Chapter 21: The Sting Of Betrayal
The guards walked beside Zoe, leading her down the cellblock, holding her by her arms to prevent her from running. They reached a pair of doors guarded by two Knowms. From the confines of the room ahead, she could clearly hear the horrific sounds of Roshan’s torment.
“Halt,” one of the Knowms ordered. “If you wish to conduct an interrogation, you will have to use the other room. This room is currently occupied.”
“I’m aware,” the guard on Zoe’s left replied, “but we’re not here to conduct an interrogation. It turns out that this girl is Lord Quinn’s adopted daughter. The one who went missing.”
“In that case,” the Knowm answered, “hand her over to us. We will take her inside.” The guards complied, briefly explaining how she had been discovered the night before.
Zoe was extremely nervous. She hadn’t spoken to her adoptive father in years; there was no telling how he would react to what she had done since she ran away. I need to stay calm. This isn’t going to be easy, but it looks like my only chance of saving Roshan’s life. The Knowms took her inside.
As she entered the room, she saw Roshan sitting in a chair at a desk, facing away from her toward a man in a red cloak seated on the opposite side. The room was dimly lit by a single lamp resting on the desk near the mysterious cloaked figure. Standing on both sides of the door were two more Knowms. Then Zoe saw him not far to her left: Lord Javan Quinn. Everyone in the room but the highly disoriented Roshan turned and faced her as she walked through the door, the two Knowms releasing their grip on her arms. They closed the door behind her.
Lord Quinn’s eyes widened and the entire room fell silent. “Zoe,” he gasped. “What are you doing here?” Hearing this, Roshan gradually turned to see her. Blood slowly trickled from his lips down his chin, his left eye blackened from the brutal beatings he’d endured. Zoe was horrified at the sight but quickly offered him a soft smile, as if to tell him he would be alright.
The smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared when she turned to face Lord Quinn. His eyes stared into hers, paralyzing her with his cutting gaze. Unable to find the appropriate words with which to reply to his inquiry, she stood speechless.
“She was discovered last night attempting to infiltrate the prison,” one of the Knowms explained. “She initially refused to provide the guards with adequate information; however, she at last revealed her name and intention to free the prisoner, Roshan Portner, moments ago.”
“I see,” Lord Quinn muttered. He chewed his bottom lip for a few seconds before sharply commanding, “Knowms! Leave at once.”
“Yes sir!” the Knowms replied in unison, filing out of the room. Lord Quinn slowly approached Zoe, never taking his eyes off of hers for even a second. Roshan and the man in the red cloak watched in silence, both of them remaining completely motionless.
Lord Quinn stood over Zoe, wearing full body armor, lacking only a helmet, with a scarlet cape drooping from his shoulders. A mighty sword was sheathed by his side, the hilt encrusted with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. In spite of her determination to mask her fear, she trembled slightly as she looked up at him.
“Is the information I have just received accurate?” he calmly asked.
“Yes,” Zoe answered. “This man is my friend. Let him go. I don’t appreciate what you’re doing to him.”
Lord Quinn smiled. “Interesting... you don’t ‘appreciate’ what I’m doing. Would you care to know what I do not ‘appreciate?’” There was a painful silence before Lord Quinn suddenly screamed, “Traitors!” sending chills down the spines of everyone in the room. He turned his back to Zoe and took a few steps. “If this man is indeed your friend, I can only assume that you’ve been associating with the Spades.”
“I am a Spade,” Zoe replied. “Let him go. Take me instead.”
Lord Quinn stood for a moment, absorbing the words. He turned back to her. “All this time, I had believed that something absolutely dreadful had happened to you. That perhaps you had fallen into the unforgiving hands of one of my enemies. Now I learn the truth. You’re nothing more than a backstabbing traitor. I do not have the words to properly express my disgust.”
“Traitor, huh?!” Zoe suddenly retaliated in a fit of rage. “Kind of like how you’ve betrayed everyone in Aria for your stupid power trip?! I found out what you were doing and I ran away. I don’t want to be part of it.”
“If you do not wish to be part of it,” he replied, “then why did you join the Spades, hm?”
“Because you’re insane!” she retaliated. “You don’t even care about all the innocent people you’re running over, just so you can satisfy your fat ego! You’re not even my real father! I have no obligation to side with you! I owe you nothing!”
“Shut your mouth,” he ordered, seething.
Zoe snapped. “Fuck you!!”
“Language!” Lord Quinn barked.
“Shut up!” Zoe screamed. “Why should I even listen to you?! You don’t care about me! All you care about is that fucking disk!!” She lowered her arms. “Let’s see you snake your way out of this one! Umbra sentis ampelos!” Blinded by anger, Zoe had forgotten that she was past her conjuring limit and much too drained to perform the spell. Nothing happened as she threw her arms into the air, leaving her completely defenseless. No, no!! Dammit, how could I be so stupid?!
Lord Quinn softly shook his head in disapproval, the fury still apparent in his eyes. “This will not do,” he muttered. Pointing at her with his right index finger, he shouted, “Umbra immobilis mutus!” Feeling a brief shock, Zoe found that she was unable to move or speak.
Lord Quinn approached her as he had before, the tranquility returning to his presence. He looked into her eyes. “If you wish to be my enemy, then I will treat you as such.” He turned to the man in the red cloak. “Move the prisoner here. I want her to see this.”
“Of course, sir,” the man replied, getting up from his seat and walking around the desk. Grabbing Roshan’s chair, he dragged him across the floor into Zoe’s line of sight.
First looking down at Roshan, then back to Zoe, Lord Quinn smiled. “Are you prepared to see how I deal with my enemies?” Zoe’s heart was racing. She knew what he was about to do, but was completely helpless to say or do anything about it. In her thoughts she was screaming wildly, trying with every fiber of her being to move. Despite her efforts, she remained completely still and silent, with no choice but to watch what was about to take place.
Roshan gasped as Lord Quinn unsheathed his sword. Leaning down to eye level with the fear-stricken Roshan, he quietly warned, “Resistance will merely result in a slower, and far more agonizing, death.” After slowly backing away, Lord Quinn swung his sword in a showboating fashion. “Prepare yourself.”
Roshan looked at Zoe, “You did all you could,” he said, “and for that I’m truly thankf–” Lord Quinn thrust the blade deep into Roshan’s stomach as he screamed in anguish. It was a hideous sight to behold as blood poured from the gaping wound. Swiftly removing the sword, Lord Quinn stabbed him again in his heart, this time twisting the blade slightly, once it was buried inside his skin.
As Roshan let out his final bloodcurdling scream, Lord Quinn removed the sword. He slowly walked back to where Zoe stood, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “Perhaps you should take some time to reconsider your alignment. Umbra somnus!” Zoe suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed. Catching her with his free arm, Lord Quinn gently laid her on the stone floor.
“Pardon my criticism sir,” the man in the red cloak said, “but are you sure it was wise to kill our prisoner? He was our best chance at locating the disk fragment.”
“There was no sense in wasting any more of our time with that fool,” Lord Quinn replied. He looked down at Zoe, “Her betrayal was a blessing in disguise. Thanks to her actions, I now find myself with a far more substantial source of information.”