His face filled her vision, all scarred flesh and cold eyes. Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard she was sure he could hear it.
"Hitting me doesn't change the fact that I have no idea where my father is." She met his eyes, refusing to look away. "He walked out twenty years ago. If you want to find him, you're about two decades too late." Each word came out steady despite the way her voice wanted to shake. She'd learned a long time ago that showing fear only made predators circle closer.
Better to spit in their faces and hope they respected the fight, even if they killed you for it.
"Then where's the map?"
She blinked and looked towards the console. "The nav system's right there. You have all my maps."
His hand came up again, and Mercy couldn't help but flinch. The movement seemed to satisfy him because he lowered it slowly. His mouth twisted into something that might have been a smile if it had contained any warmth whatsoever.
"What map?" She hated how her voice shook. "I have a standard nav package, it's not like I'm carrying paper star charts."
"The Map of Planetary Runes."
The name fell into the silence. Mercy felt her face go blank, expression shifting from pain and fear to complete bewilderment.
The words meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. Mercy stared at him, searching for some hint of what he wanted. "The what?"
Horris grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard enough to rattle her teeth. The straps cut deeper into her wrists. "Your father's treasure. He found the map. And now I'm certain he hid it with you. So give it to me and we can end this thing."
End this.
She knew exactly what that meant. A quick blast to the head if she was lucky. Something slow if she wasn't. Either way, she was dead the moment she gave him what he wanted.
Too bad she had no idea what he was talking about.
"My father walked out on me and my mom when I was seven." She kept her voice steady despite the tremor in her chest. "I have never heard of this map, and I have no idea what you're talking about."
His face darkened, and she braced for another blow. But before he could strike, one of his crew stumbled through the door, dragging Zane.
"What?" Horris snapped.
"He was wandering around, Captain." The pirate looked annoyed more than anything. Like Zane was a particularly irritating pest.
"I had to use the facilities." Zane's voice had gone high and whiny, with just a note of aristocratic outrage. He actually stamped his foot, the expensive boot making a hollow thud against the deck. "You can't expect me to just … hold it."
And that's when Mercy knew for certain he was faking.
Nobody was that stupid.
Nobody who'd helped repair her nav array two days ago, who'd spotted a potential coolant leak she'd missed, who played cards with the tactical awareness of a seasoned gambler.
This was an act, and he was selling it.
Hard.
His eyes found hers across the bridge. For just a moment, something dark and dangerous flickered in those brown depths. His gaze tracked over her face, taking in the swelling, the blood, the way she was tied. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. And for just a second, she could have sworn she saw smoke curling from his nostrils, thin wisps that dissipated before she could be sure they were real.
That must have been the concussion.
Then, just as quickly, the mask slipped back into place. He wrung his hands and shifted from foot to foot like a child.
"If you have to piss, piss in the corner." Horris waved dismissively. "Take him back, tie him up." He paused, seeming to remember she existed. "Take her too. We have work to do."
5
The closet had become a special kind of torture after the first hour.
