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."I have little patience left for your wit.Give Halisstra your lightning wand in case we need spells of that sort to repel another attack."It was a measure of his true exhaustion that Pharaun didn't even bother to seek the last word.He turned to Halisstra and dropped the black iron wand into her hand with a sour smile."I suppose you know how to use this already.I'll want it back, of course, so please try not to exhaust it completely.They're hard to make.""I won't use it unless I have to," Halisstra said.She watched as the wizard found a shadowed spot beside a large column and sat down cross-legged, leaning against the cold stone, and she tucked the wand into her belt.Quenthel composed herself against the opposite wall, watching Pharaun as if to make sure he was not feigning his need for rest.Ryld Argith pushed himself erect and set out for the passage leading back toward the monster-haunted surface, leaning on his massive greatsword as he did so.Halisstra started to follow, but Danifae said, "Shall I keep watch here, Mistress Melarn?"The girl knelt on the dusty floor between the wizard and the priestess, the dagger thrust through her belt.She looked up at Halisstra, her expression blank and perfect, the picture of an innocent question.The Melarn priestess repressed a grimace.Arming a battle captive was tantamount to admitting one no longer had the strength to force her submission, and she suspected that Danifae would later exact a difficult price for continued compliance.Danifae watched serenely as her mistress considered the offer.Halisstra could feel Quenthel's eyes on her too, and she steeled herself against glancing at the Baenre priestess to measure her approval."You may keep the dagger to defend yourself—for now," Halisstra allowed."Your vigilance is not required.Do not presume to suggest such a thing again.""Of course, Mistress Melarn," Danifae replied.The girl's face was devoid of emotion, but Halisstra didn't like the thoughtful look in Danifae's eye as she composed herself to wait.Will her binding hold? Halisstra mused.In the heart of House Melarn, surrounded by the full strength of her enemies, Danifae would not have dared to throw off the magical compulsion that enslaved her, even if she could do such a thing.Things had changed, though.Danifae's care in how she addressed her mistress in front of Quenthel did not escape Halisstra's notice.Without her House, her city, to invest Halisstra with absolute dominion over what she called her own—her life, her loyalties, and possessions such as Danifae—any or all of those things might be wrested away from her.The thought left her feeling as hollow and as brittle as a rotten piece of bone.What happens when Danifae decides to test the bounds of her captivity in earnest? she wondered.Would Quenthel permit Halisstra to retain her mastery over the girl, or would the Baenre intercede simply to spite Halisstra and strip her of one more shred of her status? For that matter, was Quenthel capable of freeing Danifae and claiming Halisstra herself as a battle captive?The girl studied Halisstra from her lowered eyes, demure and beautiful.Patient."Are you coming?" Ryld asked.He stood in the mouth of the passage, waiting."Yes, of course," Halisstra said, barely repressing a scowl.Deliberately turning her back on the servant, Halisstra followed Ryld back out to the tunnels leading to their refuge.For the moment, she was safe enough.Danifae could not remove the silver locket from her neck with all of her will, strength, and effort.The moment she touched it, the enchantment would lock her muscles into rigidity until she abandoned the attempt.Nor could she ask someone else to remove it for her, since the moment she tried to speak of the locket, her tongue would freeze in her mouth.As long as the locket encircled her neck, Danifae was compelled to serve Halisstra, even to the point of giving her own life to save her mistress.Danifae had borne her bondage well, but Halisstra had no intention of removing the locket in the presence of the Menzoberranyr—if, in fact, she ever did.She and Ryld took up positions in a small rotunda a short ways down the tunnel, a dark and open space from which they could keep the approach to their refuge under careful observation without being seen themselves.Folded in their piwafwis, they were virtually indistinguishable from the dark stone around them [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]