Luthra stood alone before the main gate of the Gorgon Mines. Twenty feet of reinforced iron and wood barred his path, with guard towers on either side. A hundred archers lined the walls above, arrows nocked and aimed at him.
He unwrapped the chain from his arm slowly, letting its full length pool on the ground. The black metal hungry as it seemed to drink in the morning light.
"I want to speak to Gorgon Silas!"
A guard captain leaned over the wall. "You're that guy who beat up our men in town! You got a death wish, coming here alone?"
"Tell Silas I'm here to make a deal."
"We don't make deals with dead men!"
The captain raised his hand to signal the archers. A hundred bowstrings drew back.
'Right on schedule.'
He grabbed his chain and spun it once overhead, then whipped it forward. It shot through the air and wrapped around the massive iron bar that locked the gate from the outside. He pulled it taut and focused.
The chain pulsed with darkness.
