"I could tell you people of the vast numbers of deaths this man is responsible for, but I fear you would be unable to fathom it. I can tell you that I simply cannot allow this man to be responsible for tens of thousands more deaths."

Jagang smiled at the children then and gestured with both hands, urging them to come to him. The children, a dozen or so, from six or seven to maybe twelve, clung to their parents. Jagang's gaze rose to those parents as he again motioned the children to come to him. The parents understood and reluctantly urged their children to do as the emperor bid of them.

The clump of innocence haltingly approached Jagang's outstretched arms and wide grin. He embraced them woodenly as they shuffled in close around him. He tousled the blond hair of a boy, and then the straight sandy hair of a girl. Several of the younger ones peered pleadingly back at parents before cringing at Jagang's meaty hand on their backs, his jovial pat on their cheek.

Silent terror hung thick in the air.

It was as frightening a sight as Zedd had ever witnessed.

"Well, now," the smiling emperor said, "let me get to the reason I have called upon you people."

His powerful arms gathered the children before him. As a Sister blocked a boy wanting to return to his parents, Jagang put his huge hands on a young girl's waist and set her upon his knee. The girl's wide eyes stared up at the smiling face, the bald head, but mostly at the nightmare void of the dream walker's inky eyes.

Jagang looked from the girl back to the parents. "You see, the wizard and sorceress have refused to offer their help. In order to save a great many lives, I must have their cooperation. They must answer honestly all my questions. They refuse. I'm hoping you good people can convince them to tell us what we need to know in order to save the lives of a great many people, and free a great many more from the oppression of their magic."

Jagang looked toward the row of men standing silently against the opposite wall. With a single tilt of his head, he commanded them forward.

"What are you doing?" a woman asked, even as her husband tried to restrain her. "What do you intend?"

"What I intend," Jagang told the crowd of parents, "is for you good people to convince the wizard and the sorceress to talk. I'm going to put you in a tent alone with them so that you can persuade them to do their duty to mankind-persuade them to cooperate with us."

As the men began seizing the children, they finally burst out in frightened crying. The parents, seeing their red-faced children bawling in terror, cried out themselves and rushed forward to retrieve them. The big men, each holding one or two little arms in a fist, shoved the parents back.

The parents fell to hysterical screaming for the children to be freed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Jagang said over the wails of the children. He tilted his head again and the men started carting the twisting, screaming children out of the tent. The parents were wailing as well, trying to reach in past big filthy arms to touch what was to them most precious in the world.

The parents were bewildered and horrified, fearing to cross a line that would bring wrath down on their children, yet not wanting them to be carted away. Against their urgent pleading, the children were swiftly whisked away.

As the children were taken out, the Sisters immediately blocked the doorway behind them, keeping the parents from following. The tent fell to pandemonium.

With the single word «silence» from Jagang, and his fist on the table, everyone fell silent.

"Now," Jagang said, "these two prisoners are going to be confined to a tent. All of you are going to be in there, alone, with them. There will be no guards, no watchers."

"But what about our children?" a woman in tears begged, caring nothing about Zedd and Adie.

Jagang pulled a squat candle toward him on the table. "This will be the tent with these two, and you good people." He circled a finger around the candle. "All around this tent with you and the criminals, there will be other tents close."

Everyone stared at his ringed finger going round and round the candle.

"Your children will be close by, in these tents." Jagang scooped up a handful of walnuts from the silver bowl. He dribbled some onto the table around the candle and put the rest into his mouth.

The room was silent as they all stared at him, watching him chew the walnuts, afraid to ask a question, afraid to hear what he might say next.

Finally a woman could no longer hold her tongue. "Why will they be there, in those tents?"

Jagang's black eyes took them all in before he spoke, making sure none would miss what he had to tell them.

"Those men who took your children to those tents will be torturing them."

The parents' eyes widened. Blood drained from their faces. One woman fainted. Several others bent to her. Sister Tahirah squatted beside the woman and touched a hand to the woman's forehead. The woman's eyes popped open. The Sister told the women to get her to her feet.

When Jagang was satisfied that he had everyone's attention, he circled a finger around the candle again, over the walnuts around it. "The tents will be close around so you can all clearly hear your children being tortured, to be sure that you understand that they will not be spared the worst those men can do."

The parents stood frozen, staring, seemingly unable to believe the reality of what they were hearing.

"Every few hours, I will come to see if you good people have convinced the wizard and the sorceress to tell us what we need to know. If you have not succeeded, then I will go off to other business and when I have the time.

I will return again to check if these two have decided to talk.

"Just be sure that this wizard and sorceress do not die while you convince them to be reasonable. If they die, then they can't answer our questions. Only when and if they answer questions will the children be released."

Jagang turned his nightmare eyes on Zedd. "My men have a great deal of experience at torturing people. When you hear the screams coming from the tents all around, you will have no doubt as to their skill, or their determination. I think you should know that they can keep their guests alive under torture for days, but they cannot work miracles. People, especially such young, tender souls, cannot survive indefinitely. But, should these children die before you agree to cooperate, there are plenty more families with children who can take their place."

Zedd could not halt the tears that ran down his face to drip off his chin as Sister Tahirah took his arm and pulled him toward the doorway. The crowd of parents fell on him, clawing at his clothes, screaming and crying for him to do as the emperor asked.

Zedd dug in his heels and struggled to a stop before the table.

Desperate hands clutched at his robes. As he looked around at their tear-stained faces, meeting the eyes of each, they fell silent.

"I hope you people can now understand the nature of what it is we are fighting. I am so sorry, but I cannot dull the pain of this darkest hour of your lives. If I were to do as this man wants, countless more children would be subjected to this tyrant's brutality. I know that you will not be able to weigh this against the precious lives of your children, but I must. Pray the good spirits take them quickly, and take them to a place of eternal peace."

Zedd could not say more to them, to their desperate gazes. He turned his watery eyes to Jagang. "This will not work, Jagang. I know you will do it anyway, but it will not work."

Behind the heavy table, Jagang slowly rose. "Children in this land of yours are plentiful. How many are you prepared to sacrifice before you allow mankind to be free? How long are you willing to persist in your stubborn refusal to allow them to have a future free from suffering, want, and your uninspired morals?"