Prisoner Read Free Page A

Beraht," Dieter said firmly. "Accept it."
    "You don't understand—" the prisoner whispered, but the rest of his protest died on his lips. He sighed, nodding feebly. "So be it."
    "Say it."
    "My name is Beraht."

Part One: Kria
    A sword used well will kill its enemies.
    A sword used poorly will kill its wielder.
    -Krian Saying

Chapter One
    "We lost him." Dressed head to toe in clothing that seemed to blend into the room around him, a man with dark yellow eyes knelt at the foot of a dais, bowing his head at the three men seated there. "I told you not paying the ransom would be a risk."
    The man seated in the middle, tall and thin and gray, spoke in a booming voice that shook the dark stone chamber in which they were gathered. His eyes were dark red. "Watch your impertinence. What do you mean we lost him?"
    The kneeling man shook his head. "We followed him by tracking his magic. He has used it up. Until he takes another dose, we have lost him."
    "Nonsense. Yellow lasts for weeks, and we know he took several vials with him when he left. He should have the magic in his systems for weeks yet."
    "Not if he pushed himself and burned it all off," the man said quietly.
    On the rightmost side, a man with deeply tanned skin and dark orange eyes moved restlessly in his seat. "Why do you think such a thing?"
    The dark-clothed man motioned to the door. "I have brought a guest who will help explain."
    "Bring him in, Tawn," the last man snarled. He was pale and sickly, and his hand shook as he raised it to motion the guards to open the doors. His eyes were red, so dark as to appear almost black.
    Tawn nodded and rose to his feet, moving with cat-like grace to the doors and vanishing into the hallway. He returned a moment later dragging a man who he threw to the floor when he reached the dais. Gasps filled the room, and more than a few of the gathered members stumbled several steps back.
    The tall gray man rose to his feet, voice booming in anger and some fear. "Why have you brought an Illussor into our stronghold?"
    Tawn grinned, an expression that made those closest to him shudder, and stepped forward to lift the man up so that they could see his face. The Illussor's skin was a pale, almost silvery white in the light of the candelabra that fought off the darkness of the windowless chamber. His hair was the same, shining like fine silver.
    The Brothers gasped, breaths hissing out in stunned disbelief. The Illussor had no eyes.
    "How did you manage that?"
    Tawn laughed, cold and hard. "This one was unconscious and so did not fall to the Scream cast by his superior. He was too weak to use magic." He turned the Illussor's head, stroking a cheek that was still crusted with dried blood. "Take out its eyes, and it will never cast illusions again." Tawn let the Illussor go, and he fell back down upon the stones, trembling.
    The three upon the dais all nodded, and the sickly man leaned forward in his seat. "Why do we need an Illussor? What can it possibly tell us?"
    "We found several of them in a battlefield amongst a great many dead Krian soldiers. Not just any Krian soldiers." Tawn paused, eyes glowing brilliant yellow.
    "Get on with it," the tall man spoke.
    Tawn smirked. "They were amongst fallen Scarlet."
    "Scarlet?" the dark-skinned man exclaimed.
     "Yes," Tawn said, his voice filled with delight. "The nameless lieutenant killed well over a hundred of them, and the Illussor Scream wiped out the rest of the Scarlet bound for the Winter Palace. All that remains of Scarlet now are those snowed into their precious fortress in the Disputed Lands."
    All around the chamber the assembled Brothers murmured quietly amongst themselves. The sickly man shook his head slowly back and forth, unable to absorb what he had been told. "Incredible. General von Adolwulf has been our greatest threat for years now. To think he and so many of his men were so suddenly done in by a Scream."
    "Yes," the gray-haired man spoke. "He is our nemesis because he is more clever