Catherine Asaro - The Night Bird

No! Clenching her teeth, she wished she did have the power to curse him. May you lose everything youve ever cared about. Everything you love. The war. Markus. Ozarson. Everything.

Yargazon sheathed the dagger. Then he rose to his feet and walked to the row of hourglasses. He took one and turned around, holding it up so she could see. “The first hour, he said. He flipped it over and set it on a table where she could see it better. Sand began to pour from the upper into the lower half.

As the General walked back to her, Allegra flattened herself against the pole and wished she could shrink into it where he couldnt follow.

He stopped in front of her and looked down as he unbuckled his leather belt. “You may belong to him, he said, his voice low and angry, “but Im the one who controls you. He pulled the sheathed dagger off his belt and dropped it on the ground. “I will own you, Allegra, despite what those marriage documents say, because after tonight, you will know Im the one who has claimed your spirit.

Then he swung the belt.

The sand poured, and Allegra cried. She tried to distance herself from Yargazon and his swings, tried to think of Aronsdale, rolling green hills, her friends, Prince Aron, kindnesses she had known or of Markuss gentler side, instead of the violent warlord who wanted to conquer her in the same way he sought to conquer the brutal land that had forged him in the crucible of its merciless sun.

At one point, after Yargazons blows had become especially violent, he took a long breath and stepped back. Sitting on a crate, he leaned against a pole behind it, the belt hanging loose in his hand while the clenched set of his features eased. He closed his eyes, and his body relaxed for the first time that night.

Allegra breathed in ragged gasps, fighting for air, her face wet with tears. When she realized he had fallen asleep, relief surged through her. She didnt know what he would do to her for sixteen hours, but surely if he kept this up, she wouldnt survive.

Yargazon eventually lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. The intensity came back into his gaze as he watched her shuddering by the pole. Then he went to the shelf with the hourglasses. The first one had run out, so he took the second and lifted it so she could see. Then he flipped it over and set it on the table with the sand running. He returned to the pole

And swung his belt.

Her existence narrowed to each moment, one after another. She withdrew deep within herself, seeking a place where nothing could reach her, none of the cruelty that stamped this world.

A call came from outside the tent. “Sir?

Yargazon lowered his arm, the belt hanging from his hand. He wiped his other arm across his forehead, blotting the sweat from his exertions. Allegra shook with silent thanks for the reprieve.

The General strode to the entrance and swept aside the flap. “What is it?

“A messenger arrived, a man outside said. “With a scroll from Emperor Cobalt.

“Bring it in, Yargazon said, moving aside.

The man who entered wore black armor and a heavy sword across his back. He handed Yargazon a scroll and stood waiting while the General read it.

“So. After rolling up the scroll, Yargazon tapped it against his fingers. “It looks like no one is sleeping tonight. He walked over to Allegra and looked down at her. “Cobalt is willing to trade Markus for you and Drummer. How absurd, to think I would send back the wife of the prince regent.

Die, she thought. Have a terrible convulsion and die in agony. She knew too little about Jazid to know whether Yargazon had overstepped himself, but she couldnt imagine he could do this to the prince regents wife. He was betting on his irreplaceable value to control Markuss anger.

You cant control him, she thought. Yargazon had misjudged Markus this time. Maybe he couldnt understand the prince, for Markus acted differently with him than with other people. He didnt want to appear weak to the General. But Markus wasnt Ozar Onyx.

Yargazon turned to the other man. “Is the messenger from the emperor still here?

“Yes, sir.

“Good. I will speak to him. Yargazon sheathed his dagger on his belt and fastened the belt around his waist, once again the General in perfect array. He crossed the tent to his shadowed wall of time and set the second hourglass on its side, stopping the flow of sand. Glancing at Allegra, he said, “Well finish when I return.

With that, he strode from the tent.

Allegra sagged against the pole, so relieved that she wanted to laugh, then cry. Then she wanted to rage. She yanked on the cords binding her wrists

And they slipped.

Allegra froze. She looked up at the knot, the one Zeik had tightened before he left. At least she thought he had tightened it. Yet now it was coming apart.

Her pulse jumped. She yanked on the bonds over and over, and with each pull, the knot slipped a little more. When it finally unraveled, her arms fell into her lap. Her muscles hurt from being held in one position for so long, but she ignored the ache as she attacked the restraints on her ankles. They were tighter than the ones on her wrists, but Zeik hadnt pulled them as secure as possible, either. Thank you, she thought to his image in her mind. Thank you, forever.

As soon as her feet were free, she grabbed the dodecahedron out of her tunic pocket. But the wretched gag silenced her. Metal clasps were embedded in the ball of leather, with straps that pulled around her head, under her hair and locked in the back. She couldnt pull the leather out of her mouth or the strap over her head, and without her voice, she had no spell.

Allegra ran to the nearest chest and opened the top. Scrolls filled it. She kept searching, fast and furious, knowing Yargazon could return any moment. She found a chest with his uniforms and put on one of his shirts, hiding the dodecahedron in its pocket. She went through more chests, throwing out contents, until she found a shaving blade. Clenching the hilt, she ran to the back of the tent and hacked a hole, then pushed through it, out into the night.

She ran past dark tents, trying to ignore the pain from the welts on her body and lacerations on her feet. She found a row of supply carts and crouched behind them, straining to breathe. Then she went to work on the gag. The lock mechanism wouldnt release. The strap consisted of metal strips, so it couldnt stretch over her head, and the knife wouldnt cut it. She used the tip of the blade to dig through the strap that held the ball in her mouth, gouging the place where a stud held the leather in place. She hacked at it, striving to shred the gag without hurting herself.

Finally! The stud fell out of the leather. With a gasp, she yanked the gag out of her mouth and threw it on the ground. She gulped in air, nearly choking with her need to breathe.

Calm down. She took a steadying breath, then pulled out the dodecahedron and clenched it as she marshaled her thoughts. What spell to use? She couldnt put everyone here to sleep. They probably had precautions in place now, too. It was easy to counter her spells; they had only to shut out her voice. The last time, she had needed to affect a few people, walk a short distance while putting people around her to sleep and sing in the desert. Even that had drained her. She still hadnt fully recovered. Now she didnt know who to put to sleep, and she had only one chance. If her spell didnt succeed, she would do no more than warn Yargazon about her escape.

Allegra rested her forehead against the big wheel of the cart. In an act of mercy Zeik probably considered weakness, he had given her a hope of escape. But she had no resources. She could barely walk. She needed water and sleep. She was deep in a camp with many sentries. Tomorrow they would resume fighting the Taka Mal army, which hulked somewhere out in the basin. She had nowhere to go, no place to turn, and if Yargazon caught herNo! She couldnt go back to that nightmare.