“Sark?” She came towards him carefully. “Sark, are you all right?”
He seemed frozen in place somehow—was he having some kind of episode or fit? What could she do for him?
“Sark?” she asked anxiously, shaking him by the shoulders. “Sark, speak to me! Whatever is wrong?”
“What’s wrong, my dear, is that he’s been immobilized.”
The high, nasal voice was too familiar for Isla to mistake it for anyone but her husband.
“Baslik!” She whirled to see him standing in the half-open doorway of the little hut.
“Yes, my little mouse, it’s me,” he said, sneering at her. “And your Kindred guard is frozen.”
“But…how?” She looked at Sark again, wondering what in the world was going on.
“The bands I had the Fenushians put on you, of course.” Baslik laughed. “I paid them extra to put on that little bit of playacting—just as I paid them to move up their ceremony to tonight. I even had them put one on me—though of course it doesn’t work.”
He brandished his own leather band and Isla realized that the etchings in the leather weren’t lit up and glowing the way the ones in her own band and Sark’s were. In fact, she could see the big Kindred’s band now—the figures on the band were glowing so brightly she could barely stand to look at them. Clearly the band had been activated in some way and it had the power to freeze even a huge male like Sark in place.
“Nerve immobilization,” Baslik said to her. “It’s strong enough to keep even a troublesome giant like your new guard in his place. But though he can’t move unless I tell him to, he’s perfectly aware of all that’s going on around him. Imagine how miserable this will make him!”
And he backhanded Isla across the face with such force that she fell to the ground with a cry. Tears of pain came to her eyes and she cupped her cheek, which felt like it was on fire.
A deep, rumbling growl came from Sark’s chest and for a moment she thought she saw flames dancing in his eyes again. But he still sat perfectly still and didn’t move a muscle.
“Ah, you don’t like that, do you, Mr. Sark?” Baslik sneered at him triumphantly. “Unfortunately I’m afraid you’ll be in for more of the same soon. For the Festival of Fertility starts now and if Isla isn’t glowing by the end of the first act, I shall give her a special Fenushian potion to make her glow. Then you can watch me breed her. You’ll enjoy watching that, won’t you?”
Another rumbling growl came from Sark’s chest and Isla almost thought he twitched, but still he didn’t move from his spot.
“Ha!” Baslik was positively gloating with glee. “Come, the time is now! The Festival is beginning!” He grabbed Isla with one hand and hauled her roughly to her feet. Then he pointed at Sark. “Get up and follow us, Kindred. And keep your hands to your sides at all times! Do not otherwise move unless I tell you to.”
Sark rose slowly, nearly banging his head against the low metal ceiling. His hands were frozen to his sides, though Isla could see that they were balled into enormous fists.
Then she wasn’t able to watch anymore because Baslik was yanking her out the doorway of the little metal hut where she had been so briefly happy.
“Please!” she cried, trying to cover herself as well as she could. “At least let me put on some clothes, Baslik!”
“Why should I bother?” he demanded. “When the entire Fenushian tribe is about to see you naked when I breed you anyway?”
Then he dragged her away with Sark stumbling after them, his eyes glowing angrily in the darkness, but helpless to stop any of what was about to happen.
TWENTY-FIVE
“Ah, my people! I thank you for gathering.” Feed’lix bowed to the assembled crowd, his black and white stripes glinting in the moonlight which still poured down from the mouth of the dead volcano.
They were gathered in the Central Clearing again, where the long dining table had been cleared away and a stage had been erected instead. The Fenushians were standing in a semi-circle around their leader who was pacing on the stage with his partners, Tam’lah and Churr’um, behind him.
Tam’lah was shooting Isla sympathetic looks, but it was clear she wasn’t about to go against Feed’lix to help in any way.
And speaking of Feed’lix, it was also clear to Isla that the Two-Tailed Fenushian was firmly in her husband’s pocket. Why else would he change the date of an important ritual like their Fertility Festival and make everyone get up in the middle of the night to participate?
But none of the Fenushians was complaining. They all stood around in groups of three, looking up at the wooden stage where Feed’lix and his two partners stood. Isla was standing—immobilized by the band on her wrist—beside Baslik who was waiting impatiently.