Torment (Craving 2)

“This ‘tisn’t the main part of the prison,” Devin said. “We are in a holding cell, which is, I suppose, because they mean to interrogate us soon.”

“Well,” I said. “At least we are together.”

He grinned. “Nae for long if Loli has her way.”

The door being solid seemed absurd to me, as the rest of the cell that ran along the hallway consisted of bars from ceiling to floor. I studied our surroundings and discovered a narrow window on the back solid concrete wall. We heard a door open and close down the hallway, and we shifted so we could see if anyone approached.

We were now side by side, partially sitting, but bent over and held in this ridiculous position by the netting, but quite able to see who stood on the other side of the bars.

A tall gorgeous female Elfin in a soft summer dress of blue, stood regarding us with a slight sneer. She looked familiar, and I strained my neck to study her.

She was comfortable with herself and self-assured. Her black hair was braided and wound around her lovely head. She was cool and in command as she nodded to the guards and told them, “At ease, gentlemen.” She stared at us for a long moment and marched off.

“Who was that?” I whispered.

“Loli’s elder sister, Rana. She is what we would call divorced in our realm, they call it ‘parted’ here. She is young, but very bitter about her divorce. He nae only cheated, but he did so with the Princess Witch of the Draoidheil. Her husband, an Elfin councilman, met the Princess Witch during Treaty negotiations…and they fell in love.”

“Wow,” I said. “That is so not good for us.”

“Right, so she called for his execution, but Tomin banished him from Elfin instead. She was displeased, but could do nothing, as his jury agreed with Tomin. I am nae sure what we should expect from her. She hates the witches…and would go to war with them if she could convince her father to do so. Tomin is too wise to risk his people’s lives with a war, especially with the Draoidheil. They may be a small community, but they are a potent one. He strictly adheres to the Treaty. So to begin with, Rana has a grievance with witches, and add the fact that she never really liked me, it puts the matter into another perspective. Ye might conclude, lass, that as far as clearing ourselves, we dinnae stand a chance with her,” Devin said.

“Oh, great. Here go our heads.” I was only half-teasing and was beginning to feel some serious concern when we heard the click of her heels as she returned.

“Well, Devin, here you are, where you have always belonged…here, or with the beastly supernaturals in their territory. Never with us. You are an atrocity and the only thing you ever did that I approved of was rejecting my silly sister,” Rana addressed him, but scarcely looked at me.

“And when have I ever broken yer law, Rana? Ye dinnae like me, true, and as to where I live—as it happens, I live on neutral ground, approved of by yer father and brother, built by the hard working hands of yer Elfin community.”

“And how did you repay us? You brought this thing…this witch, into our community!” she snapped.

I cleared my throat, and her eyes flashed as she regarded me.

“Not a Draoidheil Witch,” I said.

“You sparkle!” she shouted.

“Er…in the Human Realm, supernaturals call it ‘a glow’ or ‘white light’. I am a Witch of the Light. I have nothing to do with the witches here. Never even met one. I am simply trying to find a way to bring Devin home.”

“Liar! You have bewitched this vampire fool, but you won’t be able to bewitch anyone else while you are in the netting. Your magic can’t get past the netting,” she said in a superior tone.

I wanted to show her a thing or two about that. I didn’t like her. I didn’t like her at all. I stared at her and saw very clearly that she was burdened with meanness. I wondered if it had always been there.

“Well, not sure how we can prove the truth if you have a closed mind,” I answered.

“My father will be discussing this problem in the morning with his council. He wants to gather as much information as he can before he brings you two to court for a hearing.” She eyed us both with a gleam that made me very irritated. I wanted to tell her what I thought of her, so I bit my tongue.

“Nothing to say to that?” she said tauntingly.

“What I have to say to that is, you are a closed-minded bitch who I will take great pleasure in defeating with the truth when it comes out, and the truth always comes out!” I guess I released my tongue too fast.

She took hold of the bars. “Oh, witch, I will take great pleasure in seeing you executed and do not doubt my ability to get that done sooner rather than later. I will watch you both burn...and soon, very soon.”

So saying, she turned and marched back down the hall.

“Right then, lass, here we go,” Devin said, and grinned. “Ye got her to declare her intentions, so we know now what to expect, as she has put her cards on the table. Well done, m’brilliant lass.”

“I wasn’t being brilliant, though.” I grimaced. “She got me angry.”

He laughed. “Well, we will have to time our escape just right. She wouldna have more than two or three Elfin males to help her, and I’m thinking they won’t be military. Nae, she will use the very dregs of her society and pay them, so escaping should be easy, as we will stay in the netting ‘til then.”