Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [154]
Sweat begins to bead on his face as he glances first into Miller’s eyes and then at the knife threatening his finger.
“We’ve got all night,” Miller tells him, no hint of mercy in his voice. “There’re nineteen more fingers and toes after this one, then other parts of the body.”
A few more tense seconds go by before he says, “Two.”
The sweat is beginning to drip off the end of Shyn’s nose. His breathing becomes more labored as he stares at the knife at his finger. Then his eyes look to Miller, he sees him to begin to say three when he cries out, “Okay!”
Miller motions to Jorry and the other guy to let go of his hand and back away. “Now, where are they?”
“They are in the castle area,” he replies.”
“Where in the castle area?” Miller asks.
“In Councilman Rillian’s building,” he says. “I think they’re still on the second floor.”
“What interest would Councilman Rillian have in them?” asks Miller.
“Who’s this Rillian?” Jiron asks.
Miller glances at him as he replies, “He’s one of the members on the Patriarchal Council, very influential and powerful.” Turning back to Shyn, he says, “I asked you a question!”
“If I tell you they’ll kill me!” Shyn exclaims, looking to Miller for sympathy.
He’d sooner get blood from a stone than sympathy from him. “I’ll kill you now if you don’t!” he yells.
“Will you let me go if I tell you?” Shyn asks.
“If you can convince me you’re not feeding me a pack of lies, then yes, I’ll let you go,” he assures him. He suddenly draws his dagger and puts it to his throat and says, “But if you don’t, then you’ll be feeding the buzzards in the morning.”
Nodding, Shyn says, “Okay.”
“Now,” begins Miller as he replaces his dagger in his belt, “what part does Councilman Rillian play in all this?”
He glances from Miller to the others in the room as he says, “He’s been bought by an agent of the Empire.”
“Was it a man with one eye?” Miko bursts out.
Shyn nods, “Yeah, I think his name is Kirgin or Karrigan…”
“Korgan?” asks Miko.
“Yeah, that’s it,” he says.
“Who’s this Korgan?” Miller asks Miko.
“He’s been hounding us for awhile,” he explains. “Ever since James ran afoul of him back in Cardri. We also believe he was instrumental in opening the gates during the siege at the City of Light.”
“Is that why he’s here?” Miller asks as he turns his attention back to Shyn.
“I couldn’t tell you that,” he says. “I don’t know that much about him. I just saw him prior to taking James and Fifer there.”
“What part did you play in all this?” asks Miller.
“Back before the fall of the City of Light, I had been an agent for the Empire,” he explains. “I would pass on information I had heard to another agent who would then get the information out of the city. When the city fell, I fled with the other refugees until I stumbled upon your band and joined it.”
“Traitor!” One of the men behind him says. “You caused the death of thousands of innocent people.”
“There are no innocent people,” he replies. “Just allies and enemies.”
Miller signals for his men to remain quiet and hold their anger. Then he says to Shyn, “Go on.”
“After we arrived here in Lythylla, I saw another agent and met with him,” he continues. Looking to Miller, he adds, “That’s when I left you guys to help the organization here. With Councilman Rillian’s help, it was easy to put you here so you wouldn’t discover what I may be doing.”
“But you still haven’t said anything about James and Fifer!” Miko cries out.
“I’m getting to that,” he assures him. He points to a flagon of ale sitting on a nearby table and asks, “Can I have that?”
Miller hands it to him and after a long drink, he continues. “The return of Lord Pytherian was an unexpected blow to the Empire. The alliance which had stood against the Empire was beginning to fracture and fall apart. It was easy enough for Councilman Rillian to make the rifts wider by casting doubts upon first one faction then the other.”
“In fact, when I gave my report about his rescue and the role James had played, that was when they came up with the idea for imposters to attempt to assassinate