Passion of the Different (10 page)

Chapter Fifteen - Interrogation

The horizon was getting pink with dawn though the sun hadn't shown itself. Ryan guided his horse off the road and out into a small field. He let it trot for a hundred or so yards before stopping to dismount. A small tree was close by and he tied the horse to it. Not knowing the critter's given name, he merely made friends by finding wild fruit and feeding it several pieces. Then the horse grazed as he slept during the day under a shady tree.

Even though he had been riding hard at night and resting during the day for almost a week, he couldn't seem to catch up to the kidnappers. He was well into enemy territory and from what he understood, the queen's castle was in the center of the enemy kingdom. Myra may already be there even now and he could feel the anger growing in the pit of his gut like a wildfire with each sunrise. At least food and drink were plenty in the countryside or this would have been much harder on both man and horse.

The night was long and the road was blessedly empty of all traffic. Another sunrise threatened exposure of his size and intent and it was time to stop yet again. He located a small stream about fifty yards from the road and decided it was the best place to nap. He made sure the horse got a refreshing drink as the sun left the horizon and the morning dew settled. A nice shady tree wasn't too far away and he found a comfortable spot underneath it. He put his arm over his eyes and rested it there, and he was sleeping soundly before he could wonder how long it would take him to doze off.

It wasn't quite sunset when distant voices woke him, the sun blazing the long shadows of tall trees across the river. They were so faint he couldn't understand what was being said. His horse was still munching the wild grass and looked content. Ryan frowned and tilted his head a moment. The voices were coming from down river. He should get ready to ride out once darkness dropped, but curiosity won out. Making sure the beast was still tightly tied up, he kept to the shadows and moved downriver as silently as he could. A few minutes later he could make out the words. In the distance, two brown and red uniformed men were fishing by a campfire.

"I can't believe that Elerian bitch scratched Roo'Pah across his face," the shorter dark blue haired one stated.

"He had it coming," the older red headed man replied, then grunted a chuckle out. "Elerians get claws when with child, Kah'Deen. You don't try to kiss them or feel them up when they're like that."

Ryan froze, his heart pounding. He couldn't think at first. Coincidence? He strained his ears to listen more. He didn't know if 'Elerian' was the term for the people he had come to respect and protect or not. He quickly got his confirmation from the older man.

"It was the cleanest snatch we've done though, and we were pretty damn close to Ocaza," the older one stated proudly. "Other than the bloody scratching, I'm glad nobody got anything worse. Besides, that fairy tale about her husband was probably designed to scare us away. Fat lot of good it did."

"I don't know," the younger blue haired man replied with caution. "I have a second cousin who said he saw the creature from afar. He's second in command to the regional raiders, you know, and doesn't make things up for sport."

Ryan had heard enough and he peeked around the tree for a quick look. One had a spear leaning against a nearby tall bush. The other wore a sword. Both were dangling their bare feet in the water while their lines were strung out almost to the middle of the river, the yellow bobs bouncing in the mild current. Good. He knew how to get to them.

He carefully went back to his horse and did his best not to make any sounds. He took off his shirt then stripped down to his undershorts. His boots were tied to the saddle so no ground insects would crawl inside. Then he waded out into the water and took a minute to feel the strength of the current. Careful not to make any splashes, he was happy it was shallow at the banks but deep in the middle. This will make it more than easy for him and those two idiots are about to find out just how horrible fishing can actually get.

Gulping the air a few times to fill his lungs, he sank slowly under the surface to reduce noise. As soon as he was under, he struck out strongly for the opposite shore, letting the current carry him down river. The water was blessedly clear, only a few small fish darted out of his way. He held his breath easily, it wasn't the strain he thought it might be and crazily wondered why. Adrenaline? Probably. After a few more powerful strokes, he spotted their rapidly approaching feet under the water. Even better. It was only thigh deep to him there. Too bad he didn't intend to drown them, it would have been effortless.

The two guys were laughing at an unheard joke when Ryan erupted up out of the water. In one smooth motion he grabbed their throats with his large hands and held them up high as he strode up onto dry land like some living gallows. He gently applied pressure while their feet kicked in frustration. The terror in their eyes faded as they rolled up at the same time, then he let them fall. Not dead, merely passed out from lack of oxygen and flow of blood to the brain. They would sleep for a while and then he would be able to get some answers.

The youngest one woke up first and it was already dark, the campfire blazing high with fresh wood. He quickly realized he was tied at both hands and feet. He forced himself into an upright position and looked over at his unconscious friend. "Gher'Jek, wake up man! A water demon captured us! Wake the hell up, please!"

Ryan spoke from the darkness just beyond the campfire's circle of light, making his voice even deeper than it normally was. It's a good thing he had a good memory for names when he strained to hear their earlier conversation. He also packed his tone with an icy anger that didn't have to be faked one bit. "He can't help you, Kah'Deen."

"No - no - no," Kah'Deen's tenor almost squeaked under his breath, head whipping left to right and back again, trying in vain to see what was talking in such a low and terrible monster like voice. "This isn't happening. This isn't really happening."

"Oh yes, it is happening," Ryan said, voice rolling out of the darkness like thunder. "You've been a very bad boy, Kah'Deen." This produced the desired effect, the young man's eyes squinted as a tear rolled down one cheek.

"Who in the hell are you?" Gher'Jek said, finally awake and struggling to sit up as his hands and feet were also tightly bound. "What do you want from us?" The older man peered into the darkness, unable to see past the campfire's blazing glow as well.

Ryan knew the bright campfire would give them poor night vision. He also played with the two ropes in his hand. One was tied to each of their ankles, just in case he needed the extra leverage. It was a good thing he thought of it, the older one was a bit more world wise and could possibly break the deception. "Gher'Jek!" he thundered from the darkness. "Silence old fool, or I'll eat your face off. You've been bad too!"

"Horseshit!" Gher'Jek shot back, unconvinced. "Show yourself, liar!"

"I warned you!" Ryan thundered with dark relish, then yanked the rope to the old man with all his strength. From Kah'Deen's point of view, his friend spun around and vanished hollering into the darkness feet first before he could blink twice, the attached rope unseen.

As Gher'Jek got dragged to Ryan on his back, he was still screaming in fright at the wild unknown before him. The large man picked him up and let the older guy feel his huge hands and strength. Before anything else could be said, he slugged Gher'Jek in the jaw, hard. The thin form crumpled, out for possibly another few hours. Then he sought for the fruit he had tucked into his belt earlier.

Kah'Deen was freaking out. "Gher'Jek! Where are you! Gher'Jek! Talk to me!" When the old man stopped screaming, he stopped calling out. Then as close as Ryan dared, just enough for his large outline to barely flicker at the campfire's edge, he bit into the fruit as noisily as he could, chewing with his mouth open and making yummy sounds. The youth was completely silent, frozen with fear and the tears were flowing from both eyes. The exaggerated eating made his blood run cold as ice. He would later swear that his hair felt like standing up and leaving the rest of him behind.

Psychological interrogation felt natural to Ryan. He almost enjoyed it. Where the ideas came from he didn't bother to question anymore, they just happened as he needed them. For now that was more than enough. After a few more moments of loud chewing, he tossed the fruit away. The sudden distant sound of it hitting the ground made the youth jump, but Ryan didn't let him dwell on it. "That was one delicious face for an old man, Kah'Deen He was seasoned with stupidity and disbelief. Are you stupid as well?"

"No!" Kah'Deen cried out, trying not to sob. "I'm not stupid! I promise!"

"Do you believe I exist?" Ryan growled, adding even more ice to his tone. "Please say no, I hunger for a young face to eat."

"You exist!" the young terrified soul hollered into the darkness, desperation making his plea almost sound like a woman's voice. "I believe you exist! My face isn't delicious! Please, be merciful! Please!"

Good, the young man was ready to tell him the truth. Before, if there was any thought of deception, he would have possibly lied. But not now. "You know, the last flavor my kind likes are lies. I'm going to ask you some things. If you lie, I get to eat. Do you understand me, Kah'deeeeeeeen?" He purposely stretched out the name for effect and it terrified the youth even more. Excellent.

"Yes! I understand, please don't eat my face!"

"Where did you take the woman you kidnapped from Ocaza?" Ryan thundered, letting his anger through without hesitation. "Where is she right now?"

"To Fort Iskath, where another transport waited for her. I don't know if they went from there to Central Avernus or not! Is that good enough? I didn't lie! Please, let me go!" Kah'Deen struggled a moment to shift his weight, whimpered as he got nowhere.

"When did you get her there?" Ryan demanded.

"Yesterday!"

"Give me directions to Fort Iskath!"

"What?" Kah'Deen said, slightly more puzzled than he should be.

"Something smells good to me, Kah'Deen," Ryan warned, and the young man cringed.

"Alright! Go two hundred yards to the west of here! Take the white sand road south and the fort is on the left, three miles distant!" Then the guy started to bawl. Loud and without regard as to who might see or hear.

Ryan had what he wanted, now to make sure the young man didn't talk about it, ever. He silently approached from behind and Kah'Deen couldn't see him coming, only heard the impossibly heavy footsteps. His mind was shot, blown away by fear and his senses were scrambled because of it. Ryan's hand went down and clasped the front of the terrorized face, his palm covering the eyes and squeezed. He picked him up and held him against his large frame with that powerful grip. The young man screamed, expecting death. Ryan lifted him higher and used the dagger that had been left in his barn door to slash the rope off the struggling feet. Then he freed the hands. He put the dagger back into his belt and used his free hand to clamp over the bawling mouth so he could hear what the large monster had to say.

"Run home, Kah'Deen. Run and don't stop," Ryan growled into his pointed ear from behind, voice cold as death. "Don't come out of your house for a month. Don't say anything to anyone about tonight. If you see Gher'Jek, he will be a ghost sent by me to check on you. Run away from him all the time! If you don't, I'll come out from under your bed, no matter where you live, and eat your face clean off before you can wake up!" Then he let him go. Ryan watched with distinct pleasure and a measure of revenge for Myra as the young man vanished into the night, running like hell was nipping at his heels.

He kicked dirt onto the campfire and put it out. Then he collected the spear that was leaning against the tree by the river. The night was young and he had plenty of time to visit Fort Iskath, but there wasn't going to be any deception there. He would have to use stealth once again, but this time a bit differently.

He had avoided killing people before, knew deep down his luck wasn't always going to help him out of all situations. Being big and strong did have intimidating advantages, but he had to be prepared to use it when needed. Tonight unfortunately, it was more than called for and he knew the men in that fort had seen his wife. They had abused her. For that, he wasn't prepared to forgive or forget. He got fully dressed but left his boots off. Those hard soles would make leaves crunch and twigs snap and tonight he couldn't afford that.

Following the directions proved easy even in the dark and on horseback. He found the fort as described and it was a small compound resting on a hilltop. As he tied off his horse in the woods to another tree, he gauged the night wasn't even half over. There were two towers, one in front and back. The wall was made of simple wooden planks, the archway through the gate was cobbled stone. He counted four men walking the wall and one in each tower. They shuffled slow and looked tired. Ryan instantly understood. They probably had never been attacked before. In the middle of the night, boredom was at its worst when on a dreary patrol route.

Two towers and a bored wall patrol. Piece of cake.

He stuck to the shadowed side of the fort, the two silvery small moons above casting little light, for which he was thankful. He could avoid ground objects that would make noise while using the inky shadows the double moons generated to stay out of sight. As he neared the one tower, he looked for handholds. Sure enough, there were gaps in the planks. Probably for spears to be stabbed through to kill attackers, but they also made great finger holds.