'Of all my curses, womanly and immortal, I reserve especial hatred for you.'
Nai jerked awake again. He could see no one in the dark valley, but that was not necessarily a good sign.
'Ah, Mistress Zhia?' he ventured in a croak, his throat dry.
'Don't give me "Mistress Zhia", you stub-footed worm,' came her velvety growl in his left ear.
Nai flinched, half-falling off the ledge before his fingers found purchase on the stone. He turned all the way around, still seeing nothing more than black stone and the extinguished lantern beside him.
This time the voice sounded in his right ear. 'Your idiocy is boundless; redeem yourself soon or I will pull out your intestines and hang you with them.'