Narcissus in Chains   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

They were filled with horror as if she were still seeing whatever had been doneto her, as if she might always see that awful thing over and over again.

She spoke in a voice that was hollow, hopeless. "I got worried."

I didn't need to see what was under the shawl to believe that she'd been tortured. I didn't need to see anything but her face.

"Can she sit down before she falls down?" Zeke asked.

I nodded a little too rapidly, realizing that I had been staring. "Please, sit down."

Gina looked at Bobby Lee, standing behind Zeke. "Have you told them?"

"I wanted you here to back up my story," Zeke said.

She nodded once, then moved to sit beside him on the couch. She sat close to him, almost touching. If he'd had anything to do with what had happened to her, I don't think she'd have been so cozy.

In fact she was so cozy that I was almost certain she knew Zeke. Knew him not just for Chimera's fun and games, but knew him before. How did one of Micah's cats end up friendly with Chimera's top goon?

I asked. "You two seem to know each other." Alright, maybe that wasn't a question, but it would do.

They exchanged a look, then Zeke turned to me. I wished that he was in human form. Even after years of dealing with lycanthropes, I still had trouble reading their expressions when they were in animal form. The fact that his eyes were human helped some, but you never realize how much of the expression isn't really the eyes but the facial movements around the eyes, until you don't have them as clues.

"Let me start by saying that Chimera wants you alive and well and in his care in less than two hours or he will start doing permanent damage to Micah and your leopard."

I felt my eyes go a little dead. "We have a deadline then," I said. "Talk faster."

"Shortest version that I know is this. Chimera has always been a harsh master, but never sadistic, until the last few weeks. He's unstable, and I believe he's going mad and will kill us all if he remains in charge."

"This is the short version?" Bobby Lee asked.

"I agree," I said, "speed it up."

"I want you to help me stage a palace revolt, Ms. Blake. Is that quick enough for you?"

"Maybe that was a little too quick," I said. "Why do you want to revolt, and why do you want my help?"

"I told you, I fear that Chimera will destroy us all. The only way to prevent that is to kill him."

Well, that was blunt. "So, why my help?"

"You have a certain reputation for deadly force."

"You talk like an English professor," I said, "or an expensive lawyer.