Molos Gomm was quiet the rest of the day and Tak was able to have an early night, but he was woken in the middle of the night by Trobo's soft voice calling his name. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes wearily, and was surprised to see the houseman standing beside him, dressed in his proper uniform as if it were the middle of the day. Doesn't he ever sleep? wondered the young wizard.

     It occurred to him once again that he'd never seen the houseman out of his workclothes, that he'd never had to get him out of bed. He was always available at any time of the day or night, always fresh and alert as if newly risen. Always inscrutable and imperturbable as if in possession of secret knowledge. He'd never had a day off, for the love of the Gods! He didn't seem to have any life except that of serving the master of Castle Nagra! What kind of man was he? Was he, in fact, a man at all?

     He put these thoughts aside for the moment, though. Trobo knew how important a good night's sleep was to a wizard. He wouldn't have woken him unless it was something important. He groaned under his breath. What had old Gomm done now?

     "What is it, Trobo?" he asked blearily, lighting a candle with a snap of his fingers.

     "Forgive me for disturbing your sleep, sir," the houseman said in his matter of fact voice, "but we have visitors."

     "Visitors?" It took a moment for the words to register on Tak's still half asleep mind, but then he snapped fully awake with alarm and leapt out of bed, reaching for his clothes. "Jack Nowl! He's brought the townspeople to burn us out!"

     "It would appear so, Sir," replied Trobo emotionlessly, as if he couldn't care less. "They came most of the way on horseback, but left their mounts a mile or so back and are coming the rest of the way on foot. They appear to be moving with some stealth."

     "They wanted to catch us asleep in our beds," said Tak as he struggled into his clothes. "If you hadn't spotted them..." He froze in confusion. "Hey, wait a minute, how did you spot them? Why weren't you in bed as well?"

     "I was taking the night air on the battlements," replied the houseman. Tak didn't realise until later that he'd evaded the question. Tak had too much on his mind to pursue it at the time, and as soon as he was dressed he ran from the room, patting his pockets as he went to make sure he had all his spell components with him. "Take Molos Gomm to the dungeons and lock the doors behind you," he called back. "They won't be able to get you down there."

     He didn't wait for a reply but ran for the courtyard, knowing that his only chance was to get there before the mob. Once they started burning, there was no way he'd be able to stop them.

     Arriving at the inner bailey, he slowed to a dignified walk, to give the impression of confidence and power and quietly cast a Shield spell about himself. At his present level of power it would only last for a few minutes, but he didn't doubt that the issue would be decided, one way or the other, well before it expired. He had a few offensive spells he could cast at them, but he was mainly going to have to bluff his way through this. He was hoping that the sight of crossbow bolts bouncing off the magical barrier would convince them that he was an opponent they didn't want to mess with.

     The darkness hid him, but as soon as the townspeople appeared, climbing carefully through the rubble strewn gaps in the curtain wall he cast a light spell on the air above him, lighting the rough, grassy courtyard as brightly as day and giving the impression that he was appearing out of thin air. The townspeople gasped in fear and fell back, and if Jack Nowl hadn't been there to hold them together they might have turned and fled there and then.

     "Stand firm!" he cried however, recognising the figure standing before him. "It's not the wizard, just his apprentice. He can't hurt you." He was carrying a loaded crossbow and he raised it to point at the wizard's chest.

     "I am the wizard now," said Tak, however, in his best firm voice, fixing the man with his piercing blue eyes, "and I assure you I am quite capable of defending my home. I know why you're here. You've learned that Molos Gomm is dying and you've come to kill him. I will not let you do that. He'll be dead soon enough. Go home and let him die in peace."

     "We've come to bring justice to the workers of evil!" cried Jack Nowl, however, shouting it at the top of his voice and striding forward. "Both the wizards of Castle Nagra shall share the same bonfire."

     Tak saw that his men were within a hair of losing their nerve and running away, though. If Jack Nowl let that happen he'd probably never manage to get them fired up again. All Tak had to do, he hoped, was stand firm for a few minutes and the threat posed by the villagers would be ended for ever. It would all come down to which of them won the battle for the villagers' morale.

     Jack Nowl ran forward to knock Tak down. Tak knew that the shield spell wouldn't stop him. It was designed to stop small flying projectiles, not people, so he raised his hands and chanted the words of another spell. A moment later his hands began to glow with a cold blue fire, and when Jack Nowl reached out for him, he cried out in pain as the wizard's hands touched his body, burning like hot iron. He leapt back in agony, his clothes smouldering, his flesh red and blistering, and Tak cursed under his breath knowing he'd only made him angrier.

     "Stand back!" he warned, raising his glowing hands threateningly. "The next man to approach me dies!" He hated saying such a thing, and not only because he wasn't sure whether he could really bring himself to kill someone. Such words only confirmed their opinion of him as monstrous and evil. Their enemy. Jack had left him no choice, though.

     He lowered his hands as Jack staggered back to rejoin the others, grabbing back the crossbow, aiming and pulling the trigger with a scream of hatred. Tak winced as the bolt flew towards him, straight and true, but he forced himself to stand firm and not flinch. He had to give the impression of confidence and invulnerability. The slightest sign of fear and they'd charge en masse and tear him to pieces.

     He relaxed when the shield spell sent the bolt spinning off to the side, bringing gasps of fear from the crowd. "Return to your homes," he said in a gentler voice. "There'll be no killing here today. Jack, I have potions of healing inside. I'll have my man fetch one for you as a gesture of goodwill. There's no need for animosity between us. I am not your enemy."

     "Liar!" the merchant replied. "You and your kind are the enemies of all decent, Gods fearing people! You'll burn for what you've done! Get him, men! We can take him if we all rush him at once!"

     He strode back towards the wizard, and some of his followers followed hesitantly, but Tak raised his hands again and they fell back, leaving Jack standing alone. Jack roared with fury and grabbed a pitchfork from the man closest behind him, lowering it like a spear and charging with a screaming battlecry.

     Jack was right. If they'd all attacked at once he wouldn't have stood a chance, but one man against a wizard was no contest. Tak suffered a cut to his arm as he dodged the wickedly sharp tines, but then he caught the shaft and Jack screamed in pain as their hands touched. He let go of the pitchfork and Tak threw it away, needing to keep his hands free.

     The enraged merchant then leapt at him, now using only his fists. Tak suffered several cuts and bruises, but his burning hands were lethal at close quarters and it was now obvious that only serious injury would stop the insanely furious man.

     Wincing at the man's screams, therefore, and appalled by the smell of burning flesh, he nevertheless made himself press his hands against Jack's body until, already injured from their first encounter, the merchant staggered away, cradling his injuries and sobbing in pain and frustration.

     "You'll pay!" he swore, his eyes burning with hatred. "I swear you'll pay for what you did to my daughter!"

     "I rescued your daughter," pointed out the wizard, noting with relief that only a handful of the braver members of the mob were still there. The rest were gone. "It was Philip who poisoned you and abducted her, and he's dead. He's paid for his crimes. I swear to you that nothing like that will happen again so long as I'm master here. You..." He pointed to the remaining townsmen, who jumped back in alarm. "Help him inside. He needs healing before going home or he'll never make it. Come on," he snapped when they hesitated. "No harm will come to you, I promise."

     "No!" cried Jack as they gently lifted him to his feet and carried him in through the door. "It's a trick! Can't you see that? He'll use us all in his experiments! This is all part of his plan!"

     He was too weak to struggle much, though, and Tak directed the townsmen to lay him down in a wooden chair in the guardroom. Then he ran off to fetch a potion of healing.

     Returned to the guardroom, he snapped off the glass ampoule's tip and told the men to hold him steady while he held it to Jack's lips.

     "No! No! You won't poison me!" cried the merchant. Part of him may have recognised the potion for what it was, though, because he put up only a token struggle as Tak poured it down his throat. A moment later he was healed as good as new and Tak stepped warily back as he waited to see how he would react. He had five strong men facing him now, and very little magic left in his body to defend himself with if they turned on him. He had made a big gamble doing what he had. Now it was time to see if it paid off.

     Jack glared at him warily as he tested his newly healed body. "You dare think you can buy me off like this?" he growled. "You think I'll forget my daughter's ordeal that easily?"

     Tak sighed, wondering how many times he'd have to repeat himself. "The man who abused Lyssa is dead," he said, slowly and clearly. "He died horribly, I promise you. I risked a great deal to rescue her and I'm risking a great deal now healing you. I am not your enemy. I know we'll never be friends, but we're not enemies. You have nothing to fear from me, I swear it. I wish nothing but the best for you and your family. Would I have healed you if that weren't the case?"

     "If you wanted to fool us into thinking you weren't so evil," snarled the merchant, glaring at him with as much hatred as ever. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! I know you for what you are, demon! I'm not fooled by your pretty blue eyes!"

     He advanced upon the wizard again, but this time his companions held him back. "No, Jack," one of them said. "Let's go while we can."

     "There's five of us and only one of him!" the merchant protested, however. "I've had dealings with him before. I was able to take him easily. He had no power..."

     "That was years ago," pointed out the wizard, trying to stare him down. "I have grown in power since then, as you just found out. Do you really think that five mere men can stand against a wizard? Perhaps you need another demonstration of my power."

     That was mere bluff. His remaining spells might have been enough to defend himself against Jack alone, but that was all. He was shocked to realise that he was employing the same tactics that Khalkedon used to control his empire. Make them think you're more powerful than you really are. Make them fear you. He had no choice, though. It was make them fear him or die. He glared at them, therefore, trying to radiate confidence and power. Trying to give the impression that he could blast them all to eternity with a snap of his fingers.

     Maybe Jack saw through the bluff. After having overpowered him so easily during Tak's visit to Aldervale it was difficult for him to take him seriously as a power now. His companions were taken in completely, though. "Come on Jack," they repeated, glancing fearfully at the wizard as they took the merchant by the arms and dragged him back out into the courtyard. "Let's get ourselves back home and be grateful for our lives."

     Jack saw that it was over. They wouldn't let him fight Tak any more in case the wizard's wrath fell on them as well. He shrugged them off, though, so he could stand alone as he faced the wizard one last time. "You haven't seen the last of me," he promised. "You'll face justice one day, I swear it!" Then he turned and followed the others back through the hole in the ruined wall, leaving Tak to breathe a heartfelt sigh of relief.

      Trobo was waiting for him when he re-entered the castle. "I trust all went well, sir," he said as Tak collapsed into the chair Jack Nowl had so recently occupied. He was exhausted, and the injury caused by the pitchfork was throbbing painfully. He toyed with the idea of sending the houseman for another potion of healing, but they only had two left and they might need them for an emergency. He decided to let the injury heal naturally.

     "As well as can be expected," he replied. "Damn Philip! What in the names of all the Gods got into him to do something so stupid?"

     Trobo merely looked at him, though, until the wizard wearily picked himself up and staggered back to bed.