Chapter Eleven
Once the duke’s son was situated on his knees, my companions took up positions by the entrance to the cave, and I turned to flash them a cheeky grin.
“Are you guys ready to hear all the juicy details about the Edinburg family?” I chuckled. “We could be in for a wild ride.”
“Who knows.” Ako shrugged. “Perhaps they’ll adapt it into a play.”
“Ooh, a play?” Elissa giggled. “I’d love to go see a play with you, Bash.”
“My father used to have actors come and perform for us,” Eva informed us with a wistful smile. “I always loved the tales of adventures they told through their actions.”
“I’ll add watching a play to my mental checklist of date ideas,” I laughed. “But for now, I want you to sit back and watch the original unfold.”
“I’ll watch the entrance,” Ako volunteered. “I’ve never been a fan of family dramas.”
“Cool with me.” I nodded, and then I glanced at the ladies. “Feel free to get some air if it starts to get too intense to watch.”
“We’ll be fine, Bash,” Elissa assured me. “Do what you came here to do.”
“Thanks,” I said, and then I turned back to Exavier, squatted down in front of him, and flashed him a friendly smile. “How’s your day so far, E?”
My words were met with silence, and the drips of water from the ceiling were the only sounds for a long moment. Exavier cast his hazel eyes to the ground, and his thin lips were set into a firm line, which caused them to turn white. Snot dripped from his hooked nose, and his forehead was dappled with sweat.
“You’ll regret ever laying a hand on me once my father hears of this,” Exavier finally growled.
“Do you really think your father is coming to save you?” I arched an eyebrow. “That would certainly save me a trip. When do you think he’ll get here? I’m kind of an impatient god.”
Exavier scowled and avoided my gaze, but I lifted his chin until his eyes met mine.
“Come on, E, where’s your pops?” I squeezed his chin firmly between my fingers until he winced. “You can tell me.”
“I wouldn’t tell you a thing,” Exavier spat as he wrenched his chin free from my grasp. “Even if you kill me for it.”
“So, you’re loyal to your father, are you?” I scratched the stubble growing on my own chin. “What did your father promise you in return?”
Exavier remained silent, so I pulled out one of my daggers and twirled it around in my fist.
“Kassar,” the duke’s son murmured in a reluctant tone.
“What was that?” I asked, and I leaned forward until my ear was beside his lips.
“Kassar!” Exavier glared at me, but his voice was loud and clear. “My father told me when he is king that I will get Kassar to rule for myself.”
I stepped back and studied the duke’s son for a moment. He knew about the plot to overthrow King Frederick, so there was no telling what else he knew about. I would just have to find out, I supposed.
“When he is king, huh?” I chuckled. “What makes you think that’s going to happen? He’s on the run from the law. Disgraced. You’re never getting Kassar.”
“You don’t know that,” Exavier huffed, and his hazel eyes filled with rage. “If it wasn’t for you, my father would already be king.”
“I know.” I grinned. “And I’m going to be the one to bring him to justice, too. Your father’s time is over, Exavier, and it’s my turn now. You might as well comply and save your own life.”
“I can take care of myself.” The duke’s son jutted out his chin at a stubborn angle. “I shouldn’t even say a word to you.”
“Ah, but you already have,” I said. “Keep it up, and you may save yourself some pain.”
“There’s nothing you could do to me to make me talk,” Exavier sneered.
“I don’t believe you.” A devilish smile spread across my face. “I have all the time in the world to figure out what makes you tick, E.”
“You filthy excuse for a man,” my prisoner hissed, and his voice shook with rage. “Release me right now!”
“How crazy does he think we are?” Eva muttered from behind me. “Does he actually believe we would just let him go now?”
“Who knows.” I shrugged. “I’m not going to, though.”
“How are you going to get him to talk?” Caelia asked. “He doesn’t seem to be the most forthcoming.”
“You might not want to watch the whole play,” I said as I glanced at the women over my shoulder. “It could get ugly if he doesn’t start talking sensibly soon.”
“Do what you have to do,” Mahini insisted, and there was a flinty glint to her blue-eyed gaze. “We have your back no matter what.”
“Good.” I stretched out my arms and legs since squatting on the rocky cavern floor had been uncomfortable. “I wish we had brought a chair…”
“You got this,” Ako encouraged from the entrance to the cave, but then he turned back to the open desert, and I could see his nostrils flaring as he inhaled scents.
“He’s right,” Elissa said. “If anyone can get him to talk, it’s you. I’ve seen you do some amazing things since we met, and I have total faith in your unstoppable abilities.”
“I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable when I use some harsher questioning tactics,” I explained as I raked a self-conscious hand through my hair.
“We aren’t worried about that,” Eva assured me. “Right, ladies?”
“Right,” Elissa and Caelia said in unison, but Mahini merely nodded.
“I’m glad you have my back,” I said. “Alright, I’m gonna finish dealing with Exavier, and then we’ll get to continue our quest.”
I turned back to my prisoner with a thoughtful frown. While I wasn’t afraid to torture him, there was only so much I could do before Exavier’s life was in jeopardy, and I really didn’t want to have to resuscitate him. King Frederick had also urged me not to hurt the Edinburg boys, but I didn’t trust his feelings about the family. He was too close to the matter, and that was his weakness.
Edinburg had harped on that weakness for years now, but everything changed when I showed up. The duke was no longer the biggest fish in the pond, so he’d gotten more and more desperate to be rid of me. Each attempt failed miserably, but I didn’t want to stoop to his level, either.
There had to be something I could do that would loosen Exavier’s lips without having to hurt him too much.
Flashbacks from middle school gym class and the bullying techniques the bigger kids used on me a few times popped up in my brain. In the short time before I’d learned to defend myself and convinced the assholes to leave me alone by beating the snot out of them, I’d had my underwear pulled up into a wedgie, but given the way the medieval under clothes were, I didn’t think that would work in this situation. Then there were a few times when a bigger kid bent my fingers backward and called it “milking the mouse.”
I also had my daggers to play with, so I could always fall back on that plan, but I wanted something a little more original than just slicing up my prisoner until he talked.
Finally, I resumed my squatting position in front of the kneeling lord, but this time my friendly smile was absent.
“Listen, man,” I said in a solemn voice, “we can do this the hard way or the easy way, but either way you’re going to tell me what I need to know.”
“What’s the hard way?” Exavier scowled.
“Pain.” I frowned. “Lots of pain.”
“I’ll take that direction,” the lord scoffed. “I’m already a dead man if my father finds out I was captured.”
“So, you don’t think daddy is on his way to save you?” I chuckled. Progress was being made.
“Who am I kidding?” Exavier shook his head. “I’m nothing more than a pawn in his game. He cares more for bastards than for me.”
“Bastards?” I leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me about them.”
“Never.” Exavier spat at my feet.
I smacked the duke’s son across the side of the face with the back of my hand, and I left a bright red welt in my wake.
“Let’s try that again,” I said as I took a deep breath to maintain my composure. “Tell me about the bastards.”
“You’ll never find my father,” Exavier hissed. “I don’t even know where he is. How do you expect to find him?”
“I already knew that.” I shrugged. “You were begging your brothers to tell you, but they refused.”
“H-H-How did you know that?” Exavier’s hazel eyes widened. “Wait, you were in my room. You read my personal letters.”
“Maybe.” I smirked. “There’s a lot of things I know, but there’s still much for me to learn. I’m asking nicely for your help, Exavier. Don’t be a dick.”
“Hit me again if you want,” Exavier countered. “It won’t work.”
“It has already worked,” I informed him. “You’ve already told me you don’t know where your father is, that you’re nothing more than a pawn, and that there are bastards out there Edinburg sired.”
“You’re going to have to hurt me to get anything else from my lips,” the lord said, and he stuck out his chin.
“If that’s your wish,” I said. “It won’t bother me.”
“Then why haven’t you done it already?” Exavier countered.
I didn’t want to tell him about my promise to the king, but then I realized I had a loophole to fall back on. The reset button.
Then I stood up, and I moved around behind Exavier. I twirled my dagger around in my fist until it rested comfortably, and I held the blade against one of the duke’s son’s fingers.
“Care to lose a pinky?” I asked. “Or would you rather tell me what I want to know?”
“Do it.” Exavier straightened his shoulders the best he could in the restraints, and I had to admire his resolve. It didn’t stop him from being an asshole, but he was stronger than I’d expected him to be.
I grabbed his pinky finger in my left hand, and I sawed it off with a few slices of my dagger. His scream of pain echoed off the cavern walls, and my companions all turned to stare at us with wide eyes.
Oh, well. I was going to reset anyway, so none of this was going to matter in the end.
“How’s that feel?” I asked in a voice loud enough to be heard over the screeches. “Ready to call my bluff?”
It took several moments for Exavier to calm down, and he hung his head forward until his chin rested upon his chest. I fetched a rag from my saddlebag while I waited, and I wiped Exavier’s blood off my hands. Then I grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back, and then I shook him a little to rouse him from his state of shock.
“Tell me, Exavier,” I said in a hard voice. “Where are your brothers?”
“My brothers?” Exavier’s eyes widened. “What do you want with them?”
“I’m the one asking the questions here,” I reminded him. “Tell me where they are, and the pain will stop.”
“I can’t tell you,” the duke’s son moaned, and I could tell he was already close to losing consciousness. One of us had been bluffing, and it wasn’t me.
“Can’t, or won’t?” I pressed, and I reached behind him to squeeze the stump of his pinky finger.
“Fucckk!” Exavier howled in pain, and his head flung backward.
“Tell me,” I urged in a low, menacing growl. “Or you lose another.”
“Okay, okay,” Exavier gasped out. “Evyn… He will be in the city of Aramore.”
“That’s a good start.” I squeezed his pinky stump ever so slightly, and the duke’s son winced. “What about Eurikson?”
“I… I can’t…” Exavier shook his head.
“You asked for it,” I sighed as I moved behind him again.
“No, no, please,” the duke’s son begged. “Eurikson will be at Edinburg Manor, I’m sure of it. No more fingers, please…”
“You’re sure of it?” I frowned. “What is he doing there?”
“Building an army,” Exavier said instantly, and I could tell he was feeling more talkative. “My father commanded it. He wants to challenge the king.”
“He’s already lost his title, how is he supposed to build an army?” I arched an eyebrow. “Your dad’s pretty dumb, you know that?”
“My father is weak,” Exavier spat, and his saliva was spattered with blood.
“Weak, how?” I asked, and my friendly smile returned.
“Women,” the duke’s son scoffed. “He lets them control him. It’s pathetic.”
“Tell me more,” I coaxed.
“There was this one servant girl who caught my father’s eye,” Exavier explained. “She was treated better than my mother was, and we all resented both her and her son.”
“What happened to her?” I asked. “You’re talking in past tense.”
“She died during childbirth with yet another bastard,” Exavier sneered. “Good riddance. Edinburg Manor was far more peaceful after her death.”
“You’re a dick,” I informed him in an even tone. “What about her son, what happened to him?”
“He moved away from Edinburg Manor. I suppose he didn’t enjoy the way he was treated after his mother was no longer there to protect him.” Exavier shrugged the best he could with the restraints wrapped around his arms. “The last I heard he had moved to Zabalas.”
“What’s his name?” I rubbed my hands together as excitement coursed through me.
Now, we were talking. Literally.
“Ozmand,” Exavier choked out, and his face blanched. “Can you please bandage my wound, or something? I’m losing a lot of blood.”
“Are you going to keep talking?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.
“If you help me,” he countered. “Show some mercy, please.”
“Alright, alright, calm down.” I shook my head at the complete one-eighty degree turn he had flipped after losing his pinky finger, and then I strode across the cavern to where I’d stashed my saddlebag.
“What’s going on?” Mahini asked as she appeared at my side. Her ice-blue eyes flicked to the prisoner and then back to my face. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, he’s just begging for a bandage,” I explained. “I think he’ll be more talkative after I wrap up his hand.”
“If he loses too much blood, then he’ll go unconscious,” Mahini pointed out. “Do you want some help?”
“I’ve got it.” I grinned. “Thank you, though.”
I returned to my prisoner, and I quickly bundled up his finger in thin strips of fabric. Blood soaked through almost instantly, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been without the bandage, so I returned to my squatting position.
“Alright, Exavier,” I said. “I’ve bandaged your finger. Tell me more about what your brothers are up to.”
Exavier proceeded to spill his guts about everything I could possibly want to know. The Duke of Edinburg had contacted Eurikson shortly before making his escape from prison, and the oldest son sent his younger brothers into action based upon his father’s commands. Edinburg wasn’t just running, he was going to stand his ground.
I had to get to him before he could surround himself with an impenetrable force.
I didn’t know how many people lived in the Duke of Edinburg’s territory, but Kassar was densely populated. Plus, the duke wasn’t asking for volunteers, he was drafting everyone. He could grow his force rapidly after making a few key examples of what would happen if someone disobeyed.
I wouldn’t let it get to that point. I would stop the duke before he amassed his army, and I would drag him back to jail where he belonged. After the trial, all of Sorreyal would know what kind of man he was, but it was up to me to get him there.
“What about this Ozmand character?” I asked after I’d gotten my fill of information about Exavier’s father and brothers. “What’s he like?”
“I didn’t like him.” Exavier sniffed. “He was entitled and often forgot his place.”
“Much like you?” I chuckled.
“I resent that remark,” the duke’s son scoffed.
“You mean you resemble it,” I countered.
“Whatever,” he huffed. “What else do you want to know? He was treated like a legitimate son while his mother still lived, but that treatment vanished the instant she died. Nobody liked him, but my father still treated him like a favorite. I never understood it.”
“Do you think this Ozmand guy would know more about where your father is hiding?” I questioned. “Or would it be a waste of time?”
“All of this is a waste of time,” the lord replied. “My father won’t accept defeat, and he is impossible to get to. You might as well give up while you can. He’ll punish your attempt to capture him harshly.”
“I’m not scared of your daddy,” I informed my prisoner in a hard tone. “And I’ll decide what’s a waste of my time or not.”
“You should be scared,” Exavier continued with a shake of his head.
“I’ve had just about enough of that,” I said, and I grabbed my dagger, flipped it around in my grasp, then brought the hilt down upon Exavier’s skull.
The duke’s son crumpled beneath the blow, and he stayed in a hunched over position since the ropes held him upright. I shook my head as I turned away, and I made my way over to my companions.
“Well, that was informative,” I said with a broad smile.
“Did you get all the information you wanted?” Mahini asked.
“What did he say?” Elissa tilted her head to the side with curiosity, and her flame-colored locks cascaded down her shoulder. Her hair had grown longer since I’d first met her, and soon it would be brushing against her ass cheeks.
“We couldn’t hear much besides his cries of pain,” Eva explained, and she cocked her hip to the side. “We’re dying of curiosity.”
“Indeed,” Ako agreed. “My curiosity has been almost fatal.”
“Where I come from, they say curiosity killed the cat,” I said with a wry smirk. “I like your version better.”
“So?” Mahini pressed as her ice-blue eyes pierced into my very soul. “Fill us in.”
“Well,” I began, and I scratched my beard thoughtfully. “I believe we have a couple of options for where we could go looking for the duke.”
“Options are good,” Eva noted.
“Does he know where his father is?” Caelia asked in a hesitant voice.
“No,” I said, and I flashed her an encouraging smile. “But I knew that before I nabbed him. His brothers know, and now I know where they are. Oh, and there’s a bastard son of Edinburg’s who could have some valuable knowledge to share with us.”
“What do we do with the duke’s son now?” Elissa asked as she cast a curious glance behind me. “He looks like he’s in a sorry state.”
“Are we taking him back through the window?” Ako questioned, and his ears twitched. “That would be entertaining to watch.”
“While I’d love to entertain you,” I said, “I have other ideas.”
I planned on resetting back to my save point where we were just leaving the inn, and then I could surprise my companions with a night of drinking shenanigans instead of a kidnapping. It would be hilarious to watch their confused faces when I told them it was no longer necessary.
“Like what?” Caelia asked, and her chocolate eyes lit up with the possibilities.
I wanted nothing more than to see inside her mind, but eventually I would know her so well I could predict her thoughts. Until then, I’d just have to take my time getting to know her better.
Before I could answer the dark-skinned beauty, however, I heard a noise at the cavern entrance, and we all turned to look in the direction of the sound.
“You heard that, too, right?” I asked.
Ako nodded silently, and the two of us crept forward to investigate. Mahini took a protective stance in front of the other girls, but they all drew their weapons all the same.
I peered outside the cave into the darkness, but I could see the faint light of the rising sun on the eastern horizon. Then I spotted a dark figure darting away, and it slipped out of sight behind a hill.
“Someone was listening to us.” I frowned. “I’m going to catch them.”
“Good luck,” Ako said, and he clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll stay with the prisoner.”
Then I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my griffon feather boots, and I zoomed across the desert landscape after the departing figure. I was a blur of motion, but it was hard to see my way in the dark, so it took me a moment to spot my target.
Then I saw them running back toward Kassar at full speed, and I sped back up as I chased after them. It only took me a moment to catch up, and then I tackled the figure from behind. We both tumbled to the ground, and I grappled to gain purchase on my opponent’s arms. I rolled on top of him, and I squeezed tightly with my legs until I heard a pained cry from beneath me.
I was surprised that it sounded like a woman’s voice, so I took a close look at the figure I straddled. They were wearing all black, which explained why it was harder to see them in the dark, and a cowl covered their face. Only the light-brown eyes were visible, and they filled with anger as they glared up at me.
“Get the fuck off me!” It was definitely a woman.
I maneuvered myself around until I could get a good grip on her arms, and then I wrenched them around at an uncomfortable angle.
“Who are you?” I asked. “Who sent you? How did you know where we were?”
“Get the fuck off me,” the woman repeated, and she thrashed beneath me with all her strength.
It took very little effort for me to maintain my grip on her arms, though, so I waited patiently until she ran out of steam.
“You’re coming with me,” I informed her, and then I pulled us both up to our feet without losing my hold on her.
“I would rather die,” the mysterious woman insisted.
“I can arrange that if you like,” I said. “But first let’s have a little chat, shall we?”
It seemed as though this was the day for interrogating people, but I was already set up for it, so why not add another prisoner to my cavern?
I hauled the eavesdropper back the way we’d come, but it took a lot longer without the ability of my griffon feather boots activated. Finally, I saw the torchlight shining out the cave entrance, and my pace quickened. The woman struggled against me the entire time, but she was light enough for me to drag.
I was the God of Kidnapping, but I was also the God of Interrogation, and I had a full plate that day. Soon, I would have all the information I needed to track down the Duke of Edinburg and put him behind bars for good.
The duke and his entire family were going down, even if it took me a million lifetimes, and this mysterious woman was officially on my list.
I wasn’t going to let her go until I found out who she was and how she got here.