Elspeth watched as the glow of Derek’s magic faded from room and she nearly collapsed to the floor in relief. They were safe. Now all she had to do was endure.
“If I’d known it would be this much trouble,” Penrathe’s smooth baritone rose up to fill the void, “I wouldn’t have let you go our first meeting. Of course, if I had, I might not never have made such a remarkable discovery. Up until then, your usefulness was purely objective – your parents either have or know the whereabouts of something I need and you were, are, going to help me get it. – but now? Hmm…”
Her skin crawled at the contemplative sound he made. She pulled her eyes away from the place her brother and Farren had just been and focused them on the librarian in front of her. A shiver ran down her spine at the gleam of victory she read in his eyes.
“Now you have a real usefulness and, as we’re finally alone,” Penrathe said, beckoning with his hand for his pets to join him, “it’s time for your real training to begin.”
A wickedly satisfied smile spread across his face as he ran a hand down the back of one of the mngwas whose golden eyes had now fixed on Elspeth.
“Of course, we’ll need to find a different motivator than what I used for my darlings here. I hear pain works quite well, but it’s a little uncouth for my tastes. No matter, I’m sure I can make you see things my way.”