More Than Chains To Bind by Stevie Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

proud." I laughed.
    "You should be...I used your techniques. The pressure points were quite useful."
    "Yeah, I don't remember teaching you a pressure point in that particular place, though."
    "Ah, no, it was something I learned during my student days. Shalio taught me a method to prolong pleasure. Of course, too much pleasure..."
    "Ouch!"
    Just then, from the gate at the far end where the women had been taken yesterday, Cor'lyn entered the arena and the guards demanded obedience and silence. I noticed a lot more guards than I had seen before, all armed with liendas, placed at regular intervals along the platform set up high inside the surrounding wall. I assumed our training was going to begin, presumably with weapons of some kind for all the precautions they seemed to be taking.
    Cor'lyn took up a position in front of us nicely lined up slaves and started talking, but I tuned out Mr. Tall-good-looking as I mulled over what Liander had casually thrown into the conversation. Did he mean what I thought he meant? Or was I reading more into his comment because of what I wanted it to mean? Shalio had taught him in his student days? Who the hell was Shalio and what had he taught the young Liander--about prolonging pleasure?
    Lords, was it possible? Had it been innocent talk between two young men or perhaps bravado? Could it have been much more? Was there a message for me in that oh-so-casual remark?
    Was I being more of a stupid bastard than usual?
    I just didn't know. I'd already decided to tell Liander how I felt before everything had gone to hell in a hand-basket. I'd been trying to convince myself for a while that I'd seen something in his eyes, in his attitude recently, but I wasn't certain. Could it be he'd sensed something of my...attitude, too? Maybe he decided to send me a signal? Perhaps he thought we might be stuck here--and I had to admit it was a distinct possibility--and he needed me to know?
    I could see that because, if we were going to be captives here indefinitely, I wanted him to know how I felt. I knew it was a quite likely we could be separated and never allowed to see each other again, and all at once it was damned important to me he knew I cared. Even if I could never show him, I wanted him to know. Yet how could I let him know? No way could I say it out loud. Why the hell had that bastard Cor'lyn separated us in the first place?
    Almost as if he knew I was thinking about him, Cor'lyn came over and stood right in front of me. I'd not heard a damned thing he said since he'd come striding in through the main gate and I had the distinct impression I'd missed something important.
    "Perhaps we should start with you," he said to me. "You have some experience, I think. Now who should we pair you with?"
    Ah, so I was to fight. Well, so be it, I could look after myself.
    One of the guards came forward and removed my manacle, separating me from Ledo. I looked down at my wrist for a second, surprised to find myself free. Then I realized it would be somewhat difficult to train us chained together, not impossible maybe, but why make things harder than they need be? After all, they had enough guards to watch over us.
    He glanced over at Liander, and I was torn between wanting Cor'lyn to choose Liander for me to fight with--it might give us a chance to talk--and not wanting it to be Liander, just in case it wasn't to be a simple demonstration.
    Cor'lyn also looked Fortil over until one of the guards came and whispered something into Cor'lyn's ear, at which he laughed, then said to Liander, "I knew there was more to you than just a pretty face and that...body." He leaned very close to Liander as he spoke and, though I could only just hear the words, the tone was unmistakable.
    I saw the expression of distaste on his face as Liander pulled back slightly, and Cor'lyn laughed as he moved on, studying the other men lined up before him. Then Liander flicked his eyes in my direction. I sucked in a breath for suddenly it was all