Josh breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Tony lose interest and walk away from where Aria lay, bound and caged.
From behind a hedge in the wyrm stable, Josh had watch with increasing anxiety as Tony had poked and prodded Aria through the bars.
“Come on, you slimy b***h wyrm, attack me!” and Tony had shoved a sharp stick into her neck.
Aria had paid it no attention.
After five or six jabs, Tony had tossed the stick aside and left in disgust.
Only two guards remained, servants having already unhitched the wyrms from the cart. Wyrm stalls lined two walls, slanted coverings over the stalls, and the cage stood against the far wall, where evidence of hastily removed stalls remained: freshly dug earth, sheared off beams jutting from the wall.
Straw had been laid on the cage floor, but the
