"And what is the purpose of this training, Mistress Denna? To what end? What is it you want?"
She seemed to genuinely enjoy telling him these things. "You are someone special. Master Rahl himself wants you trained." Her smiled widened. "He asked for me. I would guess he has something he wants to ask you. I will not let you embarrass me in his eyes. When I'm done with you, you will beg to tell him anything he wants to know. When he is finished with you, then you are to be mine, for life. However long that may be."
Richard had to concentrate on her hair, had to fight to keep the anger down. He knew what Darken Rahl wanted to know; he wanted to know about the Book of Counted Shadows: The box was safe. Kahlan was safe. Nothing else mattered. Denna could kill him, for all he cared. In fact, it would be doing him a favor.
Denna walked around him, looking him up and down. "If you prove to be a good pet, I may even choose you for my mate." She stopped in front of him, put her face close to his, gave him a coy smile. "Mord-Sith mate for life." Her smile showed her teeth. "I've had many mates. But don't get yourself too excited by the prospect, my pet," she breathed. "I doubt you will find it to be an experience you enjoy, if you live through it. None of the others have. They all died after a short time as my mate."
Richard didn't think that was anything he had to worry about. Darken Rahl wanted the book. If he didn't find a way to escape, Darken Rahl was going to kill him, in the same way he had killed Richard's father, and Giller. The most he would learn from reading Richard's entrails was where that place was-inside Richard's head-and there was no way any amount of the reading of his entrails was going to read the book out to him. Richard only hoped he could live long enough to see the look of surprise on Darken Rahl's face when he realized he had made a fatal mistake
No book. No box. Darken Rahl was a dead man. That was all that mattered.
As for the question of him being betrayed, he decided that he didn't believe it. Darken Rahl knew the Wizard's Rules, and he was just using the first, trying to make him afraid of the possibility. The first step to believing. Richard decided that he was not going to be tricked by the Wizard's First Rule. He knew Zedd and Chase and Kahlan. He would not believe Darken Rahl over his friends.
"By the way, where did you get the Sword of Truth?"
He looked right into her eyes. "I bought it from the last man who had it. Mistress Denna."
"Is that so? What did you have to give for it?"
Richard held her eyes. "Everything I had. It would appear it is to also cost me my freedom, and probably my life."
Denna laughed. "You have spirit. I love breaking a man with spirit. Do you know why Master Rahl picked me?"
"No, Mistress Denna."
"Because I am relentless. I may not be as cruel as some of the others, but. I enjoy breaking a man more than any of them. I love hurting my pets more than anything else in life. I live to do it." She arched an eyebrow and smiled. "I don't give up, I don't tire of it, and I don't ease up. Ever."
"I am honored, Mistress Denna, to be in the hands of the best."
She put the Agiel against the cut on his lip and held it there until he was on his knees and tears ran from his eyes. "That is the last flippant thing T ever want to hear from you." She took the Agiel 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.