Page 14 of Taking Jenny
Another guard opened her door and his voice came over the speakers in my lab. “No need for you to be so uncomfortable, human. I can take the gag out, if you’ll talk. I bet you’d love to tell us everything you know about that criminal you’re with, wouldn’t you?”
But when he reached for her gag, she flinched away from him, her gaze narrowing menacingly. He stomped from the lab and slammed the door shut behind him.
I smiled proudly around the gag in my mouth.
The lead guard released a threatening growl. “You think that was smart of her? If she talks, she walks, you have my word. Our prisons weren’t made with humans in mind. Especially notfemales. They have all kinds of weird biology. If she were to get hurt, our doctors wouldn’t know what to do with her or how to help her. She’d die. And not quickly.”
I hadn’t thought of that and my stomach dropped.
“I’ve been told toencourageher cooperation. But she’s a fighter. Might takea lotof encouragement. Maybe from a fewguards. Then boom,” he clapped his hands dramatically, “she’s in the infirmary. And our doctors? They’ll make it much worse.”
An involuntary snarl escaped around my gag and I lunged toward him, only to be brought up short by my chain.
“Or,” he walked to the window and stared at Jenny, “I could take off your gag, andyoucould encourage her to cooperate. Which will it be, Orne? My encouragement or yours?” He turned back to look at me, waiting for an answer.
I jutted my head at him to remove the gag.
“Good choice.” He unlocked the latch at the back of my skull, then removed the gag and I worked my sore jaw. “I’ll walk you over there, and you tell her to be a good little human and talk nice to us, so we can get all of this sorted out. We know what you’ve been up to, talking to Summer earlier, but we’re not sure howshefits into this.”
“She doesn’t,” I said heatedly. “This is her first time on Orhon.”
“Great. Just get her to confirm it, and we’ll make sure she’s treated gently.”
“Treated gently?” I clenched my jaw. “You said she wouldwalk.”
He smiled tightly. “Right, right. She’ll walk. She belongs to the Ladrangs, doesn’t she?”
My gut knew he was fishing, that he had no idea about anything. He was just shooting in the dark, hoping to get us to flip on the Ladrangs, Deacon specifically, and impress his boss. Which meant there was no deal for Jenny to walk, even if she talked.
I wasn’t sure how to play this hand, but I knew better than to let her say anything to this liar. He could spin her words into anything to further his career. Instead, I said, “On second thought, I think we’ll take our chances at a hearing.”
He scoffed. “You can’t be foolish enough to think a hearing is what she wants.”
“What she wants is immaterial,” I lied. “Only what my boss wants matters. I’m loyal to him.”
He clucked his tongue at me. “That’s a shame, Orne. But I’m not surprised. Your clan isn’t known for their wits.”
“Neither are palace guards,” I snarled back.
He backhanded me so fast, my head snapped to the side, blood blooming in my mouth. I spat it onto the grimy floor and gave him a feral smile. “As I said, we want a hearing. That is our right.”
The guard looked almost disappointed. “So be it, but what happens at the hearing might be worse than your fate here.”
“We’ll take our chances,” I said, and prayed that he wasn’t right.
CHAPTER 6
Malice
The tedium of the afternoon broke when a guard begged for Justice’s audience in the throne room. Our ruler motioned for the guard to come forward.
The man bowed slightly before speaking. “Your highness, we have captured the pair on the red order. They refuse to speak and demand a hearing.”
Justice smirked. “That is their right. Bring them in immediately. I’d like to end my dull day on a high note.”
I was unaware a red order had been given, but I had stopped paying attention to such things ages ago. Red orders were just below black orders, so they weren’t worthy of my time. Until now.
The guards delivered a pair of prisoners, bound and gagged, both of whom caught my eye. Especially the pretty little female human who looked around the room warily. Their wrist manacles were connected, so the guard carried only one leash.When they stood a few feet away from the dais, he nudged the backs of the prisoners’ knees to force them to kneel before Justice.
