“No. My price would be too high for a sniveling blueblood like you.”
“And what is it you want?”
“For you to kill my husband. Or at least find a way to stop him.” My eyes darted to the door. I could probably runif I needed to. This vizier looked bookish enough that I might be able to outdistance him.
“I assumed marriage to you would have already done that to any man fool enough to sayI doto you.”
I bolted for the door, snatching my confiscated vials off the table as I did so. Zafir, who was faster than I’d expected, rushed ahead to block me, throwing out his arm to bar the exit.
“Get out of my way,” I snarled, elbowing him in the ribs and trying to shove my vials into my pocket at the same time.
He caught my shoulders and pulled me in close so I wouldn’t be able to hit him. “No. You have something I want.”
“Do I now?” I leaned in so we were nearly nose to nose and lowered my voice seductively. “Then let megive it to you.” I sharply kneed him between the legs and he instantly crumpled. For good measure, I hurled down my last scorpion sand vial in front of him, which shattered in a glorious explosion of glass and powder that I was careful not to inhale.
I wrenched open the door and ran.
“Guards!” Zafir choked from the ground behind me. I was pleased to hear the pain in his voice as it rose a full octave. “Guards!”
There weren’t any guards around. This was my chance. I ran down the hallway, but before I could turn the corner, something jerked my arm backward so hard that I wondered if my arm would pop out of its socket.
I looked back and saw a thin, golden chain wrapped around my wrist and extending back toward Zafir. Wispy tendrils of vapor swirled around the chain like the magical residue that hung around some of the amateur sorcererstalls back home. I tugged on the chain, trying to wrench it off.
“You can’t get away from me now,” Zafir chuckled. He was limping toward me, the other end of the golden chain gleaming where it was wrapped around his own wrist.
“What did you do?” I snarled, trying to peel off the chain. It clung to my skin and proved impossible to budge.
Despite his eyes still streaming with tears from my exploded vial, he managed to smirk. “It’s a vow bond—a magical enchantment that prevents you escaping—and it also punishes you if you attempt to injure me. If you try, you’ll receive the exact same pain you inflicted on me. Handy little enchantment, isn’t it?”
I scraped at it again. “Get it off me.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
He pulled on the chain so I was forced a step closer. “If you answer my questions, I’ll gladly remove it.”
“You can’t interrogate someone without cause. I have rights.”
He wrapped the chain around his wrist several times so I was forced even closer. “You have no rights. You’re not from here, are you?”
I bit my tongue and didn’t answer.
He cast a shrewd eye over me. “Based on your skin tone and style of clothing, I’d guess you’re from Brisden.”
So he knew a little geography and made a good guess. “I still have rights and I could just be descended from Brisden.”
“You don’t have a fire tattoo on your shoulder, as all Pyrenese citizens do. So I’m confident in saying you aren’t from here. Nor did we find any immigration paperwork on you when you were arrested. In order to have rights, youwould need proof of your immigration status or the law dictates that you are subject to standard questioning before you are granted any refuge. A vow bond isn’t painful, you know. It’s just an extra measure of reassurance that you won’t harm your interrogator.”
“Iwon’tagree not to harm anyone,” I snapped. This time, I stepped closer on purpose so I could jut out my jaw and narrow my eyes at Zafir. “Particularly ifyou’rethe one questioning me. I’d quite enjoy harming you, actually.”
He looked down his long nose at me and smiled. “I thought you might. Which is why I have the vow bond in place. Now, you have some questions to answer before I’m willing to release you.”
CHAPTER 9
Iglared at Zafir. I wouldn’t be able to escape him until he removed the charm, and he wouldn’t do so until I submitted to his little interrogation. All I needed to do was play along until the right opportunity presented itself.
“Okay, sorcerer, explain the rules of…this thing.” I jangled the chain between us.
