"I have done you no harm!" she pointed out, distress flickering through normally calm and serene features as the palpable and twining smoke curled more and more up around her body, holding Gabrielle securely before the Djinn even if his hands were not upon her.<br/><br/>But they were - and they began, truly, to burn.<br/><br/>Her eyes widened at the heat of it; a mortal woman would already have been screaming as fingers and palms seared against her pale flesh, filling the air with an odd cooking scent - not that of porkmeat, as it would have been from a human, but a richer, sweeter scent, like that of a rare fowl, well-spiced and drizzled in a sweet sauce, roasting in an oven. Far worse was the sound of it, a soft and persistent sizzle of her skin, and she shifted, trying to tug back and aside.<br/><br/>"For the love of Him, stop this!" she pleaded, actually leaning forward to peer beseechingly into those strange and depthless eyes.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Panting hoarsely now for lake of water, there was naught for the merwoman to do but gaze up at her captor, the corners of her oblong eyes crinkling from the strain of his hand twisted into her hair. This was not the first time he had laid hands upon Zen, but before it had been possessive, appreciative caresses, and little more.<br/><br/>Now there was the brush, and suddenly a jolt of pain that made her jaw drop open and a screaming note of song fly out - sharp, clear, pure, and backed with a wash of her power, sending the sensation of pain undercut with new fear shivering down his spine. It did not last, though, as her webbed hands flew up to clutch at his and her powerful tail gave a sudden and desperate lash.