Chapter 19

Nerys walked back from one of the valley gardens where she had attempted to distract herself from her predicament. So far they had been lucky; Rathaus had not yet returned. She walked leisurely, admiring, despite her predicament, the beauty of her surroundings as the evening shadows intensified the colours of the leaves and flowers around her. Lulled by the songs of the insects, she did not hear the soft step behind her and barely felt the flash of pain against her skull before her world went black.

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The pain hammering at back of her head hit her first. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but a haze of colour for the moments it took for her focus to return. She lay on the cool flagstone roof of the roof of the Pirovania manor house. It was dark. She was dressed in her uniform, but the jacket had been left off. Instead of its high collar, she recognized the cold feel of Rathaus' ruby choker at her neck.

"It's about time you woke up, my dear." She heard her husband's voice from behind her head. He walked into her field of vision as she struggled to stand up. "Your changeling has abandoned you. I can't seem to find him anywhere, but you already know that."

She finally stood, mildly dizzy, and faced him silently.

"You realize that now I have a promise to keep." He spoke calmly, his voice even and soft. "It's a shame, really, I was enjoying myself so much. I mean, when I started this little venture, I honestly expected to savor only your fear. The terror and destruction of a war hero with your reputation was quite a coup for me. Think of my excitement, though, when the heroic Constable Odo came running to your side only to fall into my humble trap. I'll certainly have trouble topping this. But that's all in the future, for now, I get to enjoy your deaths."

She let him talk while she tried desperately to force her mind to focus. Her muscles were cold from lying rigidly on the stone. The months of inactivity and mental numbness heckled her. She tried to grasp the strings of a plan for escape, but they slithered away as soon as her mind got close to them. Humiliation started to seep up into her thoughts, distracting her further.

"Odo, unfortunately, doesn't leave me much room for creativity. Once he manages to return, and I'm sure he'll be here soon, he'll get to enjoy the sight of your poor, broken body in the days it takes for his own to wither away. I do hope he takes the time to regenerate before coming back.

"You, on the other hand – oh, I've fantasized for months about the possibilities you pose. Nothing's too good for my Nerys." Having finished this part of his speech, intoned with the drama of long planning, Rathaus turned from her to retrieve the long, double-bladed knife that had been lurking behind him, out of her sight. "This is another family heirloom." Its edge caught the moonlight and glimmered as he calmly stepped toward her.

The sudden glittering triggered some forgotten train of thought within her. Her body went on red alert. She forced the humiliation away from her mind and focused intently on his movements. She reminded herself of his arrogance, something that could lead a person to make mistakes. She also knew that her strength and fearless reputation had attracted him to her, compelled him to form an elaborate plan to conquer her. That meant, he was afraid of her. She could exploit that fear to gain another advantage.

Outwardly, she gave no indication to her attacker of the awakening within her. She stood as still as a panther, allowing him to approach her with growing confidence and excitement. Rathaus kept his eyes on at the bloody necklace at her throat, occasionally letting them drop to in greedy glances at her spotless, white blouse. He came with half-an-arm's length of her and raised the knife above her shoulder. As his arm began its downward plunge toward her, she bent suddenly and threw her shoulder into his pelvis, using his own momentum to throw him off balance. He fell forward at the same time she pivoted behind him. His body hit the ground with a thump, the air knocked out of his lungs and the knife sliding from his hand and across the stone floor. He recovered quickly and raised himself with a snarl, but she was ready. With her hands in a fist, she slammed them into the back of his neck and shoulder. He fell again. He tried to stand again and she kicked him in the head, glad that he had chosen to attire her in her uniform and boots.

He was slower to recover and she had time spin back in the direction of his knife. She bent down, reaching behind her to grab it. He growled as he rose up and grabbed one of her ankles. She fell hard, but managed to keep a hold on the weapon with her arm extended over her head. He savagely jerked her limp body toward and underneath him. The rough stone terrace bit into her clothes and skin. His powerful fist crushed the bones of her ankle. Suddenly, she slammed the knife into his throat. Blood spurted over both of them. He fell heavily on his side and tried to scream, but the blade had punctured his trachea. Instinctively, he clutched at the wound and she used his distraction to drive the knife between his ribs. Blood again drenched them. She raised herself onto her knees and stabbed him once more in the chest with all her strength.

Kira hovered over him, ready to pounce once more if the need arose, watching as his movements stilled and his eyes glazed over. His panicked breathing slowed and finally ceased altogether. She watched him, knowing he was dead, even as her own body relaxed and was chilled by his cooling blood.

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Hours later Odo found Kira still watching the body. He approached softly, gently calling her name in an attempt not to startle the obviously disturbed woman. It was much the same as the time that he, Sisko, and Bashir had discovered her next to the body of a mutilated Cardassian, heavily pregnant and dazed with sedatives.

She turned slowly towards the sound of his voice and watched him approach. He was relieved to see that she did not appear to be badly hurt. Ignoring Rathaus' corpse, Odo asked if she was injured. "In the end, he was an easy kill."

"I suspect that was why he needed his telepathy and drugs. He was most likely aware of his weaknesses and that caused his need to control and destroy women he saw as threatening. It is often the way of serial killers."

She looked startled at his words. He just needed to look at her to understand. "Yes, he was a serial killer. You were one of several women he targeted, the only one to survive. You had no choice. There is no reason to feel guilty about it."

"But for some reason, I do feel guilty."

"That's the difference between you and him. Are you sure that you're alright?"

She nodded. "We need to call the authorities, somehow."

"The farm workers have arrived for the day. The foreman knows the access code to the forcefield. I'll go down and find him. I don't think he'll be displeased to find out that his boss is dead. Rathaus was a difficult man. Why don't you lay down inside? I'll be back in a few minutes.

She nodded and tried to stand, her legs were numb from sitting in on position all night. She stumbled and only then realized how badly her ankle had been crushed. He went to her, silently lifted her in his arms and carried her to her bed. "Are you sure that you'll be alright?"

"Yes," she answered. "For the first time in months. I'm fine".