Free Fire In The Blood (Shards Of A Broken Sword Book 2) by W.R. Gingell

the wall.
    “What ails him? Down, you son of a lizard!”
    “Oh, be quiet !” said the pink silk despairingly. “Can’t you see you’re making him worse? Look, help me tie him to the tree.”
    There was a frosty kind of silence while Rafiq attempted a fumbling ascent of the wall and was once more dragged back.
    Then the hated voice said: “I’ve Commanded him to lie down. Why isn’t he obeying?”
    “He drank water from Faery,” said the pink silk. “I don’t know how they got it in here, but it’s Faery all right; and it’s at least strong enough to give a Thrall spell fair fight if the Thrall Commands are opposed to the desire to climb over the wall.”
    “Why hasn’t he changed back to his dragon form?”
    “I’m not sure he’s thinking clearly enough for that,” the pink silk said seriously. Somehow or other she was twined around his wrists just as she’d twined around his ankles earlier, and that coupled with the stronger, metallic presence that hove him sideways, compelled Rafiq back into the garden against his will. He felt the wall receding from him and fought doggedly to get back, but there was no resisting the twin power of metal and silk, and before long Rafiq began to feel the tug of another wall.
    “Careful, or you’ll have him going for one of the other walls,” said one of the voices. And then, as Rafiq felt himself spiralling down into heavy darkness, he was shoved against something hard and rough, his legs collapsing under him.
                  The first thing that Rafiq became aware of was the sad, aching desire to be gone from this prison and over the wall into Faery. That was a very odd thought for him to have, so he considered it carefully with his eyes closed. While he was considering it he became aware of a second sensation: that of a light breeze playing across his bare toes. Why were his toes bare?
    That particular question led on to the certainty that it wasn’t a breeze playing across his toes. No, somebody was tickling him. Something light and quick stroked across the pad of his foot, causing his toes to curl instinctively. Rafiq’s eyes snapped open.
    “Oh, you’re awake,” said Kako.
    “Why are my boots gone?”
    “I actually thought you’d ask why you’re tied up, first,” she said.
    “I suppose I tried to go over the wall,” Rafiq said impatiently. “Why are my boots gone?”
    “I took them off,” Kako said. “I wanted to see if you’re ticklish.”
    “You wanted to see if I’m ticklish ?”
    “Yes,” she said. “You are, by the way.”
    “It was the water, was it?”
    Kako nodded. “I checked it quickly while you were unconscious. Faery water is being pumped into the garden through the spring.”
    Rafiq grimaced slightly. He couldn’t help feeling that it was thoughtless of him to have taken water from inside the Enchanted Keep without even testing for residual magic first. How long had he been unconscious? It was now night, but the moon shone so brightly that it was hard to tell the time.
    “Don’t feel too badly about it,” said Kako, as if reading his mind. “There’s also a glamour on it. It’s supposed to draw you in.”
    “Did you know?”
    “What? No, of course not!”
    “Do you know the way out?”
    “You’re very curious tonight,” Kako said, looking at him through her eyelashes.
    “Why didn’t you want Akish and me to go over the wall?”
    “As it happens, I do know the way out,” she said. “Well, to a certain extent. I know what’s required to get us through the Circle. These last four circles are the hardest: they’re not so much about solving puzzles as they are about testing character.”
    Rafiq’s chest expanded against his bonds in a huff of a laugh. If the last four circles were tests of character, Akish had no chance at all of making it through them.
    “Exactly,” said Kako. “These few circles should be interesting.”
    Interesting was one way to put it, thought Rafiq; but there was still a