“The way I see it, he is more preoccupied with getting his next quick fix. The man is a chaos addict, and does nothing but crosses names on his hunter list. Tight on vendetta, he has no time for us. I say it’s high time we take control and make our own decisions. Clave is only around to bark orders at us. Where is he now? If it wasn’t for us taking the front seat and finding that one connection to the High Order, we would have been here twiddling our thumbs, trying to come up with a way to bring HO down and finally end this war for good.”
“You shut up!” Lanette roared. “If it wasn’t for Clave, you wouldn’t even be here! And neither would I! So why don’t you keep shitty comments like that about him out of your mouth before you regret it!”
“Easy, mouse,” Pixie said calmly, trying to deflate her. “Gam is just frustrated, isn’t that right, Gam?”
Hell, I didn’t have to even look to catch that deadly vibe Pixie was giving Gam. Talk about a silent threat!
Gam replied, a bit choked up, “Yea, that it…”
“We all want our mother Mavriel to heal, and are tired of no results.”
“Well, how about that guy you mentioned, Syodas?” Gam suggested, the sound of my name making my head turn.
Pixie scoffed. “What about him?”
“Do you think he is on the same trail as us? Or do you think he was sent by the council? You said something about not being sure, and—”
“He is from the council!” Lanette boomed. “Why else would he and that arcane fae have been stalking us?!”
“Who’s to say they were?” Gam inquired.
“Well they didn’t seem to be friends with that annoying couple.”
“The way I see it there are only two possibilities here: they were actually sent by the council, or… they are looking for the codex as well…”
“Or, they randomly stumbled upon the forest,” Pixie added.
Lanette sucked her teeth. “I doubt it.”
“So let’s say they are with the council. We can get them to talk and tell us where the codex is. Or, if they are following us, then we can get them to tell us how to find the codex. Either option brings us to our destination, really.”
“You make it sound so easy…” Pixie hissed.
“Why isn’t it?”
“The blond one in the wall ain’t talking…” Lanette retorted, dropping her cheek on the ball of her hand as she moped over the counter.
“He hadn’t met me yet, the master torture specialist!” He grinned from ear to ear.
“That man is dangerous! It’s why we have him locked up inside the wall.” Lanette turned to the wall, her teammates drawing their eyes to it as well.
“Then bring me in there with him.”
“We only have one more scroll for the Scrabe spell,” Pixie reminded him. “So if we lock you in there, you won’t be able to come out.”
“Hmm, I see your point…”
“Besides, it’s only a matter of time before his partner comes to save him,” Lanette giggled. “We are saving it for Syodas!”
“How long can someone survive in there?” Gam asked.
“A couple of hours. Rufian knows that, still being a loser about giving us any intel, though.”
“Maybe his mind will change once his spirit begins to weaken,” Pixie said with a mischievous smirk on her face. “Let him be difficult. It will be his downfall.”
“Well, I say I should still talk to him. We are almost out of options here. Besides the list, we got nothin’.”
“Suit yourself,” Pixie said, getting off of her seat and heading for the exit. “But once he dies, we find Clave and seek his guidance.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
While Lanette was worried about me paying them a visit, Gam was more preoccupied with getting intel from Rufian, who remained as quiet as a rock. He might as well be talking to a brick wall, the ever resilient arcane mage not entertaining Gam one bit. He dished out threats, and he even tried to bribe him, but Rufian remained steadfast in his silence.
Gam was getting frustrated, pacing back and forth and rubbing his temples. The hybrid knew that Rufian was the key to unlocking the information they needed to defeat their enemy, which happened to be the same enemy Rufian was trying to put down, which was ironically twisted in a way.
So Gam took a different approach and changed his tactics. He took a step closer to Rufian, disappearing from my line of vision.
“Listen to me, Rufian. I know you're afraid of what's coming, but you need to understand that we're fighting for our lives here! The longer you stay quiet, the more danger you put us in. Help us, and we can protect you. But if you continue to keep your mouth shut, I can't guarantee your safety.”
I tried to stifle my chuckle. I could almost see the expression on Rufian’s face right now, filled with sarcasm and pity.
Gam pressed on, but I didn’t worry about Rufian’s determination to keep quiet.
However, what I did worry about was how long I could stay in this closet before pissing my pants!
It was easily over three hours, three hours of exhausting interrogation. I even started stuffing a few jars of food from the pantry in my inventory. For having to listen to this shit for three hours, it was compensation well deserved. Until I heard Lanette walk in with a yawn, hissing at Gam as she said, “You’re still trying to crack him? It’s about time you gave up. He’s a lost cause.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” He nodded and rubbed his hands together hungrily. “I’ll get the metal grate ready!”
