He jerked her hand away from his groin and pulled her erect. With a smooth motion, he spun her around and bound her hands with the red silk sash from her dressing gown.
" Kneel!" he commanded.
" Yes, master. Wh- what are you going to do to me?"
" I haven' t decided yet," he bed, gathering his clothing and weapons. " I don' t think I want you to see, though, when I do decide." He blindfolded the redhead and pulled her along behind him.
" Where are we going, master? We shouldn' t leave this room."
That told Lan much. This must be the only room Nashira had rigged with the magical seeing eyes. He' d have to provide Nashira and the others watching some alibi for his movement, or magical spells he couldn' t counter would force him back.
" I want to see how you perform with animals. We' re going to the stables."
" Animals, master?" Ria shivered. " But why do you keep me tied like this?"
" I enjoy it. Now be silent or I shall gag you, too." He pulled the bound, naked woman from the room and guided her through the silent corridors of the mansion. He hoped his hints as to what he intended would keep Nashira busy with her unicorn and the others similarly engaged long enough.
On the way to the stables, he stopped by Krek' s quarters. The spider hung upside down in the middle of the room, eyes open, tears dripping from the corners.
" Don' t say a word, Krek," warned Lan. " Just come with me."
The spider obeyed. He performed a quick twist in midair, landed on all eight legs, and trotted after Lan and Ria to the stables.
" Is someone with us, master?"
" Quiet, wench. I' m going to bind you to a post so you won' t flinch."
" Flinch? You' re not going to whip me, are you, master?" She either played the game well or actually wanted him to abuse her. She was going to be terribly disappointed, if the latter, or furious that she' d failed in her playacting, if the former. Lan bent her over a railing and tied her legs wide apart. With her hands still bound behind her back, she remained doubled up over the wooden rail.
" Where' s the horse whip?" Lan asked. Krek' s eyes widened, but the spider said nothing. Lan didn' t seek out any whip. He got the tack needed for riding. He began saddling a strong mare.
" You' re not going to whip me, are you master?" Ria' s question came more as a demand.
" No, I decided against that," Lan said. " I' m going to allow the horse to have his will." He didn' t even bother checking to see if any of the horses were stallions. It didn' t matter. He' d already saddled and was ready to ride.
" No, please don' t!" came the words, but the tone indicated excitement.
" You' re too eager," snapped Lan. " I am going to let you think about what I' m going to do to you. For an hour I' m going to leave you blindfolded and tied like that. If you so much as move in that time, you' ll live to regret it."
" Master!"
Lan Martak motioned for his spider companion to leave. Leading the horse outside, Lan closed the stable door behind them. He vaulted into the saddle and indicated that they should flee at top speed. Only when they were a full mile from the opulent mansion did Lan rein in and allow Krek to speak.
" You know everything, then, friend Lan Martak," said the spider.
" I' ve found out much in the past few hours. The grey- clad soldiers are flooding into Melitarsus."
" Not that, about Nashira, about her magics."
" I' ve discovered some of that, too, but I think I' ve only touched the surface. I' ve been unable to speak to her of Claybore and the greys. Some compulsion has prevented me- and it isn' t Claybore' s doing. Not this time. Nashira wants nothing to disturb her fantasy world." Lan paused, then shook his head sadly before continuing. " My reluctance to leave Melitarsus comes as much from Nashira' s magic as it does from inner weakness."
" Yes, you must fight your longing for creature comfort. That is a true and deep flaw in your character."
" Thanks," Lan said dryly. " But I didn' t see you making any attempt to leave. Did you like your web so much? The bugs they fed you?"
The entire body shivered and shook until Lan thought Krek might come apart.
" Oh, woe unto me, Lan Martak!" wailed the spider. " She put a geas on me so that I could not speak of it, not to anyone, even you. Even now, away from the nexus of her power, I find it difficult to tell of my bloody hours in the arena."
" What?" Lan was startled. Krek often seemed cowardly, but that was only his way. To be in an arena boggled the mind.
" The spell forced me to fight. I' ve killed hundreds in the past week, and all for her pleasure."
" Nashira' s pleasures aren' t those of other humans," Lan said grimly. He' d discovered that firsthand this evening. " Let' s not talk about it. I only bought us an hour or so with Ria. When I don' t show up to continue the performance, she' ll know something' s wrong. I think Nashira and her nobles are occupied enough to let us get out of the city. But we must hurry. Her powers seem limited to the confines of the city. Escape Melitarsus and we should be free of her spells."
" I quite agree, friend Lan Martak."
They hadn' t travelled a quarter- mile when the grey- clad soldiers ambushed them.
The first warning Lan had was a man dropping from an overhanging branch and landing on the horse behind him. Strong hands grabbed his tunic and jerked to one side. Lan and the soldier fell heavily.
Lan recovered, rolled, kicked out, and entangled the man' s feet. This gave Lan enough time to draw his sword.
" Rogue!" cried the soldier he faced. " You violate our curfew. For that you will die!"
Lan took that in, deciding the grey soldiers didn' t recognize him. Claybore had to have put out a call- and a reward- for his capture of death. As long as the grey he faced didn' t know his identity, he had a chance.
The chance faded instantly as a light shone into Lan' s face. Another of the soldiers held a lantern high over his head to illuminate the battle scene.
" What! Why, you' re-" The soldier got no further with the identification. A long sword drove directly through his throat. A bloody gurgling noise sounded a fraction of a second before blood geysered forth from severed arteries.
" Kill him. He' s slain Willim! Kill the bastard!"
The other soldiers ringed Lan. He circled, thrusting tentatively to keep them at bay. They were well trained and made no mistakes. He faced a solid wall of deadly steel. He was in a difficult situation, but it could have been worse; none of the soldiers carried firearms from his home world. If they had, he' d be cooling meat in seconds.
" Willim stumbled onto my blade," he said, more to keep them off balance than to convince. " It was an honest mistake."
The one in front lunged, the tip of the blade snaking past Lan' s guard to pink his wrist. Another thrust and hot pain blasted into his side. Still another slashed, opening a cut just above his riding boot. If they continued in this calculated fashion, he' d be cut to bloody ribbons in a few seconds.
" Hold, wait," came the command from the grey- clad holding the lantern. " This is the one Commander k' Adesina wishes. Look closely. Willim recognized him. That' s why he killed him!"
" A prize catch. We' ll live well off the reward for this one."
Lan parried and thrust. He missed. While off balance, two others added their cuts to his body.
" Krek!" Lan cried. " Help me!"
" Listen to him. You' d think he had an army with him."
" There' s supposed to be another, a woman," said the commander. " Do you think: " His words died when Krek appeared. The spider hadn' t been able to maintain the pace set by Lan' s stolen horse. He' d finally caught up.
The momentary panic shown by the soldiers allowed Lan to put three of them out of action. The others spun to the attack.
And Krek simply stood.
" Krek, help me. I can' t fight them all by myself. There' s too many of them." Lan fended off a vicious attack, riposted, then used his knife to skewer an unwary grey- clad. Still, even reducing their ranks by four, they outnumbered and outpowered him.