Her gaze held his in complete silence, waiting for him to breathe again. Only then did she speak, each word slow. "My name is Devyn. And it's true, I work for the Zhentarim. I had no part to play in your family's loss. I'm only here to minimize the damage that's been done."

Carefully, she pulled the glove from her hand. Setting it to one side, well out of Waver's reach, she performed the same gesture on the cage. Nothing happened. She did it again and, once more, there was no change.

"When I walk out of here and leave you, they'll take that thing back. So long as I'm here, I have some small control over what happens to you...but little else." The glove slipped back on. "So long as they think you're going to wait here to die, stubborn to the end, then no one's going to waste their time trying to keep you around." Her eyes met his. "If they think you have some worth...they might listen to me and keep you alive."