The Rebel Assassin

Chapter 32: Prisoner

I was lying on my back, a dark ceiling above me. My head pounded sluggishly. I couldn't muster even a shred of fear or anger when I let it slump to one side and saw Iso watching me.

I watched him back, my vision blurry but coming into focus the longer I looked. He was dressed in dark blue, the color rich and beautiful though I couldn't grasp the details of the fabric yet. His posture was straight and tall. I could tell from the hands clasped casually between his knees that he was relaxed. His face was thoughtful. I didn't like that.

The silence was total and heavy. Though it was pleasant to my headache, it also seemed to weigh down and obstruct the trail of my thoughts. I was distrustful of that silence, but not as much as I was of Iso's thoughtfulness. Maybe if it was quiet long enough my head would stop hurting and it would be peaceful.

I listened and watched him. When I thought I might drift back to sleep, he finally moved, leaning forward slightly.

"I confess, I thought you'd wake up and begin spitting fire immediately. But it seems you've calmed down since we last saw each other."

"You drugged me," I said calmly. Fear and anger were still absent. I was a little tired and disoriented and not particularly bothered, though I disliked him and the situation. "That tends to have an effect on people."

That twitch of his mouth might have been a smile. "So you still have a sense of humor."

"Not for you." My vision was clearer, picking up sharper details. Like the scar on his cheek. As I began to think clearer as well, I realized he must have scars beneath his shirt as well. "Joshua left his mark on you."

Whatever humor was in his face darkened. "He did. You both did. But you see, the tables have turned. Where once you and the ex-captain had me at your mercy, I now have you at mine."

Yes. Unfortunately. Strange, though, that it was only me. Joshua had been just in front of me when the Englians attacked. But after drawing my friends away, they'd only cared about reaching me. If this was Iso's revenge for Joshua trying to kill him and me helping, why had they only gone for me? Unless —

"Where are they?" If he had hurt Joshua, who'd spent years under an identity he hated because of Iso's meddling, or Nick, who had gone through so much recently, or Wes, who had already lost Jaden... if he had hurt any of the people under my protection, I would kill him.

He straightened his shirt cuffs as if the subject was inconsequential. "Your friends? I don't know. Perhaps the wretched Protectorate government is sheltering them."

That was good, as long as he was telling the truth. But why didn't he care that they'd escaped? Why did he look as though he had everything he wanted?

"The drug is wearing off," he observed.

It was. Thinking of what he could have done to my friends had sparked the anger I was missing. I flexed my wrists against the cuffs that held them at my sides and smothered a growl at their tightness. My legs were held down tight as well. I lifted my head to see what might be visible. From the absence of my boots, I knew they'd taken the blades hidden there. My belt was gone, my sleeves pushed up. They'd taken every blade they'd found. I let my head drop back down, my clips digging into my scalp, and didn't look at him. He didn't deserve any shred of respect.

"So you've captured me. Can't see why you didn't just kill me."

"A fair suggestion, considering what you tried to do to me. But I don't feel the need to take you from this world just yet. Frankly, it's more interesting with you in it." If I read his voice correctly, he was smiling as he spoke. "But we can't have you running around as you are right now, either. You are a headache, Morane Laerhart. We are going to have to do something about that."