The Captive Read Online Free PDF

were returned to the mine and placed in solitary
confinement. One month for a first attempt; two months for the second, and so
on. Magny said few men were foolish enough to try to escape a second time.
    He moved so fast, she saw only a blur. Number Four lunged
forward, his hands closing around Dain’s throat, and the two men crashed to the
ground. The controller, knocked from the overseer’s grasp, flew through the air
to land inches from where she sat.
    Startled by the speed of Number Four’s attack, Ashlynne
jumped to her feet, her book and the remaining apple tumbling to the ground.
    The two men scuffled for several moments, rolling over and
over like playful puppies, only they weren’t playing. Number Four drew back his
arm and drove his fist into Dain’s face and the guard went limp.
    Breathing heavily, Number Four stood up. Fear washed through
Ashlynne when his eyes met hers, stark, unreasoning fear.
    With a cry, she reached down and scooped up the controller
and pointed it at Number Four, her thumb hovering over the activation panel on
the top. His blue-gray eyes, as turbulent as a storm-tossed sea, raked her from
head to foot.
    And then he took a step toward her.
    Fear clogged Ashlynne’s throat. Her heart was racing wildly,
pounding as if she had been running for miles. He didn’t look exciting and
mysterious now, only savage and ferocious and completely untamed. The sun
glistened on his sweat-sheened flesh, glinted on the thick collar at his
throat.
    “Lady Ashlynne!”
    She glanced past Number Four to see Dain struggling to his
feet. Number Four took another menacing step toward her and she tossed the
controller to Dain, who caught it in mid-air and quickly applied pressure to
the top of the control panel.
    The effect was immediate.
    A hoarse cry erupted from the prisoner’s throat as the
collar was activated, a harsh rasping cry that seemed torn from the very depths
of his soul.
    Caught in the inescapable grasp of the collar’s power,
Number Four dropped heavily to the ground, writhing in an agony she could not
begin to imagine, his body twisting, thrashing helplessly in a vain attempt to
escape the pain that engulfed him.
    Ashlynne had been told the pain was akin to being severely
shocked over and over again.
    She watched in horror as Number Four’s body convulsed, his
muscles bunching, quivering. Sweat oozed from every pore. Once began, there was
no way to end the punishment until it had run its course. Moments passed, each
one seeming an eternity as she watched. Spasms coursed through him, his face
was contorted in a harsh mask of agony.
    She bit down on her lower lip, wishing there was a way to
end his suffering. She had never seen the effects of the collar before; she
hoped never to see it again.
    Gradually, the punishment diminished, then ceased. Number Four
lay on the ground, gasping for breath, his knees drawn up to his chest, his
body drenched with perspiration, his eyes tightly closed. His muscles continued
to twitch convulsively.
    She flinched as Dain kicked Number Four in the back.
    “Get up!” the overseer ordered curtly. “You’ve still got
work to do.” A cruel grin twisted Dain’s thick lips as he watched the prisoner
struggle to his hands and knees. “A month in the hole should cool that temper
of yours.”
    Falkon stood up, swaying unsteadily. He felt weak, drained.
Every muscle in his body ached.
    “Get back to work.” Dain held the controller in his right
hand. For all the pain it caused, the controller left no lasting ill effects.
It was a remarkably effective instrument. He had worked in the mine for ten
years and in all that time, he had never had to punish the same slave twice. It
was a lesson learned once, but learned well.
    Picking up the shovel Number Four had dropped, Dain thrust
it into his hands. “Move it.”
    Jaw clenched in silent protest, Falkon took the shovel and
turned back to the task at hand. He could feel the woman watching him, her eyes
burning into his