Where Loyalties Lie (boyxboy)

Chapter Nine

Aldrian was laying on his back staring at the ceiling in the tiny cell. The throbbing of his fingers and the pangs of hunger had dulled to a constant ache that let him know he was still alive. There were an increasingly alarming amount of blank spaces in his memory. Things he couldn't remember. He didn't know what happened after Firen, that horrible man, had given him the truth serum. But Aldrian supposed he... told the truth. Which probably made the man angry because the truth was obviously not what he wanted to hear.

Maybe he should try making something up. Maybe it would get him out of this place faster.

There was a clanking of metal outside that Aldrian knew meant his door was being unlocked. Pretty soon Firen would probably be dragging him back to that interrogation room. The door opened and closed. To Aldrian's surprise, he wasn't immediately yanked out of the room. Instead Firen walked over to him, slow and calculating, and kneeled down next to him. The man looked down at him ice in his eyes with emotions just as cold, "You know, you've really brought this on yourself," he admonished like a father scolding his reckless son. His tone of voice was so different than his hard facial expressions, it caused Aldrian to focus all his attention on the man.

When he did, Aldrian saw in Firen's hand was something that looked like an ornate silver collar. The complex crossing of metal on the jewelry made it look like a well-crafted fishing net or a spider's web. It was pretty. And Aldrian was sure he'd hate it.

Firen opened the collar up and reached down to put it around the boy's neck. He was absolutely shocked when Aldrian did nothing more than stare up at him as he did this. Most magic users did anything in their power to keep a nullifier off of them. It was almost like the kid didn't even recognize the agonizing piece of jewelry.

Once he had the nullifier positioned correctly on Aldrian, Firen locked the collar in place activating its horrible purpose. He decided he'd stay for a little and watch the destruction of this youth. Then he'd leave and see how the kid was fairing with the nullifier after a day or so.

As soon as the collar was around his neck Aldrian could feel that something wasn't right. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like something was being taken from deep inside him. There was a deep ache forming in his very core. What was happening? Aldrian whimpered curling in on himself but it did nothing to soothe the deep internal pain.

Firen felt a satisfied smirk tug at his lips as the kid curled in on himself. Soon he was crying pathetically, begging for the pain to stop. Then, amazingly, the glamour upon him started to flicker.

It felt like a sword had been plunged straight through Aldrian. He screamed in agony. The sword twisted and Aldrian swore he could hear himself ripping in two. He cried for the pain to stop. For it to go away. Begged. He knew Firen could make it stop. He tried to look at the man to beg him to make the pain stop but Aldrian couldn't see clearly past the tears in his eyes. And speech was almost impossible through the stabs of pain. He managed a few unintelligible words.

Pain was all he knew.

The kid's glamour lifted when the last of his active magic was ripped from him. His appearance left Firen gaping. In front of him was the spitting image of the oath-breaker. Aldrian's hair had lengthened and became a shocking shade of red. His skin was so pale he'd probably glow in the moonlight and Firen knew if his eyes were open they'd be the same murderous red as his hair.

There was no doubt about it: this kid was the oath-breaker. Firen never would have guessed the traitorous elf would look so young. Anger like he had never felt coursed through Firen. This kid deserved to suffer. He was responsible for the death of the king! For throwing their whole kingdom into turmoil.