Fear Sí, Fear Scáth - Part III

Kole drew up more of the same shadowy material that made up his scythe and wrapped Carahya’s wrists with it. Her whole body still ached and burned with the shift, and she was exhausted from the stress of doing so as rapidly as she had. She still tired to struggle against the shadow, which was smooth and ropelike in texture, but solid and unbreakable as stone. She was caught, and Kole was leading her away from the well-lit center of the office and towards the shadows. More scared than anything else, she shouted, “This could count as kidnapping, you know!”

“Actually, no,” Kole replied. “You are our detainee and a suspect. It is our job as members of the Council of Draelin to take care of rule-breakers like you.”

She leaned away from Kole, dropping down low and forcing her feet against the ground, trying to pull against her bonds. When even that didn’t stop him, she looked around at the others with terrified eyes.  McBride was still on the ground, convulsing, and she was unable to see if Kole had actually hit him. Royal had looked away from her, not wanting to make eye contact with a detainee. Tibias stared at her, and though his face was stoic and seemed calm, his mismatched eyes showed a tinge of worry. She looked, still struggling, to the angel, pleading wordlessly for her help. Keera’s green eyes made contact with Carahya’s, full of apology. Keera bowed her head, and Carahya only just managed to see it as Kole shadow-jumped, pulling her with him.

She winced and closed her eyes in shock as the cold hit her like a punch from a heavyweight boxer. She couldn’t breathe, could barely move, was shivering to the bone, and in an instant it was all over. She re-opened her eyes and found herself kneeling on the dull carpet of a blank, dark grey, windowless room that held a single bed. Kole waved his hand and the shadows around her wrists vanished. She lowered her arms and glared up at Kole. “Is all of this just because of getting into your office?”

“No. ‘All of this’ is just because you are suspected of having dealings with demons. Is this true?”

“No!” Carahya stood up carefully and looked at the man incredulously. “No, that is not true! I don’t ‘have dealings’ with demons!”

“Oh, really?” Kole said, emotionless. “If that is the case, then why did you have those demon books with you?”

Carahya rolled her eyes and snapped, gaining attitude, “The black book and binder were my parents’ books. The white one belonged to the man we left behind. You had better hope he’s not dead or I’ll –”

“You’ll what?” Kole chuckled. “You would never be able to hurt me, and you’d simply be making things far more difficult for yourself. Just you go ahead and try. But this still doesn’t resolve our issue. I don’t care whose books they were, I want to know why you had them.”

Carahya grumbled and said, “Look, I wanted to go get some answers from the people at Spinetap Publishing, okay? Seriously! And I wasn’t gonna go empty handed.”

“Another thing, Ms. Faroth…of what relation are you to Mrs. Morgan Fortier? I assume you knew her since you took on her appearance today and used her name.”

“Morgan Fortier was my boyfriend’s mother. She took me in when I needed someplace to stay. She was my main supervisor. Why the hell do you need to know that? She’s not gonna be able to answer any questions or anything; she’s dead.”

“I am fully aware of that fact,” Kole responded. “And I am fully aware that you are as well. I know that you were at the scene of her death from the rune I placed at the scene. That same rune, Miss Faroth, was the one you tampered with while you were there.”

“But…how? Mrs. Fortier never had any ties to the council, as far as I’m aware.”

“Morgan Fortier was sentenced to execution,” Kole casually stated. “I was issued the job.”

Carahya looked up at Kole with horrified eyes. “You did…what?!?”

He said simply, “She did not follow the rules. That was her punishment. I followed the council’s orders.”

“You…” her desperation turned to rage as she stormed up to the man who was so much taller than she. She clenched her fists and began to pound away on his chest. “You evil bastard! She was one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I knew! She did nothing wrong! Goddamn it, Shadow Ass, a demon killed her husband and her children! A fucking demon tore them apart!!!”

Kole knew that there was nothing she could do that would really hurt him, so allowed her weak punches to connect with his chest. It would not only vent her anger, but it would exhaust her, and she’d be unable to fight enough to escape them all again if she was too exhausted to shift. As she started to break down and slow her punches, he added, “Were you aware that she summoned that demon that killed them? It was the worst ‘get rich quick’ scheme I’ve ever seen. So she was the one who really killed her husband and children.”

Carahya’s arm flew up, and in a lightning-fast movement her palm made contact with the side of Kole’s face. She put all her anger, all her force, behind that one blow, and his head turned sideways with the impact. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sunk to the ground, knees curled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them. Her effort to resist crying was faltering, and she broke down and buried her face in her knees as she sobbed shakily. Kole glanced down at her stoically. The side of his face stung, and there was a raw, red hand print on his face from where she had slapped him.

“I did my job because I know my place, Carahya. It’s time you learned yours. All of your actions have consequences.” He walked from the room, locking Carahya within.

“You guys were the ones who told me to come back during business hours!” Carahya shouted at the closed door. Her uncontrollable sobbing had stopped, but the tears still flowed. “Fucking Grinch…”