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“You should,” Lomar whispered.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“My hand wielded the blade.”
“Not by choice.”
“The laws?—”
“Are mine to make. Mine to break. And in this case, there are extenuating circumstances that warrant further study.” Kormac paused. “Do you still feel the presence within you?”
“Yes and no. I am in control.” Lomar frowned, “But there is something within, struggling to break free.”
“The amulet appears to stop it.”
“What amulet?” Lomar glanced down at his chest and saw the glowing medallion.
Oddly enough, Kormac’s bracers had stopped tingling the moment he slipped the chain over Lomar’s head. “The one I found with the soldier that fought in the watch tower.”
“How is it a piece of jewelry stopped the madness?” Lomar lifted it as if to remove it.
“No.” Kormac slapped his hand. “You can’t take it off. It might be the only thing keeping the evil spirit from using your body.”
“I’ve been cursed. Must have been something in that bloody cave,” Lomar growled.
Kormac could have slapped himself for not seeing the connection. Khaal had been in the cave, as had Ioan and Simon. So had Kormac, but he remained unaffected. Why? He recalled both Lomar and Simon touching the glass—perhaps that was the difference. Or did it have something to do with his bracers? The ancient armor had the same symbols on them as the amulet that had saved Lomar. Perhaps that had protected him even as he didn’t understand how.
“We need to see how many we lost and gather those that survived. I want to leave before dawn.” He wanted away from this cursed place.
“We?” Lomar shook his head. “I can’t be trusted.”
“The medallion?—”
“Could be removed or stop working. If you’re not going to eliminate me, then you need to at least disable me.”
“I am not hurting you.”
“Tie my hands.” Lomar tucked them behind his back.
“That will cause questions.”
“More questions than all the deaths?” Lomar glanced at the body by the fire. “Barron was supposed to get married.”
Despite his heavy heart, Kormac tethered his friend. Lomar was right. He couldn’t be trusted, not while the medallion glowed indicating the evil presence. Was this why the warlords had inherited the bracers? A warning system for an evil they’d locked away. How had his father not informed him? Did he even know?
Questions for later. First, they needed to leave.
The body count proved lower than he feared, Kormac’s emergence having put a stop to it before too many died. Still, they’d lost five. Five men who wouldn’t go home. Five families to mourn. And too many who noticed Lomar riding his horse with his hands tied to the pommel.
The only good news? None of Kormac’s other men appeared infected, or at least none tried to go on a murderous rampage, and his bracers remained dull metal.
They rode hard towards the citadel that very same night. Even harder when a shadow overhead had them glancing up to see the massive shape that soared in the sky, passing over the half-moon. The men huddled in their saddles, fearful since they’d heard of the mighty dragon in the Pass.
But while big and fearsome, it didn’t attack, and there were no further issues with death.
They rode with only short breaks, Kormac in a hurry to reach the citadel. Once there, he had Lomar placed in a cell even as he recalled how Ioan had managed to escape his. In its confines, they tested what happened when the medallion was removed.
Nothing during daylight hours. Lomar had no issues and remained himself.
