A Sliver of Redemption by David Dalglish Read Free Book Online Page A

demons that hurried about, not paying the slightest attention to them.
    “Right here,” he said, pressing her tighter against him. “What would you do, Tessanna? How twisted is your desire? Forget intimacy or beauty. You had your chance for that last night. But what about your lust? What about your perversions?”
    He pressed his cheek against hers, his lips brushing against her left ear. Now her whole body trembled.
    “Struggle,” he whispered.
    She pulled against his hands, but they held tight, latching her against him. Her legs twisted, she pushed back, but it was all false, and Velixar knew it. He let go of one of her wrists, instead wrapping his hand around her throat, his fingers pressing against the sides of her neck so that she felt the pressure but did not suffer any difficulty in breathing. He wanted her to breath. He needed to know.
    “Scream,” he whispered.
    She did. For him to leave. Him to get away.
    The glow in his eyes deepened. He smiled.
    “Get on your knees,” he commanded.
    She did.
    By now the war demons had noticed this commotion, but conflicted between curiosity and their orders, they chose their orders. Through the corner of their eyes they watched as they packed provisions and hurried to and fro, but none said a word, and none would interfere.
    Velixar reached around and one by one undid the braids of her hair. He released her other wrist, and with his free hand covered her mouth with his palm, an icy gag to prevent any more screams. He felt her exhalations from her nose against his skin. It was warm. Strong. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.
    “I know what it is you need,” he said, his deep voice barely audible. “What you want. Qurrah's gone now, but you still need it. You want it. Control. Order. It is everything I am, you wretched little whore. Right here. Right now. In front of all of them.”
    Tessanna looked up at him, tears in her eyes. All her anger and resolve from the night before seemed to have belonged to a different person.
    “Say it,” he ordered.
    “I will,” she said.
    “I know you will,” Velixar said. Her tilted her head to one side and gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “Say my name.”
    “Please...”
    “Say it, or take off your dress.”
    Her tears ran down her cheeks. When they touched his thumb, they filled with frost and stopped.
    “Master.”
    He kissed her forehead.
    “Never forget it,” he said, and the words felt like a death sentence.
    “I won't,” she said, her whole body shivering. Clutching her arms, she glared at the man she knew she had every reason to hate.
    And then knelt on one knee and asked what her master wished.

    Q urrah moaned in his sleep, his arms thrashing about in a desperate attempt to wake himself, but the dream would not let him. It had a power to it, magical in its source. He was surrounded by shadow, and within he saw hungry and beautiful creatures. The sound that filled his ears was their famished wailing. Beneath his feet was barren rock, stretching out until it merged with the shadows to become nothingness.
    Before him two red eyes peered out from the shadows, followed by a grin, followed by the rest of the ever-changing face. Velixar laughed, the laugh of the victorious.
    “I have her now,” he told Qurrah, who sat on his knees in a helpless stupor. “I have twisted her desires against her. I have turned her hate into love, for with you, the two emotions were always so closely intertwined.”
    “You lie,” Qurrah heard himself say.
    Again that maddening laugh.
    “I have told you time and time again,” Velixar said, his grin growing. “I never lie.”
    The dream ended, abrupt as it was horrible. The half-orc sat up in his tent, sweat covering his body. He wiped his face, and was not surprised to find tears there.
    “The gods damn you, Velixar,” he said, clutching his head in his hands. “Even the Abyss is too little, too late for your kind.”
    A fleeting idea of returning to Veldaren