Her head hung for a moment, before slowly coming up to meet the gaze of the interrogator. The look of hatred had been replaced by a blank, unknowing stare. "I....i don't know...i was just...they told me to take the equipment into my home, to hold onto it until they decided what to do....they, they....one of those gangers.." She was lost now, her mind trying to piece it all together but it seemed to slipping and moving, as if someone was juggling the pieces of her memory around and only showing her what they wanted her to see.
Ah, Simone thought, now we are getting somewhere. At that moment the Aide returned with Simone's requested chair. Simone motioned for him to set it in front of Aulus. She leaned down to look the prisoner in the face again. "Aulus, you have been held here for some time now. You must be very uncomfortable. This floor is cold." She put a hand on the back of the chair. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable sitting here while we talk?" Simone felt the beginnings of one of her headaches but pushed it to the back of her mind. She felt like something was happening here.
Aulus only whimpered, slowly stood, and slumped into the chair. Her hands were shaking now, her eyes were squinted to a point that looked almost painful, and her legs were bouncing very quickly. "He said....he said.....You take the Arbites gear....no, he said for us to plant it....plant it on a sacrificial lamb....so i was just holding it.....they were there....He said.....no..." She was shaking hard now, to a point that it was causing the chair to move on its legs causing it to scrape somewhat on the floor.
Simone frowned; this wasn't the reaction she had expected. She glanced quickly at Malachi and he stepped smartly over and placed his hands on the back of the chair holding it secure. She felt the girls distress like a scent of smoke. She needed to know who this 'he' was. She leaned close to Aulus. "Who is he, child? Who has seduced you away from the love of our Emperor?"
Aulus looked up suddenly, that lost look having receded back to the hatred. "He Will destroy you! You will fall to His Glory! Your bastard Emperor will fall into shadow as the Master comes forth for you! Look toward his light, and he will save you from death! His Glories will bathe your soul for all eternity! My master....His name...his name....his name is...." Blood was beginning to run from the girls nose freely, her eyes bloodshot, her ears showing signs of a trickle of blood.
The Light? She suddenly remembered the tendrils of light that had stabbed out from the Eye of Chaos in her dream. A shudder ran through her. Simone slapped Aulus hard across the face ignoring the wash of blood, "His name, girl" She demanded her voice going from warm to utterly cold, "Name your Master!"
Aulus thundered back in the chair, then shot forward to her feet, her restraints keeping her just out of reach of the inquisitor. Her eyes, which at the onset had been a light brown, were now a fierce, haunting green. The blood flow from her nose and ears quickened, her eyes bleeding as well, and her mouth full of blood with spittle drooling from its corners. "His name, Emperors whore,.....His name you will not have this day, but know your soul will be one he savors for all eternity after his Apostle and Champion have had their way with your body! Your soul will burn Emperors puppet, your soul will burn!" She collapsed to the floor, and with one final shutter, ceased all life.
Simone stepped back, shocked. She knelt quickly beside the still twitching body of the cultist. Malachi stepped around the chair his hand out, "Mistress, have a care…" She put two fingers to the girl's neck to find a heartbeat. As her fingers met skin she felt a wash of sensation and images flooded her mind. She saw a shadowed figure passing the dented Arbites' armor, she felt the sudden wrench of sexual pleasure as she/Aulus was initiated, The harsh, gagging taste of overly rich food at some ritual. Simone cried out as the wave crashed over her. Then a solid hand pulled her from the drowning emotion.
Malachi grabbed his Inquisitor around the waist and pulled her back from the corpse. He held her up by the shoulders and shook her vigorously. "Inquisitor!" Simone gripped Malachi's arms as she got her balance back. She had never experienced anything like what had just happened. She pushed back from her guard and steadied herself. "This is no simple missing Arbites, Malachi. If I had suspected before, now I am sure." She moved briskly across the room, all business now.
Chapter 6: Simone's Interrogation
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