Page 6 of Behind the Mask

Kasumi remained silent.

"Hmm," Luther murmured."Stubborn.I like that."He smiled and stood up, striding to the table and turning a chair around, straddling it and folding his arms across the back."You will have to take it off to eat, and until you tell me you will eat, Minoru will starve right alongside you.I have no doubt you can go for quite some time, but that man is many years older and probably not as tough as you."

Oh, yes.Kasumi was going to kill him.Slowly.

Luther laughed."Are you trying to decide how to kill me?There are so many ways to let a man die slowly, I'm sure it's hard for you to choose one.It's nothing personal, you know.A job is a job."

Kasumi said nothing.

"Hmm, all this silence."Luther smiled and stood up, pushing the chair back into place."It makes me want to make you scream."

He kept silent, but only because he bit his tongue.Luther moved close again, touching him again, and Kasumi wished more than anything he could actually break out of his bonds—but his captors knew what they were doing.

"Are you hungry yet?"Luther smirked."I'm sure Minoru must be.He has not eaten since that dinner we all shared our first night at sea.I hear you ate the morning I took you, so you will last longer than Minoru for certain."

Kasumi could not wait to watch this bastard bleed to death."Feed him."

"He speaks at last.Not until you remove that mask and eat."

"I cannot remove it without use of my hands," Kasumi said, "and if you free my hands I will kill you."

Luther touched the mask again."Why can't I remove it?"

"You are neither my master nor my teacher, and so you will never be able to do so," Kasumi replied."Magic is magic, whether you believe in it or not."

"Hmm," Luther replied, reaching out to once more tug at the mask."I would say it is pasted down, but then even you would be hard pressed to remove it."

"Why do you care?It's only a mask."

Luther shrugged."I prefer to know what my enemies look like, and riddles annoy me."

"You have no problem being the riddle, however."

"Still stung I tricked you?"Luther asked, smirking."For what it's worth, it wasn't easy coming up with a way to do it.I've never played the bumbling fool before; I practiced for months to get it right."

Months?Kasumi frowned.

Luther's smirk widened."Yes, there's something for you to nibble on.You have pretty eyes, behind that mask.Like melted gold."

Kasumi ignored the taunt."Why would anyone want me?"

"That is not for me to say," Luther replied.He started to say more, but a sharp knock at the door cut him off.

Standing, he called for the knocker to enter.

"Cap'n."

Luther nodded to the man who'd spoken, motioning him and a much younger man inside.The younger man immediately set to work setting out the things he'd been carrying, arranging them on the table.Nearby, Luther continued to speak quietly with the older man, whom Kasumi knew to be the first mate.

A few minutes later the first mate vanished.

"Ready, Cap'n?"the younger man asked.

"Yes," Luther replied, striding to the table.There, he quickly stripped off the poorly-fitted shirt he still wore, showing off a torso that belonged to no scholar.Under other circumstances, Kasumi might have allowed himself to briefly admire.As it was, he would prefer to take the razor held by the younger man and slit Luther's bastard throat.

Sitting down, Luther settled back and allowed the young man to cut his hair, shave him, occasionally offering a comment to the man's easy chatter.When the deed was finally done, the table cleared and the young man departed.

Alone again, Luther strode to the bed and the drawers beneath them, pulling out fresh clothes before stripping completely.

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