The Knight, Death, and the Devil

Chapter 5: The Noose Tightens

Whatever Torin had done—he still wasn't exactly sure—it had put a quick end to Vathamma's planned off-world sojourn. The trio that had made their way to the starport headed back to the Sith's manor just as quickly, with an awkward silence hanging in the cabin of the private cruiser. Nomi had offered all sorts of gratuitous apologies to her master while Torin sat with his arms crossed, fuming in silence. He was still angry at the man he'd come into conflict with—Sabinus, he'd heard him called—but on some level he also felt that his show of anger served as a protective front against whatever sea of rage was fomenting in the red woman seated across from him. Though she hadn't said a single word to him, her eyes hadn't left his the whole drive through the city—and that said plenty.

Once inside the home, the Togruta slave excused herself as she hurried the luggage she had been charged with back to wherever it had come from. Vathamma walked a short ways down the entry hall, then spun and smacked a piece of pottery off of its stand. The vase shattered to the floor, and she glowered at Torin with her jaw clenched tightly. He could see the muscles working in her face, her teeth grinding furiously.

"You imbecile!" She shouted. "What would possess you to do such a thing?"

He met her gaze and stood fast, his own anger burning too hot for him to be concerned with the ever-present collar around his neck.

"Isn't that obvious?" He asked, casting a glance at the stairs Nomi had just ascended.

The woman rolled her eyes. "She's a slave," she said in exasperation. "A thing!"

Making no attempt to hide his disgust, he looked at the shattered vase on the ground.

"Yeah, I see how you treat your things."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he found that he couldn't draw air back in—like hands were closed around his throat, squeezing tightly. Looking back to Vathamma, he saw that she stood with one arm raised, clenched hand shaking.

"Lord Sabinus is the apprentice of Balmorra's governor. A man with whom I have a mutually beneficial working relationship with." Her glowing yellow eyes examined his own, searching for any sign of understanding.

"It seems you're too stupid for that collar to teach you anything," she spat, marching towards him. "So I'll try something a bit simpler." The invisible grip on his throat tightened, constricting his blood flow as well as the oxygen desperately craved by his burning lungs. "Do you remember what I said I would do if you became even the slightest inconvenience?"

He nodded, his face turning blue as he gripped his neck, trying in vain to pry off the unseen fingers suffocating him. Her grip tightened even further, and blackness began to overtake his vision.

This is it, then.

He fell to his knees, and air flooded his lungs as he felt her hand withdraw. Taking deep breaths in, he leaned forward on his hands and looked up at her in confusion.

"Unfortunately, killing you now would be more inconvenient than ever." She stared down at him thoughtfully, chewing the inside of her lip. "No doubt word has already spread of your foolish display, and Lord Sabinus' response. The nobility will be expecting a duel."

Now I know what a 'Kaggath' is...

She turned and began walking away, allowing Torin to stagger to his feet. He watched as she walked down the hall and plucked a sword off of a plaque on the wall, swishing it in the air experimentally a few times before returning to him. He took a step back, swallowing as she brought the tip of the sword up to his face. The silvery blade glinted meanly in the light shining in through the entryway, a straight edge terminating in a minimalistic gray pommel and hilt. It may have just been nerves, but he thought he could hear it humming as it sat within a foot of his ears.