1. Z bolted for the door, but the Scribe Virgin got there first, forcing him to spin out to a stop so he didn’t run her over. Trapped in front of the diminutive figure, his legs trembled and his shoulders shook. She talked to him quietly, the words not carrying far enough for Rhage to decipher through his haze of pain.
The Scribe Virgin. Fan art by Blaubeerstrauch90
Finally the Scribe Virgin motioned to Phury, who brought the weapon over to her. When she had it, she reached out, took Z’s hand, and placed the leather-bound grip on his palm. She pointed to the altar and Zsadist dropped his head. A moment later he came up front with a lurching stride” (256, CH 29).
Why do you think Zsadist reacted the strongest to seeing Rhage in pain? Also, why does Zsadist have such a hard exterior if we can see from this scene he cares more than he usually shows?
2. “Rhage took a deep breath. There was the most amazing…emptiness in him. No background buzzing. No itchy drive. No burning. And this was even though he was lying right next to Mary.
“It was…only him in his body. Just himself. The Scribe Virgin’s curse was gone.
“But of course, he thought. She’d taken it from him temporarily so he could make it through the rythe without changing. And she was obviously giving him a respite so he could heal, too. He wondered how much longer the reprieve was going to last” (274, CH 31).
Why did the Scribe Virgin pity him after the rythe? Will she finally take the curse away?
SF
ENGH 202: Why Women Read Romance 
1. Zsadist does not want to cause his brother pain; he cares for him. The fact that he used to be a blood slave is the reason why he doesn’t want to cause his brother pain. His past is the main reason for his hard exterior and caring interior. As a blood slave he was brutally abused, he was forced and controlled into doing many things; he had no power to stand up for himself. He experienced many levels of pain and he doesn’t want to cause anyone, much less his brother pain. Due to this he developed a strong, scary and hard exterior as a defend mechanism to deal with his traumatic past. By having a hard exterior people are reluctant to approach him, much less mess with him. He does not want to go back to the place in which he was controlled and abused, and the best way to make sure of that is to scare everyone away.
2. I don’t think the Scribe Virgin pities Rhage after the rythe. Since she cursed Rhage, she knows the strength of the beast. She simply wants to punish Rhage by making him withstand the pain without having the beast come out due to the pain. I feel that the beast plays a huge role in Rhage’s life so I do not think the Scribe Virgin will take away the curse.
2. I think the scribe only took away the curse temporarily for Rhage to be able to feel the actual pain of the rythe and make him learn his lesson. She also did it because she knew the beast would come out during the event and they would have to find a way to control it. The scribe does not pity Rhage but she does care for him, she gave him the beast so he would learn how to control his strength for his good.