“Yes, it is, your Lordship,” R’xs purred. “But I’m very much afraid my prices have just gone up.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Ass-licks demanded.
“I’m saying I can do what you want—I can kill the littlehsh’fruxand get rid of the body,” R’xs told him. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than carving her into tiny, bloody pieces. But it’s going to cost you more than the total worth of her contract.”
“Howdareyou extort me, you scum?” Ass-licks snarled. “How much do you want, anyway?”
“At leastthreetimes the cost of her contract,” R’xs said decisively. “And that’s more than fair—it’s at least as much as the Baron would pay to get her back alive, I bet!”
“Oh…very well!” Ass-licks snapped, glaring at the pimp. “But you’d better hide the body where no one willeverfind it!”
“I’ll chop her up and feed the chunks to the wildbandars and farnexes,”R’xs promised coldly. “No one will ever see hide ‘nor hair of her again, your Lordship—you have my promise on that.”
“Very well. See that you do it quickly then,” Ass-licks snapped. “I’ll meet you later with the payment.”
“Just make sure you have the proper amount,” R’xs told him. “I would hate for it to get back to the Baron that you’ve had his favorite little Blood Whore killed.”
“Don’t you dare threaten me! Just do as you’re told!” Ass-licks nearly screamed at him.
There was a click and the communications device in R’xs’ hand abruptly went dark as the holo disappeared.
“Well, well…” R’xs put the device back in his pocket and stared thoughtfully between me and the long, silver knife-blade he was still holding in his other hand. “Seems like it’s the end of the road for you, littlehsh’frux,”he said to me.
“R’xs, please…just…just think about this.” My voice wavered as I worked more desperately than ever at freeing my hands. The right one wasalmostfree—if I could just slip it a little further through the loop of rough rope I could at least get out of the chair.
“Ain’t nothing to think about.” R’xs shrugged his bony shoulders. “You turned a good profit for a little while, but now you’re worth more to me dead than alive. So that means you have to die, Natalie.”
“Please, please don’t!” I begged, tugging desperately at my hand. My heart was racing so hard it felt like it was trying to burst right out of my chest. I had to get out of here! If I could just somehow dodge past him and get out to the main tunnel, I might have a chance. If only…
R’xs came forward, holding the knife in front of him. It glittered menacingly in the dim green glow of the emergency lantern.
“Let’s see now—how should I begin?” he mused, grinning at me ghoulishly. “Since his Lordship is so keen that nobody ever finds the body, I’ll need to carve you up. And of course, when I’m carving, I always like to start with the face…”
Leaning forward, he placed the tip of the blade against my sweating forehead and I felt the cold metal bite into my flesh.
“No!”I shrieked. With a last, convulsive jerk, I managed to free my right hand, though it felt like half my skin was torn off in the process. I ducked away from the knife and twisted to one side.
Since the chair was still tied to my left hand, I found I was suddenly holding it in front of me—it made a good make-shift shield, though I would rather have been free of it altogether so I could run.
“Hey now, what do you think you’re doing? Get back here and behave yourself!” R’xs demanded.
“So I should come back and hold still like a good girl so you can carve me up? I don’t think so!” I shouted at him. My blood was pumping so hard and fast I was actually beginning to feel hot, despite the extreme cold of the tunnel. I waved the wooden chair at him, trying to be menacing, though it was hard to see with the blood that was now running in my eyes. “You stay back or I’ll shove this right up your ass!” I told him.
R’xs’s face darkened.
“Always knew you were trouble—right from the start,” he spat. “Well, you’re not getting between me and a triple-contract payday, you littlehsh’fruxbitch! I’ll kill you and carve you up if it’s the last thing I do!”
And he jumped suddenly so that he was between me and the narrow doorway.
“Now are you going to behave or not?” he demanded, waving the silver knife at me.
“I’m guessing that would be a ‘not,’” a deep, growling voice said from behind him.
And then Vik’tor appeared.
TWENTY-FOUR
NATALIE