Because, even though the odds had turned heavily against him, he was able to strike a bargain. The Matriarch's child daughter Iduna had disappeared into the mind-trap of the Tau. If he could follow, find her, and return with her, he would have his freedom and a chance to locate the lost Earth he sought.
But Dumarest had to outwit her monster playthings, outfight her hideous horrors, and outdream her satanic fantasies . . .
(First published 1979)