Crown of Dragonfire Read Online Free PDF Page A

made sure to note which cell the guard's
eyes flicked toward. ". . . and he has commanded me to come here bearing gifts."
    The guard frowned, his
shelf of a brow pushing low over small, far-set eyes. "What gifts?"
    Tash placed down her
hookah between them. Heated by the embers, the spice bubbled, filling the
corridor with its intoxicating, spicy-sweet scent. "This gift." Maintaining eye
contact, she doffed her top and trousers, letting them fall to the floor,
exposing her nakedness. "And this."
    The guard's eyes
widened. Saliva dribbled down his chin. He reached out to her breast.
    Tash slapped his hand
away with a gasp, all coy indignation. "Not yet, sir!" She smiled coquettishly.
"Enjoy some spice with me first."
    "But—"
    "Listen to your
pleasurer!" She stepped closer, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered into his
ear. "Let me do my work. Just follow my every command, sir, and I promise you a
night you will never forget. You will soon scream with pleasure louder than
these prisoners scream in pain."
    His sunburst pupils dilated,
and his breathing grew heavy. "I . . . spice?"
    Tash nodded, letting
her lips touch his ear. "Hintan. The Treasure of the Desert. The Green Spirit.
Have you never tried the spice, my lord?" She held up the hookah's nozzle. "Try
it, my lord! Breathe deeply. Let its magic fill you."
    He hesitated, then took
the nozzle and gently puffed. At once he coughed, scattering purple smoke. "It's
. . . sweet. And burning."
    Tash took the nozzle
from him. "Let me show you."
    Smiling at him, never
removing her eyes from his, she placed her lips around the nozzle. She breathed
in but did not inhale. This spice inside the hookah was no ordinary hintan, not
the kind even the most decadent of pleasurers smoked. Here was the distilled
essence of the spice, purified again and again, powerful enough to knock out
dragons. Tash breathed out, not letting any of the smoke fill her lungs. Even
so, her head spun, and her fear faded under waves of joy—perhaps a good thing
now.
    The guard took the
nozzle, and this time he breathed deeply.
    "Inhale," Tash said. "Fill
your lungs. It'll make the pleasure even greater."
    He inhaled and his
pupils dilated further. A thin smile spread across his lips, and his eyes
rolled back. "It's . . . sweet. It's . . ."
    Tash placed a hand on
his chest. The guard collapsed and hit the ground with a clatter of keys.
    She cringed. Shh!
    Tash glanced behind her
at the iron door that led into the dungeon, but it remained shut. The guards
outside had not heard their friend collapse, it seemed, but Tash's heart beat
so madly she thought they must hear it pounding. Trying to steady her trembling
fingers, she pulled her clothes back on, then grabbed the guard's belt and
tugged it off.
    "I bet you wish I were
doing this under different circumstances," she whispered.
    She unslung the keys
off his belt. The guard lay on his back, drooling, chest rising and falling in
his stupor.
    "Gimosh!" cried a voice
outside the iron door.
    Tash froze and grabbed
the fallen guard's spear.
    "Gimosh!" the voice
repeated. "You remember where to stick it, don't you?" The guards outside
laughed.
    Tash grumbled. She
prayed the brutes outside didn't enter for a glimpse of the show—a show now
cancelled. She rushed toward one of the stone cell doors—the door the fallen
guard had glanced at when Tash had said "Meliora."
    Clutching the spear in
one hand, she placed a key into the lock . . . and turned it.
    The lock clacked,
spilling rust.
    Tash inhaled deeply,
pressed her shoulder against the stone door, and pushed. The door creaked open,
maddeningly loud. Tash cursed and let out a moan, feigning mad pleasure, hiding
the sound of the creaking door; the hoots from outside the dungeon further
masked the sound.
    Finally the door had
opened, revealing nothing but shadows.
    "Meliora?" Tash whispered.
She tiptoed into the cell. "Lady Meliora? I'm here to rescue you. I—"
    A scream blasted her.
    A wretched,