"Am I supposed to chant a prayer to the fire spirits to raise a spark?"
Tyll frowned. "How did you do it in the north?" she asked.
"With stone and steel," Tanys said, "Mainly we just didn't let the last fire go all the way out."
"I thought you could rub sticks together or something," Tyll said.
"Have you ever tried doing that?" Tanys said, "You don't have any idea how long it takes."
With a cracking sound, Berra twisted two dry branches from the fallen tree and tossed them at Tanys's feet. "Show us how it's done, mighty huntress," the gladiatrix said, grinning widely.
Tanys bared her teeth and went off in search of a stone hard enough to strike a spark from steel. She wondered if the heads of a certain pair of sisters might not prove suitable substitutes.
****
Ghodn's rats proved quite delicious when roasted over the meager fire that Tanys had allowed the sisters to build. She had returned to the camp to find they had stacked enough wood for a modest bonfire. The two desert-dwellers suffered miserably in the chill. Tanys, though she had no love for the cold, had played in the snow nearly every day of her childhood.
"Do you think the islanders will see the fire?" Berra asked through a mouthful of cooked rat.
"No," Tanys said, "the ghasts live underground, and have no reason to look for us here."
"Then why do you keep looking around like that?" Berra laughed.
Tanys frowned. "I don't know," she said, "something doesn't feel right here."
"Should we keep moving then?" Berra asked.
Tyll groaned. She had already wolfed down her food and lay, curled into a ball beneath a pile of pine boughs.
"No," Tanys said, "the day is gone, and the ghasts rule the night. We should keep low and get some rest. We will hunt them again at dawn."
Berra nodded.
"I suppose we should keep a watch," Tanys said, casting a longing gaze at her bedding.
"A what?" Berra asked.
"One of us stays awake to guard while the others sleep," Tanys said, "We take turns."
Berra snorted. "You go first!"
Tanys glared at her, but the big gladiatrix only tossed aside the bones of her rat and rolled over with her broad back to the fire.
"Well, at least I have you for company," Tanys sighed, looking to the tiger curled beside the fire.
Ghodn's snores and the crackle of burning wood were her only answer.
Tanys put her back to the fire, staring into the shadows of the forest. She knew that she should stand up and move around to keep from dozing off, but she could not muster the will to do it.
She sat there, her feet throbbing, and a dull ache behind her eyes. She needed a drink of water, but the waterskin lay on the far side of the fire, and that seemed far too great a distance to travel.
Her eyes snapped open when her chin hit her chest, and she slapped her own face in admonishment. She knew that she needed to stand up and get moving. She moved one of her legs, groaning at the ache in her stiff muscles. She decided sitting still was a legitimate watch strategy.
Her eyes slowly closed again as the sound of wind in the trees lulled her to sleep. The rustle of leaves grew louder still, and she wondered if she were about to be drenched with rain. At least that would help keep her awake.
She felt no breeze.
Tanys snapped awake, her heart hammering, and her hands on the pommel of her daggers... too late.
The creatures swarmed out of the forest like a living carpet of darkness. Thousands of ants, each one the size of Tanys's fist, burst from the undergrowth and dropped from the trees above. Tanys struggled to pull her blades, but the swarm had her, pinning her hands at her hips as they enveloped her, the ants locking their black jaws onto one another's carapaces to form a writhing, living cocoon around her body. She shouted a warning just before they swarmed over her face, but the others stood no better chance.
Ghodn roared, and the women screamed as the swarm took them. Tanys thrashed, twisting her body and struggling to break free. The wriggling, crawling mass held her fast. She squeezed her eyes shut, the tips of their legs pressing against her eyelids. She groaned in horror through clenched teeth as she felt the creatures burrowing through her thick black hair. One of them touched the skin at the back of her neck.
Something sharp pressed against the skin of her neck, and then a fiery pain erupted from the base of her skull.
Then blackness claimed her.
Chapter 3
Warm water and soft cloth pressed against Tanys's lips. The cloth passed over her face, washing her clean.
"Misha?" Tanys whispered.
"Hmn?" a girl's voice answered.
Tanys's eyes struggled to focus on the cavernous chamber around her. She blinked. The ceiling above her seemed to move with hundreds of tiny glowing yellow-green orbs, undulating like candles floating on a dark sea. She realized then that they were the luminous bodies of insects, clinging to the roof above. She tried to move, but found her wrists and ankles bound to the table on which she lay naked.
A tall, thin woman with alabaster skin and long silver hair smiled down at her. The woman's eyes sparkled, the color of honey. She wore a short robe of black silk, slashed at the sides to reveal her broad hips and skinny legs. The front of the robe hung open all the way down to the girl's navel, the swell of her small breasts pale against the black silk. She dipped the cloth again into a bowl of water and wrung it nearly dry again before lifting it to Tanys's face once more.
"You are Gerridaan," Tanys said.
The girl flashed a surprised grin. "You know our true name," she said, "Most just call us the white devils or my favorite the maggot folk."
Tanys smiled. "My people call you ghasts," she said.
"I haven't heard that one before," the girl said, "I'll add it to the list." She didn't bother to wring the cloth out this time, and Tanys flinched as the girl splashed it wetly between her bare breasts.
"Where are my friends?" Tanys demanded, squirming as the girl rubbed rough circles over her right breast with the warm cloth.
"Oh, I had them taken down to the house," the silver-haired girl said, "I kept you for myself..." Her voice trailed off as her attention lingered on Tanys's wet nipple. It hardened as the girl pursed her lips to blow a gentle puff of air over it.
"The house?" Tanys asked, forcing herself to keep a polite tone.
"Oh yes," the girl said. She leaned close to press her lips to Tanys's breast. Tanys felt the dainty touch of teeth on her nipple, and the girl tugged playfully at it once before releasing her to lick softly with her warm tongue. "They are for the Master's pleasure," she mumbled, her lips moving to explore Tanys's other breast, "but he doesn't need to know about you just yet... perhaps not at all."
Tanys trembled with subdued rage, but fought to remain calm. "Thank you," she said, "may I ask why you honor me so?"
The girl's golden eyes lifted as she paused, mid-lick. "Your knives," she said, "Where did you get them?"
"They were given to me by a Gerridaan sorcerer named Carathan," Tanys said.
The girl straightened, one hand still on Tanys's breast. "You know Lord Carathan?" she asked.
"I was his blood guard... for a while."
"For a while?" the girl laughed, "You don't stop being a blood guard until you're dead... and you look very alive to me."
Tanys's cheeks burned at the rebuke. "I left," she said at last, "He... didn't need me anymore."
"Ah," the girl said, tracing little circles around Tanys's nipple with her fingernail, "so I've captured a runaway slave."
"I was never his slave!" Tanys insisted, then her voice softened, "We were..."
"Lovers," the girl said. She giggled and stepped away, seemingly lost in thought.
Tanys looked away. She had run away. She could not stay and share Carathan's love with Misha or the child in Misha's belly. She had left them nearly three years ago. They would be a family now. What place could there have been for Tanys
there?
"Is he very powerful?" the girl asked, "I mean, I've heard stories."
"More than you can imagine," Tanys sighed. Had Carathan learned to control the fiery power of the ancient magic that nearly consumed him once? "Have you any news of him?" she asked.
The girl scoffed, turning her back to the table. "I have no news of anything here! We are at the edge of the world with the endless sea at our backs and the empty void above. This is the place that bad little Gerridaan go when they die."
"Why not leave?" Tanys asked.
The girl gave her a sidelong glance and a wicked grin. "Oh, just you and me running away on a grand adventure, escaping this horrible little island?"
"Why not?" Tanys said, "You don't seem overly fond of the place, or your master. It won't just be the two of us though. I came to rescue my friends, and I won't be leaving here without them."
The girl laughed. "The Zhadeen princess is your friend? Are you renting yourself out as a bodyguard to royals now?"
"I don't give a damn about the girl," Tanys said, "I'm here for the dwarf and his girl that your men took... and now for my cat and those two idiot sisters that you took from me."
"That's a lot of people to keep track of," the girl laughed, "though I'm sure the Master has shortened that list for you considerably by now."
Tanys cursed, and the bindings at her wrists creaked as she strained to break free. The silver-haired girl simply stepped back from the table and watched with amusement until Tanys once again went slack in her bonds.
"Do you feel better now?" the girl asked.
"I'll feel better when I've put a blade through your master's gut."
"Don't worry," the girl said, "we've all felt that way from time to time. Still, I'm not finished playing with you yet, and I can't have you cutting through me to get to him. Perhaps I'd better explain the realities of your situation."
The girl bent over, reaching for something on the floor. When she rose again, she held an enormous red ant, cupped in the palm of her hand. She lifted it to her face, cooing and whispering to it. She smiled as the creature's antennae brushed against her lips.
"These are my children," the girl said, "They brought you here. They do my bidding. I am their... queen."
Tanys trembled at the memory of the things crawling over her body and fought to control her breathing as the girl laid the insect gently on Tanys's breast. Its tiny feet tickled her skin as the ant turned, uncertainly.
"Its sting is paralytic, but its bite is also extremely painful," the girl said, "I haven't let them bite you yet. I would not have you marred. Once they start to feed... well, it doesn't take long." The girl lifted a finger to her lips and sucked it momentarily. She leaned over and dragged her wet finger in a trail, down Tanys's naked abdomen, around her navel, to the dark bush of hair above Tanys's sex.
The ant's feelers pricked up, sensing its mistress's scent. It turned to follow the trail of saliva down Tanys's body. Tanys lifted her head to watch it crawl downward. She twisted her hips, trying to shake the thing off, but it clung, tenaciously to her skin and fought its way along the path the girl had left for it.
The girl licked her finger again then reached down between Tanys's legs, feeling for the secret flesh and marking it well with her guiding scent.
"I lead them to food," the girl whispered, "and I tell them when they are allowed to eat it."
The ant reached Tanys's patch of dark fur, dragging its mandibles through the curling hairs as it grew more excited by the scent.
"Please," Tanys gasped, "just get it off me."
Tanys clenched her legs together as tightly as possible, but the creature pressed its head determinedly at the V of her sex, pushing its way in.
"Please!" Tanys said.
The girl smiled and plucked the creature up.
"Thank you," Tanys sighed, relaxing again.
The girl closed her eyes and raised her arms at her sides. All around the ovoid chamber, masses of red ants swarmed up the dirt walls, covering them completely with their wriggling bodies. "Just remember," the girl said, "I control them. They love their queen. If anything happened to me... they would go quite mad with grief."
Tanys felt sick to her stomach at the sight of mounds of writhing insects dropping from the walls only to scurry back up again over the living bodies of their companions. "I understand," she said, "I will not harm you... Just release me, please."
"All in good time," the girl said, "We haven't finished your bath yet."
The silver-haired girl slopped a wet cloth onto Tanys's belly once more, and Tanys flinched at the chill.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl purred, "the water's gotten cold. Oh well."
Tanys shut her eyes and endured the discomfort as the ghast scrubbed her body clean.
****
Tanys sat on the edge of the table, rubbing her bruised wrists. She tried not to look at the floor where countless red ants scurried in long trails to or from a number of holes in the clay walls.
"You will wear this," the silver-haired girl said, handing Tanys a bundle of black silk. It spilled open in Tanys's hands, a short dress of immodest cut. She slipped it on over her head, squeezing her breasts into the bodice and tugging the skirt down to where her ass touched the table.
"Do you have anything a bit larger?" Tanys asked.
The girl's eyes played over Tanys's body. "No," she said, "I think that one will do nicely. Stand up."
Tanys looked at the scurrying floor dubiously. "How?"
"Just be careful where you step," the girl replied.
Tanys swallowed hard and slipped off the edge of the table, placing her toes on a tiny bare patch of the earthen floor. She put her weight on her foot, and cringed as an insect crawled across the top of it.
The girl giggled. "You'll get used to it," she said, "I suggest you shuffle your feet to walk. Less chance of stepping on one of them that way."
Tanys nodded, biting her lip as she put her other foot down and stood before the girl. The dress stretched its full length, hanging just below the crease of Tanys's butt cheeks in the back. "Do you have anything to go underneath the dress?" she asked.
The girl's eyes flashed dangerously, and she grabbed Tanys by the shoulders, spinning her around to face the table. Tanys started to resist but thought better of it, letting the girl bend her over with her chest against the tabletop. The dress rode up, exposing Tanys's backside to the girl behind.
The girl reached beneath and cupped Tanys's exposed sex with her hand. "This," she said, "is mine now, and I will do with it as I will."
Tanys's breathed heavily, fighting back her rage. Her fingernails pressed into the wooden table. She stared straight ahead into the shadows and said nothing.
"Do you understand?" the girl demanded.
Tanys shut her eyes, trying to calm herself.
"Do you understand?" the girl shouted, grasping a fistful of Tanys's pubic hair and tugging hard.
"Yes!" Tanys gasped, "Yes, I understand!"
"Good," the girl hissed, "and from this moment forward, you will address me as Daima."
"Yes, Daima," Tanys said, lowering her head in submission.
"Well then," she said, releasing her grip and stepping away, "you can turn around now."
Tanys straightened and turned slowly to face the girl, not daring to meet her eye. Killing her would earn Tanys only a moment of satisfaction, followed by a horrible death. She had to think of her friends and hope they still lived.
"My name is Tanys," she said.
"You have no name here," the girl said, "and Daima is not my name. It is a title. It means I am your mistress for so long as I require you to live."
Tanys fought to control her anger, forcing herself to take slow, deep breaths. At last she whispered, "What do you want me to do... Daima?"
The ghast girl smiled. "That's better," she said, "Now let's see those pretty eyes." She reached up and gently lifted Tanys's chin, studying her face.
"Beautiful," the girl said,
softly parting Tanys's lips with her cool fingertips then stroking her cheek to brush aside a strand of raven black hair.
Tanys said nothing, allowing the strange girl to examine her prize. The girl's fingers stroked the curve of Tanys's jawline, moving down her throat to her shoulder. Tanys saw the growing desire in the girl's eyes and looked away in shame.
Tanys's gaze fell to the girl's breasts, twin pale mounds peeking through the open front of the girl's black silk robe. Tanys shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling her own arousal growing as a fluttering heat within.
"Do you want to see them?" the girl asked, touching her fingers to her own small breasts.
Tanys squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, surrendering her will to the girl's game. She opened them again and whispered, "Yes, Daima."
The girl shrugged the black robe from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her nipples were the color of smoke, twin disks, barely darker than the milky flesh of the girl's bare chest. The Daima took a step back, cocking her broad hips and smiling coyly. "What do you think?"
Tanys looked at her. The girl stood naked before her, seeming now to have lost the menace of a foe, and was now only a shy young woman, desperate for her approval.
"You are beautiful..." Tanys said.
The girl's eyes sparkled, and she grinned. "I want to show you something!" she said.
Tanys followed the girl toward the only doorway, careful to avoid stepping on any of the hundreds of ants. She shivered as one of them ran up her leg, and clung momentarily to her skin before she could shake it off.
Thankfully, the floor of the next room proved to be relatively clear. Still the walls of the ovoid chamber crawled with countless insects, tending the large, fleshy orbs that hung from the low ceiling. Tanys shuddered as she realized they were the enormously distended bellies of huge ants that clung to the ceiling with their black jaws.
"Hungry?" the ghast girl asked.
"Yes, Daima," Tanys said, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food.
The girl giggled. "Good," she said, "but I'm afraid you're going to have to work for your supper."
Tanys's eyes narrowed.
The Isle of Torment Page 3