Her questions drew nothing but mocking laughter. ‘The lich and I are one now. We share common goals and desires that can only be realised by staying together.’

‘Kelewulf, listen to me. Concentrate on my voice, and not the one inside your head. You can break this covenant. You can free yourself of the creature that occupies you. You can—’

‘Silence!’

The boy threw an arm out, and the remaining words were shut off as Fleya felt an invisible hand squeezing her throat. She couldn’t breathe, the pressure was too much, and as she gasped for air a wicked smile spread across Kelewulf’s face. He was enjoying watching her eyes bulge in a face that was rapidly turning from red to purple. A black curtain began to obscure Fleya’s vision and she was about to pass out again when she witnessed the smile falter. In its place was an odd expression: one of confusion and doubt.

‘Enough. Please. Do not kill her.’ The pressure released, and Fleya guessed that the boy had wrestled control back from the lich, even if only momentarily. She greedily sucked air into her lungs, warily watching the young man.

That there was a conflict going on inside him was clear. His face twisted into a terrible grimace one moment, an angry mask the next. Not only did his face contort, his whole body jerked and writhed as if he were struggling to control it.

‘She is dangerous to us. I should end her now.’

‘She is more useful to us alive. The boy is coming. And he brings with him the Dreadblade. He cares about the witch. We can bargain with her life.’

‘You meddle too much, lich. Remember who is the master and who is the servant here.’

A small gasp escaped Fleya. Her situation was even more perilous than she’d imagined. It was the boy, not the lich, who had the upper hand! The realisation made her skin crawl. How could she have misjudged the boy’s power so badly?

As if sensing this, the young man looked down at her with a sneer.

‘Do you still think I am its puppet, witch? Hmm? You’re right about one thing: the lich did indeed try to take over. It went against the agreement we made when I first summoned it. But I was prepared. I did not enter into the covenant lightly. I had planned for Yirgan’s betrayal. Because I knew it would eventually come. I’d equipped myself with spells and protective wards, all kept hidden from the lich, of course, to ensure that such a thing could not happen. And now the lich’s powers are mine, and it is little more than my slave. I will dispense with it soon. Its usefulness is wearing thin. But who knows? There might be a thing or two it could still teach me, I suppose.’

‘You’re a monster,’ Fleya croaked.