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.She felt hands grab her roughly and yank her to her feet again.Something hard cuffed her hard upside the head, snapping it to one side and makingher cry out in pain.The blood was roaring in her ears as she was dragged, stumbling farther down the alley.A small part of her mind screamed at Emriana to stand up, to fight back, to stop her assailants from towing her along, but she was too dazed to react.She pulled feebly once or twice against the hands that gripped her by each arm, but it was a futile gesture and did nothing to deter her attackers.Suddenly, Emriana was thrown forward, and she stumbled to her hands and knees upon something softer than stone and dirt.She rested there for a moment, panting to get her wind back, but before she could figure out what she was resting on, a hard boot planted itself in her backside and sent her sprawling the rest of the way down.Without warning, two or three hard blows struck Emriana in the ribs, and she vainly tried to bring her arms down to protect herself.That, apparently, was what her attackers had been waiting for, for in the next instant, Emriana felt herself enveloped by the soft material upon which she lay.She realized it was a carpet, and it was wet and sour-smelling.She understood that her three assailants were wrapping her up in the rug, and she began to thrash about again, trying to prevent her entombment, but she was too dazed and her foes too fast.All too quickly, she was engulfed in fetid darkness, her arms pinned to her sides as she was rolled over and over several times.She could feel the thick material tightening around her, cutting off her movement and her air."No!" She cried out, trying to jerk her arms back up over her head."Stop! Please!" She was panicking, terrified of the sense of being buried alive, but her voice was muffled and ineffectual.She frantically kicked her feet, trying to keep from being completelytrapped, but it was too late.She could already feel coils of rope being wrapped around her torso and knees, effectively binding her helplessly inside the wrapped carpet.She wound up on her back, and though she continued to kick and fight, Emriana realized that the trio of attackers was no longer working to contain her in the rolled-up carpet.She felt herself being lifted from the ground, and a rhythmic swaying motion set in, evidence that they were carrying her.The thought that she was being hauled off, farther away from The Silver Fish, from any point of reference she knew, frightened the girl even more, if that was possible.She continued to cry out, hoping perhaps someone somewhere near her would hear and investigate.Praying.At one point, something slammed into the middle of the carpet roll, walloping Emriana right in her gut, knocking the wind from her once more.She gasped and coughed again, trying to take in enough air to regain her breathing.Tears welled up in her eyes, tears of pain and fear.The stench of the wet, molding rug was almost unbearable, and she thought she would pass out from the suffocating atmosphere.She stopped kicking and screaming after that, fearing that she would be struck again if she continued.She began to sob, shuddering, shaking sobs, knowing she would never see any of her family again.Images of her mother and grandmother, of Vambran, of Xaphira, even of Marga and the twins flashed through her mind.She could see them all grieving for her, perhaps wondering what had become of her, why she had disappeared.The frightening notion made her chest ache.No! She insisted, trying to clear her head.You're not dead, yet! Figure something out! Steeling herselfagainst the panic, Emriana grew still and began instead to listen, trying to gain some sense of her surroundings.She could hear nothing, but she at least could begin to think clearly.After a while, she felt herself lowered onto a flat surface, and she could hear muffled voices, though she could not make out what was being said.She realized that her own efforts at making noise had most likely been similarly muted, and the likelihood of someone actually hearing her in the alleys of Arrabar was slim.She would have to save herself [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]