From Silver and Chaos

Interrogation

Chapter 17: Interrogation.

"You survived." The man who knelt before me curled his lip, eyes flashing with disgust. "How unfortunate.

He was bound, on his knees and surrounded by the shadow of a close forest. He wore tight-fitting black clothes and had moved like the darkness around us. A hired assassin, caught by Kohen and Gwen. The cowl had been pulled down from his face, revealing smooth, dark skin and the swelling of a bruise across his cheekbone.

Blood trailed along the angular planes of his face. It dripped off the fine point of his chin, onto the litter of mushed leaves that comforted his knees.

"Unfortunate for you, perhaps."

"You disgrace us." His voice lowered, layered with venom. "You are a disgrace to us."

I lowered down in front of him, our eyes level. The soldiers of the Legion guarded the fringes of the clearing, invisible amongst the trees. After the attack, I had no choice but to bring them in closer to the estate. Gwen's lip curled.

"What you consider me to be is of no consequence. Tell me where the Burned one is."

"You are a disgrace."

I bit my tongue. Asking him why would have only led to a tirade, but I could imagine a few things that disgraced me. I glanced at the short point of his ears, stomach churning. "Where is the Burned one?"

"A filthy dog who has forsaken her own people to gallivant with humans." He shifted his stance. "There was a chance for Half-Bloods to be seen as more, but you bow your back to humans. You are a disgrace to us."

He spat at me.

A twig snapped beside me and the assassin reeled as Gwen struck him savagely. "Mind how you address Seeker Birchwood."

He spat a glob of blood onto the grass, darkened eyes rising to Gwen. There wasn't a flicker of fear in his dark eyes as he took her in. "The Burned one will mount your head on the wall alongside this mutts."

"Such a lacklustre idea." Gwen squatted before him, her elbows braced on her knees. "There are better ways to strike fear in someone's heart. Size may do it. Strength. Cleverness. None of that belongs to your precious Burned One. A ridiculous title. Her name is Vanya. She's a Keep Elf who has been given more than a sprinkle of stupid craziness."

"Don't speak her name you stupid..."

"Vanya." Gwen curled the name. "And your even more precious Insurgent. Zeddicus. The most pompous name that I've ever heard. Zeddicus and Vanya – two crazy fools trying to take over the Empire."

He shifted and Gwen's hand whipped out, gripping his jaw. Her hand was bigger than his face, and those long fingers pinched in painfully, her sharp nails shredding half-moons into his skin. "Spit again and I will crush your jaw to dust."

He examined her, eyes flickering. He must have believed her because his shoulders slackened and he gave a rough, terse nod. Gwen released his face after a moment and more tiny rivers of blood joined the one ebbing from his cheekbone.

"I will never tell you where she is." He ground out. "No matter if you crush my bones, or torture me until I am a shell of a man."

It was then that he spoke, voice soft and reproachful. As if apologetic about what he was about to do, but had no intentions to stop. "Your bones will not have to be broken."

Kohen stepped into the light, shoulders curled in. He was tiny beside Gwen, but taller than I. He looked harmless, but as the gold burned bright, washing away the brown of his eyes, I knew the danger that was coming. It seemed easier to make Kohen draw out information, but I had seen the toll it took on him. How it chipped away at him when he broke into minds. There was no going back from it – to break into someone's mind to extract secrets meant the victim knew he was there.