Assassin (Book 1)

FIFTEEN

There. The feeling was back. The chill that ran up my spine as if someone was spilling ice cold water down my back—fear.

"Very well, your majesty."

"Make sure he feels it," the King said, smirking, as he sat back down on his blood red throne.

As I walked out, I turned and locked eyes with Xavier. He seemed to be saying, don't do anything stupid. Don't kill him. Don't beat him to death. It wasn't his fault. Even Xavier had a heart big enough to tell me to be careful with this boy. Of course Xavier wouldn't want him dead. He wasn't someone like me. If only he knew I would never lay a finger on Lance.

I turned away. I didn't want Lance dead.

The Dungeon was the worst place for an enemy to go. It was dark, set in the back of the real dungeons, filled with rats. There you were beaten until you answered the questions put forth, and nobody cared if you died in the process. It was a torture chamber. If you died, you were just thrown out to the sea like the rest.

Please answer the questions. I don't want to hurt you.

He was thrown into the Dungeon. I ordered two guards to come in with me. I wasn't going to touch Lance. It had to be someone else.

It was dark, eerily quiet. Something scurried across the floor between my ankles. Rats.

"Very well then," I sighed. "On the chair he goes."

I lit the torches for light, and faced Lance. His arms were still cuffed behind his back.

"Un-cuff him," I ordered the taller guard. He hesitated. "I know what I'm doing," I assured him. "I've done this many times before."

The guard reached forward and unlocked Lance's handcuffs.

"Okay," I said, my hands clasped behind my back. "These are the rules; I ask a question, you answer. If you don't answer, they'll make you answer." I gestured towards the guards who stood on either side of Lance. He flexed his chafed and bruised wrists, bleeding, and finally looked up at my face.

"Care to tell me of your means of torture?" He raised his eyebrows, giving me a smile that warmed my chest, despite the position we were in.

Get a hold of yourself, I warned. Don't let him mess with you.

"You need to answer the questions," I spoke calmly. "You won't get hurt. I'd advise you to answer the questions and not give the guards the pleasure of beating you to death. Once they start, they don't stop."

I had to keep myself in control. One careless slip and I would be sitting in the chair next. I had to do this. I had to or both of us would die.

"What is the RA planning?" I asked. "An attack?"

He laughed, running a hand through his dirty hair. "Why would I tell you?"

"You would if you were smart," I said to him without emotion.

"Over my dead body." His words made me angry. They made me upset. I felt like a fool, thinking everything would be alright once I'd completed my mission. Things would never be the same, and Lance made sure to rub salt in my wounds.

"Very well then." I raised a hand, signaling for a hard blow across the jaw. I stopped them by closing my hand into a fist. "Enough."

Lance spat out blood. "Go ahead. Let them rip me to pieces. It's still not as bad as what you've done to me."

"Answer me."

"Never," he sneered, just as he was pushed off the chair and onto his knees. "You'll never break me. I won't let you do it again."