The Tsarevich waved his wand and the searing stopped instantly. Ayaan rubbed at her neck but the warmth was gone.
'Is called ward, and is very strong magic. No way to undo it now without cutting off at neck. Be good now, or he turns it up all way.' The little boy looked as if this was the last thing he ever wanted to happen in the whole wide world. 'He turns it up, and your head is to catch fire, yes?'
She nodded. Bide your time, the ghost had told her. Wait for the right opportunity.
'I'll be good,' she promised.
Monster Planet
Chapter Nine
Sarah couldn't let go of Gary's tooth. She could feel it digging into her hand as if he were trying to bite her by remote control. He held her prisoner with her own power turned against her. He let her look away for just a moment and she stared at Dekalb. Her father's face had set in a mask of concern but he wasn't doing anything. He should be protecting her.
Hah! My buddy here's not much of a fighter.
'He fought you. He turned you into a bony little freak,' Sarah said, her voice stuck in her mouth. Her throat could move but not her tongue. She couldn't move her facial muscles, she couldn't scream for help but he was letting her talk to him, and him alone. She imagined he had the power to stop that as well, if he wanted.
She supposed if a lich were locked in his own skull for twelve years he might learn a few magic tricks. Especially when he was the second most powerful lich who ever lived.
Magic?he asked, perhaps reading her thoughts.I know all kinds of magic. Who do you think taught Marisol how to tame a ghoul? That's right, yours truly. I sold that secret for a breath of fresh air. I knew nothing about the outside world. Your Dad kept me jailed here where nothing ever happens and I couldn't even see the sun. So I learned to send my consciousness outward, to project myself astrally, I suppose. Marisol's was the first brain I touched'she and I go way back, of course. She was scared, too, just like you are right now, sugar beet. When I came to her in her dreams, when I started telling her things that only Jack would know, she was frightened already. The colony here was in bad shape back in those days. People were getting sick and dying. The crops weren't coming in. Once she realized I could teach her useful things she let me take control of her body for a few minutes a day. I never did anything drastic. Most of the time I just stood in front of a mirror and touched myself, to be brutally honest. Have you seen that woman? She's a knockout.
Sarah squirmed against her confinement.
God! Just because I lack the organs doesn't mean I don't feel the itch. Don't be such a prude, Sarah. I bet you do it. I bet you do it all the time. Hmm... but we're getting distracted. There's a point to my little story. I talked, and Marisol listened. Get it?
Sarah kept her silence.
Good. So let's be civil to each other. Let's be nice, even if we can't be friends. There's no reason to spoil Daddy-Daughter Day. It's him I want to talk about, of course. Your father: my jailer. Look at him. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but he's a gibbering idiot.
Sarah bristled, but said nothing. Gary could feel her emotions. He seemed to find them amusing.
This is the most fun I've had since I lost my appendages. But anyway, it's true. Your father's a moron. A sub-intellect. I know he has a brain'you can't be undead without one'but we're talking walnut-size here, at best. This whole time he's been confronted by just one mystery, just one little puzzle to solve and he's never worked it out. He's had twelve years to figure out just who keeps rebuilding my aching bones every time he breaks them but he hasn't got so much as clue one. You can tell, though. You knew it just by looking at me.