Page 65 of Obsidian Dream

It was the only warning he got.

Her touch was agonizing as her hand went through his chest, before she clenched his heart and squeezed it tightly.

Doubling over, he tried to breathe but couldn’t.Everything hurt.Black spots appeared behind his eyes as he wheezed.He forced his head back, ignoring the agony as he stared at her, refusing to back down and submit.

“Interesting.You would die first.”She squeezed harder.Tsk-tsking, her eyes changed back to yellow.She brushed her lips against his.“If you need me, say my name thrice, and I will give you anything you desire.”She released him.

He gasped as he held his chest.“But for a price,” he mustered, refusing to back down.

“It will be our little secret,” she continued, as if Talik hadn’t said a word.She looked up, a macabre smile slowly forming on her lips.She trailed a sharp talon along his cheek.“You wouldn’t want to be responsible for another loved one’s death, would you?”

Talik sucked in a breath and couldn’t stop himself from following her gaze, but he couldn’t see beyond the cold stone ceiling, only the gouges made on the sandstone walls from all those who had been imprisoned before him.

“You may become useful later.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

TALIK

Talik gasped as everythingin his body screamed in agony.

Water dripped down his face.He ripped the cloth off his forehead, pushing himself to a sitting position as he tried to get his bearings.A wave of dizziness hit him, but he gritted his teeth as he stood.Slightly unsteady, he willed himself to work through it.

Was he still in the mind-fuck Ninhursag had him under?Was she trying a new angle?

In the total darkness, his eyesight was as useful as a human’s.He reached out, finding the cool metal of the blasters comforting as he pulled them closer.

Something moved next to him.

Khalida.

The click of the flashlight being switched on loudly echoed as a pale-yellow light cast her in shadows.She picked up the wet cloth next to him.In this light, he could make out that it was actually a bandage.She rinsed it in a small silver cup barely big enough for a shot, something she must have found in one of the tombs, before she gingerly touched his forehead.Her touch was gentle and caring.How long she had been helping him?“Your fever has finally broken.”

Was this another of Ninhursag’s illusions?

“What is my name?”He grabbed her wrist, flicking it over.The mark glowed neon in the darkness.She didn’t push back, just raised a perfect eyebrow and gave him a haughty stare for daring to touch her.It was exactly how he would expect her to behave, but at present, he wasn’t sure what was real or fantasy.Ninhursag’s spindly fingers were long gone, but he didn’t think he would ever forget the violation.Perhaps he had lost sight of reality, but there was no way he was going to live in a fantasy land.No matter how much he would prefer it.