“Youl" She screamed with rage and many of the apprentices fell back with fright, scrambling back toward the walls of the great hall.

“Hey, look who's awake!" Pugward clapped his hands together gleefully.

“I'LL rip your flesh from your bones Malika! I'll cast your soul down to the pit to be feasted upon for all eternity!" The former high sorceress stood up, apparently unaware she was completely powerless as she stormed across the room toward Malika.

Shanti looked between them uncertainly, waiting for her friend to do something.

"Stop." Pugward's voice rang clear in Eluria's ears and she found herself almost falling flat on her face as her bare feet simply would not take another step.

There was a moment that the violet haired woman seemed amazed at her inability to move though the viciousness soon returned to her eyes.

“Deckler! Kill them!" Her high pitched voice sounded like nails dragging over smooth steel.

Pugward sighed, shaking his head before jumping from Malika's shoulders. Eluria's eyes followed him until she saw what had happened to Deckler. Pugward stopped beside the corpse of the fallen demon and reached out to grab a flap of skin at the top and bottom of his neck where his head had once been attached.

“Dur, I don’ wanna put up with your shit anymore bitch.” Pugward said whilst opening and closing together the two flaps of flesh and doing his best impersonation of the dim witted Deckler.

“You were always shit in the sack!"

Eluria stared slack jawed as the imp mocked her and a nervous twitter of laughter filled the room from the other apprentices. The demonstration that the sorceress was powerless certainly had the desired effect.

“*Atta boy dumbass, always knew you had it in ya." Pugward gave the dead demon's shoulder an affectionate slap before turning back to Look at Eluria. His grin turned downright malevolent right about then.

“You tried to kill my boss. Normally I'd be injecting boilin' hot mercury into your eyeballs right about now but you've got a nice ass and my main lady over there says I can keep you. Boy are we gonna have some fun."

Malika watched as Pugward steepled his claws together and scampered toward Eluria. She made a promise to herself to try to never ever get on Pugward's bad side.

“This will not stand! I will summon all the fires of hell to scorch you from the face of the earth! I will..."

“Shut up." Surprisingly it was one of the apprentices that had spoken up. A woman in her nineteenth year called Valeska who Eluria had always taken a special pleasure in tormenting.

The girl turned to the imp, her expression somewhat apologetic for interrupting what he was doing. He only winked at her in approval.

The apprentices’ words had certainly taken effect as Eluria's mouth clamped shut and her screams of vengeance turned into muffled squeaks.

As Pugward stepped closer she began to reach out to claw at the air just in front of him though she couldn't move forward with her feet still apparently glued to the ground.

“Reach down and take off your underwear." Pugward ordered.