Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (145 page)

Enraged,
Dahno
strained
once
more;
and
this
time
the
bonds
on his
wrists
seemed
to
shred.
He
tried
to
jump
out
of
the
bed,
forgetting
that
his
ankles
were
also
tied,
and
fell
to
the
floor.

Lying
there,
winded,
he
tried
to
curse;
but
nothing
happened.
In his
effort,
he
had
missed
some
of
his
brother's
message.

"—cold
in
the
winter,"
Bleys
was
saying.
"Winters
will
be
long but
you've
got
plenty
of
everything
you
need.

"One
last
thing,"
Bleys
added
implacably
from
the
machine. "Since
there's
always
a
chance
someone
will
stumble
across
you, I
decided
I
couldn't
take
a
chance
that
you
might
use
your
considerable
charm
to
get
yourself
rescued.
So
you've
been
rendered mute—you
can't
work
your
persuasiveness
on
someone
if
you
can't speak."

Stunned,
Dahno
pushed
himself
up
with
his
arms,
to
look
over the
bed
at
the
screen.

"Good
luck,
brother,"
the
figure
of
Bleys
said.