❝𝘼 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖❞

Chapter 15: Fighting Inside

"My lord, the prisoner." Ch'ren announced formally as he entered the tent with Will in tow, suppressed in the middle of two Temujai soldiers.

At a signal from the Kaijin, the two soldiers let Will stand on his own, but staying within easy reach of him, ready to stop him at any moment.

"Sit." Ka'zhak said. There was a seat across his low table.

Will held the man's gaze for a minute before quietly taking the seat.

The Kaijin did not immediately start speaking, instead letting his eyes rove over the young man for a long while in silence.

"Have you not wondered that your friend has ignored and abandoned you?" He said at length, softly.

Will frowned, wondering at the motive that the Temujai leader had for asking him any such thing. "Well I assumed that you have been keeping him occupied, what with you being his enemy."

"Then you would be disappointed to know that he had been staying completely under the shadows of the great hall of Hallasholm for that past ten days? Fully with the ability to come and seek you out, I may add."

Will said nothing. Perhaps he does not mean it, yet from his words Will could collect certain amounts of information.

"Well? Why is your friend shrinking back? Surely he knows by now that you are imprisoned?"

"It occurs to me," Will said carefully, "my lord Kaijin, that if you seek to draw the Skandians out of their fortress, for whatever reason you may have, and make it so blindingly obvious, a true Ranger of Araluen would never fall for it."

At once, the Temuj's face darkened in anger, and for a moment he found no words. Then he decided to change his tactics. "Fool. That accursed Ranger may see through the plot, but soon, he shall have no power left in the court of the Skandians. You shall see. Now tell me, what would most provoke those ship-handlers? Or what, if such a thing existed, would provoke your friend?"

Will said nothing.

"Speak." Ka'zhak thundered suddenly.

Still silence.

"If you do not tell me—" he began through gritted teeth.

"You could not do anything to me," Will ended for him, "Because without me you would never know."

"I could take away your food, I could have you whipped." The man replied coldly.

Will shrugged, completely nonchalant. "You already give me too little food anyway. As for whipping, it's not as if I hadn't been whipped before."

Ka'zhak glared at him, then said, "At least tell me, the fletching of the arrows of the Atabi, are they different for each warrior?"

Will said nothing. He feared that the Kaijin had already guessed what would most provoke Halt. Himself. If the Kaijin guessed this and decided to use his arrows as bait to draw Halt from Hallasholm, he feared that it would be a success. It must have already taken a great amount of will, and consolation for Alyss, to stay for as long as he did.

Ka'zhak was staring at Will as these thoughts passed through his mind. Slowly, to the great dread of the young Ranger, the man's eyes dropped down and fixed onto a point on his neck.

The point where a small part of the chain for his silver oak-leaf came out above his collar.

"What is that thing around your neck?" Ka'zhak said softly, his voice seeming to drip with deadly venom in Will's mind.

A cold fear took root.

"What? That's nothing." Will said, but he knew well enough how terrible that lie was.