"Downstairs, Lynn cleared up a bit and moved the coffee table out of the way so there was more floor room. Chris tried on the various outfits, insisti...ng on zipping up the skater dress himself even though it meant contorting his arms into positions they had not adopted for a long time, if ever! It did take ten minutes before he had finally got it on, but he did feel very pleased with himself."See what we girls have to go through," said Lynn, "but it does get easier with practice, and honestly. Go with my love.”Hissing laughter echoed through the room. I ignored it and led my women and servants from the party room. Beliala made sure we had everyone, the demon bringing up the rear of the party. Nephi marched ahead of me. My soldiers waited at our quarters. I didn’t relax until we were through the antechamber and in our room.But Nephi and the rakshasas all immediately set to sniffing around the room. They went to the secret passage where Nephi plucked a hair from the top of it, shoved. Bit of violence and skin but the heavier stuff comes later in the story. * ‘Don’t move, control your breathing, don’t wake her, please don’t wake her. These moments of the early morning are the only shreds of freedom left, she’s taken everything else, everything they didn’t beat out of you before ‘she’ got her sick little fingers…everywhere’. I tried to keep lecturing myself about my sack of shit life but bitching about it wasn’t going to do any good, luckily my thoughts were my own and for. I’ve given her a sedative to keep her calm, especially after the baby… I’m sorry about that. I have to get back to some others, now.’ ‘I don’t think that will happen. It’s been four hours since the last attack and word is that that’s probably it for today, at least. We have patrols out looking for them. ‘You said, a baby, didn’t you?’ It was starting to sink in that the child he never knew was gone forever. He leaned against the tent pole, wanting to fall down. Death all around and he was.