* * *
I looked from one face to another – the men were bland duplicates of one another and I found them completely lacking, now that I had decided they were not human. One of them nodded encouragingly, offering me a half-smile, like he fully expected me to turn Cassie in. They knew nothing at all.
Their commander was completely different. There was something more deadly – more human? – about him. Even though I hated to admit it to myself, his volatility and emotions made him seem different to the others I had seen.
What made him different?
Since their first attempt to remove me from my room, they had not bothered again. Instead, they had returned with a table and chairs…and restraints. So here we were…my interview…there had been so many faces now, so many questions, I had no idea of how long I had been here.
The pair in front of me turned toward the door in unison, responding to some unheard command I guessed. It looked as though I was getting a change of company…
A few seconds later the door opened, revealing the two guards who now stood permanently outside my door and a third familiar figure. In silence they swapped places, so that I was left only with the commander when the door slid shut.
Beneath the table my fingertips pressed together so hard, it felt like I was crushing them into one another. Ever since he had battered me the first time, the leader, who sat opposite me now, had spent every waking moment we were together trying to goad me into lashing out at him. So far I’d managed to resist the intense temptation, but only just. With my hand shackled beneath the table and my feet bound, it would not have been a smart move on my part, but it was tempting – so tempting.
I’d been beaten several times – although there was only this man and one other in his team who seemed to have a proclivity for violence – and I had sense enough to know that if he wanted to, they could easily kill me. I still couldn’t understand where their strength came from, all I knew was that there was something much more dangerous inside them, something I feared more than pain or violence.
Was he inside my head?
I couldn’t tell. I felt like I was blocking them but I couldn’t be sure.
“I’m heading across to the Family Quarter in a few minutes, Balik. Cassie will be with me by the end of the night – she can’t keep hiding…unless she’s dead that is.” He grinned, enjoying the discomfort I was unable to hide when he spoke of Cassie. “Are you sure there isn’t anything you’d like to tell me about you two? Maybe something filthy that only the two of you know? I know how you kids can be – driven by your hormones and instinct…”
I turned away, looking down at the table in silence.
“Come on Balik! You don’t need to be shy any more – not with me – we’ve spent lots of time together haven’t we? Surely that counts for something.”
I stayed quiet, knowing that this was just the beginning.
The Rainbow Maker's Tale Page 44