chair similarly equipped. A torture room, Grianne decided, and she shivered involuntarily. At Topknot's direction, the Goblins moved her over to one wall, spread her legs, and fastened her ankle irons to rings embedded in the stone. Then a heavy leather belt was cinched tightly about her waist, and her wrists were chained to rings in the belt so that she could not lift her arms more than a few inches on either side.
Her mind raced. Had they brought her all this way just to kill her? Did they plan to torture her for information? She closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them again, the Goblins were on their knees, Topknot had gone into a deep bow, and the lord of the keep was coming down the stairway.
She knew it for a demon right away, though not one she recognized. It was big, taller than she was, and broad through the shoulders. It walked upright like a man and in general was proportioned as one, though the resemblance ended there. Its skin was black and spiky, with clusters of spines sticking out everywhere except its face, which was flat and devoid of expression, its features buried so completely that at first glance it seemed possessed only of cold blue eyes that fixed on her with glittering intensity. It wore no clothes, but an assortment of bladed weapons was strapped about its body, some shaped in ways she had never seen. In one hand it carried a strange collar.
When it got to within ten feet, it stopped and held out the collar. Topknot appeared as if by magic to take it, walked over to Grianne, and fastened it securely about her neck. Once it was in place, the angular creature looked back at its master.
«What you wear is called a conjure collar,' said the demon that had brought it. To her surprise, it spoke in a language she recognized. «If you attempt to use your magic, it will cause you sufficient pain to make you wish you hadn't. If you disobey me in any way, it will punish you. Nod if you understand me.»
She nodded. Topknot removed the gag. She coughed and spit to rid herself of the dryness and dust that were in her throat. Topknot studied her thoughtfully, then released the ankle chains as well.
«Get down on your knees and bow to me,' the demon said.
She wasn't sure she had heard right and she stared in disbelief. The expressionless face looked away, and one clawed hand gestured languidly. Excruciating pain exploded all through her, radiating out from the collar like strands of barbed wire into her throat, her body, and her limbs. She screamed at the assault, unable to stop. Clutching herself, she dropped to her knees and lowered her head toward the demon.
«You will speak only when told to,' it said. «Nod if you understand.»
She nodded at once. The conjure collar no longer tore at her, but the pain lingered in small waves that rose and fell with every breath she took. She gasped with the effort required to endure it.
«When you speak to me, you will address me asMaster. Nod if you understand.»
She nodded.
«Would you like some water? You may answer.»
Her jaw clenched in fury. «Yes, Master.»
«Give her water, Hobstull.» The demon's mouth was a thin, lipless opening on the lower half of its flat, empty face. Its voice was raw and hoarse, suggestive of damage sustained by its vocal cords. There was no tonal inflection or hint of emotion.
Topknot brought her a cup filled with water that tasted of metal and smelled of swamp, but she drank it anyway. When she was finished, he backed away at once. She looked around. The Goblins had faded away. She was alone with Hobstull and the master of the keep.
«Do you know where you are?» the latter asked. «You may answer.»
She nodded. The demon waved dismissively and pain ratcheted through her once more, dropping her into a fetal position, where she lay moaning and sobbing. The demon studied her impassively, then came forward a step.
«Answer me as you have been taught. I want to hear you speak the words you were told to speak.»
She squeezed her eyes shut against her humiliation and rage, fighting to keep from breaking down completely. «Yes, Master,' she whispered.
«Do you know where you are? You may answer.»
«Inside the Forbidding, Master.» She opened her eyes again and looked up.
«Inside the world of the Jarka Ruus,' the demon corrected softly. «Where I brought you to live.»
She barely heard it, — her head was buzzing with the aftereffects of the conjure collar's pain. The demon beckoned to Hobstull, who moved to fill the water cup once more, then hauled her to her knees so that she could drink again of the foul–tasting water. She accepted his gift wordlessly.
«You may thank me,' the demon said.
She took a deep breath. «Thank you, Master.»
The demon nodded. «Hobstull is not pleased with you. You made him work much harder than he intended when he left here three days ago. You made him feel inadequate. He is my Catcher, my finder and keeper of specimens. He is the one you must rely on for food and drink, so you don't want to upset him.»
She looked briefly at Hobstull, who stared back at her with the same inquisitive look he had displayed earlier.
«Hobstull uses traps meant to lure his quarry by sounds, sights, and smells that speak to their deepest needs. He is very good at it. I have acquired many specimens as a result of his cleverness and perseverance. You are the latest and perhaps the most important. But you are still only a specimen. Do you understand?»
A specimen. She kept the anger from her face and voice with an effort. «Yes, Master.»
«Good.» The blue eyes glittered. «I am Tael Riverine, Straken Lord of Kraal Reach. I rule here. I rule everything from the Dragon Line north to the Quince south, from Huka Flats west to Brocken–throg Weir east. I rule you. Learn to accept this. I am your master, now and forever.»
A pause. «Do you understand, Grianne Ohmsford, once Ard Rhys of the Druids?»
She felt her heart sink. She had been hoping desperately that her capture was by chance and not by design, that she would have a chance to gain her freedom after her captor's interest in her waned. But if the demon knew who she was, she was there because it had intended to bring her there, and there was no longer any chance of being set free.
«Yes, Master,' she managed.
It saw the look on her face. «You didn't listen closely enough to what I said earlier, did you? You weren't paying attention.»
She cringed in spite of herself, anticipating another rush of pain.
«I said that you are inside the world of the Jarka Ruus, that I brought you here to live. You are here because of me. You are here because I wished it to be so. Think back to your own world, to your visit to the ruins of the Skull Kingdom, where once the Warlock Lord ruled. Think back to the fires that ignited and burned without reason. Think back to the face you saw in those fires when you tried to probe them with your magic.»
She knew at once what the demon was telling her. She remembered it all, especially the face that had appeared in the flames, coming out of hiding just long enough for her to see its features clearly.
It was this face. It was the face of the Straken Lord.
«You remember now, don't you?» the demon said. «Good.» It gestured. «Get on your knees again and bow to me.»
She did so, a chill settling through her as she realized how deeply in trouble she was.
«Take her, Hobstull,' the Straken Lord ordered.
Without bothering to wait, the demon turned away and disappeared up the stairs into the gloom.
Hobstull walkedover to where she knelt, clipped a fresh chain to a ring on the belt about her waist, and pulled her back to her feet. His eyes studied her for a moment, and then he tugged on the chain to indicate she was to follow. Moving to a heavy iron door concealed under the stairs, Hobstull led her through the opening and down a flight of worn, water–stained stone steps that lay beyond. She followed docilely, intent on conserving what was left of her strength for a time when she could put it to better use. She was thinking about her predicament. What she had been told by the shade of the Warlock Lord was confirmed. She was inside the Forbidding because the Straken Lord had arranged for a handful of Druids who hated her to be swayed into using magic that would put her here. Mostly, she was there because by being there something else had been set free. The Straken Lord hadn't admitted to it, but she was certain from what the shade of Brona had told her that it was so.
Yet it wasn't the Straken Lord that had crossed over into her world in response to the magic that had brought her here, but another demon, one she still knew nothing about.
