Fire and Lightning

“I’m going to ask you again,” Vorr said slowly and deliberately, like he was holding back strong emotion. “Are you alone, or are your companions from Ast with you?”

What do I tell him? Ryn thought as he stared into the carpet. I don’t even know where they are now. They might have run away. But should I admit that they were on the train at all? He as good as knows that already... But no...if there’s a chance they can get away I shouldn’t confirm that for him. Mum. Dad. Cleasor. Nuthea. Found Vorr. Got Vorr. Tried to kill Vorr. Failed. Damn him.

Ryn pushed himself up. He looked up at the huge form of Vorr, this man who had killed his parents and destroyed his hometown, the man whom he hated so much. The general was still breathing heavily andhis massive jaw was set in a tight line in his stupid round face underneath his red hair. There was something burning in his eyes—anger, maybe, or hatred, or...lust of some kind? For a moment Ryn wavered.

But then he said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” with a defiant smile.

“ARGH--!”

Ryn lost a brief moment of consciousness, then became aware that he was now lying a number of paces away on his back. At first he thought that the shout he had just heard had been his own, but then he realised it had been a shout of fury from Vorr.

Then the pain set in. He had been numb with shock for a moment but now terrible pain screamed from his mouth and nose. He instinctively felt for his front teeth with his hands. A couple were missing, and others were broken.

Vorr had kicked him in the face so hard he had blacked out for a moment...the pain was so bad he could barely think …

Vorr was crouching over him. “Did you come alone or with others?” he said slowly and deliberately again. “How did you get on board this train? Tell me now or I will break your fingers one by one.”

Ryn could barely hear his own terrified thoughts through the agony in his face. I should just give in…

When he hesitated, Ryn felt Vorr pull off one of his Imperial gauntlets and take hold of one of his fingers.

“No, please!” Ryn just had time to squeal.

A snapping sound.

An ecstasy of white-hot pain flooded Ryn’s being, flowing up from his hand and joining with the springs of pain already flowing from his mouth, nose, and back. He heard himself screaming somewhere, but he heard it as something being done by someone far away, on the other side of the pain.

The initialshock receded just a little, , and Ryn heard himself pleading with Vorr in a manic squeal.

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you! Please don’t break any more of my fingers! I know as much as you! My two friends were with me in the carriage, but they got away when I attacked you! I don’t know where though! I don’t know where they’ve gone!”

“Good,” said Vorr. “That is more like it. I may consider stopping torturing you now. If you keep talking.”

Oh thank the gods, Ryn managed to think in the sea of pain. Thank Enwit. Thank Edres. Thank Yntrik. Thank all the gods. Thank the One.

“On the other hand I’m rather enjoying myself, and we’ve started now so it would be rude to stop, wouldn’t it?”

Snap.

The whole world was pain. Ryn screamed again, and kept on screaming and screaming and screaming.

“Tell me more,” said Vorr’s voice somewhere in the pain. “That’s not enough. How did you join up with the Jewel-touched pirate? Are there any more of you? Where would the wench and the pirate have gone? Tell me! Tell me now!”

Snap.

Pain, pain, so much pain. Pain like a tidal wave crashing over him; almost enough to make him pass out.

Just tell him, just speak, say something, maybe he will stop breaking your fingers!

“We just found him!” Ryn screamed. “We landed on his ship when we fell out of yours! Nuthea said it was the One but it could have just been luck! I don’t know where they’ve gone! I wasn’t meant to attack you, I just did it on impulse! They’ve probably run away! They could be anywhere! They could have jumped off the train by now and left me!”

“Unlikely,” said Vorr’s voice from somewhere. “They would injure themselves jumping onto land from a moving train. Though the pirate does have wind-projection... What about others? Are there any others with you?”

Ryn searched through the storm of pain for something to cling to. But he couldn’t think straight. A strange tingling sensation joined the pain for a moment, mixing with it, spreading from his heart out through his whole body, to his head, to his feet, to the tips of his mangled fingers.

When he hesitated again, Vorr snapped another one of his fingers.

“Aaaaaarggggghhh!”

“Are there others with you? Are there others? Tell me!”

Ryn broke his limit.

Ryn opened his eyes which had been scrunched shut in agony, and roared at Vorr, and fire burst from his mouth, engulfing the General’s face…

...but then merely dissipated, without any visible effect.

Vorr blinked a couple of times and leaned in closer

“You stupid mutt,” Vorr said right in Ryn’s face. “I can see you’ve been practicing. But that’s not going to work on me, remember? How many times do you need to be reminded of this? I am Ruby-touched too, as are all my officers now. Fire cannot harm me.”

As if Ryn thought that it would. As if Ryn was acting rationally, out of anything other than primal instinct.

Vorr’s face receded, and then he kicked Ryn in the stomach again, sending him skidding across the floor and into the side of one of the beds.

Something in Ryn’s chest stuck out at a weird angle and his fingers raged at him when he moved to feel it. The pain reached a new intensity he had never thought possible. He felt his attention starting to move in and out of focus--he was going to pass out. Either that or he was going todie.

“Are there others with you?” Vorr shouted again. “Do you know of the locations of any more of the Jewels? Why are you on a train bound for Manolia? Tell me, you pathetic piece of poodoo! Tell me or I will break every single one of digits! Tell me or I will cut them off and make you eat them!”

Just pain. And the fear of even more of it. And the shame that he knew he couldn’t hold out for much longer and that soon he would tell the General everything, or die.

“WHAT IS IT?” Ryn heard Vorr yell.

Someone had knocked on the door of the carriage. He heard Vorr stride over to it and open it. Ryn could just about make out their conversation through the pain.

“What? I am busy.”

“My apologies general, but you said to let you know if there were any developments.”

Cid?

“Well, what is it? Spit it out, godsdamn you soldier.”

“It’s the Shadowfingers, sir. They’ve caught the other infiltrators.”

No...

“Already? Why didn’t you say so straight away? Let them in, you fool!”

“Yes sir.”

It hurt to move, but Ryn managed to roll over a little to look at the door.

Cid stood aside, and in came Vish and the other lady Shadowfinger followed by an un-helmeted Sagar and Nuthea. Ryn’s tired, overworked heart still tried to leap when he saw her. Sagar and Nuthea were marched in by two more soldiers holding swordpoints to the back of their necks --the younger of the two they had met last night and...Elrann.

What? Has Elrann betrayed us? Or do they have a plan?

“Shut the door, solider,” Vorr commanded, and Cid did, staying on this side of it.

The new arrivals walked in and fanned out in front of Vorr in what space there was between the beds. They were somewhat obscured by Vorr himself, but Nuthea’s eyes flicked down to Ryn then back up to Vorr, whom she regarded with tight-lipped rigidity. Sagar, unusually, wore nearly the same tense expression. They didn’t look like they had a plan, Ryn thought amidst the pain. Maybe he should just give up and die now.

“General Vorr.” Vish was the first to speak in his exotic, guttural tones.

“Shadowfinger Vish,” said Vorr. “Congratulations. I see that you have made good on your latest target...with a little help from me, it would seem.” He gestured towards Ryn. “You will be rewarded accordingly.”

Vish’s eyes stretched for the briefest instant. Ryn had to close his own eyes again for a moment in response to a particularly strong wave of pain. He didn’t want to whimper in front of Nuthea so he bit his tongue.

“Thank you, General,” said Vish.

“I must say though, Shadowfinger,” Vorr went on, “that I am a little confused as to why it is only here and now that you have managed to unmask and bring in these rebels.”

“Oh?” said Vish. Ryn couldn’t read his expression underneath his headscarf, but this time his grey eyes stayed level. “What is the source of this confusion, General?”

“If you knew that rebels were on this train, why did you not inform me, either of this, or that you were on it too?”

The briefest of hesitations. Then Vish said, “I tracked the target to Sirra, but temporarily lost her after she disguise herself and infiltrated this train. I needed to wait until she made a mistake and revealed herself again. Now that she and her companions have: Here we are.”

“Ingenious,” said Vorr, lingering over the word. “Well, congratulations, again, Shadowfinger.” His hand went to one of a number of small pouches affixed to his belt and he took something out which he held up.

Vish’s eyes went wide again, and stayed that way.

“Your reward,” said Vorr. “One now, and two more later, seeing as in the end you brought in three Jewel-touched targets. Although really I was the one who apprehended the first one, so I’m being more than fair.”

“That is…most generous of you, General.” Ryn could see the longing in Vish’s eyes.

Come on Vish! he willed through his pain. Cid has plenty of poppy! We can give you poppy! If you were planning something, don’t give up now!

“I…” said Vish. “I am grateful.”

The Shadowfinger stepped forwards to take the poppy.

No!

When he stepped within reach, Vorr grabbed Vish by the throat with a hand.