you for removing that,” Galen says calmly, looking Tyrden in the eye. He is perfectly capable of being unsettling, too. And of being unpredictable. Grom was a great tutor.
But Tyrden is not easily unsettled. “You’re welcome. If you scream for help, I’ll harvest each of your teeth and keep them in a jar in my kitchen.” When Galen says nothing, his captor crosses his arms. “Did you think I removed your gag for the fun of it? Answer my questions.”
Galen cocks his head. “In fact, I did think that. Surely you don’t actually expect me to tell you anything.”
“Is that right?”
When Galen nods, Tyrden rises from his chair and walks across the room to the table. Then he reaches under it, retrieving the biggest knife Galen ever recalls seeing. With ease, Tyrden removes the duct tape that secured it in its hiding place.
The blade is rusted in some places—or is that dried blood?—and the grip is well worn. Tyrden handles it expertly, spinning it in his hands as if it were some sort of toy baton. He sits back down.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” Galen says, trying not to visibly swallow. “I’m not sure about you land dwellers, but we ocean dwellers tend to have very thick skin.”
Tyrden chuckles. “Not impressed yet, boy? Well, give me a chance to change your mind.” He leans back in the chair and clearly relaxes. “Have you ever seen a rhinoceros, Highness?” He rubs his shirt over the blade as if to clean it. The questionable stains do not budge. “You see, here on land, rhinos live in a place called Africa. Humans have a silly formal name for them, pachyderms, which means thick skin. Their skin is actually as thick as any full-blooded Syrena. In fact, some parts of their skin are double the thickness of ours. That’s the part we used to test our weapons. We had to make sure that if you Tritons stirred up trouble for us again, then we’d be ready for the fight. We based all our designs on the ability to penetrate rhino skin. This knife here can slice the thickest part of a rhino with one swipe, boy. Impressed yet?”
In a word, yes. Not just by the knife, but by what Galen suddenly realizes is all the time and trouble these land dwellers took in preparing for some sort of war. The defenses they’d already thought of. Making weapons just for Syrena skin. Choosing a location too far inland for Triton’s gift to do any damage. Forging bonds with humans, multiplying their numbers and respective skills.
Yes, Galen is very impressed. But giving Tyrden the answers he craves is still out of the question. Mainly because, if all the citizens are armed this way, that means Neptune seems to be expecting a conflict with the ocean dwellers, instead of just preparing for a potential attack.
When Galen’s rebuttal is still silence, Tyrden presses his lips together into what isn’t quite a grin. “Hard to excite are we, Highness? Let’s see what else I can do to convince you.”
In an instant, Tyrden is on his feet and hovering over Galen. He brings the blade close to Galen’s cheek, so close he can almost feel the knife quiver in his assailant’s hand. Out of nowhere, Tyrden raises his hand to show Galen his palm. Then he raises the knife to it. Raking it across slowly, delicately, Tyrden breaks through his own skin. The laceration is so thin, so precise it’s as if his hand has forgotten to bleed for a few seconds. But bleed, it does.
With a blank expression, Tyrden lets Galen watch the blood drip down his hand, snake across his wrist, and drop like silken beads to the floor. Strange as it may be, it appears as though he enjoys watching the blood pool at his feet. He then uses the knife to slice off a piece of Galen’s T-shirt, barely missing the flesh of his stomach. In fact, if Galen hadn’t reflexively sucked in, it could have gutted him. His reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by Tyrden.
“You see, boy, rhino skin can get up to two inches thick.” He displays an estimate of two
But Tyrden is not easily unsettled. “You’re welcome. If you scream for help, I’ll harvest each of your teeth and keep them in a jar in my kitchen.” When Galen says nothing, his captor crosses his arms. “Did you think I removed your gag for the fun of it? Answer my questions.”
Galen cocks his head. “In fact, I did think that. Surely you don’t actually expect me to tell you anything.”
“Is that right?”
When Galen nods, Tyrden rises from his chair and walks across the room to the table. Then he reaches under it, retrieving the biggest knife Galen ever recalls seeing. With ease, Tyrden removes the duct tape that secured it in its hiding place.
The blade is rusted in some places—or is that dried blood?—and the grip is well worn. Tyrden handles it expertly, spinning it in his hands as if it were some sort of toy baton. He sits back down.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” Galen says, trying not to visibly swallow. “I’m not sure about you land dwellers, but we ocean dwellers tend to have very thick skin.”
Tyrden chuckles. “Not impressed yet, boy? Well, give me a chance to change your mind.” He leans back in the chair and clearly relaxes. “Have you ever seen a rhinoceros, Highness?” He rubs his shirt over the blade as if to clean it. The questionable stains do not budge. “You see, here on land, rhinos live in a place called Africa. Humans have a silly formal name for them, pachyderms, which means thick skin. Their skin is actually as thick as any full-blooded Syrena. In fact, some parts of their skin are double the thickness of ours. That’s the part we used to test our weapons. We had to make sure that if you Tritons stirred up trouble for us again, then we’d be ready for the fight. We based all our designs on the ability to penetrate rhino skin. This knife here can slice the thickest part of a rhino with one swipe, boy. Impressed yet?”
In a word, yes. Not just by the knife, but by what Galen suddenly realizes is all the time and trouble these land dwellers took in preparing for some sort of war. The defenses they’d already thought of. Making weapons just for Syrena skin. Choosing a location too far inland for Triton’s gift to do any damage. Forging bonds with humans, multiplying their numbers and respective skills.
Yes, Galen is very impressed. But giving Tyrden the answers he craves is still out of the question. Mainly because, if all the citizens are armed this way, that means Neptune seems to be expecting a conflict with the ocean dwellers, instead of just preparing for a potential attack.
When Galen’s rebuttal is still silence, Tyrden presses his lips together into what isn’t quite a grin. “Hard to excite are we, Highness? Let’s see what else I can do to convince you.”
In an instant, Tyrden is on his feet and hovering over Galen. He brings the blade close to Galen’s cheek, so close he can almost feel the knife quiver in his assailant’s hand. Out of nowhere, Tyrden raises his hand to show Galen his palm. Then he raises the knife to it. Raking it across slowly, delicately, Tyrden breaks through his own skin. The laceration is so thin, so precise it’s as if his hand has forgotten to bleed for a few seconds. But bleed, it does.
With a blank expression, Tyrden lets Galen watch the blood drip down his hand, snake across his wrist, and drop like silken beads to the floor. Strange as it may be, it appears as though he enjoys watching the blood pool at his feet. He then uses the knife to slice off a piece of Galen’s T-shirt, barely missing the flesh of his stomach. In fact, if Galen hadn’t reflexively sucked in, it could have gutted him. His reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by Tyrden.
“You see, boy, rhino skin can get up to two inches thick.” He displays an estimate of two
Similar Books
