Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: It was supposed to be a simple diplomatic trip to Telmar. They had been guaranteed safe passage. It was all a lie.

A/N: If you have not read the first five stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakening, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, and Rekindled), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.

Extra Chapter Warning: High T for this chapter. Sensitive readers ye be warned.

Chapter Fourteen: Shark and Eagle, Part Two

Rahzjin stalked into his tent, satisfaction at the obvious tension between the two Lords of the Council warring with his displeasure at being interrupted before he could finish breaking the so-called High King. He didn't greet them as they no doubt thought themselves entitled to his utmost subservience and he had no intention of performing any acts of obeisance to these two. They were in his territory and soon they would learn that he was the Shark and he devoured any who dared imagine themselves his master. But, first…first, he would watch them drain their own blood into the water.

Picking up one of his daggers, Rahzjin sat in the only chair and dragged a sharpening stone along the dagger's curved edge. Both lords were glaring at him in a mix of anger and affront, but there was a little thread of trepidation in their body language as well. He did not speak, relishing the way he could sense their consternation grow as their eyes were drawn to the movement of his hands as he scraped the stone along the knife and waiting for the first one, the weakest one, to break. The sound of the stone grinding against the blade filled the tent and he watched as their mounting apprehension grew until the weakest of the lords finally reached his breaking point.

The lord hissed, "We had a bargain, Rahzjin. You work for me! Why is this petty vulture here? What treachery have you chosen to take part in? An abduction or maybe he has paid you to be my assassin, backstabbing eel that he is."

The other lord pulled himself up, "You hired him? You who sends out ships with weakened keels and then wonder why your vessels continually break their backs. As for assassination…if I were to sully my hands enough to bring about your death, it would be because I broke your neck. And an abduction would be fruitless for your sons would be more eager to fight over who takes your seat on the council than to pay for your carcass." He pointed at Rahzjin, "And considering the obscene amount of silver I paid you to remain in port, Shark, you had best explain to the lord of goats just who has seniority."

"Lord of goats! Those are brave words for one whose mother came from an alley by the docks!"

"Ha! If my mother came from an alley by the docks, at least she was of Telmarine stock, which is more than one can say of your mother."

Rahzjin coolly interrupted (after all he did not want them to kill each other just yet) as he barely touched his thumb to the blade, "One of the things I admire most about our people is that, unlike the Calormene, we always make our insults clear. It is so…straightforward, do you not agree, Kazimierz?"

The Lord of the Council turned baleful eyes on him, "You play a dangerous game, Rahzjin. You'd best think about who you really are loyal to before you let this upstart dictate your actions and that slaughter we passed had better not be the one I paid you to bring to me alive."

The other lord sneered, "It is you who is the upstart, Kazimierz. Scavenger, you would not have had the opportunity to hire him if I had not already purchased his expertise, causing him to stay in port." He turned to Rahzjin, "Shark, I expect you brought me exactly what I paid you to when we made our second bargain." He left the tent, no doubt thinking he had made an intimidating representation of his imagined importance, the posturing fool.

Kazimierz jabbed his finger at Razhjin, "Just who are you loyal to, Rahzjin?"

Rahzjin bared his teeth at him, "I am loyal to who I have always been. Myself."

The lord stared down at him for a long moment then spoke softly, "You should remember who made you…before it is too late."

He turned, cape billowing behind him, and Rahzjin mused about how easy it would be to strangle him simply using that cape. Still, he never let an attempt at threats pass and he called out just before Kazimierz left, "Lord Tuanka was correct about one thing. I would not have been in port for you to pay for my services if he had not already paid for me to stay in port." He returned to sharpening his knife as he listened to Kazimierz growl a curse. Yes, there was blood in the water and soon he would finish bleeding them out.

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18 Lenisgale 1007

"My Kings, this lesson will be more difficult for you than others, but I urge you to heed my words and always keep them in the back of your mind. Not at the fore, Wolfsbane, where they will distract you from the task at hand. But, as kings and knights, you must always be aware of this fact: Should an enemy ever hold your majesties as hostages, you will always be the more valuable prisoners."

He glanced at Edmund, who was frowning in thought, then looked back at their Centaur General. "But…what would that mean for anyone who was captured with us? I mean, obviously if we were being held hostage, the ransom demands would be greater than that for the others."

Oreius met his gaze with solemn eyes then in the same pragmatic tone he would use when informing them of the varied useful indications pain provided for them, he simply stated, "If your enemy was to have other hostages, you would be the most valuable to them and the other hostages would be expendable. Perhaps not right away, but they would inevitably become expendable."

He tried not to let that weigh too heavily on his mind even as he asked, "How can we prevent that from happening?"

Edmund spoke first, "My guess would be that we shouldn't get captured, so they can't hold us hostage."

Oreius' mouth had twitched slightly before he drily commented, "That is a beginning. However, since I have a feeling you will be captured at least once every two years, if we are fortunate, we will discuss other ways of escaping before such a situation would occur."

Peter opened his eyes as a low growl filled the air. It took him a moment to reorient himself and realize that the dogs were gone. Another growl sounded and he realized it was his stomach and the growls were accompanied by sharpening pangs of hunger. Guilt and grief warred as soon as he recalled what happened with the Shark. He had gone into a dangerous situation without properly preparing and Oreius had paid the price.

But, maybe… Maybe Rahzjin was merely trying to play cruel head games with him? Oreius might not be dead. The memory of the meat that the Shark had fed to the dogs immediately resurfaced and Peter wondered how his body still managed to demand food when he had those images in his head. He grimaced as he tried unsuccessfully to force the memory back down. The other hostages will become expendable. Why? Why didn't I have a better plan? I should have brought Bast and Babur. I should have waited for Kat to wake up and asked for her help in creating a better plan, a real plan. I should have-

Peter's silent self-recrimination was interrupted as the Shark entered the tent. The man was watching him with the cold eyes of a soulless predator. Peter shoved the guilt down and raised his chin slightly as he rasped, "Have you come to accept Our offer of mercy?"

That cold facsimile of a laugh filled the tent again and Peter resisted the urge to say something unwise. He had to keep his head now. Oreius… That was what Oreius would have expected him to do now, that and to look for an avenue of escape. Rahzjin laughed a little too long, making his laugh seem even more of a mere copy of true laughter, before he stopped and a cruel smile lit his plain features. He crouched in front of Peter but didn't hit him. Instead, he countered in a tone that could only be described as being full of dark amusement, "Perhaps you should be asking about my offer of mercy."

Peter put a measure of coolness in his voice as he quietly replied, "What good would it do Us to ask for mercy from one who does not believe in the concept?"

The Shark stared at him in silence for a long moment. His eyes remained cold and emotionless, but he did not grow angry. The silence stretched until Rahzjin hitched his shoulders, forming a brief shrug, "True. But, do not worry, young eagle. You will beg for something before this is over, no mercy will be given, of course, but you will still beg. Shall we discuss what it is you will be so desperately begging for after another day or so in my keep?"

Peter clenched his jaw, refusing to answer the taunt. He could feel the tenseness growing as the silence stretched on, but he would not let himself break. However, he found his body betraying his intentions when his growling stomach abruptly broke the silence. The Shark's eyes glinted with satisfaction as he stood, "Hungry are we, young eagle? I have something that is the main ingredient in one of the delicacies my people favor. Would you like a peek before I order the cook to make a meal out of them?"

Something about Rahzjin's manner set Peter on edge. He didn't think he wanted to know what the Shark considered a delicacy. The Shark stood back up and then crossed the tent opening, pulling back the flap and accepting a proffered bowl from one of his men. The bowl was large with a flat bottom, but Peter couldn't see what was inside. The Shark bared his teeth at him then set the bowl down directly in front of him. Still wary but unable to help himself, Peter looked into the bowl and wished he hadn't as he was forced to bite back a scream of grief, horror, and rage at the sight.

Four severed and bloody horse hooves lay in the bowl, three were black under the congealed blood but the fourth one had a white pastern marking. They matched Oreius' coloring and marking. They matched… Peter shifted his hands, causing the ropes to dig further into his battered wrists, which resulted in a flash of pain that was enough to stop himself from gagging or, worse, giving any signs of the grief and the horror he felt. He kept an impassive mask in place by sheer willpower. Now, he had a far greater appreciation of how Susan and Edmund kept their faces clear of their true emotions when they were busy being diplomatic. Now, he could wonder how Kat and…and Oreius almost always kept their faces from betraying their true feelings in any given situation. It was far more difficult to do so than he had imagined or even remembered from previous times. Perhaps, it was only more difficult because he was faced with-

Peter involuntarily glanced back down into the bowl then immediately averted his eyes, but it wasn't fast enough to keep that horrible image from being emblazoned into his mind. He nearly gagged. He could feel the burning sensation as bile rose in his throat. He glared up at the Shark whose face was awash with cruel delight as he leaned forward and held up a bloody sword that Peter hadn't seen him bring in. "Recognize it?" Confusion was followed by a wave of even greater horror as he recognized the lion head hilt. It was Rhindon. The bloody blade was Rhindon. Oh no. The Shark leaned in closer, allowing Peter to see bits of hide and black horsehair mixing with the blood covering Rhindon's blade, and he smiled. "I started with the hooves, you know. Then I finally untied him, but he could not run away from this blade. You should have seen his eyes. The ring of white around his dark eyes from fear and the way his whole body shivered from both the pain and the fear. It was glorious. All he wanted to do was run, to abandon everything in order to get away from the pain, but he knew he couldn't, that it was too late."

With those last disturbing words, the Shark abruptly left, but the bowl and its contents remained. Peter blinked hard and whispered, "I'm sorry, Oreius. I'm so sorry I caused this to happen." But, it was too late. His teacher, friend, and surrogate father had already paid the price for his foolish and arrogant confidence that he could rescue him without anything going wrong. He had been so wrong, so very wrong. Oreius was dead and he had been tortured to death. The dam blocking his emotions finally broke and Peter lowered his head as tears began to flow. He sniffled, blinking back tears, and caught sight of that horrid bowl again. Leaning against the chain that stretched the short distance from the center pole to wrap around his waist, Peter immediately twisted to the left and retched. He retched again as grief and horror swept over him. He had done this. Oh dear Aslan, he had caused this fate to befall one of his closest friends, the closest thing he had to a father in Narnia. The dry heaves mixed with the low sobs he was still struggling to control. It was awful. Aslan. Aslan. Aslan. He couldn't form a coherent prayer amidst the flood of emotions, only repeatedly call to the Lion and trust that He understood what he could not say.

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Peeking through the small slit in the side of the tent housing his royal captive, Rahzjin once again smiled. The young eagle was hunched and obviously wounded by his little token. Still struggling to pretend he was in control even as he sobbed and retched. But, he could tell that the so-called king was breaking. He had lasted longer than most of his toys, though. The Shark relished the idea for what he would do to finish breaking the will of the proud, young eagle. Once he finished, the young eagle would realize that Rahzjin was truly the Shark, the master of the land and the seas. And, there would be no more foolish talk of mercy.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, Peter just got put through the emotional and psychological ringer. Did anyone suspect who the Shark's employer, or rather, employers would be? Next chapter will be dealing with something...different, but I promise it won't be so dark as these last two chapters. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.