Thorn Queen Page 0,117

have tormented me these years, enslaving me and sending me to do your menial errands."

I couldn't even manage a scream, not with the way his hands were cutting off my air. I could only manage something that was half-grunt and half-gasp. Desperately, desperately, I fought him mentally. I was one of the most powerful shamans in the world. I could control wayward spirits. I could enslave them easily. I'd once had a host of them. I could fight this.

"You will feel pain like you have never dreamed possible," he continued. "You will beg for death, beg for dismemberment...for even that would be easier than the agony I will inflict on you."

Everyone had warned me so many times about keeping Volusian. What if your control slips? they had all asked. Dorian had even offered to help banish him to the Underworld for good. I had laughed the worries off. I was strong. Even after a battle like I'd had with the fire demons, maintaining that link to Volusian was practically subconscious. But now...now, this was different.

"You are losing it-the bonds are nearly broken. In a few heartbeats, your control will be gone...."

No! I couldn't speak a response, but the words in my mind burned. I would not lose this. I would not lose control of him. Wrenching up the last scraps of my strength was like ripping my own heart out. You will obey me! Back off!

The world started to sparkle as my air grew less and less, and then-he did back off.

His eyes blazed with malice. He'd been so, so close, and we both knew it. My control now was still a tenuous thing, and I had to hope I would recover my strength soon and solidify my grasp.

"You will obey me," I said in a thin voice. "You will not harm me."

"As my mistress commands." But I could tell from his voice that he didn't believe this would last, that he was biding his time.

Meanwhile, I was running out of time to decide what to do, not only because I didn't know if he'd break free again but also because Abigail could be here at any moment. My initial instinct was to tell him to simply get me out of here. But if that command took the last of my strength, he could easily kill me once we were out. And even if I made it out, what about the girls? I couldn't rescue them on my own. How long until Markelle disappeared?

No, I needed to kick Volusian out of the house. If I didn't summon him back, those wards would keep me safe. I needed to send him for help, and that choice had to be a wise one.

"Leave this house. Go to Dorian," I said. I drew upon that fleeting strength of mine to enforce the order. "I command you. Go to Dorian and tell him where I'm at. Exactly where I'm at."

I could have sent him to Kiyo. Kiyo knew where this house was. But if the effort of these commands was enough to finally shatter my hold on Volusian, Dorian might be able to bind him back. It would be better than Volusian running loose. That, of course, depended on whether my order was strong enough to even get Volusian to Dorian to deliver the message. My first command had been to get Volusian out of the house and keep me behind the wards. If that was all I could manage, Volusian would no longer be bound to obey. He has to, I thought desperately. He has to get to Dorian....

"Go!" I ordered harshly.

"As you command."

Volusian vanished, eyes narrowed, confident our bond was about to break. As soon as he was gone, I fell onto the bed, nearly ready to pass out. Would it work? Or had I just broken the last fragments of our bond? I was too afraid to reach out and test the link. I didn't have the strength.

The door suddenly unlocked. Nightshade time. With a sickening thought, I realized that if it was the original kind, I would almost certainly lose that control of Volusian. If it was Markelle's decoy, I could hold onto my strength.

Abigail entered, a cup in hand and Markelle in her wake. The gentry girl's eyes were down, her whole posture meek. I bit my lip at their approach, waiting to see what my future held.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It tasted as bitter as always, but as I drank, Markelle lifted her eyes. There was nothing obvious in them,