A/N Hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for Alanna and Numair being OOC. And remember I own nothing that can be found in Tamora Pierce's books. Thanks to all who reviewed.

Chapter three: Agony

Alanna's world was fading when Numair finally broke through the dome. It had been harder then he had ever imagined. Her shield was almost as good as one he could make. She could easily be the second strongest mage in the country, second only to him.

Numair grabbed Novellee around her waist and pried her fingers away from Alanna's throat. But his trouble had hardly begun. The assassin squirmed around until she was on his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist and squeezed, snapping two of his ribs like they were twigs. Then her hands came up to his temples and began squeezing. The pressure was enormous, so enormous that he fell to his knees.

Burdock rushed up behind the assassin and grabbed her off. Numair shook his head then cast a spell on the assassin. He doubled the spell, then cast it a third time. She became rigid, then fell limp.

"What... the hell... was that?" Alanna demanded as she gasped for breath. She was rubbing her soar throat as she sat up. Her eyes fell on the assassin and she barely resisted kicking her.

"Her magic was far more powerful then we expected. She was a lot stronger then she looked up front. Hold on a second while I remove the spell she cast on you. It should only take a second," he got to work, but he soon found that he couldn't lift the spell. Every time his magic touched the spell, Alanna would cry out in pain.

They heard a strangled sound from behind them. Numair turned to see that the assassin was still in the bind. He loosened his grip on her head and her face twisted into an evil smile as laughter bubbled up from her throat.

"Having a little trouble, mage?" she asked. She waited for a moment then cackled like a hyena. "Only I can lift the spell. But to do so, I have to be freed from this body bind." She gave him a sweet smile, then laughed again.

"Don't do it, Numair. Don't unbind her. She'll kill us all," Alanna hissed as she propped herself up against the wall. Her magic was feeling the effects of the spell. Soon, her magic would burst free and she would die. Her breath began to heave, causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly.

"I'll unbind you. But one wrong move and you're a gonner. Do I make myself clear?" he demanded. Novellee nodded. Besides, she was already regretting her outburst. The spells had taken a lot out of her. She needed the rest of her strength to escape.

"Yes, you make yourself perfectly clear. I won't try anything, I promise," she said in a suspiciously meek voice. Numair glanced at her, then released the spell. She stretched languidly, then released Alanna from her bind. It took more strength then she could possibly imagine unbinding her.

"So, you can speak common," Alanna asked as she got to her feet. In the fray of the battle, Novellee had completely forgotten that she didn't know how to speak Tortallan.

"Yes I can. I only pretended I couldn't to delay you. I really wasn't in the mood to be comparative. I'm still not. So if you want to get something out of me, don't hold your breath. I'm not giving anything away," she stretched, then began to rub her tired muscles, trying to make them limber again.

"What about all the things you told me?" Burdock asked as he stood and leaned against the wall. His eyes meet Novellee's, and she looked deep. In them she saw that he had been hurt when she had lied to him.

She felt ashamed of herself. This was the man who had looked at her like she was human. And she had betrayed him. Her eyes went soft and Burdock thought he caught a glimpse of the real woman inside. The woman who was smothered by the assassin who lived a life of kill or be killed.

Her eyes suddenly went from gray to black and her jaw tightened. Get a grip Novellee, she scolded herself, he wouldn't look twice at you under different circumstances. And if he even saw your real face, you would most likely have killed him. You're simply falling for the moment. Get over it.

"Yeah, well, I lied. What makes you think I'd tell you the truth? I'm no better then a street rat. Besides I'm gonna die tomorrow, and I want to go down with my secrets still secrets," her voice had an edge to it that said this matter was not up for discussion.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like we'll have to take drastic measures, and as I'm the mage, I'll be the one doing it," Numair's voice sounded regretful and when she looked at his face, Novellee saw traces of sadness. Why would he care about her? She wasn't worth his time.

And Tortallan's were evil. They had killed her family. The picture of her brother's sweet, beloved face came to her mind, and the hate filled her, the disgust of breathing the same air as these filthy Tortallan's. All thoughts of them being human and having compassion and real feelings left her mind. She became numb with hate, incapable of feeling anything else.

A small part in her mind told her that she was using this hate as a shield, that she was hiding from her true feelings, trying to cling to the hate so she would have a purpose to live, but she quelled the voice.

"I think we'll begin. Numair, would you please?" Alanna asked. Numair nodded then his black Gift gently bound her to the wall. Novellee refused to acknowledge that he was deliberately being gentle with her. When the questioning began, she stopped thinking about anything except the hate.

"Who killed the Ambassador of Carthak?" Alanna asked. Novellee remained silent. After a few seconds of waiting, Alanna nodded and Numair began the torture.

His Gift lashed out and hit Novellee in the stomach. But that wasn't the end. Along the line of magic that was connecting them, lighting slithered. It reached Novellee and shocked her, making her body arch. Her mouth opened in a scream, but no sound came out. She refused to allow herself to show weakness in front of these barbarians, these cold-blooded killers.

The little voice in her head returned, telling her that she was no better. Hadn't she killed all those people for money? Those innocent people that she had killed in the night, while the slept unaware. How could she put herself above the people before her if she was no better? Worse even, because she accepted money for her killings.

"Who killed him?" Alanna asked again, in a calm quiet voice.

"Killed who?" Novellee asked, smiling winningly.

Numair sent another bolt to her, stronger and for a longer amount of time. The aroma of burning flesh filled the air. But still she did not make a sound. And so it went on for hours, each bolt becoming longer and stronger. When she became to wounded, Alanna would use her magic to heal her, so she would be fresh for another round of questioning.

And still, not a sound left her throat. Novellee remained silent, so silent they thought her dead. But her breathing gave proof that she was still alive. The torture was hideous and Alanna was glad when it was finally over.

"She's not talking. Let's just leave her to her fate. She'll hang tomorrow, and that's the end of it. I can't do any more. Numair let her down." Turning, she left the room.

When she was in the hall, she let her composure fall. She was disgusted with herself. She had tortured a woman, a mere girl really. She couldn't have been more then nineteen. And she hadn't made a sound. She had taken it all into herself. What made her think she was so alone? And why hadn't she just given up the information? She could have talked and it would all be over, but she hadn't. She hadn't said a thing.

Numair soon joined her. He looked into her eyes and she saw the same self disgust that she knew was in her own.

"That was the first time I have ever tortured somebody. I don't ever want to do it again. She was so quiet. She never made a sound..." his voice trailed off as he walked away down the hall. It had been a first time for her too, and she never wanted to do it again. Never, ever would she allow Jon to talk her into doing a torture session. Never.

She walked away from the room, knowing in her heart, that it would be a long time before she ever forgot what burning flesh had smelt like, a long time before the memories of that poor girl left her, a long time before she could forgive herself for taking part in something this horrible.

She returned to her rooms, laid her head on her husband's shoulder and wept for the girl in that room.

Inside the room, Burdock helped Novellee to stand. She was pathetically light and weak, with barely enough strength to open her eyes. He laid her on the bed that had been shoved into a corner and tried to situate her so she would be comfortable.

As he was bending over her to cover her with a blanket, she grabbed his arms, twisted them behind his back and shoved a sharp point to his neck. Her strength took him by surprise. Just a few seconds ago, she had barely been able to open her eyes and now she had him in a hold.

"Make one wrong move an I shove this into your neck. Here's how this works. You're gonna walk calmly out the door. When the guards ask what you're doing, you tell them that you're moving me to a different cell, better for getting information. You continue to walk calmly to the room where the got my stuff. You take me to the safest way out, and I don't kill you. You make one wrong move and I stick this needle into you neck. Don't underestimate these needles."

She ripped her shirt at the shoulder and mussed up her hair, making it look as if it had been grabbed and yanked around. She stuck her finger in her clear eye to make it tear up.

"Ever seen a needle when it's used properly?" she asked conversationally as she prepared to leave the room, situating herself and him to make it look as if he was dragging her against her will. "When placed in the neck, it causes all the blood to rush to the head. Soon, it pours out of your eyes, ears, nose, and your mouth. It's a horrible way to die. I've seen it happen. Never had the pleasure to do it myself, and I'm sure you don't want to be the first."

With that weighing heavily on his mind, she took hold of his hands behind his back and began to walk towards the door. "You'll only be caught again," Burdock growled when they reached the door.

"Of course I will, sweetie," she said in a cheeky voice, "But that's life."

She opened the door and walked him out into the corridor, Burdock before her. She made it look as if he were dragging her against her will.

"Where are you taking me?" she pleaded, her voice a whimper. Burdock was disgusted with himself. He had let his guard down for one moment. She had looked so fragile, so broken, lying against the wall where she had fallen when Numair had let her go. All he had wanted to do was give her some comfort on her last night.

She had probably been waiting for him to do just that, he thought bitterly as he snapped at the guards.

They moved down the hall, making their way to her freedom.

A/N I'll give a prize to anyone who can tell me which movie I got the acupuncture thing from. So review and tell me. I'd also like to apologize again for making Numair and Alanna seem so cruel. But I had to do it too make it fit into my story.

Nubia