Chapter 17

After forcing Odo's presence at his home, Rathaus did everything possible to keep him in Kira's presence. He enjoyed playing with his prisoners as if they were marionettes. Through little, daily contrivances, he forced their intimacy in the hope of tempting her into betraying the marriage vows she had been tricked into making. Rathaus stayed away from them, trusting his ability to read Kira's mind to keep him informed of their behaviour. Dinner was always an exception, however. They were forced into an uncomfortable, threesome for the formal meal, while Rathaus quizzed them about their days and subjected them to threats and petty innuendo.

It was during one of their long afternoons together that Odo made an important discovery. He and Kira were in the library together, a cavernous room filled, floor to ceiling, with ancient paper books lined up on enormous bookshelves. While Kira napped on a plush sofa, the changeling amused himself by perusing the many old volumes. He was primarily interested in the books themselves, but, in the back of his mind, he knew that much could be hidden safely away in and behind such an enormous array of volumes. A book of old Earth legends gave him the idea. It was a story of a young human woman who had been poisoned by an ancient Egyptian bracelet unwittingly given to her by her fiancé. The bracelet had concealed gold teeth that, when the jewelry's clasp was latched, shot out into the woman's skin and delivered the dose of deadly poison.

Kira tossed restlessly, and, looking at her, Odo's attention was diverted to the glittering betrothal bracelet on her wrist. He walked over to the sleeping woman and examined the bracelet more closely. It had always been unusually snug on her wrist, even though Rathaus had insisted that he'd had the bracelet made especially for her. Taking it off her wrist, Odo ran his fingers carefully along its inside. Nothing. Then he latched the clasp, relaxed his humanoid fingers into his natural substance, and inspected it further. This time he noted tiny, regularly spaced holes along the top and bottom edges. The holes would not be easily detected by a humanoid, but they were certainly large enough to act as miniature hyposprays. He could not be positive until he access a computer and do further testing, but he was confident that he had finally, found the delivery device for whatever drugs Rathaus was using to control his wife.

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Late one evening, Kira was once again awakened by a hand covering her mouth. She awoke with fear blazing in her eyes, fully expecting Rathaus to be standing above her with a phaser, or worse, in his hand. Rathaus had left after dinner on a business trip, but it would be just like him to return unexpectedly. This time, however, she recognized Odo's anxious face above her. He released her as soon as she recognized him, but he remained chilled by the instant fear in her face.

"I'm sorry I frightened you. I had to see you before I left and this seemed the only way to avoid Rathaus' staff seeing me leave." She frantically grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a gentle, deep kiss.

When she pulled away, he looked startled, then he pulled her to him and kissed her hard, much the same as in their first kiss. They held onto each other feverishly, their lips fusing together in a desperate attempt to reach each other's paghs. He pulled back just enough to slip his hands beneath her nightshirt to caress her bare skin. She clutched at him wildly, his body a column of molten lava. He slowly eased himself down upon the bed, his body yearned to connect, to link, with her. Her lips left his to lavish attention on his neck and torso. He looked down upon her glorious face and then reality slammed into him.

"We can't do this, Nerys."

Breathless, she stopped her ministrations to look up at him. "Why not?"

"It's not right." His eyes were filled with anguish. "You're Rathaus's wife now."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I suppose it doesn't matter if he's a sociopath and the marriage is a sham?" she asked, her voice low and labored.

"He'll kill you, Nerys. It's what he's been waiting for, an excuse to torture murder you and still make you feel guilty for it."

"He'll kill me, anyway. He doesn't need an excuse; he'll use anything."

"He's enjoying himself too much to kill you just yet."

"I wouldn't put anything past him."

"That's true, but at the moment, he's managing to control both us. I suspect it's too much for him to give up lightly."

"I'm sorry I got you involved. This must be humiliating for you."

He cupped her face with his palm, his thumb lightly caressing her cheek. "It's more torture than humiliation. I can't stand to see him abusing you, threatening your life day after day."

She sighed in frustration and sat up. "You said you were leaving?"

"Bashir and Ezri are waiting for me in a small hotel on the other side of the planet. I have to get your bracelet to him so that he can analyse it and come up with an antidote. We also have to come up with some sort of plan to get you outside of the forcefields and away from the planet. With Rathaus gone, this might be my only opportunity."

"You didn't tell me they were here, too."

"I didn't want Rathaus to know, and I knew there was a strong possibility he could read your mind." He watched her expression for a moment, wondering if she would be angry at his withholding of information.

She sighed again and kissed him lightly. "I suppose I'm lucky to have so many friends. You'd better go; you don't have much time."