First World(65)

Lucy pushed forward. “Get in line, Chris,” she said darkly.

I looked from one to the other, wondering what had happened here.

“Our best chance is to exit together. Go out as a group and confuse them.” Quarn, with his military training, scanned the room.

A groan sounded from the floor as rat-man started to shift. I looked at Lucy for a minute. She nodded once. It was information-gathering time.

I crouched next to him. By the time he opened his beady eyes, he was surrounded on all sides. Glares rained down on him.

He was confused. For about a minute.

And then he laughed.

I watched him, his actions were ... unexpected. It wasn’t a small I-just-got-a-concussion chuckle.

No, this was a full-throated belly laugh. His fat rolls jiggled all over the place.

It was irritating, grating on my last nerve. I lunged for his face. My closed fist crunched against his nose. Wow, that was satisfying.

Brace had dived after me. I’m not sure if it was to stop me, or to hit him too. Blood poured from rat-man’s nose, and with a coughing splutter he grabbed my shirt, and with unforeseen strength attempted to bring my face close to his.

Brace reached out a huge hand and cupped the man around the throat.

“I would let her go now. Unless, of course, you don’t want the privilege of breathing any longer.”

Pulling myself free, I stood up. As Brace released him, he attempted to roll away. I halted this by stomping my foot onto his fragile ribs. I noted the red marks marring the folds under his chin. Brace had quite the grip on him.

“I got this, Chuck. You can back off now.” I nodded at Brace. He was Chuck until a better name presented itself.

His lips curved slightly, but he stepped back.

“Okay, rodent, I’m going to ask you a few very simple questions. Even you should be able to understand them. And I would like nice timely responses.”

He winced as I dug my foot in a little more.

“I don’t want to ask twice.”

Lucy snickered under her breath. I heard it, though, and I could almost read her thoughts. I’d gone a little mad with power.

As he looked up, pain was apparent, but there was no fear.

If anything, his confidence was pissing me off. “How many people are in the building?”

“It doesn’t matter, girl.” His accent was even more nasally as he attempted to breathe through the blood flowing from his nose. “Master has been waiting for you and now you’re exactly where he wants you.”

His ribs were flexing under the strain.

“What does he want me for?”

He laughed breathlessly, using the small amounts of air I was allowing.

“We’ve been watching you for a while. He was so angry when they took the wrong girl from First World. But Patty assured him you would come for your friend.”

Patty? Did he mean Olden?

I closed my eyes. Don’t kill him, Abby. He’s not worth it.

Opening my eyes, I spun around and stepped away. I couldn’t trust myself right then not to hit him again. Josian took my place.

He didn’t touch him, just lowered from his impressive height to gaze eye to eye.

For the first time, rat-man’s cocky smile faltered. He started slithering backwards, but the kicking feet kept him in the same spot.

“You – you can’t be here – all others are barred from this hall,” rat-man stuttered.

Josian continued to stare. After a few more rants, rat-man fell silent, trance-like.

A sheen of sweat was developing on both of their faces. What type of battle of the wills was this?

“If I push any harder I’m going to break his mind. He has strong blocks. Someone powerful trained him,” Josian thundered, looking around as if he would find the culprit in this room.

“You have to continue. We don’t have a choice. We need to get out of here safely and for some reason you can’t open a doorway.” Lallielle pushed Josian closer.

He searched her face for a second before finding whatever acceptance he was seeking.

Reaching down, he wrapped his huge hands around rat-man’s head, who then began to struggle, emitting small whimpers.

“What’s he doing?” I wondered out loud, wincing at the painful sounds.

Lucy, Chrissie and the others had no such qualms. They watched on with expressions of satisfaction. There was not a lot of love for old rat-man in the room that day.

Brace answered, his gaze locked on the pair. “Josian has the stronger mind. He can hack through the blocks to access information.”

The jiggle of fat rolls slowed, until the rodent’s struggles ceased. His eyes rolled back into his head and a puddle of drool emerged from the corner of his mouth. It had taken Josian thirty seconds.

“With anything destructive, there’s always damage to fundamental connections in their mind,” Josian said as he stood, disgust across his features. “He didn’t know much of importance. He has never met his master, only received orders. He is the bottom of their food chain here. There was one main person who issued his orders, a scrawny black-haired woman ... Patty?”