“What?Smile?”Kira asked.
“Yes.”
She didn’t know why.Kira had her own version of that smile.One that said she was looking forward to taking apart whoever that smile was aimed at.Slowly.Painfully.With great attention to detail.
All the Curs did.
Now that he was a real boy, Jin would have to work on a smile of his own.
“We only really have one question for you,” Raider said conversationally.“I suggest you answer it.”
“You’re just going to kill me anyway.”
“Probably,” Raider mused.“But there’s death—and then there’s torture.I guarantee the former will be a lot less painful.”
“I could help you.I know things.”
“That’s debatable.Either way, relationships are built on trust.And, friend, your credibility is at zero,” Raider said, not unsympathetically.
The man spat in Raider’s face.
Kira made a regretful noise in the back of her throat.“That’s too bad.”
Not smart.Not smart at all.
Raider was motionless, his eyes cold and dead as he stared at the man, letting the spit ooze down his cheek.
Jin gagged.“Wipe it off, for goodness’ sake.”
“What’s the matter?Got a problem with bodily fluids?”
“Not just him,” Bez said, staring at Raider like he’d never seen him before.
Raider’s chuckle made the human’s expression change from defiance to caution.He flinched as Raider slowly reached up to wipe the spit away.
“You’ll have to forgive my companions.”Raider’s smile was back again.It deepened, becoming scarier.“Their stomachs are a touch weak.Too weak for what needs to be done.That’s okay though.I’m here.”
Bez’s stare was growing increasingly strange the longer Raider talked.
“Just so you know, we don’t really need your answer,” Raider informed the human.“This is more of a courtesy than anything.Torture is such ugly business.I like to avoid it when I can.”
Raider had the human right where he wanted him—hanging on his every word.
“You see—we already know most of what we need to know,” Raider explained.
The man finally reacted.“Bullshit.”
“Tell me if we get anything wrong,” Raider invited.“You and your friends are part of a pirate clan that operates out of Titan.One of your buddies had a tattoo of a skull and a belladonna flower on his forearm.Someone sent you here to attack a bunch of wizards.You took a man hostage.Big guy.Kind of scary.”
By now, the human was barely breathing.
“Do you know why they left you and the rest behind?Because you’re expendable.”Raider watched the other man with a savagery that he usually kept carefully contained.“How did I do?Did I get anything wrong?”
“Look at his face,” Jin taunted.“I’m guessing you got it in one.”
Raider winked at the human.“I told you I already knew everything.”
The man had finally come to the realization that he wasn’t making it off this planet.He was going to die here.
