The thought nearly had me retching and grabbing my own appendage. I refrained, however, the mask of the General well in place.
“Hello, traitor,” Alois crooned as he squatted in front of the cage. The Earth Mage’s head lifted from his knees, the back of his skull connected with the bars on top, and he let out a small curse.
“I’m no more a traitor than you are, Truthsayer,” he rasped.
Alois chuckled, low and dangerous. “I know you truly believe that. But we have time to help you find the truth before your death.”
The Earth Mage simply shrugged his shoulders at the threat. “Kill me, or don’t. Torture me, or don’t. Let me be eaten by maggots, or don’t. It really doesn’t matter to me. I know that when I die, I’ll be rewarded handsomely by Solace for what we’ve done and what we will do.”
Alois’ knuckles turned white as he gripped them into fists. “We’ll see about that.” He stood up and motioned for the Air Mages to bind the Earth Mage and for a guard to unlock the cell.
“General, prepare a room.” I nodded to Alois before striding farther down the hall to a cluster of three doors. Each led to a room outfitted with a variety of tools and implements we used for extracting information.
I opened the first door on my right, not truly caring which room was used. They all contained the same items and blood stains from previous occupants. While we had servants sanitize the rooms for us when we used it next, we kept the stains. There was a certain macabre beauty to it. Plus, it was simply intimidating.
The room was small and dark, lit only by a few torches attached to the walls. I opened the leather buckles on the wooden table, stained nearly black from years of use, and they fell to each side, the metal of the buckles clinking in the otherwise silent space.
As I stepped back from the table, the Earth Mage was led in, his arms bound tightly behind his back and his legs dragging uselessly behind as Lex and Ilyas hauled him through the door and onto the table. They quickly secured the straps—one across his forehead, one across his chest and upper arms, and one across his thighs—before the Air Mages released their hold on their magic, the white mist in their palms dying. The Earth Mage’s arms went slack with the lack of magical bindings, and he instantly tried to break free of the straps.
Alois let out a low chuckle as he entered the room with Sasori on his heels. Alois held his arms behind his back and leisurely strode to where the Mage was tied, stopping just inside his peripheral viewpoint. Sasori quickly crossed the remainder of the room to stand by Lex, her hand lightly resting on his arm.
The tension in the normally carefree triad was palpable. Lex’s jaw wasclenched, and he kept his eyes trained on the back wall. Ilyas and Sasori kept fiddling with their hands, each reaching out to touch their Mage every so often, and Lex eventually took a giant step forward out of their grasps. Their hands fell from his arms, and they shot a look to each other behind his back.
I wonder what that is all about.This is Lex’s job. Quite literally what he was bought and bred for here at the Academy. Surely they know that?
I absently scratched at my jaw, resolving to puzzle through that situation when I had more brain space, which was decidedly not tonight. I turned my attention back on the Mage as he ceased his struggle, finally realizing the bands wouldn’t give.
“So, here’s the deal, traitor. It’s quite simple, really,” Alois’ smooth voice echoed through the space. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know.”
The Earth Mage looked at him incredulously. “That’s it? I’m going to tell you what I know? You’ve lost your touch, Truthsayer.”
Alois chuckled humorously. “You mistake me. Youwilltell us what you know, how that happens is . . . up to you.”
The Mage turned his gaze away from Alois, choosing to focus on the ceiling instead, a sure sign of disrespect. “Do what you must.” He sounded almost bored.
Alois stepped away and shrugged his shoulders. He began searching the racks of tools. “You know, there are a variety of types of pain, as I’m sure you know. We can’t really exist here without knowing at leastsometype of pain. Physical, mental, emotional. Different techniques yield results at different times but make no mistake.” He turned back toward the Mage. “They all yield results.”
Alois came and placed his hand on Sasori’s shoulder, shoving her toward Lex. “Let’s start with the mental pain, shall we? Lex.”
This was the thing about Alois, he told his prisoners exactly what was coming. There was no guess work, no anticipation. And, somehow, I felt like that was worse.
Lex grabbed Sasori’s arm roughly and closed his eyes, a thick tendril of oily purple magic pooling in his hand for a heartbeat before it shot straight to the Mage’s head. It lingered for a moment, like a cloud, before sinking into his brain through his eyes, ears, and nose. It was silent for a moment then the Mage’s screams started.
“Oh gods, no! Please, no! Leave thembe. Don’t do that to her! You keepyour filthy handsoffof her!” What he was seeing was real, at least in his mind, but nothing he said or did in the physical world would stop the images in his head.
Lex’s grip was white-knuckled on Sasori and she had closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the feeling of Lex drawing his magic from her. Lex’s own eyes were open and unseeing, a look of agony written across his face.
Did Lex experience the images with his victim? Or was he seeing his own demons?
“Please, no, please no, let her go.” The Mage was sobbing and writhing on the table, trying to get to someone he couldn’t see.
Alois held up a hand and the flow of Lex’s magic stopped abruptly. Slowly the Mage’s body stopped shaking and his sobs quieted as Lex’s power withdrew. His eyes opened, revealing bloodshot whites.
“Anything you’d like to tell us about your Matriarch,” Alois spat the name, “or why you were in the village to begin with? Troop movements, attack plans. Anything?”
The Mage was silent, refusing to even respond to Alois’ demands.
“No? Pity. Lex increase the intensity.”
