Free Inside the Palisade by K C Maguire Page A

where you are. Back against the door please.”
    There’s no option but to comply. I kneel by the door. He grunts as I curl my knees into my chest and wrap my arms around them. My thin cotton robe seems so flimsy.
    Mustering what’s left of my courage, I ask, “What do you want?” As my vision begins to adjust, I make out the planes ofhis face, jaw set hard, lips pressed into a thin line. He hasn’t moved from the sofa. He raises the flashlight beam and shines it directly into my eyes.
    “Could you please turn that off?” I try to inject some force into my words, but I’m exhausted by everything that’s happened. If he’s going to hurt me, I almost hope he’ll do it quickly. I can’t take much more of this. Between the commander’s interrogation and the Temples’ revelations, I’m done. “This would be easier if I could see you.”
    “Why?” he asks. “So you can give the Protectors a better description of me? No, Daughter Wye, I think you’ve seen enough.”
    “Please stop calling me that. And turn off the light.”
    “You really don’t like being looked at, do you? I thought women were supposed to like being admired. That’s what the history books say.”
    “Not by someone like you.” Is there anyone who isn’t going to attack me today? And what would a
deman
know about our history books?
    “By a wild evil creature, you mean?” He doesn’t try to conceal his sneer.
    “You said it, not me. Why don’t you prove you’re better than that? Why don’t you let me go? Or at least have the guts to turn on the lights. If you’re going to hurt me, get on with it. Or get out.”
    My arms shiver around my knees, but I hold firm. The
deman
plays the light over my features. Then, without warning, he turns it off, plunging the room into darkness.
    “Stay still,” he says.
    Determined to maintain some semblance of dignity, I try not to move. His measured breaths are still coming from across the room.
    When he speaks again, his voice is unsteady, halting. “We made a deal, and you broke it.”
    “What?” I pull my robe tight around my legs.
    “You sent them after me,” he says. “I didn’t think you’d do that. I let myself believe you’d keep your word.”
    “I didn’t send them.”
    “How did they know where to look for me?” His voice is still coming from the sofa. He hasn’t moved any closer.
    I drop my head to my knees and brace my hands around the back of my neck. “My communicator, genius. They probably scanned for it.” Then a sudden realization hits me. “The communicator. That’s how you found out my name, where I live.” He doesn’t respond. “But how did you bypass the encryption?”
    Demen
are supposed to be brutes: more brawn than brain. How would he have learned to operate such a complex device? I risk a glance at him. Despite the darkness, I can make out his form, head bowed slightly forward.
    “Don’t get any ideas about using it to send a message. I dumped it. She probably has it by now.
    “Who?”
    “Your friend. That commander. Tall and dark. With the pissy attitude. She came looking for me, with some friends. I stayed hidden, but I heard them talking. When she couldn’t find me, she decided to have another chat with you.”
    “When?”
    “Not too long ago. Should be here soon.”
    What?
    I twist around and hurl myself at the door, ignoring the pain in my arm, desperate to open it. It won’t budge. He trains the light on me. What’s the matter with him? Even if he doesn’t care what she does to me, doesn’t he realize what will happen if she catches him? I round on him, trying to keep my voice under control. “We have to get out of here. What do you think will happen if she finds us both here?”
    “What do
you
think will happen?” He holds the flashlight vertically at his thigh. It illuminates his face as an eerie mask, hisfeatures uneven and threatening in the shadows.
    “Please, think for a moment. Think about what you’re doing.” I don’t know