Chapter One
Katrina opened her eyes. Where was she? Looking around, the room—was it a room?—glowed faintly with a light from a single pool of slow-burning oil in the center of the floor. The ceiling was high and littered with stalactites, but the room was clear of any stalagmites. The air reeked of fetid carcasses and years old kills, but she couldn't discern the source. The walls themselves had a deceiving look to them, but she couldn't pinpoint why.
Attempting to get a better view of her surroundings, she tried to turn her head, but winced when pain roared to life in her neck and shoulders. How long had she been asleep to merit such stiffness? When had she fallen asleep, anyway?
With a jolt, she sat straight up, all her senses alert for her gated kidnappers, those named the Ra'zac. Her muscles ached with disuse, and cried out that she allow herself to relax into her former position, but she refused. Carelessness could kill her, for the stealth with which the Ra'zac moved was deadly, and you often didn't know they were there until they were upon you, and it was too late. Katrina quieted her breathing, and strained her hearing to its limits. There was a faint rasping off to her left somewhere! She twisted her torso ever so slightly, and was able to determine the source: her father.
Traitor! her mind screamed. The filthy blood-traitor turned me over to our own predators. He may be my father, but he isn't my ally. She shifted her weight, and found that her feet were bound with a thin cord, which meant that her hands were probably tied, also. Her captors had not thought to gag her, but Katrina decided against making any undue noise for the moment—she would learn more before acting on anything. She wriggled closer to her father; then thrust her shoulder at him. He merely slumped over, uttering a soft groan. Her eyebrows knit in thought as she contemplated the implications of this.
She was trapped in an unknown place with her father, who was incapable of responding. That could mean that he was hurt and beyond answering her, or that he was drugged. Either way, they were probably both tied up, and therefore the Ra'zac feared that they could escape, if given the chance. Absence of a gag indicated that no one was close enough to answer calls for help, so they were very isolated.
A symphony of clicks from somewhere behind her meant that the Ra'zac were near. Quickly, she sagged back into the position she woke up in, feigning sleep. The clicks stopped, and Katrina felt the vibrations their feet made in the floor as they drew nearer. There are two of them, she thought. One halted, and the second continued until it had planted itself in front of her.
"We know you're awake," a smooth voice whispered in her ear. The stench of its breath made her choke, and her eyelids lifted to gaze into two blank orbs over a hooked beak. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out, but this thing created a fear in her like she hadn't imagined possible. Somehow, Katrina didn't think that now would be the time to insult her host. I'll just bide my time, she assured herself. Then, it's payback.