priests. The collar that circled her neck caused her pain only if she tried to touch her Harshini power, and she appeared to have learnt that lesson very quickly. All in all, her incarceration was remarkably comfortable and not at all what Loclon had in mind. If he was going to do something about the bitch, he would have to do it soon.
Conveniently, the Kariens were creatures of habit. Xaphista was a demanding god, and every day at sunset, when the mysterious Dimming began in the Citadel, they would gather in the apartments Lord Terbolt had seconded and pray for at least an hour. For that hour, R’shiel was guarded by only two Defenders and as First Sister, he could order them about with impunity. He sighed contentedly. It was almost sundown. By the time he was dressed Terbolt, Garanus and their companions would be on their knees at their devotions. He knew the folly of killing R’shiel, but for an hour at least, he could take the revenge he felt he so richly deserved.
She was standing by the window when he arrived, her exquisite profile limned by the sunset. Her glorious dark red hair was loose. It hung past her waist and had obviously been brushed until it shone – she had little else to fill her days. She wore dark, supple leathers that hugged her lithe body. Had he still been a man, the very sight of her would have aroused him. That had always been his mistake in the past. He had let his lust for this woman rule his head. But not this time. This time he inhabited a woman’s body and the desire that had betrayed him in the past was nothing more than a shallow echo.
R’shiel turned at the sound of the door and stiffened at the sight of him.
“What do you want?” She sounded annoyed rather than fearful. That would have to change.
“I’ve come to ask you some questions,” he said, placing the large covered birdcage he carried on the floor beside him.
“Ask them from there,” she said, crossing her arms defensively.
“You’re hardly in a position to be giving me orders, R’shiel.”
“And you’re hardly in a position to defy your Karien masters. Does Terbolt know that you’re here? No, of course he doesn’t. He’s at prayer, isn’t he? You’re too craven to dare anything if you thought he might catch you at it.”
Loclon bit back his fury at her scorn. “I’ve no care for what Terbolt thinks.”
“You should have. Have you been to check on your body Loclon? Are you sure it’s well? Are they feeding it? Turning it frequently so you don’t get bedsores? Do you really trust them that much?”
“Stop it!”
She smiled, which was a big mistake. Loclon did not take well to being laughed at. But he would have his fun. Instead of responding to her taunts he pulled the cover from the cage.
R’shiel gasped in horror. The little demon cowered in the centre of the cage, crouched into a tangle of arms and legs, her large black eyes filled with terror.
Loclon saw R’shiel’s expression and knew he had found the perfect way to torment her.
“Funny little creature, isn’t it?”
“Let her go.”
“You know I can’t do that. Aren’t you going to ask how we caught it?”
“I know how you caught it. How are you keeping her there?”
Loclon shrugged. “I’ve no idea. The priests tied the top of one of those staffs to the top of the cage, here... you see... and it does something to the bars. Did you want to see?”
“No.”
“Oh, but you must,” he insisted with a malicious smile.
He poked the creature and it jerked away from him instinctively, but the cage was too small and the movement pushed it back against the metal bars. The creature cried out with pain and jerked back from the bars, only to come up against the bars on the other side, where the agony was waiting for it. The high-pitched screams were most gratifying. It took the creature two or three attempts to curl back up into the ball that kept it away from the bars. When it finally settled down, it was trembling uncontrollably with tears spilling silently from its liquid black eyes.
“Want to see it again?” he asked.
“Stop it!” She crossed the room in a few paces and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to his knees. Loclon did not cry out, or even struggle against her.
He simply reached out with his foot and kicked the cage, which set the demon off again.
R’shiel let him go and ran to the cage, but she could no more touch the enchanted bars than the demon could. The priests’ magic worked best on those who could channel the power of the gods. R’shiel had no hope of freeing the terrified creature. All she could do was kneel on the floor and watch it suffer.
Loclon climbed to his feet, laughing. Her attempts to open the cage were useless, even touching the latch was agony. She heard him move and turned to look up at him. The pain in her eyes was all he could have hoped for.
“Go ahead, let it go. If you can.”
R’shiel glanced back at the cage which had fallen on its side. The demon was screaming in agony. There was nothing she could do to help it. She couldn’t even right the cage to save the demon from the pain of contacting the bars.
As if she had realised the same thing, she climbed slowly to her feet.
“Giving up so soon?” he taunted.
Without warning, she turned and kicked the cage with all the force she could muster, lifting it clear off the floor. The cage clattered against the wall and landed with a thud. As it did, the base of the cage popped open and the demon gratefully scrambled clear of the trap.
“Be gone!” she cried urgently, as Loclon grabbed her.
The demon winked out of existence with a startled squeal.
Loclon punched her then pushed her onto the floor and held her there with his knee while he looked around the room for something to hurt her with. There was nothing handy. Terbolt had stripped the room of anything remotely resembling a potential weapon. He wished for his male body. R’shiel was physically stronger than Joyhinia. Fighting her with his bare hands was not an option. Lacking anything more substantial than his fists, he wrapped his hand tighter through her hair and slammed her forehead into the floor, over and over, until she was almost senseless.
He stopped himself just in time. He would be in enough trouble for letting the creature escape. Killing R’shiel could easily cost him his life.
“Get up!”
She did not respond.
“I said, get up!” He kicked her in the stomach and she grunted involuntarily, confirming his suspicion that she was faking unconsciousness. “Get up, you inhuman slut!”
R’shiel rolled over slowly and stared at him with defiant eyes, a little dazed.
“Get up, I said!”
She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. The wound on her forehead had opened and the blood flowed freely, obscuring her vision. Impatient with her slow response, he kicked her again, throwing her backwards against the wall. He laughed. This was what he wanted. What he needed.
R’shiel collapsed against the wall and for a moment she lay still, but when she looked up there was no submission in her eyes. Instead there was an expression of such hatred that he took a step back from her. Her eyes began to darken ominously. As she drew on her power the collar around her neck began to glow in response. She pushed herself up as her eyes turned black. The collar grew so bright it was almost painful to look on it.
Truly fearful of what he might have provoked, Loclon backed away from her. The sickening stench of burning flesh reached him as R’shiel gathered her power to her and the collar punished her for her efforts. She grabbed the windowsill and pulled herself to her feet, her eyes as black as night, the collar like a thousand candles burning under her chin.
With a visible effort she steadied herself and prepared to hurl her fury at him. The stench of burning flesh grew stronger. Loclon marvelled at her tolerance for the pain she must be in, but his own fear prevented him from taking any pleasure in it. If she broke through the constraint of the collar, he would not leave this room alive.
“
Loclon expected his life to end at that moment, but the collar flared as she tried to unleash her power. She screamed and dropped to the floor, tearing uselessly at the burning necklet. Loclon let her drop, shaking with relief
