He must not let his resolve break now. He would find a way to acquire the heart, and through it he would return Lorgukk to this realm. Then the world would quiver, hailing him, Kelewulf, for his might and power. He wouldn’t need a crown or a throne. And he wouldn’t need the lich. Kelewulf could command his own army of hellish creatures and strike horror into the hearts of those who had sneered at his frailties. Those who had, like his father, mocked his inability to wield a sword or a shield would bow down on the ground at his feet and beg for mercy.

With this thought in his head, he turned from the window and crossed the room to the straw pallet set up in the corner. Lowering himself down on to it, his head had no sooner hit the pillow than he was fast asleep.

*    *    *

The lich was pleased. Once again, the boy thought himself alone, when all along he was there, just hidden. The lich would need to be careful, however. Subtlety and cunning were needed. Now was the crucial time if he was going to wrest control of this physical shell for himself, and he couldn’t rush this; the boy needed to think himself in charge, until it was too late. No, little by little, the lich would erode the boy’s mind from within until there was nothing left. Then, and only then, would Yirgan, the last great mage, truly show the world what he was capable of.

Stromgard

22

‘Would killing him give you a feeling of retribution? Would you feel justice has been done?’ Astrid asked her brother, her eyes unblinking and fixed on his.

It was a slanting, quizzical look that reminded him of their father.

‘Yes, I think it would,’ Erik said, from atop the throne that had almost been denied him. ‘He’s a traitor.’

His sister nodded thoughtfully, her expression unreadable. The only other person in the great hall, aside from the guards, was the witch, and such was her beauty that Erik found it hard to look at her without the colour rising to his face.

It was Fleya who spoke next.

‘Granted, his methods were underhand and deceitful. I myself hold little regard for the man, but I believe Jarl Glaeverssun, at least in his mind, was acting in a way he thought would benefit the kingdom.’

‘By wresting power away for his own benefit? By trying to have me killed?’

‘That sentence was decided by the court.’

‘A court he set up.’

‘King Erik,’ Fleya continued, her voice calm and equable. ‘In his place, with the same evidence, you would almost certainly have come to the same judgement. I understand that you seek vengeance, but it is time to think like a king. It is time to think like your father.’

‘I shared a cell with a rat.’

‘The same cell the jarl now resides in,’ Astrid pointed out.

Her brother hesitated.