Tymon opened his eyes and tried to move his arms. Madi’s knots held tight and he started to struggle in the chair.

“Tymon. Tymon. Tymon.” Tony’s voice echoed in the room. Orrin glanced at the mind mage, but the frail old man had disappeared.

Instead, Orrin saw the Tony of Madi’s nightmares. Shadows began to pour from his mouth every time he spoke. His eyes were black coals, shattered by fiery crevices. The wispy white hair had thickened into a mane of dark brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. The colors of the rest of the room were drowned out and Tony shone in his vision with a deathly light that made him appear gaunt.

“Try not to stare at me.” Tony’s voice whispered in Orrin’s mind. “I can’t direct this skill and I’d rather not see it in your eyes every time you look at me in the future.”

Tymon was whimpering in his chair. His eyes were wide with recognition. “Quiet Anthony? What? Why?”

Tymon tried to turn his face away, but Tony reached out a hand and gently pushed Tymon’s chin back to the front.

Tony’s hand was covered in dark blood that dripped slowly from his fingers. A smear was left across Tymon’s face.

“No. You should only be looking at me. I’m your problem for the rest of your poor, pathetic life.” Tony’s voice lost some of its rich timbre and began to deepen with a gravelly quality that made Orrin’s skin crawl. “Don’t worry about that. Nobody knows you’re here. Nobody is coming for you. Nobody is going to save you.”

Orrin smelt the ammonia before he noticed the darkening spot down Tymon’s pant leg. He heard Madi take in a gasp of air behind him.

“Now Tymon, should I send these children out of the room before I begin, or should I let them watch? You did kidnap their friend. It might be...therapeutic for them to see you in pieces.”

Orrin’s [Mind Bastion] kept his logic churning but he could still feel waves of pure terror emanating from Tony’s spell. Tony was forcing terror into Tymon and even the peripheral hits of the skill were almost overriding Orrin’s own ability.

Madi had no such protection. She gagged and threw up. Orrin heard her take a few steps outside the room and breath heavily.

“Sorry young Catanzano. It’s been a while. You should be fine where you are.”

“Please!” Tymon wailed, tears streaking through the dirt on his face. “Please don’t do this. I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

A small carving knife appeared in Tony’s bloody hand and he stepped forward. “Oh, Tymon. Of course, you’ll tell me everything. I already know that. But this isn’t just about getting information.”

Orrin couldn’t help it, he looked at Tony.

His friend was gone. A towering figure of fire, blood, and death stood with a slight hunch to avoid the ceiling. The smoke from his mouth now covered most of his body. Each time Tony moved, Orrin caught a glimpse of underneath. His skin had peeled off in long ribbons down his naked chest and blood ran to his feet. His eyes still glowed but with a blackness that squeezed Orrin’s heart. The knife in his hand appeared rusted but sharp enough to cut still.

“This is about revenge for your sins in my city.” Tony stepped forward and shaved the knife along Tymon’s forearm, skinning the man.

Tymon’s screams echoed in Orrin’s ears.

“Tony! We need him-“

Tony turned and winked an eye. For a fraction of a second, Orrin saw the room clearly. Tony was still an old man. He was holding a butter knife and was rubbing jelly on Tymon’s arm. Then the nightmare was back.

“Please! Ahhh. Noo!” Tymon continued to cry and buck against the ropes. Orrin heard Madi heaving again in the other room.

Tony stepped back. Or the huge smoke monster did.

“Who do you work for? What was your mission? Where are you supposed to meet after?”

Tymon was shaking his head and staring down at his bloody arm. The long strip of skin had been pulled back and red muscle throbbed underneath.

“Focus, Tymon...” Tony gently stroked the top of Tymon’s hair.

The captured man’s head snapped up. He was hyperventilating but managed to squeak out a few sentences. “We were hired by Odrana. They want the [Hero] for their war effor-“

Tony slammed the knife down into Tymon’s leg. The man screamed again.

“So Lord Wendeln hired you. Don’t lie to me Tymon. I really don’t appreciate being lies in my own home.”

“Lord Wendeln? He wouldn’t dare to do something like that! He attacked men at my father’s estate,” Madi cried out from behind them.

“Oh. That’s interesting. Why was Wendeln scared? Tymon. I can see into your mind. Don’t try to hide the thoughts, just let them out and the pain can stop.”

“F-fuck you,” Tymon stammered.

Tony’s teeth shimmered into a smile. “Some resistance? Oh, what a treat. You are going to be so much fun.”

Tymon let out a scream and started to shake in his bonds. With a jerk, he tried to bite into his own shoulder and kept crunching his teeth together in a grinding clatter.

Tony stood still, stared straight at Tymon for a moment, and then sighed. His monster-demon facade faded.

“What is happening to him?” Madi asked hesitantly from the hallway. She wiped away something from her chin.

“Currently, Tymon is in his own dream. He’ll be there for a few minutes.” Tony clapped his hands and bustled over to the small closet that kept his cleaning supplies. He grabbed a bucket and the mop that Orrin had grown to hate. “Be a dear and clean up after yourself?”

Madi took the bucket and shook her head in disbelief as the screams continued. “What kind of dream did you put him in?”

Tony shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t bother watching them anymore. You’d be amazed what people come up with on their own. Do you want to see?”

Madi glanced at Orrin. He shook his head no. She squared her shoulders. “Yes.”

Tony pulled a half smile and quirked his head. Madi’s eyes opened wide and then she vomited again.

“At least this time you got it in the bucket.” Tony passed and took a large step over something in the hallway. “I’m going to get a map. I caught a glimpse of a rendezvous point.”

“What if he stops screaming?” Orrin shouted down the hall. “How long is this going to last? We don’t want the neighbors to call the Guard.”

“Sound barriers throughout the house, my boy. If he stops screaming before I get back, stab him again. He’s terrified of you.”

Madi was on her knees, hugging the small metal pail. Orrin patted her back as she emptied her stomach of her dinner. They cleaned her mess out and then filled the bucket with water. Madi took hold of the mop and began pushing the mess across the floor, making an even bigger mess. Orrin sighed and grabbed the mop from her.

“What did you see?” Orrin asked as he slopped the water on the ground and cleaned someone else’s throw-up in Tony’s house for a change. “The nightmare that Tymon is in...what was it?”

Madi was holding her arms tight and staying close to Orrin. She opened her mouth twice before she muttered, “Spiders. He’s got thousands of spiders crawling over his body. They’re going into his nose and eyes. They got under the skin where Tony cut his arm and you can see them moving around under the skin. He’s screaming and chewing them up but more keep appearing.”

“That’s disgusting,” Orrin agreed. “Are you alright?”

Madi choked out a laugh. “I’m in Quiet Anthony’s house while he uses all the magic that’s outlawed in Dey. One friend was just kidnapped immediately after another one recovered from almost dying. My father is going to have me killed for what I’m doing. What do you think?”

Orrin watched the mop’s head push the dirty water around for a minute. He dunked it in the fresh water and turned it tight, letting the sediment rinse off.

She just called me her friend. Say something, you idiot. Orrin looked up from the floor. “Sorry. We’re going to get him back.”

Madi smiled faintly.

“And I consider you my friend, too.”

Orrin blushed and hurried to mop up more of the vomit, the echoes of crying, teeth grinding, and screams in the air.

Tony clumped back down the stairs, holding the tube that Orrin knew he kept his map in. “What happened? Why is Orrin so red?”

“No reason,” Madi said. “What kind of map is that? Did you get it at Pierre’s or Rubenstein’s?”

Tony pursed his lips. “It’s from Jacques’. The one who trained Pierre. Nice dodge by the way. You must have had some mental training.”

Orrin watched the two go back and forth, then pushed the mop and bucket to the side. “Can we try again? Maybe he’ll answer our questions now.”

Tony’s smirk at Madi softened and he tussled Orrin’s hair as he passed. “Sure. Sure. Maybe he’ll offer to guide us to him, too.”

Orrin went to follow but Madi grabbed onto his sleeve. “Can we...stand back here? We can see from the doorway.”

Orrin didn’t need to see what was going on. He nodded and let Madi stand close behind him.

Tony shook his head and rolled his eyes. He smoothed a map of Dey down on the table. “Ok Tymon, let’s see if you want to cooperate.”

Tony’s shape morphed quicker this time into the beastly visage. His body stilled for a moment as he glared at Tymon and the man coughed three times before his eyes stopped spinning.

“Please. Please, no more. Get them out. Get them out of my eyes,” Tymon pleaded. His eyes were red with tears and snot had made a path down to his chin.

“I think that I want to watch one of your little friends lay some eggs in one of your eyes. Would you like to watch, too? I could remove one for you. I could place it on this table and we could watch together. How does that sound, Tymon?” Tony’s voice was once again rocks grating against steel. Each word sent goosebumps up Orrin’s arms. “Or...”

Tymon cowered and shook as Tony spoke. But at the ‘or’ and the inflection of that word, hinting at something better, his nose flared and his eyes widened. “Anything. You wanted to know about Lord Wendeln, right? He’s made a deal for something. I don’t know the details, but we are selling the [Hero]. In the morning. We have enough bellton root extract to keep him dosed until then. Longer even. I stored it myself in an icebox. We’re to wear our hoods up the whole time. Please don’t feed me to the spiders again.”

Tony’s form didn’t move during Tymon’s diatribe. When he finally stopped, Tony nodded once. “All true. Where were you taking the boy? Where would they keep him overnight?”

Orrin watched as Tony moved the rusting dagger over his map as Tymon gave directions. Tony pulled a pencil from behind an ear, a ridiculous place for a demon-smoke-monster to be hiding something, and marked a spot on his map. He held it up for Tymon.

“Yes. Yes. That’s where we were supposed to meet up after.”

Tony snapped his fingers and Tymon’s head lulled.

“Is he sleeping?” Orrin asked as he moved into the room. Tony had already changed back to his normal self.

“No, he’s dead.” Tony didn’t take his eyes off the map. “This is only about twenty miles outside the city. If what I saw in his head was right...”

“Dead?” Madi entered the room.

Tony looked up at the anger in her voice. “No, I was being sarcastic. He’s sleeping. I’m sure you and your father will want his head for attacking your precious house.” He turned to Orrin. “Does nobody here have a sense of humor?”

“It’s just not a good night for jokes,” Orrin replied. He studied the map and Tony’s mark. Northeast. It was in the same direction that he and Daniel had taken that big-rat-killing quest for the Guild. So long ago.

“I’d think a shitty night like tonight would be the perfect time for jokes.” Tony scratched the top of his head. “So, kids. Should we go save the [Hero]?”