house and finding it empty, we came here to the home of his brother.”
“Please don't hurt me,” Lydon pleaded, his once strong voice reduced to a fear-soaked tremor.
“That's up to the Council to decide,” Vinc replied without pity.