In answer, she held her arms out to him, free of sleeves and gloves. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, a protective gesture. ‘Novice Lusk, I am the woman who is going to ask you questions. Do you know what I am?’
‘I’ve already told them.’ He met her eyes then, trying to put a brave face on it. How delicious. ‘The sisters have asked me over and over, and I told them exactly what happened.’
Lin nodded slightly, and began to rub her forearms together slowly. The soft rasp of skin against skin sounded loud in the tiny cell, and she saw his eyes flicker down to follow the movement. ‘The sisters told me. You said that Fell-Noon appeared unexpectedly in the chirot tower while you were performing your duties. She took you unawares, and threatened to kill you and the bats if you raised the alarm, but she didn’t actually drain you. Novice Lusk, you then saddled the bat for her yourself, and then stood by and watched as she made her merry way out into the wider world. Does that sound right to you? Does that sound like a thing that happened?’
‘That was what happened!’
She took a few slow steps towards him, and he cringed back against the wall.
‘What we’re thinking, Novice Lusk, is that perhaps you’d had some sort of dalliance with the girl. That you were fucking her, in short.’ She grinned at his shocked expression. ‘Oh, it happens, even in this miserable place. You don’t need very long really, and there were times when you were alone with Fell-Noon, unsupervised. Am I right?’ She came over until she was standing over him. ‘When I was still locked up in here, Lusk, you wouldn’t believe the number of priests who were fucking the women. It’s not natural, all of these people together in celibacy. I’ve always said so.’
Abruptly, she knelt and slid her arms around him, as if she meant to kiss him, but instead, at the warm contact of his skin she took, ripping his life energy from him savagely. He cried out, falling against her, and she felt him attempting to marshal himself, to draw back from her – the priests were trained, after all, to take this sort of punishment. She snaked one hand up and took hold of his jaw, turning his frightened eyes to meet hers. ‘You have so much to give, Novice Lusk. I can see why Fell-Noon was taken with you. Did you fuck her again before she left? Was that the price of her freedom?’
‘No.’ He forced the word out through lips that were rapidly losing their colour. ‘We never . . .’
‘How long can you hold out, do you think?’ She was genuinely curious. The boy was remarkably strong, and his energy had a purity she had not tasted for a long time. After a while, you started to sense things about the people whose energy you took; she was beginning to believe that the boy didn’t have a single lie in his head. It was remarkable. Meanwhile, his energy was gathering inside her, a storm with nowhere to go. Holding it steady within her – control, always control – Agent Lin pulled away just as the boy began to shake. Free of her, he slumped to the ground, shivering as though he were caught in a blizzard. That lovely warm skin of his would be cold now, she knew.
‘One of the strongest I’ve tasted, if I’m honest,’ she said to the room at large. She walked back towards the door and turned to face Novice Lusk, nursing the tide of stolen life energy within her. It would have to come out, and soon. Even the most skilled Fell-Witch couldn’t hold on to it indefinitely. ‘Did she tell you anything about where she intended to go, Novice Lusk?’
He lifted his head a touch, still shaking. His eyes were glazed, and the tips of his fingers had turned grey. She hadn’t depleted him completely, but Lin thought he might die anyway – it was careless of her.
‘Nothing,’ he croaked. ‘She said . . . nothing . . . to me.’
‘Not even when you were fucking her, Lusk?’
He glanced up at that, his eyes widening, and she chose that moment to release the fire. Arms up, palms open, fingers spread; a blossom of winnowfire as green as fresh, new grass bloomed in the tiny cell, curling towards the shivering man on the floor. Agent Lin heard his abrupt, ragged scream and smiled to herself – with a gesture she increased the temperature of the flames, and his screams took on a panicked tone. The fire would be close – not close enough to kill him, not yet, but close enough to scorch. She closed her hands and folded her arms into her chest – enough – and the roar of green fire died instantly.
‘Any more thoughts on that, Lusk?’
The boy was curled like a baby on the floor, his hands over his face. As she watched, he patted rapidly at the hair on his head, which was singed. It crisped away under his fingers. His knees and shins and the tops of his shoulders were a bright, shiny red, and his face looked a little like he’d been out under the hot sun all day.
‘Please,’ he gasped between blistered lips. ‘Please.’
She chuckled to herself. ‘Well, I can hardly resist.’
This time she turned her hands to face each other and funnelled a line of fire to the space next to the novice’s feet. He shrieked, pulled his feet up and away, scrambling to push himself into the far corner, but she followed, sweeping the line of winnowfire up so that it brushed the delicate soles of his feet. The cell rang with the sound of screaming as the sweet scent of burned flesh filled the air. Agent Lin took a long, slow breath inwards, savouring it, before pulling her arms back to her chest and quieting the fire. The energy he had given her was nearly gone now, but she didn’t think she would need more. The boy was crying, clutching at his ruined feet.
‘The city,’ he gibbered, tears streaming down his scorched face. ‘When she took Fulcor, they flew towards the city. I watched them, I watched them fly, and it looked as though she landed there.’
‘Of course,’ said Agent Lin, cheerfully enough. She went to the door. ‘Thank you, Novice Lusk. I’ll tell them you weren’t in collusion with the witch, of course. For what it’s worth.’
The chirot tower was empty save for the bats. It was mid-afternoon, and the animals were all nestled snugly in their alcoves, soft rumbles and keenings in place of snores – all save for one. Lin walked over to the empty space and stood looking at it for a while. The white bat taken by Fell-Noon had not returned, suggesting that she still had it. This was good news for Lin, as a giant bat was hard to miss, particularly in the skies to the south of the mountains – however, it also meant that they could be almost anywhere. The Winnowry’s giant bats were bred to be resilient and tough, and could fly continuously for almost an entire night.