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." So much more, he thought."What do you gain?" Vhissilka asked, slithering around Vhok where he stood."What is your advantage?"Vhok drew a deep breath."The angel that arrived with me has been the source of untold trouble for me.I want revenge.""And how will you achieve such?" the demon asked, still winding herself around the cambion.Her coils held his ankles tightly together and she began to work her way up past his knees, closing in on him.Swallowing back any concern he had for his own safety, he calmly replied, "The information I have gleaned at the angel's expense: I will sell it to the highest bidder when we arrive.""No one will listen to you," Vhissilka scoffed."You will be slain and cast into a pit the moment you set foot within in an archdemon's territory.""Not if I am your ally," he replied."Not if I allow you to claim much of the credit for the knowledge.""Why would you do that?""Because it's the end result that matters to me," Vhok said."I want a chance to make all the creatures of the House of the Triad regret they ever crossed me.You can help me make that happen.""I accept," the demon said, coiling herself more tightly around Vhok, pinning his arms to his sides."But with one change.You will remain here as my guest, along with the angel, the human, and the half-drow, which I know to be the alu's son.You will tell me everything you have gleaned from the angel, right here, right now.I will also torture the angel until he is completely broken, and compare what he reveals against your own claims.If I am satisfied, I might allow you to live.In the meantime, I will send the alu out to find a magic portal; She will be the one to lead us through it.""But—" Vhok began, only to discover he had no air to finish his statement as the coils of the snake-demon suddenly constricted.He gasped and struggled, but her grip was absolute.Vhok felt himself growing faint.He could not get enough air.He opened his mouth to protest, to plead, but he had no voice.Idiot! he fumed, fighting the panic that engulfed him.What have you done?Just as he began to lose consciousness, he heard a deep voice from nearby.He recognized it as that of Gtekzith the molydeus."Forgive me," the creature said, "but the others are not in the chamber where they were to be held.They have vanished.""What?" the marilith screamed, tightening her grip on Vhok.He thought his ribs were going to crack."Find them!""As you command," the red-skinned demon replied.Vhissilka loosened her hold on Vhok the tiniest bit.It was not enough for him to move, but he was able to draw ina shallow breath.He spent a few thudding heartbeats panting as the spots faded from his vision."Where are they?" the marilith demanded."What have you done with them?"Vhok shook his head, cursing himself for leaving them to their own devices."I don't know," he said."But they can't be far.They're all weak, dying.Let me help you find them.The alu doesn't trust you, but she will come to me." It was a lie.One chance to slip away, he thought.That's all I need.The marilith held him fast for a moment longer as she appeared to consider his request.Then she tightened the coils once more."I think not," she said, crushing the air from him again."You are much too valuable for me to allow you to escape.How else am I going to entice the alu to return?"Kael fought the urge to pace.He fingered the hilt of his sword as he watched Aliisza.The alu had been sitting very still, her eyes closed, for a long time.Though she seemed to be concentrating, her facial expression would occasionally ripple with frustration.To pass the time, Kael would occasionally move to the exit of the chamber and peer out into the larger tunnel beyond.He stood there and tried to penetrate the silence, listening for some sign that there were threats nearby.He only detected something once, but whatever had made the noise, it never drew closer.I cannot abide all this waiting, Kael thought, returning once more to stand by his mother's side.The longer we delay, the greater our chances of discovery.But he did not wantto disturb his mother by voicing his concerns, so he instead turned his attention toward the other two refugees hiding with them.Tauran seemed to be holding his own, though he was in poor shape
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