Katie's Hellion

"I told you, Sasha," a familiar voice said.

Katie looked past him, gasping. Jade stood near the spit, dark eyes blazing.

"And you were right," Sasha replied. "Now go, my love, before they notice you're gone."

Jade's glare stayed on her as he hesitated. Sasha turned to him with a smile, and Jade's gaze softened. He bowed his head and left her alone with the madman.. Sasha faced her. Katie took another step back, the stillness of his gaze unsettling.

"I've been waiting for a long time to claim you. We knew you'd appear eventually."

He motioned to a seat at the table loaded with food she feared eating. The seat was at his left, and he waited until she accepted before sitting. There was already food on her plate --meat from an unnamed source, vegetables, bread.

"I know you're hungry," he said.

She was starving. She took the roll and bit into it, surprised to find it tasted perfect. She ate the whole basketful while he watched. When he motioned to the meat, she looked toward the spit and then lied.

"I'm vegetarian."

He ate nothing. When her stomach was full, she allowed herself to look at him. His eyes gleamed. He took her wrist and raised his pinkie, where she saw the nail had been filed to a point and reinforced with metal. Before she could draw her wrist away, he pierced it. The pain surprised her after Lankha's gentle ministrations. The creature twisted her wrist and squeezed, capturing her blood in a small vial. The robed man who had led her to the hall strode forward and took the vial, then backed away silently.

"Verifying your identity," Sasha said with a polite smile.

"What do you want with me?"

"You know what. Your blood is rare. It can lead us to victory."

"You're the bad guys."

"We serve a different master."

He said nothing more, as if unwilling to say more until the identity verification was done. Still hungry, she ventured to try the vegetables. The broccoli tasted normal, and she ate all of them. She looked up at Sasha, her heart hammering under his hungry look.

The robed man returned and spoke in the harsh tongue. A look of satisfaction spread over the face of the creature before her. He gripped her wrist hard, lowering his head. She wrenched away. His reflexes were like Kris's, too fast to follow. He snatched her neck and rose, jerking her off the chair. Her air supply cut off, she tore at the hand holding her until the skin on his arm fell away to reveal smooth, black skin more akin to a reptile's than a human's. When the world narrowed, he released her. She fell, gasping for air.