Jora's mouth watered, and her stomach churned. Though she had to know what happened to her brother, she needed a minute to get a hold of herself first. She dabbed at the sweat on her brow, took a long drink of water, and continued.
The two enforcers left the room. Finn struggled to get free, but it was no use. The straps were secure. After a few minutes, the big, ugly enforcer they called Gruesome entered, dressed in an apron stained with blood. Finn's face contorted into an expression of fearful disgust. He tried to say something, but the gag muffled his words beyond recognition.
"Good afternoon," Gruesome said with a smile. He was missing the first two molars behind his long eyeteeth on the top, and the two center teeth were chipped and ragged. "I'm Gruesome, but you can call me Grue if you want." He checked the tightness of the straps holding Finn into the chair. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible. Apparently, your sister has threatened my boss with bodily harm if I hurt you too badly."
"Jora?" Finn asked.
"Around here, she's called the Gatekeeper. So sensitive, like a delicate flower. We have to tiptoe around her until we figure out how to harness her like a draft horse. You might just be the bit in her mouth, the yoke on her shoulders, the whip on her ass." Gruesome chuckled as he sauntered around behind the chair. "For that reason, we'll keep you alive as long as possible…"
Excerpt from Call of the Colossus, coming December 2014!
