The world lurched back into nauseating existence. Nairo came back to life with a racking cough that was half a sob. Pain lanced through every nerve in her body. Her neck felt like it was frozen and her shoulders were on fire. She snorted snottily and tried to open her eyes, but everything was still black. Why was it so hard to breathe? Panic set in and for a terrifying moment Nairo’s battered and sleep deprived brain conceived that she had been buried alive. Her breathing came quicker. Something was smothering her. She tried to move but she couldn’t. Her body flopped and thrashed.

“Sarge! Sarge!”

Nairo looked around in the blackness.

“Ridley? Ridley, what's happening? I can’t see.”

“You’re okay,” Ridley said. “They’ve put bags over our heads.”

“What? Why?” Nairo tried to move again and heard the rattle of chains.

“We’re chained up,” Ridley said. “I think we’re hanging up.”

“Is that why my shoulders are aching?”

“That plus getting flung ten feet from a speeding carriage.”

Nairo groaned as images of their ill fated escape came back to her.

“Where’s Pelt?” she said.

“He’s next to you, I think.” Ridley replied. “He ain’t said much but every now and again he starts sobbing.”

Nairo clenched her teeth. She felt like crying right now. Whether from pain or fear she wasn’t sure.

“Pelt?” Nairo hissed into the bag. She heard the Pixie’s muffled sniffles next to her. “Are you okay?”

“They took the Diamond. I’m sorry.” Pelt sniffled.

“It’s okay Pelt as long as they didn’t hurt you.”

“I am okay.”

“Where is Oz?” Pelt asked.

“I don’t know,” Nairo replied.

“Is he okay?”

“He got out of there when the fighting started,” Ridley said.

“Good. Then my friend is okay.” Pelt fell quiet again.

“Why’s it so cold?” Nairo asked turning back Ridley

“I don’t know. After you passed out they bagged us. It was a short ride and I haven’t heard any sounds outside. I reckon we’re still on the riverfront, maybe in one of those old abandoned warehouses.”

“Great,” Nairo groaned.

She hung in silence trying to control her pounding heart. Ridley still sounded like his usually laconic self, but fear was beginning to eat at Nairo. The more she put the pieces of their situation together the more afraid she became. They didn’t know where they were. They were battered and broken. They had no back up. No one even knew they were on this side of the city, let alone what they might be doing. They were at the mercy of Human gangsters. Even worse, the golden toothed one had mentioned The Landlord Bill Graves. The memory of that sadist made her nerves fray to their last strand. Her breathing was short and sharp. She felt like she was suffocating under the heavy bag over her head.

Then she heard footsteps followed by the squeal of a rusted metal door being thrown open. The march of heavy boots closed in on her. Nairo turned her bagged head left and right, trying to figure out where the footsteps were coming from, but they echoed all around, disorienting her. Rough hands grabbed her. She fought but they were too strong. The bag was whipped from her head and she blinked sweat from her eyes. They were in a large warehouse space that looked like it had once been used for meat processing. There were several long butchers’ tables and hooks hanging from the ceiling for carcasses to be hung from. Her stomach lurched. The place was covered in dry, brown smears of blood. The stench of death was everywhere. She looked to her left and saw Ridley, who had a nasty lump coming up on his head, Pelt, who looked miserable and terrified, and the four Goblins. All of them were hanging from meat hooks by heavy chains like prized pigs. Standing in front of her was the Human thug Golden that had kidnapped them and four of his men. He flashed her a gleaming grin.

“I s’pose this is the last place a pig wants to find herself ain’t it?”

The men sniggered.

“Why don’t you piss off you golden mouthed twat,” Nairo spat at him, terror making her rash.

“Oooh, that’s not very professional, Sergeant.” Golden leered up at her. “Get the bags of the Toads, make sure they’re all still alive. Mr Graves won’t be happy if he doesn’t get his fun.”

The men grabbed the Goblins by their legs and hauled the bags from their heads. The Goblins were bloody and broken. Rufi hung from a meat hook, swaying, blood congealing on at least a dozen wounds. He had a scrape that ran from his forehead down his cheek to the point of his chin. His arm hung awkwardly like his shoulder was out of joint. Chuch too looked like he had literally been scraped up off the roadside. Pug and Mikkel looked like they had been used as punching bags for a pack of gorillas. They were covered in lumps and swollen contusions.

“What was that about making me bleed first, Rufi?” Golden spat.

“This is very bad,” Rufi mumbled, spitting a mouthful of blood on the floor.

“Oh come on Rufi, where’s your famous Goblin fighting spirit. Not like you to give up so easy.”

“I don’t mean bad for me,” Rufi said. One of his eyes was swollen shut, but the other was fixed on Golden with murderous intent. “You don’t do this to me. You know that.”

“Why? Huh? What makes you so fuckin’ special? Your Uncle’s clinked up mate! The Elves have got him and he ain’t comin’ back! You know what that means? You’re just another fuckin’ Toad swinging from a chain now! No Uncle Sammy to protect you!”

Chuch growled in Kittei and spat at Golden.

“Oh and there’s the big bad Choochy. What is it they call him? The Ghost? Ha!” Golden spat back at Chuch. “You ain’t never scared me!”

“Untie me and we’ll find out if that’s true,” Chuch snarled at him.

“Oh don’t worry. By the time we untie you, there won’t be enough bits of you left to have a scrap with Choochy.”

“Fuck you you pigskinned motherfuck!” Pug snarled, flailing against his chains trying to get at Golden.

The men laughed and began beating at the Goblins with clubs, mocking them as they did.

“Enough!” Nairo barked. “This is insane! What do you think you’re doing? This is kidnapping and torture!”

“Oooh, big scary police lady,” Golden said with a mocking grin. “Well go on then, go and tell on us. Oh, you can’t can you? Well I’m sure the calvary is ridin’ to your rescue any minute now. Oh wait, no one knows you’re here, do they?” Golden walked up to Nairo and slid his finger up her thigh. “No luv, you’re just some stupid bitch lost in bandit country. And copper’s bodies disappear in the tar pits, just like anyone else’s does. After all, you are a disgraced copper up on charges. Maybe you done a runner? Maybe you topped yourself? Couldn’t face the shame of it all. Who’s really gonna care?” Golden grabbed her inner thigh and Nairo lashed out with her knee, catching him in the nose.

“Ahh, you fuckin’ bitch!” he snarled, blood pouring out of his nostrils. “Just for that, now I’m really gonna take my time with you! Lower her chains!” he barked at his men, a serrated blade appearing in his hand.

“Get off me!” Nairo screamed as he grabbed hold of her flailing legs.

“Sarge!” Ridley yelled, trying futilely to kick at Golden.

“Don’t worry, I’m just gonna cut you a little bit, nothing you can’t live without!” Golden laughed as he grabbed hold of her legs, clamping them together.

Nairo fought hard against him, flailing her body as he brought the knife towards her face.

“Goooolden,” a voice growled from the entrance of the warehouse. The gravely, animalistic tone echoed around the warehouse.

Golden’s head snapped up and he looked around, fear painted on his scarred face. Nairo felt her blood run cold. She heard his heavy footsteps thudding towards them. The men backed away from the Goblins and Golden let go of Nairo, stumbling away from her.

“Mr Graves,” Golden said breathlessly. “The copper bitch was…”

“Was she?” The Landlord’s cold drawl cut across the warehouse.

Nairo still couldn’t see him but she felt his presence. Even the freezing warehouse couldn’t match the cold that radiated from Bill Graves.

“No… umm… I mean…” Golden stammered, looking down.

“You know what I think of men who put their hands on women, Golden.” In a blur Bill was in front of them, a blade in his hand, his heavy trench coat whipping past Nairo. The knife stopped just short of Golden’s bits. “I don’t think they’re men… and I make sure no one else will ever think of them as men either.” Bill’s face was an inch from Golden’s.

Golden quivered and looked away from Bill’s frozen eyes. .

“S-s-sorry Mr Graves… I wasn’t thinking…”

“Noooo,” Bill growled. “You wasn’t.” The blade vanished and Bill patted him on the shoulder. “That’s okay, your job’s not to think. You done well, now go clean yourself up. Go on, piss off.” Bill slapped him on the cheek and then turned to face his captives.

He was more terrifying than Nairo remembered. His glacial eyes pierced each one of them, his cruel mouth twisted somewhere between a frown and a feral snarl. He stood tall and imposing, his trenchcoat accentuating his height and his broad shoulders. He was breathing hard. His breath had that slight squeak of air being drawn through a nose that had been broken several times. Her own breath had stopped.

“Four Goblins, a PI, a lady copper, a Pixie, all come across the bridge…” He said it like the beginning of a bad joke and began pacing up and down. “How many leave with all their bits still attached?”

“Bill, what is this?” Rufi said.

“You tell me short pants,” Bill growled. “You come across the bridge, unannounced, uninvited, tooled up, and in numbers?”

“It’s not like that, Bill.”

“It’s not?” Bill snarled. He covered the space between him and Rufi lighting fast. He stood almost eye to eye with the captive Goblin.

“No,” Rufi said, his voice hesitant, but his eyes met Bill’s without flinching.

“No,” Bill eyed him like a hunter admiring the latest head on his wall before turning away.

He shrugged off the trench and chucked it to one of his men, revealing his sinewy frame and the thick, bunched muscles around his neck and shoulders. He was wearing the same homespun vest and workman’s shirt as the first time Nairo had seen him with a pair of twin daggers holstered under his armpits. He clicked his fingers and one of his men handed him a heavy roll. The canvas roll clinked ominously. Bill paced the roll down on one the butchers’ tables and then unfurled it. Inside was an assortment of cruel blades, gouging implements, and heavy knives designed for separating joints. Bill ran his finger across the weapons and then looked up at them.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to start asking questions.” Bill said, slowly and carefully rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

“Bill…” Rufi began.

“Save your breath,” Bill muttered, testing the edge on a thin skinning knife. “I’m not going to hurt you. Your Uncle might be locked up but I still respect the accord between us. And, by way of blood, that accord extends to you.” Bill turned and began to size up Pug. “But these three? They’re Uncles ain’t nobody. Are they?”

“Do whatever you want,” Chuch snarled at him. “Just make sure you chuck my body deep in the pits, otherwise I’ll come back for you.”

“Don’t be in such a rush to die,” Bill said placidly, walking up to Pug, knife in hand. “We’ve got the whole night together. Although, you look half dead already. So I think I’ll start with this one.”

“Mr Graves!” Nairo said, trying to twist herself so she could see him. “Mr Graves, this isn’t right. You said yourself there are rules! Torturing and murdering people in front of an officer of the law is most definitely against those rules!”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Don’t quote rules you don’t live by, girl.” Bill said, pointing his blade at Nairo without looking at her. “Things have changed. There’s riots on the streets. Law and order has well and truly fucked off. Could be, the Goblin problem goes away after tonight, and with it goes all rules and accords.” Bill scraped the point of the knife down the scales on the side of Pug’s swollen face. “And as for you, Sarge? I would be more worried about your own safety than these lot. Golden’s put us in a bit of bother by bringing you here. But that’s a problem I’ll deal with later.”

He turned back to Pug, his eyes showed no emotion, no care, no humanity. He regarded him like a butcher picking which joint to carve first.

“Rufi, I’m going to start with the bits of him that a man can live without. Toes, finger tips, earlobes, etcetera. The longer this goes on for, the more important bits of him are gonna start getting lopped off. Bits no man wants to live without.”

Pug tried his best to meet the Landlord’s cold eyes, but he was too young, too soft still, and the Landlord was too wicked. His eyes faltered and he looked at Rufi.

“You don’t need to do this, Bill.” Rufi said.

“No? Well what if I just want to?” Bill replied, waving his knife around Pug’s face carelessly. “What if I’m just sick and demented and it’s been a long time since I cut a creature till they wept.” He whirled back to Pug, inches from his face, his voice barely above a deranged whisper. “You ever hurt a creature so bad, in such irrevocable ways, that they weep. Not from pain. But from what you turned them into.” Bill grabbed Pug’s face and forced him to look into his eyes. “How many bits of you can you lose before you’re not you anymore?”

Pug swallowed.

“Wanna find out?” Bill asked, his eyes wide on the brink of being crazed.

He raised his knife and slowly twisted the point into the side of Pug’s cheekbone. Pug whimpered, then Bill twisted the knife sharply and the young Goblin cried out as a tear drop of blood streaked down his face.

“Bill!” Rufi roared.

Bill blinked as if remembering where he was. He pulled the knife out of Pug’s face and looked at the blood on his cheek. He looked down and sighed, rolling his tongue around his mouth.

“Yes Ruf’Gar?”

“There’s no need for this. We’re not lying. Unhook us and we can talk.”

“Why? Something stopping yer mouth from working right now?”

Rufi clenched his jaw.

“We’re only here because…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Bill said, his voice thick and gravely. “You know how this works. You’ve come across the water without invitation. You come tooled up and you tried to kidnap two Humans. One of ‘em might be a copper, but she’s still Human. You killed four of my boys, injured a dozen more. You smashed Florence market half to shit in your little moonlight chase. Nothing you say can change any of that.”

“No one knows…”

“I know!” Bill roared, whipping around to face. “You see thats what’s wrong with your whole fuckin’ generation. You wanna play Villain when it suits you! Either it all has meaning or none of it does!”

Rufi hung his head, looking down at the bloodstained floor.

“Your Uncle understands that,” Bill continued. “You think those Elves could have just come in here and snatched up Sam’Sun without him knowing they were coming. We all knew they were fuckin’ coming! But your Uncle’s a man! He stood tall and wouldn’t be run out of his home by some fuckin’ Elves!” Bill stabbed the knife down into the butcher’s block and spun on Rufi again. “And instead of coming to me like a man, you snuck around like vermin and broke every accord of the Pact, like blood wasn’t shed to put it in place! Like blood hasn’t been shed to keep it in place! Fuckin’ children, the lot of you!”

“We had to…” Rufi began.

“And so do I,” Bill growled.

Silence stretched between them.

“What if we make a deal?” Ridley said.

“What?”

“A deal,” Ridley said.

“You ain’t got anything I need PI. You’re better off hanging there in silence and you might survive this.”

“How about something over those toffs in the Houses you’ve been doing business with?”

Bill stopped and looked over his shoulder at Ridley. His eyes narrowed and another blade appeared as if by magic in his right hand. He strode slowly and deliberately towards him.

“I would be very careful about what you say next,” Bill hissed, the point of the blade inches from Ridley’s throat.

Ridley looked down at the cruel blade and licked his lips.

“I know you’ve been supplying muscle to the Men of Now.” Ridley said. “I know Pleasently cut some sort of deal with you and I know he regrets it. I’m guessing they’ve made certain promises to you, more than just gold, and knowing how slimy those politicians are, I’m betting they’ve been giving you the run around on paying their dues. I mean, it’s not exactly like you can just kick the door in and cut him to pieces if he goes back on his word, is it?”

The blade inched closer.

“And, most importantly,” Ridley said, trying to pull his neck away. “I know how you can get leverage over Pleasently and Stubbs!”

The blade stopped.

“I’m listening,” Bill said.

“But first, you can’t kill any of us.”

“Can’t I?”

“And no cutting, or stabbing, or taking bits off any of us, including the Goblins.”

“Oh really?”

“We all walk away from here, with all our bits intact, and we forget all about it.”

A small, amused smile flickered across Bill’s face.

“And what about her?” He nodded his head at Nairo.

“What does she know? That bag never came off her head. She didn’t see any faces, didn’t hear any names, didn’t recognise any voices. She was knocked loopy by the crash. Doesn’t remember a thing before or after it.” Ridley and Bill both looked at Nairo.

Her lip curled but then she nodded slowly.

“As long as everyone leaves safely,” Nairo said through gritted teeth.

Bill considered this for a moment.

“And what’s to stop me simply cutting bits off the lady copper until you tell me what I want to know?”

“Kill a copper?” Ridley retorted. “Dress it up or down, talking about bodies disappearing, blah blah, she’s a copper. You don’t kill coppers, that’s the rules.”

“Don’t you quote the fuckin’ rules to me, cunt.”

Ridley licked his lips nervously but continued.

“The leverage I’ve got will also exonerate Uncle Sam. I’m sure you don’t want his nephew’s mangled corpse on your hands when he gets out.”

Bill paused and pulled a thoughtful face. It wasn’t fear, more animalistic pragmatism.

“Well why don’t I just take bits off you until the Sarge tells me what I want to know?”

“You could…” Ridley said, trying to think of a reason not to. “But then…”

“I’ll kill you.” Nairo's voice was cold as naked steel. “Once I’m free, I will hunt you to whatever hole you rest your head in and I will put you down like the mad dog that you are.”

Bill cocked an eyebrow. He met her eyes, searching them, before giving a small nod.

“There it is. Good girl.” he muttered like a proud father before turning back to Ridley. “You’ve got a deal. But, if what you tell me is a load of bollocks, I’ll kill all of you, slowly.”

“That’s fair enough,” Ridley said and Bill nodded to his men to lower the chains.

The second Nairo’s feet touched the floor she felt relief flood through her numb shoulders. She winced as she slowly lowered her arms. Pelt whimpered and curled to the floor massaging his arms. His soft cries of anguish echoed around the warehouse.

“The Goblins stay chained up,” Bill said. “I hope you understand,” he added to Rufi.

Bill’s men surrounded the Goblins and kept their crossbows trained on them.

“We’ll honour the PI’s deal,” Rufi said, stretching his neck and nodding to his Kith.

“So, what’s this leverage then?” Bill asked, leaning back on the butcher’s block with his arms folded across his chest, his fingertips brushing the handles of his daggers.

“It’s this whole case,” Ridley said, lighting a smoke with shaking hands. “All of this. This whole mess and the way we get out of it.”

“Your bank robbery?” Bill asked.

“Yeah. A Diamond was stolen in the robbery. That Diamond was Active.”

“As in actually Magickal?” Bill said.

“And very dangerous,” Nairo said, feeling life returning to her swollen hands. “It has the capability to kill and is highly unstable. We believe the Elves may have used it to cause the Earthquake in Ling. That’s why they were here in the city; they were on their way home. They were using a Cut Pixie to maintain and look after it. The Pixie stole the Diamond.”

“A Pixie?” Bill said incredulously and Nairo nodded.

“Wait, a Pixie killed Benny?” Rufi asked.

“How did you know Benny was killed by the Diamond?” Nairo asked him.

Rufi hesitated for a moment and then shrugged.

“We’ve had you followed since you arrested that gumba at Benny’s.”

“You have?” Ridley asked, a look of realisation passing across his face. “The guy creeping around the flat last night?”

“No,” Rufi said and then looked at Bill. “That was Mr Graves’ man. He’s been following you since your run in.”

“That’s how you both found us so quickly,” Nairo said, angry with herself for not realising they had been trailed for nearly the entire case.

“We keep tabs on things,” Bill said by way of explanation. “And is this the Pixie?”

Pelt looked up as all eyes turned on him. He whimpered and tried to curl into a tiny ball.

“This is Pelt. He was Cut from his people by the Elves and forced into indentured servitude,” Nairo said.

“You killed Benny?” Rufi said, his voice cold.

“He didn’t mean to,” Nairo said, quickly stepping between the quivering Pelt and the Goblins. “Benny was in the Royale Cafe waiting for De Woolf, and he came across Pelt and kidnapped him. He tried to take the Diamond and in the scuffle…the Diamond went off and killed him.”

“And he killed those Humans in the Iron district?” Rufi’s lip curled in anger.

“That wasn’t your lot?” Bill asked sardonically.

“You know it wasn’t. Since when would my Uncle greenlight some nobodies in broad daylight and leave the bodies to be found? Magick was used to kill those boys, the same Magick that caused the bang on Toliver’s bridge, all done by this little Pixie!”

“It was an accident.” Pelt whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. “I was lost and afraid. They tried to hurt me. The Diamond responds to intense emotion and it just went off before I knew what happened.”

“Pelt has been living rough on the streets trying to keep the Diamond from the Elves and to stop it blowing up and taking half the city with it.” Nairo explained. “The Elves have used it for evil. It’s a dangerous weapon that has been used to kill hundreds, if not thousands.”

“So all of this! The riots! The EIF coming to town! My Uncle being locked up! This is all the fault of some fucking Pixie!” Rufi snarled, taking a step towards Pelt.

“It is not Pelt’s fault!” Nairo said, throwing her arms wide and standing firm.

“Yeah, it was the Elves,” Ridley growled. “It’s always the fucking Elves.”

“I’m sorry!” Pelt whimpered. “I just wanted… wanted them to stop. I just wanted to go back to my people! I never knew this would happen.”

Pelt broke down in racking sobs. Rufi’s expression lost its hard edge.

“How is Sam’Sun?” Bill asked, his tone bored.

“Under Elvish custody,” Rufi replied. “They won’t even let him have a lawyer. They’ve declared him an enemy of the Forest.”

“Huh, again?” Bill snorted.

“That’s why we had to come across the bridge! I didn’t have time to reach out and organise a sit down!” Rufi said. “You know these Elves. There won’t be any due process. If they can keep him for long enough he’ll disappear into one of their Gulags.”

“My heart bleeds,” Bill said.

“If they come for one of you like that, there’s nothing stopping them from coming for the rest of you.”

“I’ve got no fuss with the EIF,” Bill said.

“Right now you don’t. But what’s the point of being untouchable if some cunt can swan in and nab one of the Four Kings with no evidence or no crime?” Rufi replied.

“So what’s this leverage then?” Bill said, ignoring Rufi and turning back to Ridley.

Ridley hesitated, looked at Nairo, and then turned to face Bill.

“Your boys snatched up a little wooden box when they took us.”

Bill looked over his shoulder at his goons and one of them nodded. Bill clicked his fingers and held out his hand for the box.

“That’s the Diamond,” Ridley said. “With it, you’ve got Pleasently over a barrel. The Elves are putting all sorts of pressure on him to get it back. If he fails, his relationship with the faye folk goes up in smoke.

“This?” Bill asked, weighing the box up in his hands and Ridley nodded.

“You could hide it and let Pleasently swing. His own party would oust him if he lost the support of the Elves. The Owners wouldn’t step in since they do whatever the Elves tell them to…”

“You can’t!” Rufi said quickly. “If that Diamond and the Pixie don’t reappear then my Uncle can’t be freed!”

“So I could get rid of Pleasently and Sam’Sun, just by making this little chunk of rock disappear?” Bill said.

“Bill, you can’t…” Rufi began.

“That’s the last time you tell me what I can and can’t do,” Bill growled, his voice low and dangerous.

“Or,” Ridley interjected. “You’re the hero that found the Diamond and saved Pleasently’s ass. You cut whatever deal you want with him, I’m guessing he’ll agree to anything right now, and you free Uncle Sam. Both of them would owe you.”

Bill looked up from the box and at Ridley. His cold eyes narrowed and then a wicked smile played across his lips.

“Better the devils you know?” he said, his voice low and throaty.

“Exactly,” Ridley said.

“No!” Nairo said firmly. “We can’t just hand the Diamond and Pelt back to the Elves! You know what they did with it! What they did to him! We can’t…”

“We don’t have a choice,” Ridley said quietly.

“There must be another way!”

“There isn’t!”

“We can’t give them Pelt.”

“The Pixie has to go back with the Diamond,” Rufi said. “Otherwise they’ll never believe Uncle Sam is innocent.”

“He’s not!” Nairo screamed at him. “He’s a criminal!”

“But he didn’t do this,” Rufi said. “The Pixie did.”

“But it wasn’t his fault… he…”

“Murdered five people,” Ridley said, his voice low and gentle. “Whatever else, Sarge, you can’t let Uncle Sam hang for a crime he didn’t commit.”

Nairo looked from Ridley to Rufi, her face curling in anger, then Pelt spoke.

“Please friend,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Pelt has done evil. I don’t want anyone to be hurt anymore because of me. My people… they don’t want me. I have no family anymore. Even the Diamond can’t make Pelt a Pixie again. Just make it stop. No more killing. No more pain.” Fat tears rolled down Pelt’s cheeks.

Nairo felt her own eyes tear up.

“It’s wrong. No matter what the law says. It would be an injustice to just hand Pelt over to those sadistic Elves. It’s not his fault!”

“We don’t get to decide what’s right or wrong, didn’t you tell me that?” The truth in Ridley’s words stung her deeply. “This is the only way to stop the riots. To bring peace back to the city. Remember, it’s not just Uncle Sam, but De Woolf, and Conway, and a whole city of innocent people that are suffering right now.”

Nairo hung her head, letting her hair fall across her face, unshed tears filling her eyes.

“All of this over a little chunk of rock,” Bill mused.

Gently, he undid the clasp on the box.

“Please! It is dangerous!” Pelt squeaked but Bill ignored him.

He opened the box and the light of the Diamond bathed his face. His eyes went wide and it was as if something had gripped him. He stared like he was suddenly lost. Nairo could feel that bizarre energy radiate throughout the room buzzing through her teeth. The hum of the Diamond burrowed deep into Nairo’s mind, making her feel nauseous. Rufi swore an oath in Kittei and shielded his face. Bill cocked his head to one side, his eyes lost focus and his hand began reaching towards the Diamond. He almost had his fingertips to it when he froze. Some animalistic intelligence fought against the allure of the Diamond. He quickly snapped the box shut and blinked. The energy vanished and everyone in the warehouse looked around as if coming out of a collective daze. Bill clenched his jaw and looked at Golden.

“I think it’s time we bring in our friend the politician. He’s got some explaining to do.”