away and kneed him in his mouth, knocking him sprawling on his back. She pressed the Agiel
against his stomach. Before he passed out, she pulled it away. "What do you have to say?"

"Please, Mistress Denna," he managed with the greatest of effort, "forgive me."

"All right, get up. It's time to begin your training."

She went to the table and retrieved something. She pointed to a spot on the floor. "Stand there.
Now!"

Richard moved as fast as he could. He couldn't straighten himself; the pain wouldn't allow it. He
stood on the spot, breathing hard, sweating. She handed him something with a thin chain attached.
It was a collar made of leather, the same color as she wore.

Her voice lost its pleasant quality. "Put it on."

Richard was in no condition to ask questions. He realized that he was starting to believe he would
do anything to avoid the touch of the Agiel. He buckled the collar around his neck. Denna picked
up the chain. The end of it had a loop of metal, which she slipped over the post on the back of the
wooden chair.

"The magic will punish you for going against my wishes. When I place this chain somewhere, it is
my wish for it to stay there until I remove it. I want you to learn that you are helpless to remove it."
She pointed at the door, which stood open. "For the next hour, I want you to try your best to make
it to that doorway. If you don't try your hardest, this is what I will do for the rest of the hour." She
put the Agiel to the side of his neck until he was on his knees, screaming in agony, and begging for
her to stop. She took it away and told him to begin, then went to lean, arms folded, against a wall.

The first thing he did was simply to try to walk to the door. The pain buckled his legs before he was
able to put even a little tension on the chain, and stopped' only when he scooted backward toward
the chair.

Richard reached for the ring. The pain of the magic cramped his arms until he was shaking with the
strain of reaching for it. Sweat ran off his face. He tried backing to the chair, then turning, but
before his fingers could touch the chain, the pain took him to the ground again. He pushed against
the pain, straining to reach the chair, but couldn't get there past the pain, the effort causing him to
fall to the ground, vomiting blood. When it ended, he held himself up with one hand, tears dripping
from his face as he held his stomach with his other hand and shook. From the corner of his eye, he
saw Denna unfold her arms and stand up straight. He started moving again.

What he was doing was clearly not going to work. He had to think of something else. He drew the
sword, thinking to lift the chain. For a brief instant, and with the greatest effort, he managed to
touch the chain with the blade. The pain made him drop the sword. He was able to stop the hurt
only by putting the sword back in its scabbard.

A thought came to him. He lay down on the ground, and in a quick movement, kicked the chair out
from under the chain before the pain could paralyze him. The chair skidded across the floor, hit the
table, and fell over. The chain fell from the post.

The victory lasted only the briefest of moments. With the chain off the chair, the pain elevated to a
new height. He choked and gasped against the floor. With all his effort, he clawed his way across
the stone. Each inch he moved only increased the pain until he was blinded by it. His eyes felt as if
they would explode from his head. He had managed to move only about two feet. He didn't know
what to do; the pain wouldn't let him move, and it was keeping him from thinking.

"Please, Mistress Denna," he whispered with all his strength, "help me. Please help me." He
realized he was crying, but didn't care. He only wanted the chain back on the chair so the pain
would stop.

He heard her boots walking toward him. She bent and picked up the chair, righted it, and replaced
the loop. His pain lifted, but he couldn't stop crying as he rolled onto his back.

She stood over him with her hands on her hips. "That was only fifteen minutes, but since I had to
come help you, the hour starts over. The next time I have to come help you, it will be two hours."
She bent and pushed the Agiel against his stomach, making pain bloom inside him. "Understand?"

"Yes, Mistress Denna," he cried. He was afraid there was a way to escape, and afraid of what
would happen to him if he found it, and afraid of not trying. If there was a way, by the end of the
hour, he had not found it.

She came and stood over him as he- rested on his hands and knees. "Do you think you understand
now? Do you understand what will happen if you try to escape?"

"Yes, Mistress Denna." And he really did. There was no way for him to ever get away.
Hopelessness closed around him, feeling as if it would suffocate him. He wanted to die. He thought
about the knife at his belt.

"Stand up." As if reading, his mind, she spoke softly. "If you should think you would end your
service as my pet, think again

The magic will prevent it, the same as it prevents you from moving the chain from where I put it."
Richard blinked numbly at her. "There is no way for you to escape me, not even through death.
You will be mine as long as I choose to let you live."

"That won't be long, Mistress Denna. Darken Rahl is going to kill me."

"Perhaps. But even if he does, it will only be after you tell him what he wants to know. What I want
is for you to answer his questions, and you are going to do what I want without hesitation." Her
brown eyes had the hardness of steel. "You may not believe that right now, but you have no idea
how good I am at training people. I have never failed to break a man. You may think you will be
the first, but you will soon be begging to please me."

The first day with her wasn't over, and already Richard knew he would do almost anything she said.
She had weeks left to train him. If he could have willed himself to die on the spot, he would have
done it. The worst thing was knowing she was right; there was nothing he could do to stop her. He
was at her mercy, and he didn't think she had a shred of it.

"I understand, Mistress Denna. I believe you." Her pleasant smile made him need to think of how
pretty her braid was.

"Good. Now, take off your shirt." Her smile widened at the puzzled look on his face, and the way
he started unbuttoning his shirt nonetheless. She held the Agiel in front of his eyes. "It's time to
teach you all the things the Agiel can do. If you leave your shirt on, it will be covered in blood, and
I won't be able to find a fresh spot on you. You are going to see why the outfit I wear is this color."

He pulled his shirttail out. He was breathing hard, in a near panic. "But Mistress Denna, what have
I done wrong?"

She cupped a hand to the side of his face with mock concern. "Why, don't you know?" He shook
his head, swallowing back the lump in his throat. "You have let yourself be captured by a MordSith. You should have killed all my men with your sword. I think you could have done it. You were
very impressive, as far as you went. Then you should have used your knife or your bare hands to
kill me, while I was vulnerable, before I had control of your magic. You should have never given
me the chance to take control of the magic from you. You should have never tried to

use it against me." `

"But why must you use the Agiel on me, now."

She laughed. "Because I want you to learn. Learn that I can do whatever I want, and there is no way
for you to stop me. You must learn that you are totally helpless, and that if you enjoy any time
without pain, it is only because I choose it. Not you." The smile left her face. She went to the table,
returned with manacles held with a length of chain. "Now. You have a problem that annoys me.
You keep falling down. We are going to fix that. Put these on."

She threw them at him. He struggled to control his breathing as he latched each iron band to a
shaking wrist. Denna dragged the chair over to a beam, made him stand under it. She stood on the
chair to hook the chain to an iron peg.

"Stretch up. It doesn't reach yet." He had to stand on his toes and stretch before she could get it
hooked. "There." She smiled. "Now we won't have any more problems with you falling down."

Richard hung from the chain, trying to control his terror, the iron bands digging into his wrists
because of his own weight. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her before, but this was
different. It amplified his helplessness, made him all the more aware that there was no way for him
to fight back. Denna pulled on her gloves, walked around him several times, tapping the Agiel
against her hand, prolonging his anxiety.

If only he had been killed trying to stop Darken Rahl-that was a price he had been prepared to pay.
This was different. This was death without dying. Living death. He was not even to be allowed the
dignity of fighting back. He knew what the Agiel felt like; he didn't need her to show him anymore.
She was only doing this to take away his pride, his self-respect. To break him.

Denna tapped the Agiel against his chest and back as she continued walking around him. Each
touch of it was like a dagger knifing into him. Each touch made him cry out in pain and twist on the
chain; and he knew she hadn't even really begun yet. The first day was still not over, and there
would be many more to come. He cried at his helplessness.

Richard imagined his sense of self, his dignity, as a living thing, saw it in his mind. He imagined a
room. A room that was impervious to anything, to any harm. He put his dignity, his self respect,
into that room, and locked the door. No one would have a key to that door. Not Denna, not Darken
Rahl. Only him. He would endure what was to come, for as long as it was to come, without his
dignity. He would do what he had to, and someday he would unlock the door, and be himself again,
even it if was only in death. But for now, he would be her slave. For now. But not always.
Someday, it would end.

Denna took his face in both her hands and kissed him, hard. Hard enough to make his cut lip throb
and sting. She seemed to enjoy the kiss more when she was sure it hurt him. She took her face from
his, her eyes wide with delight. "Shall we begin, my pet?" she whispered.

"Please, Mistress Denna," he whispered, "don't do this."

Her smile widened. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Denna began showing him what the Agiel would do, how if she dragged it lightly across his flesh,
it raised fluid-filled welts, and how if she pressed a little harder, they filled with blood. When she
bore down, he could feel warm wetness on his sweaty, skin. She could also make the exact same
pain without leaving a mark. His teeth hurt from gritting them so hard. Sometimes she would stand-
behind him, waiting until he was off guard before she touched it to him. When she tired of that she
made him close his eyes and keep them closed while she walked around him, pressing it against
him or dragging it around his chest.

She would laugh when she succeeded in making him think it was coming, and he would brace for
it, and it didn't. One particularly sharp jab brought his eyes open wide, giving her an excuse to use
the glove. She made him beg for forgiveness for opening his eyes without being told to do so. His
wrists bled from the manacles cutting into them. It was impossible to keep his weight off them.

His anger only got away from him once, when she pressed the Agiel into his armpit. She stood with
a smirk, watching, while he twisted, trying to think of her hair. Since putting the Agiel there caused
him to lose control of the anger, she concentrated on that area for a long time, but he didn't make
the same mistake twice. Since he didn't bring on the pain of the magic again, she did it for him,
only when she did it he couldn't turn it off, no matter how hard he tried. He had to beg her to do it
for him. Sometimes she would stand in front of him, watching him catch his breath. A few times,
she pressed herself against him, hugging his chest, squeezing, the hardness of the leather making
every wound it pressed against flare anew in pain.

Richard had no idea how long this torture lasted. Much of the time, he wasn't aware of anything but
the pain, as if it were a living thing, there with him. He was only aware that at some point, he knew
he would do anything she said, no matter what it was, if only she would stop hurting him. He
looked away from the Agiel. The mere glimpse of it made tears well up in his eyes. Denna was
right about herself; she never tired or became bored with what she did. It seemed to constantly
fascinate her, keep her amused, satisfied. The only thing that. seemed to make her happier than
hurting him was when he begged her to stop. He would have begged more, to make her happy, but
most of the time he was incapable of talking. Simply breathing was almost more than he could
handle.

He no longer tried to keep the pressure off his wrists, and hung limp, delirious. He thought she
stopped for a while, but he hurt so much from what she had already done that he wasn't sure. The
sweat in his eyes was blinding him; the sweat running into the wounds caused them to burn.

When his head cleared somewhat, she returned, walking behind him. He braced for what he knew
was coming. Instead, she grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked his head back.

"Now, my pet, I'm going to show you something new. I'm going to show you how kind a mistress I
really am." She pulled his head back, hard, until the pain made him tense the muscles in his neck to
resist the pressure. She put the Agiel against his throat. "Stop fighting me, or I won't take it away."

Blood was running into his mouth; he relaxed his neck muscles, allowing her to pull as hard as she
wanted.

"Now, my pet, listen very carefully. I'm going to put the Agiel in your right ear." Richard almost
choked with fear. She jerked his head back to make him stop it. "It's different from putting it
anywhere else. It hurts a lot more. But you must do exactly as I say." Her mouth was right by his
ear; she whispered to him like a lover. "In the past, when I have had a sister Mord-Sith with me, we
would both put our Agiel in the man's ears at the same time. He would make a scream unlike any
other. The sound of it is intoxicating. I get chills just thinking about it."

"But, it would also kill him. We were never successful at using two Agiel at the same time in that
particular way without killing him. We kept trying, but they always died. Be thankful I am your
mistress; there are others who still try."

"Thank you, Mistress Denna." He wasn't sure what he was thanking her for, but he didn't want-her
to do whatever it was she had planned

"Pay attention," she whispered harshly. Her voice softened again. "When I do this, you must not
move. If you move, it will damage things inside you. It won't kill you, but it will cause irrevocable
disability. Some men who move go blind, some are no longer able to move anything on one side of
their body, some can't talk anymore, or walk. But in all who move, something is spoiled. I want you
fully functional. Mord-Sith who are more cruel than I don't tell their pets not to move, they just do
it without warning them. So you see? I am not so cruel as you thought. Still, only a few of the men
I do it to are able to hold still. Even though I warn them, they still jerk, and then they are left
impaired."

Richard couldn't hold back from crying. "Please, Mistress Denna, please don't do it, please."

He could feel the breath of her smile. She ran her wet tongue into his ear, kissed it. "But I want to,
my pet. Don't forget, hold still, don't move."

Richard clenched his teeth, but nothing could have prepared him for it. His head felt as it had been
turned to glass and shattered into a thousand pieces. His fingernails cut into his palms. All sense of
time shattered apart with everything else. He was in a wasteland of agony with no beginning, no
end. Every nerve in his body seared with razor-sharp, burning misery. He had no idea how long she
held the Agiel there, but when she took it away, his screams echoed from the stone walls.

When he finally went limp, she kissed his ear and whispered breathlessly in it. "That was a simply
delightful scream, my pet. I've never heard one better. Except a scream in death, of course

You did very well, my pet, you never moved an inch." She kissed his neck tenderly, then his ear
again. "Shall we try the other side?"

Richard sagged in the shackles. He couldn't even cry. She pulled his head back harder as she moved
to the other side of him.

When she was finally finished with him, and unhooked the chain, he collapsed to the floor. He
didn't think himself capable of moving, but when she motioned him up with the Agiel, the mere
sight of it made him do as she wanted. .

"That's all for today, my pet." Richard thought he might die of joy. "I'm going to get some sleep.
Today was only a part day; tomorrow we will get in a full day of training. You will find a full day
more painful."

Richard was too exhausted to care about tomorrow. He wanted only to lie down. Even the stone
floor would feel like the best bed he had ever slept in. He looked at it longingly.

Denna brought the chair over, took the chain that hung from his collar, and hooked it over the iron
peg in the beam. He watched in confusion, too weary to try to figure out her intent. When finished,
she walked toward the door. Richard realized there wasn't enough slack to allow him to lie down.

"Mistress Denna, how am I to sleep?"

She turned and gave him a condescending smile. "Sleep? I don't recall telling you that you were
allowed to sleep. Sleep is a privilege you earn. You have not earned it. Don't you remember this
morning, when you had that nasty vision of killing me with your sword? Don't you remember I told
you that you would be sorry you did it? Good night, my pet."

She started to leave, but turned back. "And if you have any thoughts of simply pulling the chain off
the peg and letting the pain make you pass out, I wouldn't try it if I were you. I changed the magic.
It will not allow you to pass out anymore. If you pull the chain off, or fall down accidentally, and
that pulls it off, I will not be here to help you. You will be all alone, for the night, with the pain.
Think about that, if you get sleepy."

She turned on her heels and left, taking the torch with her.

Richard stood in the dark, crying. After a time, he forced himself to stop, and thought of Kahlan.
That was something pleasant Denna couldn't take away from him. At least not tonight. He made
himself feel good by thinking of how she was safe, and had people to protect her. Zedd, and Chase,
and soon Michael's army. He envisioned her where she must be, at a camp somewhere, right now,
with Siddin and Rachel, taking care of them, telling them stories, making them laugh.

He smiled at the vision of her in his mind. He savored the memory of her kiss, the feel of her
against him. Even if he wasn't with her, she could still make him smile, make him happy. What
happened to him didn't matter. She was safe. That was all that counted. Kahlan, and Zedd, and
Chase, were safe, and they had the last box. Darken Rahl was going to die, and Kahlan was going
to live.

After it was over, what did it matter what happened to him? He might as well be dead. Denna, or
Darken Rahl, would see to that. He had only to endure the pain until then. He could do that. What
did it matter? Nothing Denna could do could match the pain of knowing that he couldn't be with
Kahlan. The woman he loved. The woman he loved, who would choose another.

He was glad he was going to be dead before then. Maybe he could do something to hurry it along;
it certainly didn't take much to make Denna angry. If he moved the next time she put the Agiel in
his ear, he would be permanently impaired; then maybe he would be of-no use to her. Maybe she
would kill him then. He had never felt so alone in his life.

"I love you, Kahlan," he whispered into the dark.

-+---
As Denna had promised, the next day was worse. She seemed well rested, and anxious to work off
some of her energy at the task of breaking him. He knew there was one thing he had control over, a
choice in. He waited for her to use the Agiel in his ear again, so he could jerk his head with all his
strength, and cause serious damage, but she never did, as if she sensed what he might do. That gave
him a shred of hope; it was something he had made her do. He had made her not use the Agiel in
that way. She didn't have all the control she thought she did; he still was able to force her to do
something by his own choice. The thought heartened him. The thought of how he had locked his
self-respect, his dignity, away in his secret room gave him the ability to do what was necessary. He
let himself do as she wished, when she wished it.

The only time Denna paused was a few times to sit at the table to eat. She would watch him while
she slowly ate fruit, smiling to herself when he moaned. He was given nothing to eat, only water
from a cup she held for him after she was finished with her meal.

At the end of the day she hooked his chain to the beam again and made him stand for the night. He
didn't bother to ask why; it didn't matter. She was going to do as she wished and there was nothing
he could do to change it.

In the morning when she returned with the torch, he was still standing, but barely. She seemed in a
good mood.

"I want a good-morning kiss." She smiled. "I expect you to return it. Show me how happy you are
to see your mistress."

He did his best, but had to concentrate on how pretty her braid was. The embrace ignited the flames
of pain in the wounds she pressed against. When she was finished, and the hurt left him shaking,
she pulled the chain off the peg and tossed it on the floor.

"You are learning to be a good pet. You have earned two hours of sleep."

He collapsed to the floor, asleep before the sound of her footsteps faded.

He discovered that being awakened by the Agiel was a terror all its own. The brief sleep had done
little to revive him. He needed much more than he had been allowed. He vowed to himself that he
would struggle with all his might to get through the entire day without making. a single mistake, to
do exactly. as she wished, and maybe she would grant him a whole night's sleep.

He put his effort into doing everything she wished, hoping he would please her. He was hoping,
too,. that he would be given something to eat. He hadn't eaten since she had captured him. He
wondered which he wanted more-sleep, or food. He decided that what he wanted the most was for
the pain to stop. Or for him to be allowed to die

He was at the end of his strength, felt his life slipping away from him, and awaited the end with
longing. Denna seemed to sense his waning endurance, and eased up, giving him more time to
recover, taking longer breaks. He didn't care; he knew it was never going to end, he was lost. He
surrendered his will to live, to go on, to hold out. She cooed to him soothingly, stroking his face, as
he hung in the shackles, resting. She spoke encouragingly to him, told him not to give up, and
promised that when fie was broken, it would be better. He just listened, not even able to cry.

When at last she unhooked the shackles from the beam, he thought it must be night again; he had
no sense of time anymore. He waited for her to hook up the chain, or throw it on the floor and tell
him he could sleep. She did neither. She instead hooked it over the chair, told him to stand, and left.
When she returned, she was carrying a bucket.

"On your knees, my pet." She sat in the chair next to him, took a brush from the hot soapy water,
and started scrubbing him. The stiff bristles brought a pain all of their own as they worked into his
wounds. "We have a dinner invitation. I have to get you cleaned up. I rather like the smell of your
sweat, your fear, but I'm afraid it would offend the guests."

She worked with an odd sort of tenderness. It reminded him of the way a person would care for a
dog. He fell against her, unable to hold himself up. He wouldn't lean against her for support if he
had the strength not to, but he didn't. She let him stay where he was as she scrubbed. He wondered
who the dinner invitation was from, but didn't ask.

Denna told him anyway. "Queen Milena herself has asked us to join her and her guests for dinner.
Quite an honor, for someone as low as you, wouldn't you say?".

He only nodded, not having enough strength to speak.

Queen Milena. So they were in her castle. He guessed that didn't surprise him. Where else would
she have had time to take him? When she was finished, she allowed him one hour of sleep, to rest
for dinner. He slept at her feet.

She woke him with her boot instead of the Agiel. He almost cried at her mercy and heard himself
thanking her profusely for her kindness to him. She gave him instructions as to his behavior. He
would have his chain hooked to her belt, and was to keep his eyes to her, speak to no one unless
they spoke to him first, and then only if he looked to her first for permission to answer. He would
not be allowed to sit at the table, but would sit on the floor, and if he behaved himself, he would be
given something to eat.

He promised to do as she wished. The idea of sitting on the floor sounded wonderful to him: to be
able to rest, and not have to stand, or be hurt. And to be allowed something to eat, at last. He would
make sure he did nothing to displease her, or to keep her from giving him food.

Richard's brain was in a fog as he followed behind Denna, attached to her by the chain on his
collar, concentrating on keeping the proper amount of slack. The manacles were off his wrists, but
the cuts from them were red and swollen, and throbbed painfully. He vaguely remembered some of
the rooms they passed through.

In the room with other people, Denna stopped as she strode around, talking briefly with finely
dressed people. Richard kept his eyes on her braid. The braid had obviously been done over for the
dinner; the vigorous use of the Agiel caused it to loosen, and freed stray wisps of hair. She must
have done it over while she had let him sleep.

He found himself thinking about how beautiful her hair really was, how much finer she looked than
any of the other women at the dinner. He knew people were staring at him, at his sword, as he was
led around the room by his collar and chain. He reminded himself that his pride was locked away
for the time being. This was about getting a chance to rest, to eat, and about having her not hurt him
for a while.

Richard bowed and stayed bowed while Denna spoke to the Queen. The Queen and the Mord-Sith
gave only a bow of the head to each other. The Princess was at the Queen's side. Richard thought
about how Princess Violet had treated Rachel, and had to return his thoughts to Denna's braid.

As she sat at the table, Denna snapped her fingers and pointed at the floor behind her chair. He
knew what she wanted and sat on the floor, crossing his legs. Denna sat to the left of the Queen, to
the right of Princess Violet, who eyed him coldly. Richard recognized some of the Queen's
advisors. He smiled to himself. The court artist wasn't among them. The head table was higher than
the others, but sitting on the floor, Richard couldn't see many of the gathered guests.

"Since you don't eat meat," the Queen said to Denna. "I had the cooks prepare a special dinner I
know you will enjoy. Some wonderful soups and vegetables, and some rare fruits."

Denna smiled and thanked her. While she was eating, a server brought her a plain bowl on a tray.

"For my pet," she told him, interrupting her conversation only briefly.

The man took the bowl from the tray and handed it down to Richard. It was some sort of gruel, but
to Richard, as he held the bowl in his trembling hands, preparing to drink it down, it looked like the
best meal he had ever seen.

"If he's your pet," Princess Violet said, "why do you allow him to eat like that?"

Denna looked over to the Princess. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if he's your pet"-the Princess smiled-"he should eat off the floor, without his hands."

Denna grinned, a glint in her eye. "Do as she says."

"Put it on the floor," Princess Violet said, "and eat it like a dog, for us all to see. Let everyone see
that the Seeker is no better than a dog."

Richard was too hungry to do anything to lose his meal. He concentrated on a mental image of
Denna's braid and set the bowl carefully on the floor as he glanced into Princess Violet's eyes, to
her smirk, and ate the gruel to the sound of laughter. He licked the bowl clean, telling himself it
was because he needed the strength, in case he ever got the chance to use it.

After the Queen and her guests had finished eating, a man in chains was brought in and made to
stand in the center of the room. Richard recognized him. He was one of the men Kahlan had freed
from the dungeon. They exchanged a brief look of understanding, despair.

There was talk of crimes and foul deeds done. Richard did his best to ignore it; he knew it was
merely a pretext. The Queen gave a short lecture on the man's crimes, then turned to the Princess

"Perhaps the Princess would like to pronounce this man's punishment?"

Princess Violet stood, beaming. "For his crimes against the Crown, one hundred lashes. Then, for
his crimes against the people, his head."

A murmur of agreement swept the room. Richard felt sick, but at the same time he wished he could
exchange places with the man. The one hundred lashes would be easy, and there would be an axe at
the end of it.

Princess Violet turned to Denna as she sat back down. "Sometime I would enjoy seeing how you
handle your punishments."

"Stop down anytime you wish." Denna glanced over her shoulder. "I'll let you watch."

When they were back in the stone room, Denna wasted no time in getting his shirt off, and he was
soon hanging from the beam again. She coolly informed him that his eyes had strayed too much at
dinner. Richard's heart sank. The shackles around his wrists burned into his flesh once more.
Denna's talents had him covered in sweat in no time, gasping for air, crying out in agony. She told
him it was still early and she wanted to get in a lot of training before the evening ended.

Richard's muscles flexed and tightened, lifting him off the floor as Denna twisted the Agiel into his
back. He begged her to stop, but she didn't. When he sagged once more in the shackles, he saw a
silhouette in the doorway.

"I like the way you can make him beg," Princess Violet said.

The Mord-Sith smiled to her. "Come closer, my dear, and I'll show you more."

Denna hugged him with one arm, pressing herself into his wounds. She kissed his ear and
whispered to him. "Let's show the Princess how well you can beg, shall we?"

Richard vowed to himself he wouldn't, but it wasn't long before he broke his vow. Denna put on a
demonstration for Princess Violet, showing her the different ways she could hurt him. She seemed
proud to show off her talents.

"Can I try?" the Princess asked.

Denna-looked down at her a moment. "Why, of course, my dear. I'm sure my pet wouldn't mind."
She smiled at him. "Now would you?" "Please, Mistress Denna, don't let her. Please. She's just a
little girl. I'll do anything you say, but don't let her. Please."

"There, you see, my dear, he doesn't mind at all."

Denna handed her the Agiel.

Princess Violet stood grinning up at him while she fingered the Agiel. Experimentally, she poked it
at his thigh muscle, happy at the way it made him flinch in pain. Pleased with the results, she
walked around him, poking it into his flesh.

"It's easy!" she said. "I never thought it would be this easy to make someone bleed."

Denna stood with her arms folded across her breasts, watching him with a smile while the Princess
became bolder. It wasn't long before her cruelty came fully to the surface. She delighted in her new
game.

"Remember what you did to me?" she asked him. She jabbed the Agiel into his side. "Remember
how you embarrassed me? I guess you're getting what you deserve, don't you think?" Richard kept
his teeth clenched tightly together. "Answer me! Don't you think this is what you deserve?"

Richard kept his eyes closed as he tried to control his grip on the pain.

"Answer me! And then beg me to stop. I want to do it while you beg."

"You better answer her," Denna said. "She seems to learn fast."

"Please, Mistress Denna, don't teach her this. What you are doing to her is worse than what you are
doing to me. She's only a little girl. Please don't do this to her. Don't let her learn these things."

"I'll learn what I please. You better start begging. Right now!"

Even though he knew he was only making it worse for himself, Richard waited 'until he could
absolutely bear it no longer before he let himself answer. "I'm sorry, Princess Violet," he gasped.
"Please forgive me. I was wrong."

Richard found that answering her was a mistake; it only seemed to excite her. It didn't take her
long, though, before she learned to make him beg, and cry, even though he tried not to. Richard
couldn't believe the absurdity of a little girl doing this. Much less enjoying it. This was madness

She held the Agiel against his stomach while she leered up at him. "But this is less than that
Confessor deserves. She will get more than this someday. And I'm going to be the one to do it. My
mother said I get to be the one when she comes back. I want you to beg me to hurt her. Let's hear
you beg me to chop off the Mother Confessor's head."

Richard had no idea what it was, but something inside him came awake.

Princess Violet gritted her teeth and jammed the Agiel into his gut hard as she could, twisting it.
"Beg me! Beg me to kill that ugly Kahlan!"

The pain made Richard scream at the top of his lungs.,

Denna stepped between them, snatching the Agiel from Princess Violet's hand. "Enough! You will
kill him if you use the Agiel in that way."

"Thank you, Mistress Denna," he panted. He felt a peculiar affection for her, at the way she stepped
to his defense.

Princess Violet took a step back, her face a picture of bad temper. "I don't care if I kill him!"

Denna's voice was cool and authoritative. "Well, I do. He is too valuable to waste in this manner."
Denna was clearly the one in charge around here. Not the Princess, not even the Queen. Denna was
an agent of Darken Rahl.

Princess Violet glared at him. "My mother says that Confessor Kahlan will come back and that
we'll have a surprise for her the next time she comes here. I just want you to know because my
mother said you'll be dead by then. My mother says I get to decide what to do to her. First, I'm
going to cut off her hair." Her hands were in fists, her face red. "Then I'm going to let all the guards
rape her, every one! Then I'm going to put her in the dungeon for a few years so they'll have
someone to play with! Then when I get tired of hurting her, I'll have her head chopped off and put it
on a pole where I can watch it rot!"

Richard actually felt sorry for the little Princess. The sadness for her came over him in a wave. At
that feeling, he was surprised to feel the thing in him that had come awake rise up.

Princess Violet squeezed her eyes shut and stuck her tongue out far as she could.

It was like a red flag

The strength of the awakened power exploded through him.

When his boot came up under her jaw he could feel it shatter like a crystal goblet on a stone floor.
The impact of the blow lifted the Princess into the air. Her own teeth severed her tongue before
they, too, shattered. She landed on her back, a good distance away, trying to scream through the
gushing blood.

Denna's eyes snapped to him. For an instant, he saw fear pass across them. Richard had no idea
how he was able to what he had done, why the magic hadn't stopped him, and from the look on
Denna's face, he knew he shouldn't have been able to do it.

"I warned her before," Richard said, holding Denna's glare. "Promise made. Promise kept." He
smiled. "Thank you, Mistress Denna, for saving my life. I owe you."

She stared at him a moment before her expression turned dark. She stalked out of the room. He
watched the Princess writhing on the floor as he hung in the shackles.

"Turn over, Violet, or you'll drown in your own blood. Turn over!"

The Princess managed to flip herself over, a red pool spreading under her: Men appeared in a rush,
tending to her. Denna watched. They lifted her carefully, carrying her away. He could hear their
urgent voices fading, disappearing down the hall.

And then he was alone with Denna.

The strap hinges creaked as she pushed the door closed with one long-nailed finger. Richard had
learned over the last few days that Denna truly did have a perverse kindness to her. He had learned
to interpret the way she used the Agiel, to interpret her mood through it. Sometimes when she was
hurting him. he could tell she was holding back out of a twisted caring for him. He knew it was
insane, but he understood that there were times she felt she was sharing her feelings for him by
doing her worst. He knew, too, that tonight she was going to do her worst.

She stood by the door, watching him. Her voice was soft. "You are a very rare person, Richard
Cypher. Master Rahl warned me about you. Warned me to take care; that the prophecies speak of
you." She walked slowly, her boots echoing her steps on the stone, to stand in front of him, close.
She looked into his eyes, a slight wrinkle to her brow. Her breath on his face was quicker than
normal. "That was quite extraordinary," she whispered. "Thoroughly exciting." Her eyes searched
his face hungrily. "I have decided," she said breathlessly, "to have you as my mate."

Richard hung from the chains, helpless against this madness. He didn't know what the power was
that had risen up in him, or how to call it back. He tried. It did not come.

Denna seemed to be in the grip of something he didn't understand, as if she were trying to summon
the courage to do something, fearing it, yet anxiously wanting it. Her breathing was quickening, her
chest heaving, as she looked into his eyes. Incredulous, he saw something the ugliness of her
cruelty had never let him see before: she was attractive. Breathtakingly, stunningly, attractive. He
thought he must be losing his mind.

Shocked, and strangely worried, Richard watched as she slowly put the Agiel between her teeth. He
could tell by the way her pupils suddenly expanded that it was hurting her. Her skin paled. She
inhaled sharply, trembling the slightest bit. Denna put her fingers into the back of his hair and held
his head. Slowly she brought her lips to his. She kissed him deeply, passionately, sharing the
shattering pain of the Agiel with him. With her tongue, she held it between their tips. Her kiss was
savage, bestial, as she twisted against him.

Every fiber of his being burned with the torture. His gasp sucked the air from her lungs, hers did
the same to him. -He could get no breath but hers, she none but his. The pain made him forget
everything but her. It marauded through his mind. He knew by the sounds she was making that she
was feeling the same agony as he. Her fingers in his hair tightened into fists from the pain. She
moaned in suffering. Her muscles tightened with it. It raged through the both of them.

Without comprehending why, he found himself kissing her back just as passionately, just as
savagely. The pain was altering his perception of everything. He had never kissed anyone with this
kind of lust. Desperately, he wanted her to stop. Desperately, he didn't.

The strange power awakened again. He tried to reach for it, grasp for it, hold on to it. But it slipped
from him and was gone.

The pain was overwhelming him as Denna crushed her lips to his, the Agiel between them, their
teeth grating together. She pressed her body to his, hooked a leg around his, clung to him. Her cries
of anguish were growing more desperate. He ached to hold her.

As he was about to lose consciousness, she pulled away from him, still gripping his hair in her fists.
Tears ran from her eyes as she looked into his, not two inches away. She rolled the Agiel into her
mouth with her tongue and held it there with her teeth as she shook with the pain, as if to show him
she was stronger than he. Her hand came slowly and took away the Agiel as her eyes rolled back in
her head. She gasped for air.

Her brow wrinkled together. Tears from the pain, and from something else, flooded from her eyes.
She gave him a kiss. The tenderness, the gentleness, of it, shocked him.

"We are bonded," she whispered intimately. "Bonded in the pain of the Agiel. I am sorry, Richard."
She brushed his cheek with trembling fingers, the glaze of pain still in her eyes. "Sorry for what I
will do to you. You are my mate for life."

Richard was stunned by the compassion in her voice. "Please, Mistress Denna. Please let me go. Or
at least help me stop Darken Rahl. I promise you, I will willingly be your mate for life, if you help
me stop him. I swear on my life, if you help me, I will stay without the magic holding me.
Forever."

She put a hand to his chest, to steady herself as she recovered. "Do you think I do not understand
what I am doing to you?" Her eyes had an empty gloss to them. "Your training and service will last
for mere weeks, before you die. The training of a Mord-Sith lasts for years. Everything I do to you,
and more, has been done to me, a thousand times over. A Mord-Sith must know her Agiel better
than she knows herself. My first trainer took me for his mate when I was fifteen, after he had
trained me since I was twelve. There is no way I could ever live up to his cruelty, or his ability to
keep a person on the cusp between life and death. He trained me until I was eighteen, when I killed
him. For that, I was punished with the Agiel every day for the next two years. This Agiel. The very
same one I use on you was the one used to train me. It was presented to me when I was proclaimed
Mord-Sith. I live for nothing else but to use it."

"Mistress Denna," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

The steel returned to her eyes. She nodded. "You will be

There is no one who will help you. That includes me. You will find that being the mate to a MordSith brings you no added privileges, only a great deal of added pain."

Richard hung helpless in the shackles, overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Understanding her a
little only increased his hopelessness. There was no escape for him. He was the mate of a
madwoman.

The frown and the smile returned. "Why would you be so foolish as to do what you did? Surely,
you must know I will hurt you for doing it."

He looked at her puzzlement for a moment. "Mistress Denna, what difference does it make? You
are going to hurt me anyway. I can't imagine what more you could do to me."

Her lip curled in a sneer. "Oh, my love, you have a very limited imagination."

He felt her grab the tongue of his belt and yank the buckle open.

She gritted her teeth. "It is time we found some new places on you to hurt. It is time to see what
you are really made of." The look in her eyes made him go cold. "Thank you, my love, for giving
me the excuse to do this to you. I have never before done it to another, but it has been done to me
enough times. It is what broke me when I was fourteen. Tonight," she whispered, "neither of us is
going to get any sleep."

CHAPTER 4

2
THE BUCKETFUL of COLD water on his naked flesh barely revived him. He only dimly saw the
little rivers of water that were stained bright red as they ran away from him in the cracks of the
stone floor his face lay against. Each shallow breath he took was a mighty effort. He wondered idly
how many of his ribs she had broken.

"Put your clothes on. We're leaving," she called down to him.

"Yes, Mistress Denna," he whispered, his voice so hoarse from screaming he knew she couldn't
hear him, and knew she would hurt him for not answering, and yet he could do no more.

'When the Agiel didn't come, he moved a little, saw his boot and reached out to it, pulling it to him.
He sat up, but couldn't raise his head above his shoulders. It hung limply. With great difficulty, he
started putting on his boot. Gashes on his feet brought tears to his eyes when he pulled.

Her knee to his jaw knocked him flat on his back. She fell on him, sitting on his chest, hitting his
face with her fists.

"What's the matter with you! Are you stupid? Your pants go on before your boots! Do I have to tell
you everything!" "Yes Mistress Denna, no Mistress Denna, .forgive me Mistress Denna, thank you
Mistress Denna for hurting me, thank you Mistress Denna for teaching me," he mumbled.

She sat on his chest, panting in rage. Her breathing slowed after a time.

"Come on. I will help you." She leaned over and kissed him. "Come on, my love. You'll be able to
rest while we travel."

"Yes, Mistress Denna." The sound of his voice was hardly more than a breath.

She kissed him again. "Come on, my love. It will be better, now that I have broken you. You will
see."

A closed carriage stood waiting for them in the dark. Clouds from the horses' breath rose and
drifted slowly in the cold, still air. Richard stumbled a few times as he walked behind her, trying to
keep the proper slack to the chain. He had absolutely no idea how long it had been since she had
decided he was to be her mate, nor did it matter to him. A guard opened the carriage door.

Denna tossed the end of his chain on the floor. "Get in."

Richard grabbed the sides of the door. He dimly heard someone approach in a huff. Derma gave a
little tug to the chain, indicating she wanted him to wait where he was.

"Denna!" It was the Queen, at the head of her advisors.

"Mistress Denna," she corrected.

The Queen looked to be in a foul mood. "Where do you think you are going with him?"

"That is none of your concern. It is time we were on our way. How is the Princess?"

The Queen glowered. "We don't know if she will live. I will be taking the Seeker. He is to pay."

"The Seeker is the property of myself and of Master Rahl. He is being punished, and will continue
to be punished until either Master Rahl, or myself, kills him. There is nothing you could do to him
that could equal what is already being done."

"He is to be executed. Right now."

Denna's voice was as cold as the night air. "Go back to your castle, Queen Milena, while you still
have a castle:"

Richard saw a knife in the Queen's hand. The guard standing next to him unhooked his battle-axe,
gripping it tightly in his fist. There was a crystal clear moment of silence

The Queen backhanded Denna and lunged with the knife for Richard. Denna effortlessly caught her
with the Agiel against her large chest.

As the guard went past him, raising the axe to Denna, the strange power roared awake. Richard
summoned all his strength, became one with the power. He hooked his left arm around the guard's
throat and drove his knife home. Denna gave a casual glance back as the man let out a death
scream. She smiled, and her eyes glided back to the Queen, who stood shaking, paralyzed in place,
the Agiel between her breasts. Denna gave a twist to the Agiel. The Queen dropped straight down
in a heap.

Denna turned her glare to the Queen's advisors. "The Queen's heart has given out." She arched an
eyebrow. "Unexpectedly. Please express my condolence to the people of Tamarang on the death of
their ruler. I would suggest you find a new ruler who is more attentive to the wishes of Master
Rahl."

They all gave a quick bow. The awakened power flickered and was gone. The effort of stopping the
guard had taken all the strength Richard had left. His shaking legs would no longer hold him. The
ground tilted and came up to meet him.

Denna grabbed his chair near the collar, raising his head off the ground. "I didn't tell you to lie
down! You were not given permission! On your feet!"

He couldn't move. She drove the Agiel into his stomach, dragged it up his chest, to his throat.
Richard convulsed in pain, but could not make his body respond to her wishes.

"Sorry . . ." he breathed.

She let his head drop to the ground when she realized he wasn't able to move and turned to the
guards. "Put him inside."

She climbed in after him, yelling up to- the driver to be off, and pulled the door shut. Richard
slumped back as the carriage jerked ahead.

"Please, Mistress Denna," he said in a slur, "forgive me for letting you down, for failing to stand as
you wished. I'm sorry. I will do better in the future. Please punish me to teach me to be better."

She gripped the chain, close to the collar, her knuckles white; lifting him from the seat back. Her
lips curled a sneer over gritted teeth. "Don't you dare die on me now, not yet; you have things to do
first."

His eyes were closed. "As you command . . . Mistress Denna."

She let go of the chain, took his shoulders, laid him across the seat, and gave him a kiss on his
forehead. "You have my permission to rest now, my love. It's a long way. You will have a long
time to rest, before it starts again."

Richard felt her fingers smoothing his hair back and the bouncing of the carriage as it sped along
the road, and fell asleep.

From time to time, he came partly awake, never fully conscious. Sometimes Denna sat next to him,
letting him lean against her as she spooned food into his mouth. Swallowing was painful, almost
more effort than he could bring forth. He winced with each spoonful, his hunger not sufficient to
overcome the pain in his throat, and he turned his head from the spoon. Denna murmured
encouragement to him, urging him to eat for her. Doing it for her was the only thing he responded
to.

Whenever a bump in the road brought him awake suddenly, he would clutch at her for protection,
safety, until she told him it was nothing, and to go back to sleep. He knew that sometimes he slept
on the ground, sometimes in the carriage. He saw nothing of the countryside they traveled through,
nor did he care. As long as she was near him, that was all that mattered; nothing else was important,
except being ready to do as she commanded. A few times, he slowly came awake to find her
wedged into the corner with him stretched out, his cloak tucked around him, his head on her breast,
as she stroked his hair. When it happened, he tried not to let her know he was awake, so she
wouldn't stop.

When this happened, and he felt the warm comfort of her, he also felt the power in him come
awake. He didn't try to reach it, to hold it; he only noted it. One time when it happened, he
recognized it, knew what it was. It was the magic of the sword.

As he lay against her, feeling the need of her, the magic stood within him. He touched it, fondled it,
felt its power. It was like the power he had called forth when he was going to kill with the sword,
but different in a way he couldn't understand. The power he had known before, he could no longer
feel. Denna had that power now, but this she didn't. When he tried to grasp the magic, it vanished,
like vapor. A dim part of his mind wanted its help, but since he couldn't control it, call it forth to aid
him, he lost interest in it.

As the time passed, his wounds began healing over. Each time he came awake he was a little more
alert. By the time Denna announced that they had arrived at their destination, he was able to stand
by himself, although he was still not completely clearheaded.

In the darkness, she led him from the carriage. He watched her feet as she walked, keeping the
proper slack in the chain attached to her belt. Even though he kept his eyes on her, he still noticed
the place they were entering. It was immense, dwarfing the castle at Tamarang. Walls stretched off
into the nothingness of the distance, towers and roofs rose to dizzying heights. He was aware
enough to note that the design of the vast structure was elegant and graceful. It was imposing, but
not harsh, not forbidding.

Denna led him through halls of polished marble and granite. Columns held majestic arches to the
sides. As they walked on and on, he noticed how his strength had grown. He wouldn't have been
able to stand for this long even a few days ago.

They saw no other people. Richard looked up at her braid, and thought about how pretty her hair
was, how lucky he was to have such a fine mate. At the thought of his caring for her, the power
rose up. Before it had a chance to fade, the dim, locked-away part of his mind grabbed it, held it,
while the rest of his mind thought about his affection for her. The realization that he had control of
it made him stop thinking about her, and grab the hope of escape. The power evaporated.

His heart sank. What did it matter, he thought; he was never going to escape, and why would he
want to anyway? He was Denna's mate. Where would he go? What would he do without her to tell
him what to do?

Denna went through a door, closing it behind him. A window with a pointed top was trimmed with
simple drapes and open to the darkness outside. There was a bed with a thick blanket and fat
pillows. The floor was polished wood. Lamps stood lit on the table next to the bed, and on the table
with a chair on the other side of the room. There were cabinets of dark wood built into one wall
next to another door. A stand held a basin and pitcher

Denna unhooked his chain. "These are my quarters. Since you are my mate, you will be permitted
to sleep here if you please me." She hooked the loop over the post of the footboard, snapped her
fingers, and pointed at the floor at the foot of the bed. "You may sleep there tonight. On the floor."

He looked at the floor. The Agiel laid on the top of his shoulder took him to his knees.

"I said on the floor. Now."

"Yes Mistress Denna. I'm sorry Mistress Denna."

"I'm exhausted. I don't want to hear another sound out of you tonight. Understand?"

He nodded, afraid to voice his agreement.

"Good." She flopped facedown in the bed and was asleep in moments.

Richard rubbed the hurt in his shoulder. It had been a while since she had used the Agiel on him. At
least she hadn't chosen to draw blood. Maybe, he reasoned, she didn't want blood in her quarters.
No, Denna liked his blood. He lay down on the floor. He knew that tomorrow she was going to hurt
him some more. He tried not to think about it; he was just getting healed from before.

He was awake before her; the shock of being awakened by the Agiel was something he wanted to
avoid. A bell rang with a long peal. Denna woke, lay on her back awhile, saying nothing, then sat
up, checking that he was awake.

"Morning devotions," she announced. "That was the bell, the call. After devotions, you will be
trained."

"Yes, Mistress Denna."

She hooked his chain to her belt and led him once more through the halls to a square, open to the,
sky, with pillars supporting arches on all four sides. The center of the square, under the open sky,
was white sand, raked in concentric lines around a dark, pitted rock. On the top of the rock was a
bell-the one he had heard before. On the tile floor among the columns were people on their knees,
bent forward, with their foreheads touching the tile.

The people chanted in unison. "Master Rahl guide us. Master Rahl teach us. Master Rahl protect us.
In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are humbled. We live
only to serve. Our lives are yours."

Over and over they chanted the same thing. Denna snapped her fingers, pointing at the floor.
Richard kneeled down, imitating the others. Denna kneeled next to him, putting her forehead to the
tiles. She started chanting in unison with the others, but stopped when she _ heard he wasn't.

"That's two hours." She frowned darkly at him. "If I have to remind you again, it's six."

"Yes, Mistress Denna."

He began chanting along. He had to concentrate on a vision of Denna's braid to be able to say the
words without bringing on the pain of the magic. He wasn't sure how long the chanting lasted, but
he thought it was about two hours. His back hurt from bending with his head to the floor. The
words never varied. After a time they melted into the sound of gibberish, feeling like mush in his
mouth.

The bell rang twice, and the people rose to their feet, going off in different directions. Denna rose.
Richard stayed, where he was, unsure of what to do. He knew he might get in trouble for staying
where he was, but knew if he got up and wasn't supposed to, the punishment would be much worse.
He heard footsteps coming toward them, but didn't look up.

A woman's husky voice spoke. "Sister Denna, how good to see you've returned. D'Hara has been
lonely without you."

D'Hara! Through the fog of his training, the word ignited his thoughts. Instantly, he brought to
mind the vision of Denna's braid, protecting him.

"Sister Constance. It's good to be home, and see your face again."

Richard recognized the ring of sincerity in Denna's voice. The Agiel touched the back of his neck,
taking his breath away. It felt as if a rope were tightening around his throat. By the way it was held,
he knew it wasn't Denna's.

"And what have we here?" Constance asked.

She took the Agiel away. Coughing in pain, Richard gasped for air. He came to his feet when
Denna told him to do so, wishing he could hide behind her. Constance was a good head shorter than
Denna, her stout figure dressed in a leather outfit like Denna's, only brown. Her dull brown hair
was done in a braid, too, but didn't have the fullness of Denna's. The look on her face made it seem
she had just eaten something she didn't like.

Denna gave his stomach an easy slap with the back of her hand. "My new mate."

"Mate." Constance spat the word out as if it tasted bitter. "I swear, Denna, I'll never understand how
you can bear to take a mate. The thought of it gives me a stomach ache. So, the Seeker, I see by his
sword. Quite a catch, anyway. It must have been difficult."

Denna smiled smugly. "He only killed two of my men, before he turned his magic on me." The
look of shock on Constance's face made Denna laugh. "He's from Westland."

Constance's eyebrows went up. "No!" She peered into Richard's eyes. "Is he broken?"

"Yes," Denna said, sighing. "But he still gives me reason to smile. It's only the morning devotion,
and already he's earned two hours."

A grin spread on Constance's face. "Mind if I come along?"

Denna gave her a warm smile. "You know that anything that is mine, is yours also, Constance. In
fact, you will be my second."

Constance seem pleased, and proud. Richard had to furiously think of Denna's braid as the edges of
the anger burned to get away from him.

Denna leaned closer to her friend. "In fact, for you only, if you wish to borrow him for a night, I
would not object." Constance stiffened with displeasure. Denna laughed. "Never try, never know."

Constance scowled. ".`I will have my pleasure from his flesh in other ways. I'll go change into the
red, and meet you there."

"No . . . the brown is fine, for now." Constance studied her face. "That's not like you, Denna."

"I have my reasons. Besides, Master Rahl himself sent me for this one." `

"Master Rahl himself. As you wish, then. After all, he is yours to do with as you will."

The training room was a simple square with walls and floor of gray granite and a beamed ceiling.
On the way in, Constance tripped him. He landed on his face. Before he could stop it, the anger
gripped him. She stood over him, pleased with herself, watching him struggle to regain control.

Denna attached a device to him that held his wrists and elbows tightly together behind his back. It
was hooked to a rope that ran through a pulley in the ceiling, and was tied off at the wall. She
hoisted him up until he had to stand on his toes before she tied the rope off at the wall. The pain in
his shoulders was excruciating, making it hard to breathe, and she hadn't even touched the Agiel to
him yet. He was helpless, off balance, and in agony before she even started. His mood sank.

Denna sat in a chair against the wall, telling Constance to enjoy herself. When Denna had trained
him, she often had a smile on her face. Constance never smiled once. She went about her work like
an ox at a plow, strands of hair coming loose, and in no time her face was covered with a sheen of
sweat. She never varied the touch of her Agiel. It was always the same, always hard, harsh, angry.
Richard didn't have to anticipate; there was no pause. She worked with rhythmic timing, never
giving him a rest. But she didn't draw blood. Denna had a constant smile on her face as she sat with
the chair leaned against the wall. At last Constance stopped, Richard panting, groaning.

"He can take it well. I haven't had a workout like this in quite a time. All the pets I've gotten lately
fold at the first touch."

The chair came down on its front legs with a clunk. "Maybe I can help, Sister Constance. Let me
show you where he doesn't like it."

Derma came up behind him and paused, making him flinch in expectation of what didn't come. Just
as he breathed out, the Agiel drove into a tender spot on the right side. He cried out as she held the
pressure against him. He couldn't hold his weight, and the rope pulled his shoulders so hard he
thought his arms would come out of their sockets. With a sneer, Denna held the Agiel to him until
he started crying.

"Please, Mistress Denna," he sobbed. "Please."

She withdrew the Agiel. "See?"

Constance shook her head. "I wish I had your talent, Denna."

"Here is another place." She made him scream. "And here, and here too." She came around and
smiled to him. "You don't mind if I show Constance all your special little places, do you?"

"Please, Mistress Denna, don't. It hurts too much." .

"There, you see? He doesn't mind at all."

She went back to her chair as tears ran down his face. Constance never smiled; she simply went to
work, and also had him begging breathlessly. But the way she never varied the pressure, never
letting up, was worse than Denna. She never gave him a moment to rest. Richard learned to fear her
touch more than he feared Denna's. Denna had an odd compassion at times. Constance never did.
When it was beyond a certain point, Denna would tell her to stop, wait a moment, and guide her so
as not to cripple him. Constance complied with her wishes and let Denna direct the way she wanted
him hurt.

"You don't have to stay, Denna, if you have things to do. I won't mind."

Fear and panic raced through his mind. He didn't want to be left alone with Constance. He knew
that Constance wanted to do things to him that Denna didn't want done. He didn't know what they
were, but he feared them.

"Another time, I will leave you alone with him ... to do things your way, but today, I will stay."

Richard made sure he showed no sign that he was relieved. Constance went back to work.

After a while longer, when she was behind him, Constance grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked
his head back, hard. Richard knew very well what it meant to have his head pulled back in this
manner. He remembered the pain of what she was about to do. The pain of having the Agiel in his
ear. He shook uncontrollably, couldn't breathe with the fear of it.

Denna came out of her chair. "Don't do that, Constance."

Constance gritted her teeth as she looked at him, pulling his head back harder. "Why not? Surely
you've done it?"

"Yes, I just don't want you to, that's all. Master Rahl hasn't talked to him yet. I don't want to take
any chances."

A grin came to Constance's face. "Denna, let's do it together, at the same time. You and me. Like
we used to."

"I told you, Master Rahl wants to talk to him."

"After that?" Denna smiled. "It has been a long time since I've heard that scream." She looked to
Richard's eyes. "If Master Rahl doesn't kill him, and he doesn't die first from .. . from other things,
then, yes, we will do it to him. All right? But not now. And Constance, please respect my wishes,
about using the Agiel in his ear?"

Constance nodded and released his hair. "Don't you think you have gotten off easy." She scowled at
him. "Sooner or later, you and I will be alone, and then I will take my pleasure from you."

"Yes, Mistress Constance," he whispered hoarsely.

After they were finished training him, they went to lunch. Richard followed behind, the chain
hooked to Denna's belt. The dining hall was tasteful in its simple style of frame and panel oak over
a white marble floor. There was the soft murmur of conversation at the various tables as people ate.
Denna snapped her fingers as she sat, pointing at the floor behind her chair. Servers brought food to
the two Mord-Sith, but none for Richard. Lunch was a hearty-looking soup, cheese, brown bread,
and fruit. The good smells drove Richard to distraction. There was no meat served. Halfway
through her meal, Denna turned and told him that he would get no lunch, for having earned two
hours that morning. She said that if he behaved himself, he would get dinner.

The afternoon was spent at devotions, and after that, several hours of training. Denna and
Constance shared the task. Richard did his best to do nothing wrong, and at dinner was rewarded
with a bowl of rice with vegetables over it. After dinner were more devotions and more training,
until at last they left Constance and returned to Denna's quarters, Richard dead tired and stooping
because of pain as he walked.

"I wish a bath," she said. She showed him the room adjoining hers. It was small; empty of
everything except a rope holding the binding device from the ceiling, and a bathing tub in the
corner. She told him the room was for training if he needed it on the spot and she didn't want blood
in her room, and for when she wanted to leave him hanging all night. She promised him he would
be spending a great deal of time in the little room.

She had him drag the tub to the foot of her bed. He took the bucket from the tub and was instructed
where to go for hot water. He was to speak to no one, even if spoken to, and he was to run, there
and back, so her bathwater wouldn't get cold before the tub was filled. She told him that if he didn't
follow her instructions exactly while out of her sight, the pain of the magic would take him down,
and if she had to come looking for him, he would be very sorry he had disappointed her. He swore
his solemn oath to do as she commanded. The place where the hot water came from, a hot spring in
a pool surrounded by white marble seats, was a goodly distance. He was sweating and exhausted by
the time he had the tub filled.

While she sat soaking in the tub Richard scrubbed her back, brushed her hair out, and helped her
wash it.

Denna draped her arms over the sides of the tub, put her head back, and closed her eyes, relaxing,
while he knelt next to her, in case she wanted anything. "You don't like Constance, do you?"

Richard didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to say anything bad about her friend, but lying
would get him punished, too. "I am . . . afraid of her, Mistress Denna."

Denna smiled with her eyes still closed. "Clever answer, my love. You aren't trying to be flip, are
you?"

"No, Mistress Denna. I told you the truth."

"Good. You should be afraid of her. She hates men. Every time she kills one, she cries out the name
of the man who first broke her, Rastin. Remember I told you about the man who broke me, took me
for his mate, and that later I killed him? Before he broke me, he was Constance's trainer. His name
was Rastin. It was he who broke her. Constance is the one who told me how I could kill him. I
would do anything for her. And because I killed the man she hated so, she would do anything for
me."

"Yes, Mistress Denna. But Mistress Denna, please don't leave me alone with her?"

"I suggest you be very attentive to your duties. If you are, and you do not earn too much time, I will
remain when she is training-you. You see? You see how lucky you are to have a kind mistress?"

"Yes, Mistress Denna, thank you for teaching me. You are a gifted teacher." She opened one eye,
as if to check his face for a trace of a smirk. There was none.

"Get me a towel, and lay my nightclothes on the table by the bed."

Richard helped towel her hair dry. Denna didn't put on her nightclothes, but lay back on the bed
with her damp hair spread out on the pillow.

"Go blow out the lamp on the table over there." He went immediately and blew out the flame.
"Bring me the Agiel, my love."

Richard flinched. He hated it when she had him fetch the Agiel; touching it hurt. Fearing the result
of hesitation more, he gritted his teeth and snatched it up, holding it in the open palms of his hands.
The pain of it vibrated in his elbows and shoulders. He could hardly wait for her to take it. She had
propped up the pillows against the headboard and was sitting up a little, watching him. He let out a
deep breath when she picked it out of his hand.

"Mistress Denna, why doesn't it hurt you to touch it?"

"It does, same as you. It hurts me to touch it because it is the one used to train me."

His eyes opened wide. "You mean, the whole time you hold it, it hurts you? The whole time you
are training me?"

She nodded, rolling it in her fingers, looking away from his eyes for a second. She gave him a little
frown and smile. "There is rarely a time I am without pain, of one kind or another. That is one
reason the training of a Mord-Sith takes years-to learn to handle the pain. I guess it's also why only
women are Mord-Sith; men are too weak. The chain around my wrist allows me to let it hang; it
doesn't hurt when it hangs by the chain. But while I use it on someone, it causes constant pain."

"I never knew." Richard's insides knotted in anguish. "I'm sorry, Mistress Denna. I'm sorry it hurts
you, that you must suffer to teach me."

"Pain can bring pleasure all its own, my love. That's one of the things I'm teaching you. And it's
time for another lesson." Her eyes glided up and down him. "Enough talk."

Richard recognized the look in her eyes, the quickening of her breathing. "But, Mistress Denna,
you've just bathed, and I'm all sweaty."

A small smile came to one side of her mouth. "I like your sweat."

With her eyes locked on his, she put the Agiel between her teeth.

-+---
The days passed with a numbing sameness. Richard didn't mind the devotions, because he wasn't
being trained, hurt. But he hated saying the words, and had to concentrate on Denna's braid the
whole of the time he chanted. Chanting the same thing, hour after hour, on his knees with his head
against the floor tiles, was hardly less onerous than the training. Richard found himself waking at
night, or in the morning, chanting the words. Master Rahl guide us. Master Rahl teach us. Master
Rahl protect us. In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are
humbled. We live only to serve. Our lives are yours.

Denna didn't wear the red anymore; instead, she wore white leather. She told him it was a gesture
that said he was broken, had been taken for a mate, and that to show her power over him she chose
not to make him bleed. Constance didn't like it. It didn't make much difference to Richard; the
Agiel felt the same whether it drew blood or not. Constance was with Denna about half the time,
occasionally going off to train a new pet. Constance became more and more insistent about being
left alone with Richard, but Denna wouldn't permit it. Constance threw her all into his training. The
more Richard saw of her, the more terrified he became of her. Denna smiled at him whenever she
told Constance to take over.

One day, after the afternoon devotion, when Constance had gone off to train someone else, Denna
took him back to the little room adjacent to her quarters for his afternoon training. She hoisted him
up by the rope until he was. hardly able to touch the floor.

"Mistress Denna, with your permission, would you allow Mistress Constance to do all my training
from now on?" His question had an effect he hadn't expected. It enraged her. She stared at him, her
face turning a deep red; then she started hitting him with the Agiel, driving it into him, screaming at
him, telling him how worthless he was, how insignificant, how she was sick of his talking. Denna
was strong, and she beat him with the Agiel as hard as she could. It went on and on.

Richard couldn't remember her being so angry, so severe, so cruel. Soon he couldn't remember
anything, even where he was. He convulsed in pain. He couldn't say anything or beg her to stop, or
even breathe most of the time. She never slowed or let up. She just seemed to get angrier as she
hurt him. He saw blood on the floor, a lot of blood. It splattered all over her white leather. Her chest
heaved with her effort, her rage. Her braid came loose.

Denna grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. She gave him no warning. She drove the Agiel
in his ear harder than she ever had. She did it again and again. Time distorted into eternity. He no
longer knew who he was, or what was happening. He no longer tried to beg, to cry, to hold on.

She stopped, standing next to him, panting in ire. "I'm going to dinner." He felt the agony of the
magic come on in him. He gasped, his eyes going wide. "While I'm gone, and I'm going to take my
time, I've leaving the pain of the magic on you. You will not be able to pass out, or to stop it. If you
let the anger get away from you, it will make the pain worse. And it will get away from you. I
promise."

She went to the wall and hoisted the rope up until his feet were off the floor. Richard cried out. His
arms felt as if they would be torn out.

"Enjoy yourself." She turned on her heels and left.

Richard balanced on the edge of sanity and madness, the suffering twisting in him, making him
unable to control the anger, as she had promised. The flames of his hurt consumed him. It was
somehow worse that she wasn't there. He had never felt so alone, so helpless, and the pain wouldn't
even let him cry; he could only gasp in agony.

He had no idea how long he was left alone. He was aware only of suddenly dropping to the floor,
then Denna's boots to either side of his head as she stood over him. She turned off the pain of the
magic, but his arms were still clamped helplessly behind his back, and the burning inferno of pain
in his shoulders didn't extinguish. He cried against the blood on the floor as she stood over him.

"I told you before," she hissed through gritted teeth, "you are my mate for life." He could hear her
heavy breathing, the rage in her. "Before I begin doing worse to you, and you are no longer able to
speak, I want you to tell me why you asked to have-Constance train you instead of me."

He coughed up blood, trying to speak.

"That is not the way you talk to me! On your knees! Now!"

He tried to get to his knees, but with his arms behind his back, he was unable to. Denna took a
fistful of his hair and pulled him up. Dizzy, he fell against her, his face against the wet blood on her
belly. His blood.

She pushed him away from her with the tip of the Agiel against his forehead. That brought his eyes
open. He looked up at her, to answer.

Denna backhanded him across the-mouth. "Look at the ground when you speak to me! No one gave
you permission to look at me!" Richard looked down at her boots. "You're running out of time!
Answer the question!"

Richard coughed up more blood; it ran down his chin, and he had to struggle to keep from
vomiting. "Because, Mistress Denna," he said hoarsely, "I know it hurts you to hold the Agiel. I
know it hurts you to train me. I wanted Mistress Constance to do it, to spare you the pain. I don't
want you to hurt. I know what it feels like to hurt; you have taught me. You have already been hurt
enough; I don't want you to hurt any more. I would rather have Mistress Constance punish me than
have you be in pain."

He strove to balance himself on his knees. There was a long silence. Richard stared at her boots,
and coughed a little, struggling to breathe with the pain in his shoulders. The silence seemed as if it
would never end. He didn't know what she was going to do to him next.

"I don't understand you, Richard Cypher," she said softly, at last, the anger gone from her voice.
"The spirits take me, I don't understand you." She walked behind him, unhooked the device that
held his arms, and walked out of the room without another word. He couldn't straighten out his
arms properly, and fell on his face. He didn't try to get up, he only cried against the bloody floor.

After a time, he heard the bell, calling them to the evening devotion. Denna came back in, squatted
down next to him, put her arm gently around him, and helped him to his feet.

"We are not allowed to miss a devotion," she explained in a quiet voice, hooking the chain to her
belt.

The sight of his blood all over the white lather was shocking. There were strings of it across her
face and in her hair. As they walked to the devotion, people who usually spoke to her averted their
eyes and gave her wide passage. Kneeling with his head to the floor hurt his ribs, making it hard to
breathe, much less chant. He didn't know if he was getting the words right, but Denna didn't correct
him, so he just went on. How he stayed upright the whole time, without tipping over, he didn't
know.

When the bell rang twice, Denna rose, but didn't help him. Constance appeared, a rare grin on her
face.

"My, my, Denna, looks like you've been having fun." Constance backhanded him, but he managed
to stay on his feet. "Been a bad boy, have you?"

"Yes, Mistress Constance."

"Very bad, it would appear. How delightful." Her hungry eyes turned to Denna. "I'm free. Let's go
teach him what two Mord-Sith can really do."

"No, not tonight, Constance."

"No? What do you mean, no?"

Denna exploded. "I mean no! He is my mate, and I'm taking him back to train him as such! Do you
wish to come and watch when I lie with my mate! Do you want to watch, too, what I do when I
have the Agiel between my teeth!"

Richard shrank back. So that was what she had planned. If she did that to him tonight, as badly as
he was already hurt . . .

People in white robes-missionaries, Denna had called them-were staring. Constance glared back
and they hurried off. Both women's faces were red-Denna's from anger, Constance's from
embarrassment.

"Of course not, Denna," she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry

I didn't know. I will leave you to it." She gave Richard a smirk. "You look to be in enough trouble
already, my boy. I_ hope you are up to' your duties."

She gave him a jab in the stomach with her Agiel, and walked off. Dizzy, Richard put his hand
across himself with a moan. Denna's hand come up under his arm, holding him up. Denna glared
after Constance, then started off, expecting him to follow. He, did.

When they were back in Denna's quarters, she gave him the bucket. He almost collapsed at the
thought of filling her tub.

Her voice was quiet. "Go and get one bucket of hot water."

Richard could have died with relief, knowing that he didn't have to fill a tub. He retrieved the
water, a little confused. She seemed to be angry, but Wasn't directing her anger at him. After he set
the bucket on the floor, he waited with his eyes cast downward. Denna brought the chair over. He
was surprised she didn't have him do it.

"Sit down." She went to the table by her bed and came back with a pear. She looked at it in her
hand a moment, turning it around and around, rubbing it a little with her thumb, then held it out to
him. "I brought this back from dinner. I find I am no longer hungry. You had no dinner; you eat it."

Richard looked at the pear in her hand as she held it toward him. "No, Mistress Denna. It's yours.
Not mine."

"I know whose it is, Richard." Her voice was still quiet, "Do as I say."

He took the pear, eating it all, even the seeds. Denna knelt down and started washing him. He had
no idea what was going on, but the washing hurt, although it was nothing to compare with the
Agiel. He wondered why she was doing this, when it was time to train him again.

Denna seemed to sense his apprehension. "I have a backache."

"I'm sorry, Mistress Denna, I've caused it by my behavior."

"Be quiet," she said gently. "I want to sleep on something hard, for my back. I will sleep on the
floor. Since I will sleep on the floor, you will have to sleep in my bed, and I don't want your blood
in it."

Richard was a little perplexed. The floor was certainly big enough for the two of them, and she had
certainly gotten his blood in her bed before. It had never bothered her in the past. He decided it was
not his place to question, and so didn't.

"All right," she said when she had finished, "get in the bed."

He lay down while she watched him. With resignation, he picked up the Agiel from the side table
and held it out to her, the pain from it hurting his arm. He wished she weren't going to do this to
him tonight.

Denna took the Agiel from him and returned it to the table. "Not tonight. I told you, I have a
backache." She blew out the lamp. "Go to sleep.'."

He heard her lie on the floor, whispering a curse to herself. He was too exhausted to think, and was
asleep in a short time.

When the peal of the bell woke him, Denna was already up. She had cleaned the blood from her
white outfit; and had fixed her braid. She said nothing to him as they walked to the devotion. It was
painful for him to kneel, and he was glad when it was finished. He didn't see Constance. Walking
behind Denna, he began to turn toward the training room, but she didn't, and the chain pulled taut.
The pain brought him up short.

"We're not going that way," she said.

"Yes, Mistress Denna."

She walked awhile, down halls that stretched forever, then gave him an impatient look. "Walk next
.to me. We're going for a walk. It's something I enjoy doing occasionally. When my back hurts. It
helps me."

"I'm sorry, Mistress Denna. I was hoping it would be better by this morning."

She glanced at him, then looked back to where she was going. "Well, it's not. So we will go for a
walk."

Richard had never been this far from Denna's quarters before. His eyes took little journeys to the
new sights. At intervals, there were places just like the one where they went for their devotions,
opened to the sky and the sun, each with a rock in the center, and a bell. Some had grass instead of
sand, and some even a pool of water that the rock sat in. Fish glided in groups through the clear
water. The halls were sometimes wide as rooms, with patterned tiles on the floor, arches and
columns all about and ceilings soaring high above. Windows let light stream into these places,
making them bright and airy

People were everywhere, most in robes of white or some other pale color. No one ever seemed in a
hurry, but most seemed as if they had a place to go, although a few sat on marble benches. Richard
saw few soldiers. Most people walked past Denna and him as if they were invisible, but a few
smiled and exchanged a greeting with her.

The size of the place was astounding; the halls and passages stretched out of sight. Wide stairs led
up or down to unknown parts of the great edifice. One hall had statues of naked people in proud
poses. The statues were made of carved and polished stone, mostly white, some with gold veining
through it, and each was twice as tall as he. Richard never saw one place that was dark, or ugly, or
dirty; everything he saw was beautiful. The sound of people's footsteps echoed through the halls
like reverent whispers. Richard wondered how a place as large as this could even be conceived of,
much less built. It must have taken lifetimes.

Denna led them to a sprawling square that was open to the sky. Full-grown trees covered the mossy
ground, and a path of brown clay tiles meandered through the center of the indoor forest. They
strolled along the path, Richard looking up at the trees. They were beautiful, even if they were bare
of leaves.

Denna watched him. "You like the trees, don't you."

He nodded, looking about. "Very much, Mistress Denna," he whispered.

"Why do you like them?"

Richard thought a moment. "It seems they are part of my past. I can dimly recall that I was a guide.
A woods guide, I think. But I don't remember much about it, Mistress Denna. Except I liked the
woods."

"Being broken makes you forget things from before," she said quietly. "The more I train you, the
more you will forget the past, except specific questions I ask you. Soon, you will remember none of
it."

"Yes, Mistress Denna. Mistress Denna, what is this place?"

"It's called the People's Palace. It's the seat of power in D'Hara. IC is the home of Master Rahl."

They had lunch in a different place than they usually ate. She had him sit in a chair; he didn't know
why. They went to the afternoon devotion at one of the places with water instead of sand, and after
devotion, they walked some more through the vast halls, to find themselves back in familiar
territory for dinner. The walking made him feel better. His muscles had needed to be stretched.

After the evening devotion, in the little room in her quarters, Denna locked his arms behind his
back in the binding device, and hoisted it up, but not enough to take the weight off his feet. It still
brought the pain back to his sore shoulders, but it made him wince only a little.

"Is your back better, Mistress Denna? Did the walking help?"

"It's nothing I can't tolerate."

She walked slowly around him, watching the floor. She stopped at last in front of him, rolling the
Agiel in her fingers for a time, scrutinizing it.

Her eyes didn't come up. Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. "Tell me you think I'm ugly."

He looked at her until her eyes finally came up. "No. That would be a lie."

A sad smile spread on her lips. "That was a mistake, my love. You have disobeyed my direct order,
and you have forgotten the appellation."

"I know, Mistress Denna."

Her eyes closed, but a little of the strength came back to her voice. "You are nothing but trouble. I
don't know why Master Rahl burdened me with your training. You have earned yourself two
hours."

She gave him his two hours, not as hard as she usually did, but hard enough to make him cry in
pain. After the training, she told him that her back still hurt, and slept on the floor again, having
him sleep in the bed.

The next few days went back to the regular routine, the training not being as long or as strenuous as
before, except when Constance was there. Denna kept a close watch on her, guiding more than she
had in the past. Constance didn't like it, sometimes glaring at Denna. When Constance was rougher
than Denna wished, she wasn't invited for the next session.

With the lighter training sessions, his head started to clear, and he began remembering things,
things about his past. A few times, when Denna's back hurt, they went for long walks, looking at
the various, astonishingly beautiful places.

After an afternoon devotion one day, Constance asked if she could come along. Denna smiled and
said yes. Constance asked to do the training, and was given permission. She was rougher than
usual, and had Richard in prolonged agony, tears of pain streaming down his cheeks. Richard was
hoping Denna would put a stop to it, as he was on his last strings of tolerance. As Denna came out
of her chair, a man came into the room.

"Mistress Denna, Master Rahl has requested you."

"When?"

"Right now."

Denna gave a sigh. "Constance, would you finish the session?"

Constance looked into Richard's eyes and smiled. "Why, of course, Denna."

Richard was terrified, but didn't dare say a word.

"His time is nearly up, just take him back to my quarters and leave him there. I'm sure I won't be
long."

"My pleasure, Denna. You can count on me."

Denna started to leave. Constance grinned at him wickedly, her face close to his. She grabbed his
belt and yanked it open. Richard couldn't breathe.

"Constance"-Denna had come back in-"I don't want you doing that."

Constance was caught off guard. "In your absence, I'm in charge of him, and I'll do as I wish."

Denna came and put her face close to the other's. "He is my mate, and I said I don't want you to do
that. And I don't want you to put the Agiel in his ear either."

"I'll do as I . . ."

"You will not." Denna gritted her teeth as she looked down to the shorter Woman. "I am the one
who took the punishment when we killed Rastin. Me. Not you and me, only me. I have never made
a point of it before, but I do now. You know what they did to me, and I never told them you had a
part in it. He is my mate, and I am his Mord-Sith. Not you. Me. You will respect my wishes or
there is going to be trouble between us." "All right, Denna," she huffed. "All right. I'll mind your
wishes."

Denna still glared at her. "See that you do, Sister Constance."

Constance finished the session with all the effort she could bring forth, although she kept the Agiel
mostly where Denna wanted it. Richard knew it went on for longer than it should have. When she
took him back to Denna's quarters, she spent a good hour slapping him around, then hooked the
chain over the footboard of the bed and told him he was to stand until Denna came back.

Constance put her face close to his, as best she could, considering her height, and grabbed him
between the legs.

"Take good care of this for me," she sneered. "You aren't going to have it much longer. I have
reason to believe Master Rahl will shortly be reassigning you to me, and when he does, I'm going to
alter your anatomy." A grin spread on her face. "And I don't think you're going to like it."

His anger flashed, bringing on the pain of the magic. It took him to his knees. Constance laughed as
she left the room. He managed to get the anger under control, but the pain wouldn't stop until he
stood.

Warm sunlight was streaming in the window. He hoped Denna would be returning soon. The sun
set. Dinnertime came and went. Still Denna did not return. Richard began to worry. He had a
feeling that something was wrong. He heard the peal of the bell for the evening devotion, but
couldn't go to it, being chained to the bed. He wondered if he was supposed to kneel where he was,
but realized he couldn't do that either; he had been told to stand. He thought maybe he should still
chant the devotion, but decided there was no one to hear him, and it wouldn't matter.

It was long since dark out the window, but thankfully the lamps were lit and at least he didn't have
to stand in the dark. The two bells announced the end of evening devotion. Still Denna was not
back. His training time came and went. Still no Denna. Richard was fraught with worry.

At last, he heard the door push open. Denna's head was bowed, her posture stiff. The braid was
undone and her hair disheveled. She laboriously pushed the door closed. He saw that her skin was
ashen, her eyes wet. She didn't look at him: "Richard," she said in a small voice, "fill my bath for
me. Please? I need a bath, I feel very dirty right now."

"Of course, Mistress Derma."

He dragged the tub in and ran as fast as he could to fill it. He didn't think he had ever done it more
quickly. She stood and watched as he brought in bucket after bucket. When he was finished, he
stood panting, waiting.

Her trembling fingers started unbuttoning the leather. "Help me with this? I don't think I can do it
by myself."

He unbuttoned it for her as she shivered. Wincing, he had to peel it off her back; some of her skin
came with it. His heart was pounding. Denna was covered with welts from the back of her neck to
the back of her ankles. Richard was frightened, and he ached with hurt for her, for the pain she was
in. Tears came to his eyes. The power roared up in him. He ignored it.

"Mistress Denna, who did this to you?" he demanded.

"Master Rahl. It is nothing I did not deserve."

He held her hands and helped her into the tub. She let out a little sound as she sank slowly into the
hot water, sitting stiffly.

"Mistress Denna, why would he do this to you?"

She winced when he put the soapy cloth to her back.. "Constance told him I was being too easy on
you. I deserve what was done to me. I have been lax in your training. I am Mord-Sith. I should have
done better. I received only that which I deserve."

"You do not deserve this, Mistress Denna, it is me who should have taken the punishment. Not
you."

Her hands trembled as she held the sides of the tub and he carefully washed her. He gently wiped
the sweat off the white skin of her face. She stared ahead the whole time he worked, a few tears
rolling down her cheeks.

Her lip quivered. "Tomorrow, Master Rahl will see you." His hand stopped washing for a second.
"I'm sorry, Richard. You will answer his questions."

He glanced up at her face, but she didn't look back. "Yes, Mistress Denna." He rinsed her off with
water cupped in his hands. "Let me dry you off." He did it as gently as he could. "Do you wish to
sit, Mistress Denna?"

She gave an embarrassed smile. "I don't think I would like that, just now." She turned her head
stiffly. "Over there. I will lie on the bed." She took his hand when he put it out for her. "I can't seem
to stop shaking. Why can't I stop shaking?"

"Because it hurts, Mistress Denna."

"I've had much worse than this done to me. This was only a small reminder of who I am. But still, I
can't stop shaking."

She lay facedown on the bed, her eyes on him. Richard's worry made his mind start working again.

"Mistress Denna, is my pack still here?"

"In the cabinet. Why?"

"Just lie still. Mistress Denna, let me do something, if I can remember how."

He pulled his pack from a high shelf in the cabinet, laid it on the table, and-started rummaging
through it. Denna watched him, the side of her face resting on the backs of her hands. Beneath a
carved bone whistle on a leather thong, he found the package he was searching for, and laid it open
on the table. He pulled out a tin bowl, took his knife from his belt, and laid it, too, on the table. He
stood and took a jar of cream from the cabinet. He had seen her spread it on her skin. It was just
what he needed.

"Mistress Denna, may I use this?"

"Why?„

"Please?"

"Go ahead."

Richard took the entire pile of neatly stacked, dried aum leaves and put them in the tin bowl, then
selected a few other herbs he remembered by smell, but not by name, and dumped them in with the
aum leaves. With the knife handle, he ground it all into a powder. Picking up the jar of cream, he
scooped it all out and plopped it into the bowl, mixing it with two fingers. He took the bowl and sat
on the bed next to her.

"Just lie still," he told her.

"The appellation, Richard, the appellation. Will you never learn?"

"Sorry, Mistress Denna," he smiled. "You may punish me later. For now, lie still. When I'm
finished you will feel well enough to punish me all night. I promise."

'He spread the paste gently on the welts, smoothing it out as he went. Denna moaned. Her eyes
closed while he worked. By the time he reached the back of her ankles, she was almost asleep. He
stroked her hair while the aum cream soaked in.

"How does that feel, Mistress Denna?" he whispered.

She rolled onto her side, her eyes opening wide. "The pain is gone! How did you do that? How did
you make the pain leave?"

Richard smiled in satisfaction. "I learned it from an old friend named . . ." He frowned. "I can't
remember his name. But he's an old friend, and he taught me. I'm so relieved, Mistress Denna. I
don't like to see you in pain."

She gently touched her fingers to the side of his face. "You are a very rare person, Richard Cypher.
I have never had a mate like you before. The spirits take me, I have never even seen a person like
you before. I killed the one who did the things to me that I have done to you, and you instead help
me."

"We all can be only who we are, no more, and no less, Mistress Denna." He looked down at his
hands. "I don't like what Master Rahl has done to you."

"You, don't understand about the Mord-Sith, my love. We are carefully selected, as young girls.
Those chosen to be Mord-Sith are the most gentle, the most kindhearted, that can be found. It is
said that the deepest cruelty comes from the deepest caring. All of D'Hara is searched, and each
year only about a half dozen are chosen. A Mord-Sith is broken three times."

His eyes were wide. "Three times?" he whispered.

Denna nodded. "The first is the way in which I broke you, to break the spirit. The second is to
break our empathy. To do it, we must watch our trainer break our mother, and make her his pet, and
watch him hurt her until she dies. The third is to break us of our fear of hurting another, to make us
enjoy giving pain. To do it, we must break our fathers, under the guidance of our trainer, and make
him our pet, and keep hurting him until we kill him."

Tears trickled down Richard's cheeks. "They did all this to you?"

"What I did to you, to break you, is nothing compared to what must be done to us to break us the
second and third time. The more kindhearted a girl is, the better Sikh she makes, but it makes it
harder to break her the second and third time. Master Rahl thinks me special because they had a
very difficult time with the second breaking of me. My mother lived a long time, to try to keep me
from giving up hope, but that only made it harder. On both of us. They failed at the third breaking,
had given up, and were going to kill me, but Master Rahl said that if I could be broken, I would be
someone special, and so took over my training himself. He is the one who broke me the third time.
On the day I killed my father, he took me to his bed, as a reward. His reward left me barren."

Richard could hardly speak past the lump in his throat. With shaking fingers, he brushed some of
her hair back off her face. "I don't want anyone hurting you. Not ever again, Mistress Denna."

"It is an honor," Denna whispered through tears, "that Master Rahl would spare the time to punish
one as low as me with my own Agiel."

Richard sat numb. "I hope he kills me tomorrow, so I don't have to learn anything else that gives
me this much pain, Mistress Denna."

Her wet eyes shone in the lamplight. "I have done things to hurt you that 1 have done to no other,
yet you are the first person since I was chosen who has done anything to stop my pain." She sat up
and picked up the tin bowl. "There is some left. Let me put it on you where Constance did what I
told her not to."

Denna spread the aum cream on the welts on his shoulders, then on his stomach and chest, working
up to his neck. Her eyes met his. Her hand stopped. The room was dead quiet. Denna leaned
forward and gently kissed him. She put her hand with the cream on the back of his neck and kissed
him again.

She lay back on the bed, holding his hand against her belly with both of hers. "Come to me, my
love. I want you very badly right now."

He nodded and started to reach for the Agiel on the side table. Denna touched his wrist.

"Tonight, I want you without the Agiel. Please? Teach me what it's like without the pain?"

She put a hand behind his neck and gently pulled him on top of her

CHAPTER 4

3
DENNA DIDN'T TRAIN HIM the next morning, but instead took him for a walk. Master Rahl had
said he wanted to see Richard after the second devotion. After it was over and they were starting to
leave, Constance stopped them.

"You look surprisingly well today, Sister Derma."

Denna looked at her without emotion. Richard was furious at Constance for talking to Master Rahl
about Denna, for getting her punished, and had to concentrate on Derma's braid.