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The first time Lady Ashlynne Myrafloures saw the prisoner ould be known as Nu facedown in an ever- widening pool of his own blood She could not see his face, covered as it was by a tangledblack hair His back was a broad expanse of bronzed flesh, e, stiff with dried blood, was knotted around his right thigh

She watched in horrified fascination as three of the ht to hold the prisoner dohile a fourth guard attempted to collar him

Stubbornly, and surely knowing he could not win, the prisoner struggled to fight theround for purchase, his whole body tre violently with the effort it cost him to resist

Stay down The plea was a silent cry in Ashlynne's throat Please, just stay down

But he didn't stay down He went still for a brief th; then, with a feral screaed to his feet, everywith defiance as he made a last desperate attempt for freedom

She cringed as Dain plied the ith stunning, terrifying accuracy

The sinuous strip of thick black Parthian leather whistled through the air, tearing open the skin on the prisoner's left cheek It was a cruel weapon, that lash Her father had often spoken of Dain's skill Dain wielded it with an expert hand, her father boasted; he was able to flay a man's back to the bone or flick a fly froht her father was exaggerating, but no more

As many times as she had heard of Dain's whip, this was the first time she had seen it in action There were other, less barbaric,punishment, but her father had alwaysquite so painful, or so devastating to acarried out in public It was also, he had once asserted, a remarkably effective deterrent to those ere made to watch

To her horror, she knew her father was right

"Dain! Enough!" Parah, chief overseer of the mine, strode into view

Looking disappointed, Dain let the whip fall to his side

In the end, as she had known he would, the prisoner lost the battle She couldn't help but ade even as she wondered at his wisdom

Certainly he had known he could not win; certainly it would have been far less painful simply to submit to the inevitable

Huround, where they held hie erupted from his throat as a heavy lynaziam collar as wide as the span of her hand was locked around his neck; lynaziam manacles were also

fitted to his wrists and ankles

He would soon learn the folly of further resistance, she thought sadly

Dain had only to activate the controller in his hand to bring Number Four to heel Pressure applied to the top of the control panel would send blinding pain searing through every nerve and sinew of the prisoner's body; if depressed three ti death Pressure applied to the sides of the controller activated the nets located within the manacles on the captive's wrists and ankles Pressure to the left side would cause the thick bands on his wrists to snap together, turning theht side of the controller brought the shackles around his ankles together, effectively hobbling his feet so that he could neither walk nor run No th to force the manacles apart once they had been activated

She had been told the cruel restraints quickly subdued even the most recalcitrant of prisoners

There was one nity for him to endure She heard Parah shout, "Nu brand

A hoarse cry of pain ee nuh up, near his shoulder

Then he was jerked to his feet

Sickened by what she had seen, Ashlynne was about to turn away, intent on hurrying back to the peace and safety of the jinan, when the prisoner looked up She drew back, her heart pounding She was not supposed to be down here, would surely be punished if her presence were made known Had he seen her? She peered around the tree she was hiding behind, and his gaze locked on hers The power of that look, the sheer fury of it, held her spellbound, like a rabbit caught in a snare She could not deter into her, as hard as the rocks scattered upon the seashore Tortured eyes that burned into her and through her,her suddenly ashamed of the soft blue velvet of her dress, the white ribbon in her hair, the unbleloves upon her unblemished hands Ashamed because it was the endless toil of eously expensive clothing she wore, the fine house in which she had lived her whole life, the very food she ate

Why had she coaze held her fast Never, in all her life, had anyone looked at her as thisat her

Never! She was Ashlynne, daughter of Lady Jadeleine and Lord Marcus Myrafloures She was accusto treated with deference and respect But thiscriminal, looked at her with open contempt, as if she were some form of dirt to be shaken from the soles of his feet

With a soft cry of dismay, Ashlynne lifted her skirts and ran up the path toward home

"It's very quiet you are this evening," Jadeleine rehter?"

Ashlynne had been toying with the food on her plate She looked up at the sound of her reen that matched her eyes and complemented her complexion Her hair, a shade darker than Ashlynne's, was short and curly As always, she looked beautiful, calm, serene

Ashlynne shook her head "No, nothings wrong," she replied politely

"You look quite pale," her father said "Are you ill?"