style="font-size:15px;"> The young woman’s red hair was plastered to her filthy, tear-stained face. Her dress, once obviously very expensive, was torn from hem to waist, and she tried in vain to hide the bruises on her long legs.
“It’s her!” Sorgius said quietly in the voice of a man who knows he is doomed.
“Are you sure?” Vordius turned to him. “Really sure?”
“Absolutely,” he answered flatly.
“We’ve got you now!” Vordius grinned, turning back to the girl. “It’s good to see you again, Fenia Brazelo. Do you remember me?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “You tried to kill my brother, you vile piece of work! I’ll squeeze you so hard your heart will pop out of your mouth!” The young woman turned her face away.
“Stop it, Vordius,” Sorgius said in a voice that was still quiet, but suddenly firm. “Can’t you see she’s terrified? And she’s been beaten.”
“Let’s finish her off!” the guardsman cried, never taking his eyes off his target. “We’ve got her, Sorgius! The one who poisoned Uni!”
“We aren’t scum like those out there,” Sorgius nodded at the door.
“You’re right, of course,” Vordius agreed, “but what I see in front of me is one filthy hag. And I swear by the Emperor’s crown that she’ll tell me everything she knows and then I’ll…”
“And then what? Don’t you understand? That’s exactly what they want us to do.”
“What?” Vordius turned from the girl to his friend and back.
Sorgius’ voice got stronger. “Unlike some people, who let their anger get the best of them, I’ve given some thought to what is really going on here.”
“And?” the guardsman asked, scratching his shoulder.
“They tossed her in here for a reason. They want us to make short work of her ourselves!”
“But why? What would they gain by it?”
“Don’t you see? Imagine you’re Asp and the Imperial Guards are looking for a girl who did a dirty job for you. That makes her a problem, and you don’t need problems. So they grabbed her and knocked her around until she told them everything she knew. Then they tossed her in here for us to finish her off. Even if we manage to get away, we won’t be able to tell anyone what we found out because we’ll be charged with murder.”
“That’s a bunch of complicated nonsense.”
“Maybe it is, but I recommend talking to her peacefully. After all…”
Vordius put a palm to his forehead. “Of course. You’re always the lover, and you didn’t get enough small talk with her last time.”
Sorgius grimaced, “Don’t give me that garbage. You’ve known me too long for that. Save it to tell as a joke when we get out of here. Now move out of the way!” He pushed his friend aside and took his place.
“Hello,” he said, bending down and looking a little embarrassed.
Fenia stared out from behind her dirty hair with a hunted look. In better days, she would have tossed her hair over her shoulder with an elegant motion of her small head or blown it out of her face impatiently. Now, her dirty, greasy hair was the only thing between her and these frighteningly aggressive men, and she hid behind it in hopes of saving her fragile world from destruction.
“Please just listen to me,” Sorgius went on. “We are very worried about our friend Uni. Someone poisoned him while we were at the Fish. The only thing we want is to find out who ordered it and prove his guilt. You were just carrying out someone’s orders, weren’t you?”
The girl nodded.
“Then you have no reason to fear us.”
Fenia froze for an instant and stared up at Vordius.
“Take three steps back, please,” Sorgius instructed him without turning around.
The guardsman scowled, shrugged, and measured off the required distance with his boots.
“Please, go on,” he said in a falsely sweet voice. “I won’t watch.”
Sorgius bit his lip and looked down. Then he raised his eyes to the girl’s face. “He won’t yell at you again. Isn’t that better?” he asked softly.
She closed her eyes and nodded. Her shoulders started to shake.
“We’re in the same boat,” Sorgius went on. “And there’s nothing any of us can do about it. But I promise neither of us will hurt you. If you want, I’ll leave you alone and you can sit here by yourself. Would you like that?”
Fenia shuddered and looked up at him. “Don’t leave!” she said with obvious effort.
It was only then that Sorgius noticed that her lips were puffy. A backhand blow, he mused. It doesn’t look like her teeth are broken. That’s good.
“I won’t leave you,” he said quickly. “But I will sit down, if you don’t mind, before my legs fall asleep,” and he groaned as he arranged himself in a seated position on the cold floor. “That’s better!”
For a while, they stared at each other in silence. Then, Fenia looked down and tried to wipe away her tears with a filthy shoulder. It didn’t go well.
“Can I help you?” Sorgius asked. “I can untie your hands.”
She looked back at him, but her eyes fell again. The Vuravian realized that her arms were tied behind her back, like his had been. And he remembered how ridiculous he had felt when the ruffians released him.
After an uncomfortable silence, he said “Listen, Fenia, we have to get those cords off your wrists. If we don’t, they’ll leave scars right where everyone will see them.”
The young woman’s face remained blank.
“Let’s do this. I’ll take a step back. Then you turn around and show me your hands, and I’ll do my best to get the cords off.”
She stood up.
“That’s right. Face the middle of the room.”
Fenia froze.
“Vordius, go stand in a corner. That’s a fellow.”
When he knelt in front of her, Sorgius caught a whiff of her incense, and it was incongruous given the circumstances, reminding him of that evening at the Fish and the continuation that had never happened. He would have given a great deal to return to that evening!
The knot was impossibly tight, and Sorgius’ well-groomed fingernails were not up to the task. Fenia looked over her shoulder to monitor the process.
“I know I’m not wanted, but perhaps I could help?” Vordius inquired from his corner. As a guardsman, he knew the art of making knots and untying them like no one else.
Fenia jumped away.
“Stop
