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CHAPTER 41
RICHARD'S sues CAME OPEN a little. His mind was in a fog. He was facedown on a cold stone floor, lit by flickering torchlight. The stone walls had no windows to tell him if it was day or night. There was a coppery taste in his mouth. Blood. He tried to think of where he could be, and why. A sharp pain in his side caught his breath when he tried to inhale too deeply. His whole body hurt. He throbbed everywhere. It felt as if someone had given him a beating with a club.
The memory of the nightmare seeped back into his mind. At the thought of De
He had to think of a way out of this. If he didn't get control of his anger, he had no chance. He remembered how his father had taught him that anger was wrong, how for most o€ his life he had been able to keep it choked off. Zedd had told him that there were times when bringing the anger out was more dangerous than keeping it in. This was one of those times. He had a whole lifetime of experience at keeping his anger under control; he must do it now. That thought gave him a sliver of hope.
Carefully, without moving too much, he took appraisal. His sword was back in its scabbard, his knife still in its sheath, the night stone still in his pocket. His pack lay against a far wall. The left side of his shirt was hard with dried blood. His head pounded with pain, but felt no worse than the rest of him.
Turning his head a little, he saw De
He thought maybe he should say something. "Where are your men?"
De
Her voice was calm, almost gentle. "Come and stand here."
With great difficulty, Richard rose to his feet and walked to stand where she had pointed. She watched him without emotion as he stood looking down at her. He waited in silence. She stood and with her boot pushed the chair back out of the way. She was almost as tall as he. She turned her back to him as she picked up a glove off the table and worked in into her right hand, pushing the fingers down tight.
Abruptly she spun around, backhanding him across the mouth. The armored back of the glove split his lip open on his teeth.
Immediately, before the anger could grip him, he thought about a beautiful place in the Hartland Woods. His eyes watered from the sting of the gash.
De
Richard took his hand off his mouth and held both at his sides. He could feel the blood dripping from his chin. De
"That was just a gentle warning, as you will soon learn. Now, repeat the question properly."
Richard decided on the spot that he would call her Mistress De
Richard took a deep breath to steady his voice. "Where are your men, Mistress De
"Much better," she cooed. "Most Mord-Sith don't allow those in training to talk, or to ask questions, but I think that becomes boring. I rather like to talk to my trainee. As I said, you are lucky to have me." She gave him a cool smile. "I've sent my men away. I no longer need them. They are only used for capture, and to hold the captive until he uses his magic against me; then they are no longer needed. There is nothing you can do to get away, or fight back. Nothing."
"And why do I still have my sword, and knife?"
Too late, he remembered. With an arm he blocked her fist to his face. The act of stopping her brought the pain of the magic. The Agiel came up into his stomach. He rolled over on the ground, crying out in agony.
"Stand up!" Richard choked off the anger to shut away the pain of the magic. The pain of the Agiel didn't fade so quickly. He came to his feet with great difficulty.
"Now, get on your knees, and ask for my forgiveness."
When he didn't move quick enough for her, she laid the Agiel on his shoulder, pushing him down with it. His right arm went numb with hurt.
"Please, Mistress De
"That's better." She smiled at last. "Stand up." She watched him come to his feet. "You have your sword and knife because they are no danger to me, and, perhaps someday you will use them to protect your Mistress. I prefer my pets to keep their weapons, so it can be a. constant reminder that they are helpless against me."
She turned her back to him, removing her glove. Richard knew she was right about the sword: it had magic, and she controlled that. But he wondered if that was the only way. He had to know. His hands reached for her throat.
She continued to slowly remove the glove as he fell to his knees, crying out with the pain of the magic. Desperately, he brought his mind to the picture of the Hartland Woods. The pain eased, and he returned to his feet when she told him to do so.
De
"Yes, Mistress De
Her smile widened. "That was very good. See? You can be trained. Just remember, something pleasant about me." She took his hands and gazed into his eyes as she pressed his hands to her breasts.".I find most men seem to focus their pleasant thoughts here." She leaned closer, still holding his hands against her, her voice becoming airy. "But if there's anything you like better, please feel free to let your mind go there instead." Richard decided that he thought her hair was pretty, and that that was the only place on her his mind was going to go to think anything pleasant. The pain unexpectedly took him to his knees, tightening its grip until he couldn't breathe. His mouth opened, but he could get no air. His eyes bulged.
"Now, show me you can do as you were told. Shut the pain off any time you wish, but do it in the way I told you."
He looked up at her, at her hair. His vision was blurring. With concentration, he thought about how attractive he thought her braid was. He forced himself to think of it as beautiful. The pain lifted, and he collapsed to his side, gasping for air.
"Stand up." He did as he was told, still struggling to breathe. "That was the proper way to do it. See to it that is the only way you dare to remove the pain in the future, or I will change the magic so you will be unable to remove it at all. Understand?"
"Yes, Mistress De
"One of your own."
"None of my friends would do that. Mistress De
She regarded him contemptuously. "Then I would guess they aren't really your friends, now, are they?"
He looked at the floor, a lump in his throat. "No, Mistress De
She shrugged. "Master Rahl didn't think it important enough to tell me. The only thing that is important for you to know, now, is that no one is going to rescue you. You are never going to be free again. The sooner you learn that, the easier it will go for you; the easier your training will be."
"And what is the purpose of my training, Mistress De
The smile returned to her face. "To teach you the meaning of pain. To teach you that your life is no longer yours, that it is mine, and I can do anything I want with it. Anything. I can hurt you in any way I want, for as long as I want, and no one is going to help you but me. I'm going to teach you that every moment you have without pain is a moment only I can grant you. You are going to learn to do as I say without question, without hesitation, no matter what it is. You are going to learn. to beg for anything you get.
"After a few days of training here, and I think you have made enough progress, then I will take you to another place, where there are other Mord-Sith, and I will continue training you there until I'm finished, no matter how long it takes. I will let some of the other Mord-Sith play with you, so you can see how lucky you are to have me. I rather like men. Some of the others hate them. I will let some of them have you for a while, so you can see how gentle I really am."
"And what is the purpose of this training, Mistress De
She seemed to genuinely enjoy telling him these things. "You are someone special. Master Rahl himself wants you trained." Her smiled widened. "He asked for me. I would guess he has something he wants to ask you. I will not let you embarrass me in his eyes. When I'm done with you, you will beg to tell him anything he wants to know. When he is finished with you, then you are to be mine, for life. However long that may be."