"Anne Bishop - Black Jewels 00 - The Invisible Ring" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bishop Anne)

Neither would pleading. If he used Craft to protect himself, all the guards
would be down on him and, by the time it was over, he'd end up losing more
than an eye. Just before the blade came close enough to cut, the guard
jerked, stumbled back a step. He shook his head as if to clear it, then
rubbed the small of his back with a fist. When he turned around, he froze
and let out a soft whimper. Jared blinked rapidly, not sure if it was tears
or sweat blinding him. Didn't matter. The guard was between him and whatever
had caught the man's attention. During those long seconds when the guard
stood frozen, Jared became aware of the silence. All the usual, small noises
inside a slave pen had stopped, as if slaves and guards alike were afraid to
do anything that might call attention to themselves. Finally, the guard
vanished the knife and moved away slowly, awkwardly, as if his legs had
become unsteady. No longer blocked by the guard's body, Jared looked
straight into Daemon Sadi's cold, golden eyes. If pleasure slaves were the
aristos in the slave hierarchy, then Daemon Sadi was as far above the rest
of them as they were to the slaves used for hard labor. Looking at his
broad-shouldered body and beautiful face or listening to his deep,
sexy-edged voice was enough to arouse most women-and quite a few men,
regardless of their preference. He could seduce anything that breathed.
They called him the Sadist because he was as cruel as he was beautiful.
Owned by Dorothea SaDiablo, he'd been a pleasure slave for centuries and
wore the Ring of Obedience. He was also a strong Warlord Prince, and people
who annoyed Sadi had an odd way of disappearing. Jared sighed in relief when
Daemon finally looked away, the bored expression on that beautiful face
betraying no thoughts, no feelings. But the voice that reached Jared on a
Red psychic spear thread held sympathy and understanding. *So. You finally
couldn't stomach it anymore.* Jared thought of the last Queen who had owned
him, and the kinds of bedroom games she and her Prince brother had wanted to
play. He shuddered. *No, I couldn't stomach it anymore,* he replied. *I
couldn't stomach them.* If Daemon hadn't taken an interest in him eight
years ago when they'd been in the same court, he wouldn't have survived this
long. Pleasure slaves tended to become emotionally unstable after a few
years of serving in the bed. Daemon's lessons had helped him stay detached
from what he was ordered to do, or what was being done to him. Even that
detachment hadn't been enough that last time. *The bitch deserved to die,*
Daemon said, as if killing a Queen was so commonplace it wasn't worth more
than a casual remark. Which, for Sadi, was probably close to the truth. Then
his tone changed, and he sounded like a teacher who was mildly annoyed with
a favorite student. *But you could have been more subtle.* The woman next to
Daemon tugged on the sleeve of his black, tailored jacket. She seemed
confused to find herself so far away from the amusements and the merchant
booths. Compared to Daemon's looks and Hayllian coloring- golden-brown skin,
glossy black hair, and gold eyes-she looked bleached and plain. She mumbled
something and tugged again. Daemon ignored her.
Jared couldn't hear the words, but he heard the whine in her voice. His
muscles tensed. He held his breath. She spoke again, but her whining was cut
off by Daemon's low, vicious snarl. She quickly stepped away from him. Once
she was safely out of reach, she raised her voice. "I could use the Ring."
Daemon smiled, a cold, brutal smile.
The guards exchanged nervous glances and shifted their feet.