Page 60 of Owned

There was a hint of rebellion in the set of his jaw as he found some courage and stood a little straighter. He was still shorter than me by a good margin, easy to overpower without even touching my magic. “You—you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I leaned closer, letting him see the promise of pain in my smile before I drove my fist into his gut. He doubled over, gasping.

“Please,” he wheezed and then spat on the filthy concrete. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

I sighed. “What part of ‘I need information’ are you struggling with?” I grabbed hold of his coat and wrenched him upright. Magic pulsed through my fingertips and the black smoke of my power pulsed and writhed around my hand before it lashed out and pushed him against the dark bricks of the wall behind him. His body twitched against the rough surface like a pinned insect. “Try again.”

He clawed at his throat, but nothing would break the noose I’d wrapped around his neck. His eyes bulged as he scrambled for breath and coherence. “Please—don’t—Lucian—”

“Won’t be pleased if we don’t have a name by morning,” I finished for him. “You follow your master around like a dog. You’ve seen things. Things that could be very important.”

“N— No—”

I flicked my fingers, and the smoke coiled around his torso, squeezing tight.

“Who else is involved?”

He gritted his teeth and shook his head.

Idiot.

“Think carefully.” My voice softened into something almost resembling empathy, though we both knew better. “Ifyoudon’t tell me, maybe someone else will—”

An image flickered into my mind.

A plain-faced young woman with dark hair.

A name whispered in the back of my thoughts.

Even after all these years, the grimoire’s influence was never far from my mind.

Yes. That would do nicely.

“Leona—” I said thoughtfully. “Maybe she knows something?”

The fight drained out of him as swiftly as it had flared—like I knew it would—and he sagged forward in defeat.

“The—the Old Road,” he finally gasped. “There—there’s a meeting there in three days. With some Sages. I don’t know more than that, I swear. Please—”

I flexed my fingers, and the magic wrapped around his throat eased just a little—

He sucked in a shaking breath.

“Names,” I said. “I need names.”

“I don’t know any names!” His words were rough and desperate.

“Don’t insult me,” I snarled. “You know more than you should. Something tells me you’re a bit of an eavesdropper… thought you could sell the information? Maybe get something for yourself— something nice for Leona?”

My words hung in the air as I watched the struggle play across his face.

“You’ll kill me if I tell you!” The words came in a vomitus rush. “It doesn’t matter what I say—”

“On the contrary.” I let my smile widen, a blade drawn across his throat. “It matters very much. I have plans for you.”

Those plans were simple. He would talk, and he would live just long enough to tell others of our little conversation.

My brothers and I needed Lucian to know his paranoia wasn’t without cause.

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