24
“Stop!” Ariadne cried. “Stop!”
Cynthia did stop, her face frozen next to mine. My eyes had been closed tightly, but now I opened them to see what was going on. Cynthia was grinning widely, her teeth sparkling in the daylight. I was so close to them that I could see little specks of blood and what looked like flesh on them. I felt so sick that I thought I might vomit right then and there.
“Need something, Ariadne?” she taunted.
I could just barely see Ariadne past Cynthia’s shoulder. The elf was positively seething, her face beet red. She pointed a quivering finger at Cynthia.
“How dare you!” she shrieked. “How dare you try to tell me that I don’t care?”
Cynthia finally left me and turned back to Ariadne. “So,” she said, “are you going to come meet the Master, then? It’s your only
