I had been sound asleep when the two girls came to bed, but it was clear that Donna had gradually inched her sleeping bag across the empty sand betwee... us and it now touched mine. I glanced over at Ellen, who was now about twenty feet distant, snuggled into her own bag and snoring softly away.Donna still remained modestly covered by her sleeping bag, but she had pulled mine down below my knees, and I now lay flat on my back naked in the moonlit night. She didn't resist when I pushed her. It wouldn't turn. I tried harder, but it just wouldn'tbudge."You can forget about trying to escape, honey. Sophia locked it good andtight. It's only a matter of time before we finish dressing you.Speaking of which, let's give the princess her hourglass figure, shallwe?"I knew exactly what was coming next. Desperately, almost pleadingly, Ipulled and twisted at the doorknob to escape. Yet it never turned. Theharpies grabbed hold of me and dragged me back to the center of theroom. There, Claire. “May Ar-Thenna have mercy on our souls,” Crnnch sighed.“She will intercede for you with the Host of the Almighty, my friend,” Gregorius replied. “This is something that must be and was required by the Powers.”“It still does not sit well with me, but thank you, Gregoreeuz.”“All is prepared, patripures,” the senior thinker informed the Caveatra.“When can the wrath-bringer be operated?” the senior patripure asked.“Within a planetary cycle. The charging of it goes well.”“Begin the process. Operate. She rammed her boot tips in my chest and I lost my breath; I beganto loose my consciousness and, the last thing I saw, was her boot sole landingon my forehead. I didn't faint but I was out; thru the haze, I felt her handsgrabbing my underarms and pulling me away. Once she brought me to the centerof the cellar, she lifted me up just enough to seat me on that stool. My headfell down but I managed to keep myself from falling off the stool; she wentbehind me and I felt her placing the noose over my.