Chapter 6

I...was...furious. I was furious with Dumah for having lied to me, but I was also furious with myself for not having listened to Raziel.

"I should've stayed there," I said to myself, "Why am I always so pigheaded?" I stormed over to my bed and punched the pillow, imagining that it was Dumah. It didn't really make me feel better.

I heard the lock click...and the door opened slowly. I stood up, wondering who it was. There was a girl about my age peeking into the room, but she was so tiny! She was clean, more or less, and she wore clothes that were in decent shape, but she was probably thin enough to make a runway model jealous. She looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Already a plan was forming in my head.

I can take her.

She opened her mouth to say something and I shoved her into the wall and ran past her like I had a fleet of tanks behind me...she hadn't locked the door right away, and I opened it and started running down the hallway. Almost at once she started screaming.

"My Lord! My Lord!"

Oh, God... I tried to ignore her and just kept on running.

Then I heard the sound of someone running behind me. I slowed down enough to turn my head...and that girl was chasing me. Holy crap. Someone had her Wheaties for breakfast.

I was feeling somewhat daring, so instead of taking the hallway to the spiral staircase that led to the entrance and Dumah's throne room, I decided to take the hallway to the left of it. I couldn't hear that girl chasing me anymore. I hadn't heard her fall, or cry out in pain. I hoped she was all right...mostly because if she had been harmed chasing me, I'm sure Dumah would've had my head. I continued running, hoping I wouldn't run into any of Dumah's clan, or worse, Dumah himself...

I turned a corner and collided with someone in the hallway. I was knocked to the floor from the impact, but whoever I had run into remained standing.

"Well, now...how did you get out?" purred what was unmistakably Dumah. I groaned and shook my head.

"You're not going to tell me, child?"

I just stared up at him. He wasn't wearing his armor or cape now. I wondered if perhaps I'd caught him right as he'd been getting ready to go to sleep. Since I was still sitting on the ground, he towered over me even more, and the look of amusement on his face didn't make me feel any more at ease.

"Very well." He bent over and threw me over his shoulder, by then, I was too afraid to move, to speak even.

I'm dead...this is it...

I squeezed my eyes closed...Dumah was walking for what seemed like quite a distance, then he stopped.

"Esiel," he said quietly, "You went to her room, didn't you? To see how she was as I instructed?"

I realized that he was talking to that slave girl of his.

"Well...I didn't lock the door when I came in," she admitted in a quiet voice, "I've never seen someone as well-taken care of as she is. And I wanted to ask how she was and she shoved me into the wall and got out...I'm very sorry, My Lord..."

I waited for the sound of flesh hitting flesh, hearing her hit the floor, hearing retribution. Instead, Dumah said nothing, but seemed to brush her aside and continue walking.

"Then...there will be no punishment, My Lord?" she asked quietly as Dumah departed. She must have raised her voice, but even so, I could barely hear her. Dumah stopped again. "No," he said, "Her escape wasn't your fault." Then he continued on down the hall. Finally, we reached a room. He opened the door, and I opened my eyes, figuring that I might as well see how I was going to be.

I wasn't expecting to be back in "my" room. Now I was worried. Dumah wouldn't...would he?

He casually tossed me back onto the bed, but didn't approach it. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked down at me.

"You've got to behave yourself, girl," he said, "I'll admit, it was clever of you to try to escape...but..." He stopped speaking, suddenly eyeing me in such a way that made me wonder what exactly he was thinking. "You...are going to need a change of clothes. Something more...feminine."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Feminine? I can't wear--"

"While you are with me, you will dress as I tell you to."

"I'm not one of your little slaves, Dumah, I will not--"

Dumah burst out laughing. "No, but the rules here are different. I am one Kain's lieutenants, and you are a human, and you will do as I say, is that clear?"

I sighed and nodded. There was no winning with that guy! He laughed again, and turned to leave.

"Wait...before you go...why did you lock the door? Why did you tell me I'm not a prisoner and then lock the door?"

"You aren't a prisoner," Dumah said, still with a laugh in his voice, "You're...more like a guest. A guest under house arrest. You wouldn't want to wander outside without me and get yourself killed, would you?"

He had a point, loathe as I was to admit it.

"See, I thought you'd agree with me", he purred when he saw the look on my face, "Now, then, the sun is coming up, and I'm sure you're quite tired, and I would like to get some rest myself." He walked out and locked the door behind him, leaving me alone again.