Master of None (36 page)

“Patience, my hot-blooded pet,” Lenka said. “It will be time to hurt them soon.”

I pulled a grimace. “Can we reschedule? I have a hot date.”

Trevor grabbed a handful of shirt, hauled me up, and backhanded me with the gun. Lightning flashed through my head and sizzled across my vision.

“Enough,” Lenka commanded. “Bind him, and summon your men.”

“Fine.”

Trevor dropped me. I landed hard and coughed out a spray of blood. He stalked over to the restraint collection, grabbed a length of rope, and returned to kick me facedown, then knelt on my back and started tying.

“Get the pendant from him,” Lenka said when he finished.

Trevor got the right pocket on the first try. He tossed Shamil’s tether to Lenka and pulled a phone from his back pocket. He dialed and almost immediately barked, “Get your asses down here, right now.”

“Now, then.” Lenka moved toward the alcove, where Shamil remained bound and unconscious. “I have little use for the
sharmoot
now, save for one last infusion. And so I will allow
him to keep this.” He snapped the cord, reached in, and tied it tight around Shamil’s neck.

Ian loosed a wordless roar. He almost managed to stand. But almost wasn’t enough.

“You are displeased?” Lenka sneered. “I have returned his tether to him. I cannot be blamed that he does not take advantage of the opportunity.”

“You’ve not changed, Lenka. You and your kin have always excelled at crushing the weak and defenseless.” Ian paused for a wheezing breath. “Face me fairly. Prove you can best me, as you failed to do before.”

Lenka’s smile didn’t waver. “I swear it will be done, and soon. Perhaps sooner than you may wish, Gahiji-an.” He pulled something from his robes with a showman’s gesture. A short, curved knife. Turning back toward the still form in the alcove, he reached up into the shadows and came back with a gold-plated goblet. He pushed the cup against Shamil’s stomach and sliced his flesh just above the rim.

Shamil’s head flew up, tilted back. The cord prevented him from making a sound as his blood pulsed into the goblet. Shock kept me from screaming obscenities, and Ian groaned in sympathy.

“Come and drink, my pet.” Lenka gestured at Trevor.

As Trevor made his way across the room with faint disgust stamped on his features, the sound of an opening door drifted down the stairs. Heavy footsteps followed. Four thugs filed into the basement, Leonard among them.

Trevor took the cup. He finished fast and dashed it aside. “Happy?”

“Nearly.” Lenka’s expression lost its amusement. He pointed at the thugs. “Bring them to the sitting room, and
search them both. We will join you shortly. I want full power to deal with them.”

The goons split two and two. Of course, I got the pair with Leonard. They each grabbed an arm and dragged me toward the stairs. I couldn’t have walked if I’d wanted to, but some of the feeling was starting to flood back into my limbs. It wasn’t a warm, soothing feeling.

But I didn’t exactly expect a massage and a foot rub in my immediate future.

Being tied to a chair wasn’t a new experience for me. Last time, though, I hadn’t been naked. Well, I was almost naked. They let me keep my drawers on, but it didn’t make the wooden seat any softer or less cold. My ass had fallen asleep by the time Trevor and Lenka entered the room.

“Found this on him.” Leonard approached Lenka with the fake tether—for all the good it’d do. Having a dupe now defeated the purpose. They’d figure it out pretty quickly when Ian didn’t die.

Lenka took it with raised eyebrows. He stared at Ian, who’d been tied on his feet to one of the pillars across the room. “What a shame. I had thought you a better strategist, Gahiji-an. Unless this is another of your tricks?”

“You are too quick for me, Lenka.” Ian’s words sank under the weight of his sarcasm. “I question how I have managed to evade you for so long.”

Lenka fell silent. His gaze traveled the room slowly, as if he was searching for the perfect tool to teach Ian some manners. Finally, he waved a hand at the two remaining thugs. “Leave us.
I want everyone up and on guard. Search the grounds—these two may have brought reinforcements.”

My last spark of hope was snuffed out with his orders. We were all dead.

The thugs filed out and closed the door behind them. Lenka looked from Ian to me and back. “I do not trust you not to lie, Dehbei scum. Perhaps this is your tether, perhaps not. We shall find out soon.” He moved toward Ian. “If this is not your tether, I will enjoy persuading you to locate it for me.”

Ian pulled a smile. “You have gotten uglier since I saw you last.”

“I take pride in my clan, Dehbei,” Lenka snarled. “Your appearance is disgusting. You degrade yourself, aping these pitiful humans.” He pointed a finger and murmured.

Ian screamed and writhed against the ropes holding him.

“Ah. It has been long since I cast a flame curse. How satisfying.” After a long minute, Lenka gestured. Ian slumped immediately. “Do not trouble yourself thinking you will die in the same manner as your father,
rayan
.” The djinn word fell heavy with mockery. “No. I have something special in mind for you. Something that will take far longer.”

“Gods curse you.” Ian gasped. “Or better yet, allow me.”

His lips moved. One hand shifted in the ropes. Lenka’s mouth opened, and thick black fluid poured out to splash down his robes.

Garbled sounds rose from the Morai’s throat. He dropped to one knee and clapped a hand over his mouth. The black stuff leaked from his nostrils and seeped between his fingers. It dribbled from his eyes like black tears. I had no idea what that gunk was, but it looked as if it hurt. And I didn’t think Ian knew any destructive spells. Too bad he never got to show me that one.

Now I knew why he hadn’t done anything in the basement. He must’ve been conserving what he could for this.

Lenka raised his free hand and gestured with a cutting motion. The black flow ceased. He coughed once, rose to his feet, and murmured in djinn. The streaks and splashes of liquid decorating his face and clothing seemed to be absorbed back into him. His lips peeled back in a sharp-toothed smile. “Well done,
rayan
. A flawlessly executed soul drain. Quite futile, as you see, but you showed excellent form. However, I would suggest that you conserve your power for what is yet to come.”

Despite looking like overworked bread dough, Ian sneered. “I am surprised that you still have a soul to drain, snake.”

“There is no need to flatter me,” Lenka said. “Now, then. A test.”

He drew the fake dagger and plunged it into Ian’s chest.

I bit back a scream of my own. Whether it was some aspect of our relation or just plain empathy, I felt echoes of every blow Ian took. But he didn’t voice this one. Blood bubbled from his mouth in place of sound. Bastard must’ve punctured a lung.

And Ian would live. Lucky him.

Lenka wrenched the dagger free. He wiped the blood from it on Ian’s pants and inspected the gleaming blade with the care of a suspicious dealer sniffing for counterfeits. “This does not carry your mark.” He flashed a cruel smile. “We will have to do this the hard way.”

Trevor glanced at Lenka. “The thief might know something.”

“All right, pet. I will leave it to you to find out.”

From the look on Trevor’s face, he’d just won the lottery. And once again, I held the losing ticket.

T
IME
DOESN’T FLY WHEN YOU’RE BEING TORTURED
.

The grandfather clock near the mantle claimed only thirty minutes had passed—at least, it had the last time I could see clearly. Which might have been a few hours ago. In that time, I’d gained at least two broken bones, along with other assorted injuries, and lost two fingernails.

Ian was ahead of me. I wasn’t sure how many bones he’d broken, but Lenka seemed to enjoy the fingernail-ripping game. He’d taken seven of Ian’s so far.

“Maybe I’m going too fast. Should we slow down, Mr. Donatti?”

“Why? You getting tired?” I didn’t bother turning my head to look at him. It hurt too much. “Take your time,” I muttered. “Don’t have plans for tonight.”

“Once again, then. Where is that tether?”

“On the moon. Third crater to the right.”

Trevor gave a disappointed sigh. “This one’s going to be difficult. They’re always hardest to rip free. You see, they tend to stick at the cuticle.”

He grabbed my thumb and clamped it to the arm of the chair. The pliers settled at the tip of the nail. “Are you sure you don’t want to modify your response?”

“No, thanks, Regis. That’s my final answer.”

Part of my mind begged me to spill, or at least force my mouth to stop making it worse. But my gears were stuck in auto-kiss-my-ass.

“Well, then. If you insist.”

For an instant, I thought Trevor grinned at me. Then the pain came. No other senses existed. He did this one slowly, and I felt every centimeter of torn skin. Hot blood gushed over my
thumb like the world’s smallest volcano. Finally, as Trevor had promised, it stuck at the cuticle. He yanked it free and dropped the bloodied bit into my lap with the other two.

Would’ve bit my tongue, but I needed all my strength to scream.

I couldn’t understand why I was still conscious. Why I bothered expending the effort to stay alive. It was over. We’d been reduced to euphemisms. Entered the eleventh hour. The fat lady had sung. Time had run out.

If only that were true. But time insisted on continuing, and pain rode the minutes like a desperate whore.

Eventually, I realized why I hadn’t confessed the location of Ian’s tether yet. Trevor hadn’t promised to kill me if I told him. He didn’t even try to lie and say he would. As Skids had me back when the world was normal, he just wanted to hurt me. Extensively.

He’d gotten his wish.

Trevor’s face loomed into my blotchy vision. His lips moved. That probably meant he was saying something. I laughed at my own joke, a rusted wheeze that showered splinters through my chest.

My amusement cost me another fingernail. On the plus side, I couldn’t scream anymore.

For an instant, gray haze obscured my vision. Then something harsh stabbed my nostrils. It felt like a urine-coated fork. My breath quickened, and my eyes flew open. I hadn’t realized they’d closed in the first place.

Trevor held a small glass bottle under my nose. Industrial-strength smelling salts, with extra ammonia.

“Wake up, Mr. Donatti.”

I blinked at him. “What’s up? Time for breakfast?”

He slapped me. Constellations exploded behind my eyes. “Your attitude isn’t doing you any favors.”

“Very osser . . . obber . . . smart of you.” I shook my head. Some of the stars went out. “This is pretty stupid, Trevor. I’m not telling you. Don’t you have better things to do? Terrorize businesses, scare little kids . . .”

Renewed screams drifted across the room from Ian’s side. I managed not to vomit, but it was close.

Trevor pushed the bloodied point of the pliers into the hollow of my throat. He didn’t break skin, but air refused to pass in or out. “If I don’t get anywhere with you, I’ll just have to keep you alive until I can find your son.”

He pulled back. A coughing fit scalded my lungs and prevented my reply. I almost went for the taunt, almost said he’d never find Cyrus. Instead, I decided to bluff. “Tell you where he is,” I said. “Won’t matter. He’s already dead. Jazz, too,” I added as an afterthought. Might as well bluff big.

“You lie.” He slammed the pliers down on the table he’d dragged over to hold his toys and my body parts and picked up the Taser. Juiced me forever and a few extra seconds.

“Dead,” I gasped when my teeth stopped chattering. “We tried to hide ’em. The digie . . . genies, they don’ like human visitors. They k-killed both. Of them. Second they crossed.” I didn’t have to manufacture the misery in my voice. No matter what happened, Jazz and Cyrus were dead to me. I’d never see them again.

Incredibly, Trevor bought it. Or seemed to.

“Well, Mr. Donatti.” He replaced the Taser and crouched to eye level with me. “I suppose you’re right. There’s no point in continuing when you have nothing to lose.”

I didn’t dare agree out loud.

“So it comes to this. Tell me where his tether is, and I’ll kill you right now.”

My lips stretched without my permission. “Liar.”

Trevor laughed. “Right again. But you might as well tell me anyway.”

“Why?” I croaked. “Why do you hate me so much? It’s not like I kicked your dogs, raped your wife. If you had one. I only lost a lousy knife.”

His eyes glittered. “And I paid for it. You have no idea.” Trevor darted a glance across the room, as if he expected Lenka was listening. “He’s in my head,” he hissed. “Constantly. Inside me. It’s agonizing. He won’t leave until he gets this lousy knife.”

A nauseating stench invaded my nostrils. At first, I thought he’d shoved the smelling salts up my nose, but the thick, bittersweet odor didn’t slice like ammonia. It reminded me of an outdoor barbecue. I finally realized it came from Trevor. Everywhere the snake markings had been, his flesh had warped, cracked, or outright melted. His torso glimmered with a mixture of fluids. Some of it was blood. I couldn’t tell what the greenish-yellow gunk was, but it probably shouldn’t have been seeping from his wounds like that.