'Discipline didn't work either. Any punishment would only make him angrier. What if he tried again? Even worse, what if the next time he succeeded? And even if he didn't, with what face could I have looked my other children in the eyes?
'Rena, Lith, and Tista would have felt unsafe in their own home.' As Raaz was lost in thought, the small and battered figure of Lith from almost sixteen years ago flashed in front of Raaz's eyes.
He was covered in blood, with bruises all over his small face. He had lost several milk teeth that day, giving him an even more wretched appearance. Then, Lith's bloody figure was replaced by Raaz's own.
He saw himself, chained to a wooden table in the Hogum Mansion, with bloody stumps where his arms and legs were supposed to be.
A cold sweat covered Raaz's skin, and he needed sheer willpower to keep himself rooted in the present.
