Anthony, Piers - Xanth 08 - Crewel Lye by Anthony Piers

Author:Anthony, Piers
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 10. Demon Striation

Threnody didn't bother going for her clothes; she leaped for the door. I intercepted her, knowing she would be difficult to catch if she got away, as she was bound to be more familiar with this region than I was. She struck at my face with her small fist, but I fended her off with my left arm. "Ow!" she cried.

"What are you made of, oaf?"

"Stone," I said. "My feet and left arm, anyway. I ran into a spell."

She relaxed. "Sounds like one of Yang's spells. You turned partway to stone?"

"More or less," I said, letting her go.

She bolted for the door again, this time getting out. But she ran smack into Pook, who had thought to back-stop me. She bounced off his hide, and in a moment I caught her again. "I just have to take you back," I said. "I'm sorry, but I agreed to bring back the object and I will."

"I'm no object!" she protested, struggling in my arms, but this time I was smart enough not to release her.

"Sure you are," I said. "The object of my mission."

"You'll never take me alive!"

"Listen, you've already killed me," I told her, still distracted by her motions. If I hadn't already known that barbarians were often clumsy with women, I'd have suspected it now. "You should know that's no good."

"I'll kill you again!" she said, trying to bite at my shoulder. Unfortunately, she picked the wrong one and bruised her teeth on the stone.

"Well, I'd better get you dressed," I said. I knew it wasn't right for bare women to be out of the house; the flies would bite them.

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A B B YY.c I hauled her into the house, tossed her onto the bed, and held her down while I wrestled the brown dress

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onto her. It wasn't easy, because she was punching and kicking at me all the time, but finally I got the

dress buttoned.

"You oaf!" she snorted. "It's backward!"

I had, of course, put the buttons in the front, where they belonged, but the fit did look a little awkward.

"Does it matter?" I asked innocently.

"Get off me, you buffoon, and I'll do it right."

I let her go and stepped back. She stood, unbuttoned the dress-now I saw that I hadn't aligned the buttons properly, so that the buttons ran off the top while the holes ran off the bottom-and took it off. She turned it about-and suddenly leaped for me, the dress stretched between her hands. She wrapped it about my throat and twisted it in back, choking me.

But some of the stone remained in my neck, too, and the choke was not tight. I struggled for a moment, then let myself relax, feigning unconsciousness. She choked me a while longer, making sure, then let go.

"What am I going to do with you?" she muttered rhetorically, supposing me to be beyond hearing.

"You're basically a decent guy, but if I let you live-"

I grabbed her about the legs and hauled her down again.

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