Isaac blushed a deep cherry red, Amaedus burst out into laughter, doubling over and holding his ribs, pointing at Isaac. “You must admit, my friend,” the king said when he could breathe again, “he got you very good.”
Isaac laughed mockingly, dropping the harpy back down to the tile, where she whimpered as the hot stone touched her skin. Ignotius knelt next to her, staring deep into her all-black eyes. “You said you come with a message?”
“I do,” she wheezed, turning onto her back and hopping to her feet. Her wings and hands were tied so she could not fly, and Ignotius obliged her to stand. “I will only deliver it to the king,” she said, raising her chin defiantly.
Amaedus moved forward, laying a hand on Ignotius' shoulder. “The king is here, creature. Speak your message.”
The harpy laughed gently, hopping forward slightly, until the tip of Ignotius' poked into her chin. “Come no closer,” he ordered, and she complied.
“I come with a message from one who would see you fall. Your wife is of a lower class, you have debased yourself by your friendship with this,” she spit at Isaac's feet, “human lover, and you neglect the sovereignty of your own species. The one who sends me says that he will remove you from your throne and sit on it himself.”
Ignotius pressed the tip of the spear into her throat a bit harder, drawing a bead of black blood. “Take care the way you speak to the king, creature, or I will separate your head from your shoulders. Your message is why you still live, but your message will fail to be delivered once your head has been severed for speaking in such a manner.”
Isaac stepped forward sharply, coming between Ignotius and the harpy. “Wait, Ignotius.” He turned to Amaedus. “Bud, don't you think we should take her back to the palace and interrogate her there? I'm sure you have someone who can extract all of her secrets.”
Amaedus smiled. “The only one I would trust to remove her secrets currently has a spear to her neck, but I think you may be right. Let us be off before the owner of this villa wonders why it sounds as if someone is tap-dancing on his roof, and comes up to see three strange men arguing with something he cannot see.”
Ignotius nodded and proffered an arm, which both vampire and sorcerer latched onto. He pulled the spear from the harpy's throat and detached the halves, hanging them on his belt again before grasping the curve of the creature's leathery wing. With a thought they were in a cell in the palace dungeon, and Ignotius released the beast, then another brought them to just outside the cell's door.
“I'd like to come with you if that's okay, Ignotius,” Isaac said, removing his jacket and leaving it on a hook next to the door.
“Master Isaac, I give you my word, no harm will come to your new love, and she will be back to warming your bed by nightfall. I prefer to do this alone.”
Amaedus chuckled. “Ignotius, leave the poor man alone. I would rather he accompany you as well, considering that we do not want to cross her master, her real one, and Isaac being there will ensure he can say nothing toward our treatment of her.”
“And what of the twenty-nine of them I left dead in Naples?”
“Casualties of battle.”
Ignotius bowed. “And may I have full reign with my interrogation?”
Amaedus looked thoughtful for a moment. He sighed, and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “As long as she is alive at then end of it.”
Ignotius bowed again, Amaedus walked off, toward the stairs and the upper floors, while Isaac cracked his knuckles and squared his shoulders. “Okay, so, I'll be the bad cop, and you be the good cop.”
Ignotius sighed, rolling his eyes. “You must be sure to let me know how that turns out for you.”
Turning toward the enchanted glass that made up one wall of the cell, he walked straight through it, his skin tingling as he passed. Isaac cocked his head to the side and followed, but he slammed into the clear pane instead, his face pressing against the barrier before he bounced off with a curse, blood leaking from his nose. He pinched his nostrils closed and tilted his head back, moaning in pain. “Um, Ignotius,” he said, his voice tinny. “How do I get through?”
“Heal your nose first, sorcerer. I will not have you bleeding all over the prisoner.”
Isaac nodded and did so, the flow of blood halting at a wave of his hand. “May I come in now?”
Ignotius rolled his eyes again, and spoke in a loud voice. “Et per hunc.”
“That's it?” Isaac asked. “A bit of Latin?”
Ignotius nodded, and Isaac came forward again, slamming into the glass once more, his nose bursting anew with crimson blood, only this time he fell on his ass, slamming into the ground with a thump and a yelp of pain. The blood flowed down his chin and onto his questionably clean shirt, seeping in to the fabric. Isaac healed his nose again and stood, breathing heavily. “Ignotius,” he said irritably. “I do not care for your games. Grant me entrance!”
Ignotius bowed, his poker-face a stone mask over the hilarity he had just witnessed. “I apologize, Master Isaac, I am not sure why the spell did not work. Please, try after I say the spell again.”
Isaac nodded, Ignotius said the spell again, and Isaac came forward tentatively, reaching his hand toward the clear glass. It passed through this time, and he stepped through fully, never noticing Ignotius' hand touching the pane as well. The glass was enchanted to let specific people through only, and visitors had to be accompanied through, or one of the authorized beings had to touch the glass to allow them entrance.
The harpy was pressed against the back wall, the ropes still binding her, and Ignotius stood in front of her, arms crossed over his chest. “You will answer my questions as concisely as possible. Do not lie or stall, or I will cause you pain. Know this, creature, I can gain the answers without even asking you, but I would prefer you spoke them before I must resort to biting you.”
The harpy nodded, trying to back even further away from the vampire, but only ending up in the stone corner of the cell. “I do not know the one who sent us, I was only told that we were to kill the king. We were told that a usurper wanted the throne, and that we were to give him a message of those intentions if we failed to kill him.”
“What did he look like?” Isaac asked.
“We never saw his face, only a red cloak and hood. He promised us shelter knowing that our true master abandoned us long ago.”
“You would not be lying to me, would you?” Ignotius asked, kneeling down to her level and placing a bony finger beneath her chin, raising her eyes to his.
“I have told all I know,” the harpy shivered.
“Then that is all we need. You will stay here until the king has decided what to do with you.” With that Ignotius turned and walked from the cell, Isaac on his heels. Ignotius passed through the barrier, smiling slightly when a thump, a curse, and then a second thump sounded as the man fell on his rump, and he could smell the sorcerer's blood once more.
A cry of “dammit, Ignotius!” echoed through the dungeon before the vampire masked his smile again, then turned to let the young man out of the cell once more.
