Chapter 16

Rathaus was eerily calm at dinner. Kira could tell something was amiss from the moment she entered the dining room. He stood over at the sideboard pouring them both a drink. Except for the night he had poisoned her, he had not offered Kira a drink since they had left DS9. The glasses clinked together in ringing tones as he uncharacteristically spilled some of the liquid as he poured.

When he turned around, his black eyes blazed through Kira. "So - where is your shapeshifter friend?" he asked.

Kira suddenly realized how easily he could read the truth in her mind, even if his intricate security measures had failed him. There was no point in denying Odo's presence. "He didn't exactly give me an itinerary."

He started toward her, growling. "I should kill you where you stand."

Kira took a defensive stance against the gigantic Betazoid. She had no intention of allowing Rathaus to damage her more than he already had.

He lunged forward like lightning and with his arm extended knocked her backwards.

With Kira knocked off her feet, he lunged at her once more only to be stopped by a golden tentacle around his neck. Odo, who had been posing as the fire in the fireplace, then tossed the massive Rathaus to the other side of the room, where he hit the wall with a thud.

Odo immediately bent down beside Kira to assess the damage. "I'm fine, Odo. Thank you," she said, catching her breath.

From across the room, Rathaus sneered, "So glad to finally make your acquaintance, Mr. Odo. I expected you might pay us a visit, what with your being such a dear, close friend of my wife's." The man jumped back to his feet. "Won't you join us for dinner? We three have so much to talk about."

Odo and Kira both stared at him incredulously. Rathaus continued, "No, I insist. Sit down." He pulled out Kira's chair for her, and indicated another for Odo across the table. "I would have had a place set for you, but I've heard that you don't actually eat."

When they were both suitably accommodated, Rathaus took his chair at the head of the table and began his meal. "Eat, my darling," he goaded when Kira just sat there. "We can't have you waste away, now can we?" Kira picked up her fork, but failed to actually take a bite, but her husband ignored her to tuck into his own repast.

"Now, as I see it," he began between forkfuls, "my darling Nerys is stuck here, even though she has grown tired of my company. You see, I made sure that she would not be able to leave even before she arrived. You don't even know where the controls for the shield are located, do you, dear?" He glanced at her before turning his attention back to the changeling. "Mr. Odo, you can presumably leave whenever you want to, but that would destroy my fun. So I have a little proposition for you both. If Mr. Odo here leaves, Nerys, dear," Rathaus turned back to Kira and smiled, "you die. That is, the minute I can't find Odo, I'll kill you. And I promise it won't be as easy as a phaser blast this time.

"As I said before, I expected you might show up, so I took the liberty of preparing for your arrival, sir. I realize, of course, that you can transform yourself into whatever nasty shape you can think of and overpower me. So I have taken a few precautions for my own safety." He gestured toward the sideboard. "I know you recognize that little device." Looking over, Odo recognized a quantum stasis field generator, the device that Garak had once used to force him to retain his shape, but this version was small enough to be worn around the waist. "You can expect to feel its effects whenever you are within fifty meters of me."

Kira and Odo sat quietly, horrified, but not entirely surprised. Rathaus continued his meal. "Nerys, sweetheart, fix me another drink, and have one for yourself. You look a little pale."