down at h i m in antici p ation. The stench w a s overpowering as Thalius leaned to the side, e m p t y i ng the contents of his sto m ach. The creature never took its e y es off hi m , but instead dropped large pools of saliva over Thalius’s legs and feet. When the creature m ade a grab for his head, Thalius’s high - pitched scre a m m ade him sound like a litt l e b o y .
Shit! I’m going to have to throw a s pell!
It would ruin eve r y t h i ng.
He scra m bled backward, t r y i ng to rebalance his weight so he could raise his hands…
A hiss sounded from the creature’s m outh, followed b y a shriek as it turned away from Thalius and disappeared into the all e y .
“Beat it, Sli m , or y o u ’ll be my s upper tonight.
“Well, well. What have we her e ? ” The cloaked figure see m ed to grow from the shado w s. He w a sn’t m uch taller than Thalius, but had a distinct air of far greater confidence. Thalius kn e w he’d found his target. He re m e m b ered Jager’s voice from the sentencing. Actual l y , w hat he re m e m b ered were the death threats rushing from the Enchanter’s vulgar m o u th as Kerrigan took him aw a y for proce s sing.
“Fucking h y p o cri t es. That’s what all of y o u are. Mark my w ord, Counselors, I’m gonna slit y o ur throats while y o u sleep. Beaverb o y , y o u ’ll be first. Count on it,” Jager had spewed.
Thalius shuddered at the m e m o r y as Jager reached down, grabbed him around the neck, and sla m med his cru m p l ed bo d y against the brick wall. The force knocked the breath out of hi m , and the hood of his cloak fell from his head.
The sinister laugh bu r st from Jager’s disg u sting m outh. Thalius cringed.
Jagged, blackened teeth protruded through the dec a y i ng flesh. Pus and hair decorated his teeth, adding to the stench of his breath. G rea s y , tangled tendrils of hair slithered over his scalp and d o wn his face, hanging from the ug l y brownish m o le atop his right e y e s ocket. H i s looks obviously hadn’t i m proved in his captivi t y .
Thalius hoped his plan w as going to w ork and m ake all this w orthwhile.
“What a charming s urprise. Counselor, how nice of y o u to visit me in my fine ho m e. I w a s just on my way to find so m e dinner, and behold, here it is.” G reenish drool oozed down his chin, s platte r ing on his chest. Jager licked his lips, flinching at the scratch of a tooth over a boil.
“Killing m e will not garner y ou a m o m e nt’s freed o m ,” Thalius declared. “And I have need of y o ur a s sistance for which the p a y m e nt will be m ost favorable.”
“Freedo m ! H ow dare y ou c o m e here cowering like the w orm y o u are? Y ou’ve no power, no groun d s to give m e such a direction. You should have listened to m e, asshole, but as I recall, that didn’t happen, did it? You kept y o u r silence and left m e to rot in this boil on the a s s of Enchantment . ”
Thalius squir m ed to reach the ground with his feet. H i s s m all hands desperate l y pried at Jager’s larger ones around his throat. G uilt flared, but w a s easi l y pushed aside. It had been too long since he’d wallowed in s uch an e m o t ion for him to understand its true p o wer.
“Jager, y ou will want to hear what I’m going to offer y o u . Put m e down. D on’t forget I can blast y ou into the oblivion at a n y m o m e nt. Y ou need m e if y o u want to get out of this hole.”
Jager slow l y released his grip and let Thalius collapse back into a heap on the ground. “You’ve got thir t y seconds, old man, and if I’m not satisfied, y o u r spell is going to have to be quicker than my teeth. Talk quick l y . ”
“You’re a bastard, Jager.”
“Twen t y secon d s left, Thalius. Tick. Tock.”
Thalius straightened his cloak and looked Jager in the e y e . “ I’m going to give y ou y o ur p o wers back.”
Jager cocked his e y e b row. “You’ve got my attention, but the hunger in my sto m a ch is
Shit! I’m going to have to throw a s pell!
It would ruin eve r y t h i ng.
He scra m bled backward, t r y i ng to rebalance his weight so he could raise his hands…
A hiss sounded from the creature’s m outh, followed b y a shriek as it turned away from Thalius and disappeared into the all e y .
“Beat it, Sli m , or y o u ’ll be my s upper tonight.
“Well, well. What have we her e ? ” The cloaked figure see m ed to grow from the shado w s. He w a sn’t m uch taller than Thalius, but had a distinct air of far greater confidence. Thalius kn e w he’d found his target. He re m e m b ered Jager’s voice from the sentencing. Actual l y , w hat he re m e m b ered were the death threats rushing from the Enchanter’s vulgar m o u th as Kerrigan took him aw a y for proce s sing.
“Fucking h y p o cri t es. That’s what all of y o u are. Mark my w ord, Counselors, I’m gonna slit y o ur throats while y o u sleep. Beaverb o y , y o u ’ll be first. Count on it,” Jager had spewed.
Thalius shuddered at the m e m o r y as Jager reached down, grabbed him around the neck, and sla m med his cru m p l ed bo d y against the brick wall. The force knocked the breath out of hi m , and the hood of his cloak fell from his head.
The sinister laugh bu r st from Jager’s disg u sting m outh. Thalius cringed.
Jagged, blackened teeth protruded through the dec a y i ng flesh. Pus and hair decorated his teeth, adding to the stench of his breath. G rea s y , tangled tendrils of hair slithered over his scalp and d o wn his face, hanging from the ug l y brownish m o le atop his right e y e s ocket. H i s looks obviously hadn’t i m proved in his captivi t y .
Thalius hoped his plan w as going to w ork and m ake all this w orthwhile.
“What a charming s urprise. Counselor, how nice of y o u to visit me in my fine ho m e. I w a s just on my way to find so m e dinner, and behold, here it is.” G reenish drool oozed down his chin, s platte r ing on his chest. Jager licked his lips, flinching at the scratch of a tooth over a boil.
“Killing m e will not garner y ou a m o m e nt’s freed o m ,” Thalius declared. “And I have need of y o ur a s sistance for which the p a y m e nt will be m ost favorable.”
“Freedo m ! H ow dare y ou c o m e here cowering like the w orm y o u are? Y ou’ve no power, no groun d s to give m e such a direction. You should have listened to m e, asshole, but as I recall, that didn’t happen, did it? You kept y o u r silence and left m e to rot in this boil on the a s s of Enchantment . ”
Thalius squir m ed to reach the ground with his feet. H i s s m all hands desperate l y pried at Jager’s larger ones around his throat. G uilt flared, but w a s easi l y pushed aside. It had been too long since he’d wallowed in s uch an e m o t ion for him to understand its true p o wer.
“Jager, y ou will want to hear what I’m going to offer y o u . Put m e down. D on’t forget I can blast y ou into the oblivion at a n y m o m e nt. Y ou need m e if y o u want to get out of this hole.”
Jager slow l y released his grip and let Thalius collapse back into a heap on the ground. “You’ve got thir t y seconds, old man, and if I’m not satisfied, y o u r spell is going to have to be quicker than my teeth. Talk quick l y . ”
“You’re a bastard, Jager.”
“Twen t y secon d s left, Thalius. Tick. Tock.”
Thalius straightened his cloak and looked Jager in the e y e . “ I’m going to give y ou y o ur p o wers back.”
Jager cocked his e y e b row. “You’ve got my attention, but the hunger in my sto m a ch is
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