Prisoner

Experimenting with various possible plots, scenes, magic and characters in my next novel...
 
He drew a line of white fire across her neck with the tip of his finger. Then he began walking around her, drawing the line as he did so, so when he finished there was a circle around her neck - not big enough for her to move, but large enough so she wouldn't accidentally cut her throat.

"Tell me what I want," the man said, in a normal tone, "or I shall leave you standing here for as long as necessary."

The woman glared at him, defiantly. Her hands were tied behind her back and were hidden from his view, and she was frantically playing with what looked like a ball of black smoke. "I will not," she replied.

"Then you may stand, and you will die when you fall asleep. And I will watch you."

"If I die, the secret dies with me," she snapped.

But he was laughing and shaking his head. "I can get others," the man intoned. "Others easier to persuade, more willing to bend to my command. You are disposable, Linette."

"They will not," Linette said abstinantely. "They will never."

"You may believe it is so, but your hopes are foolish," said the man. "I have time on my side."

Behind her back, Linette's ball of smoke had expanded. It had crept down onto the floor and was lying exactly where her shadow was. The man hadn't noticed.

"They will come for me," she said. "And then they will kill you."

He shook his head, once more.

"Do not deny it," said Linette, lips curving into a smile.

"I shall deny it all I want," the man sneered. "And if I were you, I would not make any useless plans to escape." He strode around behind her, and casually stepped in her shadow. The smoke disappated immediately.

Linette's eyes widened, and she struggled against the bonds on her hands. But the ropes were tight and glowed blue with specks of gold, and simply became tighter every time she pulled against them. "Please..." She begged him. "Let me go! Or at least, allow me the chance to escape so that you can capture me once more."

"I do not play such games," said the man calmly.

"It will keep you entertained in the long hours before I go to sleep," she pointed out.

"Do not tempt me to slit your throat here and now."

Linette fell silent.