Page 115 of The Ascended
“A misunderstanding?—”
“Lying to me is pointless.” Xül cocked his head, and the chains tightened.
“I’ve already told you. I made a wrong turn.”
Xül didn’t bother responding to the obvious lie. Instead, he made a subtle gesture with his left hand. The binding chains pulsed and tightened even further. The being’s radiance flickered.
My stomach twisted. I wanted to look away but forced myself to watch.
“Let’s try another topic then,” Xül said quietly. “I find it interesting that Sundralis has reduced its external operations in recent months. Resources diverted elsewhere. Why?”
My heart began to pound, and I leaned forward, suddenly desperate not to miss a single word.
“Your intelligence is flawed.”
“Is it?”
Xül raised his hand again, and the summoned soul resumed its torture.
I bit my lip to keep from making a sound. The Lightbringer’s painwas palpable, filling the chamber with a high-pitched whine just at the edge of hearing. I wanted to feel only disgust at Xül’s methods, but a treacherous part of me wondered. If this being had information about something happening in Sundralis, something that Olinthar was doing, didn’t I want that information extracted by any means necessary?
The moral compromise in that thought sickened me.
“Temporary adjustments,” he gasped when the death magic receded. “For increased security during the Trials, adjustments in our infrastructure, meetings?—”
“Meetings?” Xül’s posture shifted, his attention sharpening. “What meetings?”
He didn’t answer.
This time, Xül didn’t call forth his damned servants. Instead, he placed his hand directly on the Lightbringer’s form, and I watched in horror as he became a conduit himself. Dark tendrils of energy flowed through him, into the Lightbringer, their screams merging with the prisoner’s as they invaded.
“Who attends these meetings?” Xül demanded.
“No one of consequence,” the Lightbringer managed.
“How do they access the Palace?”
“Standard protocols.”
Xül’s grip tightened. The Lightbringer flickered erratically as energy pulsed through its form. “No standard protocol allows direct access to the capital without passing through multiple security checkpoints. And we have both eyes and ears there. Try again.”
“Special arrangements,” he gasped. “For efficiency.”
“What kind of arrangements?”
The Lightbringer refused to answer. Xül’s expression hardened, and he made a complex gesture with his free hand. The chamber darkened as he summoned what looked like dozens of damned souls, each one more twisted and tortured than the last. They converged on the prisoner in a horrifying wave.
“Portals!” the being screamed, voice distorted in pain.
Xül released him, and he collapsed in the bindings, his light barely visible, patches of his form extinguished.
He leaned closer to the weakened prisoner. “Who?”
The Lightbringer remained silent, but when Xül raised his hand again, spectral servants already readied for another onslaught. The being flinched.
“We’re well beyond the point of secrets,” Xül said coldly. “Who is creating these portals?”
“Not your concern,” the Lightbringer croaked.
