Terisa’s spirit squirmed at the thought; but she kept her body passive.
“This revelation enabled me to adjust my plans to accommodate the possibility that he may have been setting traps of his own. If I had been forced to wait until Quillon finally exposed himself and Joyse by rescuing you, I might have found myself in difficulty. But you” – Eremis entered her maliciously with his fingers, making her flinch – “gave me time to prepare a more personal snare – time to arrange for Queen Madin’s abduction, to cut the ground out from under Joyse at precisely the moment when I might be most exposed to counterattack.
“You made that possible, my lady.” His head was turned toward her now, momentarily sparing her breasts. He was gloating, hardly able to contain his triumph. At that moment, he might have been willing to tell her anything. “You allowed me to perfect my plans against an opponent who may have proved worthier than he appeared.”
As he spoke, her mind turned cold and sick. It was true: she had given King Joyse to his enemies.
“You deserve Saddith’s fate for attempting to thwart me. But because I am grateful I will use only as much force as you require.”
He laughed again – a snort of pleasure and contempt. Her senses were full of him. He smelled of sweat and confidence. “Gart wished to kill you when you left Vale House, but I did not allow it. Doubtless your death and Geraden’s would have been to our benefit. But then who would have taken the news of the Queen to King Joyse? How else could I arrange to master both you and Joyse at the same time, except by letting you live?
“You have served me perfectly, despite your opposition.” His fingers continued to work between her legs. “My only regret is that I do not yet have Geraden in my power. That will come, however. I have said that I must think of something truly special to reward him for his interference, his dunderheaded enmity, and I will do it.
“If you are compliant, my lady, you will live a life which many women would envy. But him” – Eremis’ fingers hurt her, nearly made her gasp – “him I will destroy.”
“I doubt it,” she said, breathing hard to diffuse the pain. She was going to kill him. All she had to do was stay alive long enough. “He can do translations you don’t understand. Translations you didn’t even know were possible until he brought me to Orison.”
For a moment, Eremis’ laugh sounded more like a snarl. “That is true. And it offends me. But again I have been abundantly forewarned. The Congery’s augury made me suspicious of Geraden. And Gilbur learned much while teaching him to shape his mirror. That allowed me to set in motion all the dangers and distractions which prevented both him and you from exploring your talents, learning what they were. And it allowed me to preserve the disregard in which he was held by the Masters, so that the Congery did not try to help you.
“In that way, we gained a great deal of necessary time.
“And now, of course, he is helpless. You cannot threaten me with his power. He can translate nothing he cannot see.”
“I know that,” Terisa replied harshly – too harshly. She hadn’t intended to let so much of her fury show. “But you can’t see, either. You need light sometime – unless you’re planning to give up on Orison and Mordant and Alend, and spend the rest of your life just raping me.” She felt him grin over her. “And when you go out into the light” – she did her best to lodge each word like a knife in his vitals – “you’ll find that he knows too much about you. He knows how you use flat mirrors without going mad.”
Eremis’ reaction was stronger than she was expecting. He stiffened; his breath hissed between his teeth; his hand raked across her belly as if to hurt her breasts – or strike her face.
“How is that, my lady?”
Lying still, expressing defiance with her voice alone, she said, “You put the flat glass inside a curved one and work both translations at the same time.”
As quickly as she had gained it, she lost her advantage. The Master relaxed tangibly; his fingers stroked her nipples while the tension ran out of him. “That is quite accurate,” he commented. “And I must say that I am impressed by Geraden’s ability to reason his way so near the truth. By now, however, Barsonage has discovered that the technique you describe is impossible. Glass translated through glass only shatters.
“The true secret, my lady, lies in the oxidate which prepares the curved mirror. That is my discovery, the result of my sweat and study. I learned how to make a mirror into which other mirrors could be translated.”
At the moment, her determination to kill him was all that kept her from despair. There simply wasn’t room in her for so much anger and the horror of seeing her last hope collapse.
“Most of my fellow Masters,” Eremis continued, “would laugh themselves sick if they knew how I have spent my years as an Imager. And yet on my small discovery the world hinges. When I am done, all Mordant and Alend and Cadwal will be at my service, and even High King Festten will acknowledge me supreme.”
The prospect filled him with passion. He began kissing Terisa again, and this time she could feel his hunger in the way his mouth nipped and sucked her nipples, the way his tongue thrust against them. His free hand was back inside her trousers, pulling them down, making her ready for him.
If he had let her arms go – just for a second – she would have done her best to put his eyes out. In spite of his triumph, however, he didn’t shift the grip that kept her under control.
She had no way to make him stop.
She didn’t need to make him stop. Out of the dark, the unfamiliar, rattling voice said sourly, “Festten wants you.”
Nearly choking with anger, Master Eremis sprang to his feet and wheeled away from Terisa. “Am I to be interrupted with her forever? She is mine, I tell you, and I have earned her. Festten does not command me!”
The other voice conveyed a shrug. “He has twenty thousand men who believe otherwise. And he desires a report.”
Her arms were free. She pulled them down, swung her legs off the bed, sat up; she tested the chain. It wasn’t long enough to let her reach Eremis. The cold cuff on her wrist held.
“Report to him yourself,” Eremis countered. “Send Gilbur to report. Send Gart. I do not come and go to suit the High King.”
“Eremis,” the rattling voice warned, “think. The High King trusts me. He has always trusted me. But he does not trust you. He accepts your leadership – he does as you wish – only because you obtain results which please him. You bring him nearer to victory than he has ever been.
“But now you have risked a foray into the heart of Orison itself, and have accomplished nothing except Lebbick’s death and her capture. High King Festten considers that so far all his actions under your guidance have come to nothing. His only satisfaction has been the annihilation of the Perdon.
“He desires a report.”
“That sheepfucker,” growled Eremis in disgust. “A man who has lost his interest in women – a man who can only find pleasure in animals – is not fit for kingship.”
Nevertheless his tone expressed acquiescence. Despite his anger and frustration, the Master left Terisa alone. Muttering obscenities to himself, he strode away through the dark.
Because she wasn’t done – because she had never been further from surrender and wanted to know her enemy – she demanded after him sharply, “Why are you doing this?”
He must have paused. His tone was at once hard and light; malign; jubilant.