Astra's Interrogation

She was taken by surprise by what Synizn did next. Taking a goblet down from a shelf, he poured a generous measure of red wine into it from the flagon that he held, and then pushed it across the desk towards her. "Drink!" he ordered, and then himself took a swig from his flagon.

Astra looked dubiously at the glass in front of her. She wanted to keep her wits about her, and she knew that her small body meant that she would get intoxicated easily. Yet she did not want to risk angering Synizn by refusing to drink. Reluctantly she took a small sip, hoping that he would not notice if she drank very little. The wine was of good quality, she noted.

"No doubt you're wondering why I had you stay behind," Synizn said.

"Yes," Astra conceded.

"As I said, I want to find out how Minestus did what he did. I have learnt that the male is unlikely to be very co-operative. Perhaps you will be more helpful if he isn't here."

Especially if the wine loosens my tongue, Astra thought. But if he thinks that I may have some knowledge that will be useful to him, then he's in for a disappointment.

"I don't know how Minestus did what he did to me," she said. "He didn't obviously seem to be making use of any artifact, not the Crystallic and not anything else. He turned me first into a wolf - a werewolf he said. But then he quickly seemed to change his mind, and transformed me into what I am now."

"And then you seduced the man," Synizn said. It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, though I don't remember it very clearly," Astra responded unhappily. Though she hadn't been able to help herself, she still felt guilty about that. At least she could console herself that, assuming it was true that she was pregnant as a result, then she probably wouldn't be at risk of going into heat again until after the cubs were born and weaned. That thought was of very little comfort, though. She didn't want to be a mother - not even as a human, and certainly not as whatever she now was.

"And he transformed as a result." Again it was a statement rather than a question.

Astra suddenly remembered that she and Fred had been wearing the neckline and ring when they had been questioned by the demifoxes under the influence of the truth potion. Thus Synizn must already know their full story. Perhaps he just wanted confirmation, or perhaps he was hoping that there was some telling question that the demifoxes had omitted to ask. It occurred to her that, when it came to the doings of Minestus, it was more likely that he would know the right questions than that the demifoxes would.

"Yes", she admitted.

1. "Which is most interesting, given that the demifoxes established to their own satisfaction that you are not a werecreature, or at least not in the normal way. Just what are you, little fox?"

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