Blood and Gold

The Fox

The figure wasted no more than a moment to make their hand glow a deep orange color and press it to my temple. I opened my eyes again to find myself, yet again, tied to a chair with a cloth refraining me from speaking.

Soros. I tried searching for the bird, while scanning my surroundings.

Dark room, no lights. Shuffling of boots on stone flooring. Wood creaking. My heart pounded in my throat as I tried to keep myself from panicking. I teared up when a single light illuminated the limp body of my feathered guide off to my right.

I tried to shout, but it just came out as a muffled slurring of sounds.

"Quit squirming." A cold, sharp piece of metal touched my throat. "I won't hesitate."

"Now, Dahlia, don't forget that we only want answers." A smooth voice sounded from above. A thud in front of me was followed by a light flickering on. "Tell me, Theron. How'd you go about killing Aston Froste?"

She had long, dark red hair, glowing orange eyes, and a mask covering her lower face. The way she talked felt like she was trying to lure me in. The cloth that kept me from speaking dropped. She wanted me to talk.

"Kidnapping isn't really the best way to talk." I pointed out, locking eyes with the woman in front of me.

I was without my weapons, but they'd forgotten to remove my bracer. I'd started sleeping with it on since killing The Wolf.

"I only want to know how someone as insignificant as you managed to kill the man that found all of his pride in fighting."

"It was easy." I snarled, "He was drunk, clumsy, It didn't take too much effort to stab him."

The woman took a breath, "Do you have any idea who I am?" The knife against my throat pressed into my skin ever so slightly.

"No." She nodded, humming in expectancy. "But I know the bloodthirsty bitch with a knife is Dahlia."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why did you kill Aston?"

"It was my job." I explained, leveling my tone. "Nothing else."

"I know there's more to it than that." She leaned closer to me. "You don't have to lie to me, Theron."

I looked her up and down. "I'm not."

After she took a few seconds of contemplation, she said, "My name is Alvina Foxe." I took a second to find any familiarity with the name. I came up blank. "You would probably refer to me as my code name. Want to take a guess?"

I figured that she was part of The Fang when she mentioned Aston, but I didn't know anything besides the lowest three members; The Fox, and The Lizard. I took my chances.

"The Fox?" She lowered her mask, revealing a pretty nose with a black ring in the septum, soft looking lips, a line of faint freckles, and an acid scar across her left cheek that made her skin bubbly and warped. She looked a year or two older than me. And if it weren't for her scar, pretty much anyone would find her attractive.

"Creative." I watched her pierced eyebrows furrow again. "Like, you have a cool ass acid scar, and you literally just used your last name. What? All the poison related names taken or something?"

She clearly didn't find my comment funny, because next thing I knew, there was a dagger between my thighs and a hand replacing the blade on my throat.

"I bet you think you're funny." She had one hand on the chair behind me, her foot on the other side next to my hip.

"A little yeah." I interrupted, which just earned me a tighter grip on my neck.

"Since my name isn't ringing a bell, I'll let you know. I am the creator of over half of the poison recipes used today. I've concocted a liquid weapon coating that could kill you in an instant."