She leaped for the doorway, a tiny cry of terror escaping her as she grabbed the handle and pulled the door closed behind her. Kusum was at the door the instant it slammed shut. Kolabati fumbled with the catch and shouted with joy when it clicked into the locked position.

“Bati, I command you to open this door immediately!” Kusum shouted from the other side, his voice heavy with anger.

She ran for the outer door. She knew she wouldn’t feel truly free until there was a layer of steel between herself and her brother.

A crash behind her made Kolabati glance over her shoulder. The wooden door was exploding outward. She saw Kusum’s foot flash through as the door dissolved into a shower of splintered wood. Kusum stepped into the hall and started after her.

Terror spurred her on. Sunlight, fresh air, and freedom beckoned to her from beyond the steel hatch. Kolabati darted through and pushed it shut, but before she could lock it, Kusum threw all his weight against the other side, sending her flying onto her back.

Without a word, he stepped out onto the deck and pulled her to her feet. With a vise-like grip that bruised her wrist, he dragged her back to her cabin. Once there, he spun her around and gripped the front of her blouse.

“Don’t ever try that again!” he said, his eyes nearly bulging with rage. “It was idiotic! Even if you had managed to lock me up, you would have had no way to reach the dock—unless you know how to slide down a rope.”

She felt herself jerked forward, heard the fabric of her blouse rip as buttons flew in all directions.

“Kusum!”

He was like a mad beast, his breathing harsh, his eyes wild.

“And take—”

He reached into the open front of her blouse, grabbed her bra between the cups, and tore the center piece, exposing her breasts…

“—off—”

… then pushed her down on the bed and yanked brutally at the waistband of her skirt, bursting the seams and pulling it from her…

—these— ”

… then tore her panties off…

“—obscene—”

… then tore away the remnants of her blouse and bra.

“—rags!”

He threw down the ruined clothes and ground them into the floor with his heel.

Kolabati lay frozen in panic until he finally calmed himself. As his breathing and complexion returned to normal, he stared at her as she huddled naked before him, an arm across her breasts, a hand over the pubic area between her tightly clenched thighs.

Kusum had seen her unclothed countless times before; she had often paraded nude before him to see his reaction, but at this moment she felt exposed and degraded, and tried to hide herself.

His sudden smile was sardonic. “Modesty doesn’t become you, dear sister.” He reached for the flat box he had brought with him and tossed it to her. “Cover yourself.”

Afraid to move, yet more afraid of disobeying him, Kolabati drew the box across her lap and awkwardly pulled it open. It contained a light blue sari with gold stitching. Fighting back tears of humiliation and impotent rage, she slipped the tight upper blouse over her head, then wrapped the silk fabric around herself in the traditional manner. She fought the hopelessness that threatened to engulf her. There had to be a way out.