He looked withered, and disease had knotted his hands, curling them in on themselves. ‘Sit.’ He indicated a hard stool set down about two metres in front of him. He sat behind a wide desk on a chair that looked soft and velvety. ‘Put the Sacrifice on the floor.’ I sat on the stool, but kept Hera on my knee. His eyes narrowed, and although he didn’t say anything his power rolled over us. I faced him, focusing my mind, stretching it to reach out to those I couldn’t see and inviting in their help. He started talking. I shut his words out, but I knew he was telling us how he would kill first me, and then Hera. I drew the force shield around us so that his threats bounced off, slid to the floor and died. When he realised what was happening, he stopped in mid-sentence and snarled, drawing his lips back to show long yellow teeth. ‘You won’t beat me, girlie.’ He barked out a laugh. ‘Didn’t you know that we planned this? Your sister was the bait to get you here. We’re fully aware of your pathetic mind power, and we will extinguish it.
