Liri watched Decimus' face as they flew. She was getting waves of rage and brief flashes of terror from him as they flew.
"Stop," he said.
"Stop what?"
"Reading me."
"I can't," she said quietly.
"I've never heard those words from you," he sneered.
She looked at him calmly until he turned away. The rest of the trip went on in silence. They reached Decimus' dreadnaught and landed. He strode through the hallways confidently, with a scowl. Liri followed behind, moving silently over the metal, feeling around for anything off kilter. He reached his quarters and stopped suddenly. "You'll have to shield us," he said.
"I did when I stepped on board," she answered.
He opened the door and gestured for her to proceed him.
She walked in slowly, taking in the starkness of the room, made more dramatic by the large bed draped in red in the center. A woman sat on the bed. She had red hair and was quite pretty, with scars running down her back. When she turned to face them, she smiled absently. Liri climbed onto the bed with her and gently put her hands on either side of the woman's face. She ignored the emotions rolling off of Decimus, the terror more pronounced now and the occasional flicker of guilty lust that he was trying to suppress.
She could feel what had been done to Magda and she understood how to do it, which raised the bile in the back of her throat slightly. She swallowed hard and went back to poking around inside the woman's mind. There were things that had been left in there and she closed her eyes and began to unravel.
Several hours later, she sighed and slumped, taking her hands off.
"What is it?" said Decimus, the only concession he'd made to the amount of time was the chair he was now sitting in.
"Get some food sent in, please." Liri got off the bed and walked into the bathroom to clean her hands. It was more of a symbolic gesture than anything else.
Decimus ordered food and returned, watching Magda.
"So?"
"I can't say for sure."
"Liri," the anguish in Decimus' voice gave way to rage. "He died too quickly."
"I agree." She sighed and returned to kneeling on the bed.
The woman looked up and her eyes lit up when she saw Decimus, "My Lord," she breathed, "Come to me."
"Don't touch her," warned Liri.
"Why not?"
"It may not help."
Decimus actually calmed. Rage was a familiar emotion for him and he fell back into it easily. "Can you help her?"
"I have, a bit. It's going to take awhile and parts of her may be missing."
Decimus smoldered. "Honestly, it might be best to remove her from you for awhile," Liri observed.
"I can't do that here. Can I transfer her to your pirate's fleet?"
"Ask him. It's not my fleet."
"You give him a lot of freedom."
Liri rolled her eyes at him. She put her hands back on Magda's face and went back to work.
"What about the food?"
"Save it," she said as she drifted into a light trance.
Her eyes flew open and she glared at Decimus. "Did you sleep with her once you had her back?"
"No!"
"So when was the last time you fed?"
"I ate.."
"No. You know what I mean."
Decimus blinked, "I guess it's been a few weeks?"
Liri sighed, "I get that you're dealing with some new stuff because Magda's back, but I need you at full strength."
"I don't have anyone on board right now who could take care of it."
Liri grinned, "Then I guess you're coming back to the ship with me in a few days to sample what Pella has to offer."
"Why her?"
"Just... trust me." She sighed and put her hands on the woman's temples again. "Getting that pent up isn't helpful for anyone and you're messing with the force in this room because you're so off."
"Liri, you were without your husband for a year. You're telling me you never got that 'pent up'?"
Liri's mouth twitched in a small frown. "Ravage was after me," she explained. "I had to stay strong." She slumped, "It was awful, honestly." Shaking her head she smiled at him, "I really need to do this now, Decimus."
"It's actually," he looked at Magda sorrowfully, "It's Anthru."
"What is?"
Exasperated, he glared at Liri, "My name."
Liri closed her mouth with a pop and nodded, "Shut up then, Anthru," she said with a smile. "Let me work."