Free Chains of Loss by Robert

expression stayed neutral.  “Intriguing.  What was this…phenomenal secret?”
    “He had contact with a group of saboteurs.  Four people, one of them a rikari, planning to smuggle in weapons and poisons.”
    “Infiltrating across the Blight...curious.  And you caught them?”
    “All but that rikari, and he won’t stay a mystery for long!”  He gestured towards the cell.  “Let’s see what we can learn.”
    “Yes.  Let’s.” 
    The door clicked and swung open by itself, and Vhaes pushed past the human into the cell.  The smell of fresh blood hit Khevalis and he swallowed hard to keep from drooling, then focused on taking deep breaths.  He tried to ignore the smell.  The master knew of his unusually powerful sense of smell, usually paying it no mind, but he would be disappointed if Khevalis lost control.
      The prisoners were bound to chairs, blindfolded and gagged.  Blood stained two of the chairs and pooled on the floor beneath.
    Vhaes proceeded to the unstained chair.  The prisoner cringed at the sound of his voice..  “This one.  What can you tell me of him?”
    “That’s Donner.  He’s the first one I caught.  When he knew the game was up, he threw himself at my mercy and confessed everything.  He’s been a little gold mine of information.”
    “What does he do?”
    “Huh?”  The question had caught the human off guard. 
    “He lives in my city.  What service does he provide?  It may mitigate his sentence if he is…useful.”
    “But he’s a traitor!”
    “Indeed he is.  It does not mean that I shall kill him if he learns the error of his ways.”
    “But—okay.  I don’t know what he does.”
    “Pity.  And the next?”  He pointed.
    “Fritzer.  He needed some persuasion, but he confirmed the names of the other three.”
    “And this would be Charmichael then?”  The human nodded his confirmation.  “What have you learned from him?”
    “He’s been stubborn.  Don’t worry.  He’ll crack.”
    “It looks like you’ve done well.  What reward do you ask for?”
    “Take me as one of your servants, lord!”
    “Hmm.”  Vhaes stroked the human’s cheek with the sides of his gauntlet’s spikes.  “You wish to skip the supplicant phase entirely, to pass the Favored and the Adepts and join those who walk in the darkness?”
    “Yes, lord.  I would serve you this way!”
    “And this…Adelen?  What do you know of him?”
    “He’s one of your rikari.  I don’t know anything else about him.  I could take his place, lord!”
    “Do you play chess?”
    “What?”
    “Chess.  The little game with the pieces and the board and the kings.  Do you play it?”
    “No, lord.”
    “Then you’d hardly replace him.”  Vhaes stepped over to Charmichael and deftly sliced open the gag.  “What do you do with Adelen?”
    The human spat out the gag and wheezed.  “Play chess…twice a week…”
    Rostok glowered.  “He’s lying.”
    Vhaes shook his head.  “No, he’s not.  I can always detect a lie.  Surely you were warned of this.”  The master turned his gaze on the human. 
    “I—my lord—of course I knew that!  Everyone does!”
    “You just disregarded it.  Thought it wouldn’t happen to you.  How… human of you.”
    “My lord?”
    “Nothing you’ve told me was true except that you learned names from poor Gary Donner, the weaver.  You abandoned the post my agents paid you to hold, came here, collared someone you thought could be threatened and tortured his friends to try to get them to agree.  Then you would have had me execute one of my rikari so you could take his place among the immortals.”
    “No, lord!  I beg you, believe me!  Adelen is truly plotting against you!” 
    “That is unlikely.  Before I came to power, I did not have the right to be called Vhaes.  Adelen was my name then, and is the name these men know me by.  You’ve captured, tortured and interrogated my chess team . 
    “You weren’t trustworthy enough