The Wizard's Apprentice (The Apprentice) by Janice Ayre Page B

trouble, they sat at the table to eat, drink and play cards. They did not offer Brock any food, nor could he have eaten anything had it be given to him. He was in pain from the beating the three had given him, but the greater pain was the betrayal and the knowledge of his own stupidity.
    Brock did not give up plans to look for a means to escape. All through the night, he woke from fitful sleep to see if the others were sleeping, but they always had someone sitting guard. In the morning they threw a bowl of some horrid food matter before him. It reminded Brock of the slops he used to feed the pigs on the farm. He was not going to have any, but he had not eaten since the previous morning, so he decided it would be better for him to keep his strength up. His greatest hope was that Zebulon would arrive and defeat his abductors.
    Orville had been the last one to sit guard during the night so he came out from one of the inner rooms later in the morning ya w ning and stretching. “I hope Mustafa gets here soon. I want to get away from here. So elf, do you think your wizard will find you today? It ’ s going to be a thrill to see what Mustafa does to the wizard. Zebulon won't be in any state to rescue you then.” He turned to the other two. “Wonder what Mustafa will do with the elf ? Hope he doesn't just snuff out his life. What fun would that b e... ”
    The discussion of how terrible the punishment would be for Zebulon and Brock continued throughout the day at intervals when the three men were not sleeping, eating or drinking. The injuries Brock had sustained, the threats they continued to frighten him with, were not as terrible as the feeling Brock had that Zebulon had abandoned him. He believed that if he was going to rescue him he would have come by now. If Mustafa was truly stronger than Zebulon then maybe he preferred to sacrifice Brock to save himself. As the hours dragged on Brock became more convinced this was the reason Zebulon would not come.
     
    ***
     
    The day following Brock's disappearance Zebulon scoured the surrounding country with the help of Uri and other men from the village. Uri had closed his inn and gone searching while Elvira and Minerva went around the village asking everyone if they had seen anything that might help. It wasn't until the following day that Brock's horse was discovered wandering around near the river beds that divided Kotonia from the mine. Although it was a lead, it was not an encouraging one and there were some that began to believe that Brock was beyond their reach.
    Zebulon would not give up. Uri voiced their shared suspicion and fear when after another fruitless day of search had ended he said. “Do you think Mustafa has him?”
    “I think it highly likely. But one thing, though he may have driven the most vile fears into the poor lad ’ s head, he will keep him alive because he wants to bargain with me.”
    “You will need to take great care,” was all that Uri said.

Chapter Twelve
Rescue
    It was now the fourth day since Brock's disappearance. Zebulon felt there had to be someone who had seen something on the day Brock left. Kotonia was not like the other mining village where there was continual activity . These villagers mostly believed in returning  to their homes at a reasonable hour. There were a few places such as the small inn on the outskirts of the village where some of the rougher inhabitants and strangers would meet. After Zebulon familiarised himself more with the town, he made his focus of enquiries at this particular inn, even though Uri was quite sure that Brock would not have ventured over that part of town.
    “He may do so if he was enticed. Something had unsettled him after his last trip to Kotonia. I should have been more sensitive to his troubles and got him to confide his concerns,” said Zebulon.
    “Don't do anything without me,” said the faithful Uri. He could see his friend was getting weary and could make a mistake, something he couldn't afford