[Opener: "God Help the Outcasts"--The Hunchback of Notre Dame]

Cinder passed hours in that cell.

In that time all the useful information she gleaned was from her neighbor, who she finally found out was none other than Kate--Taylor's sister.

She was surprised Kate was still alive. But the girl told her that some of the others taken had been killed. She didn't know how. She said that some were still alive. One had been strong enough to be...initiated into the tribe.

When asked why she herself was being kept here, Kate explained it as such:

"Everyone else gave up fighting," she said, "but I didn't. This is where they keep people until they are obedient...but I think I might...be done fighting."

She looked very tired.

"Why now?" Cinder asked, hugging her knees.

"At first, when I saw my brother come after us, I thought maybe they would follow them, maybe they would find us," Kate said. "But it's been I don't know how many weeks and nothing. If anything, these...scoundrels seem more bold than before. I thought they would kill us right away, but they've done it slowly instead. They took Ali away too. They wanted to recruit him."

"Did they succeed?" Cinder asked.

"I haven't seen him. The others never come to this area," Kate said. "The only person who comes here other than the guards is the slave."

"Slave?" Cinder said.

"That's what the others call her," Kate said. "I don't know why. She brings food sometimes... You can eat it if she brings it."

"What does that mean?" Cinder said in a wary voice.

"Don't eat it if the guards give it to you," Kate said. "The slave doesn't come very often. They starve you to make you more docile. I think maybe she's doing it in secret."

This seemed interesting.

But, as no one appeared, Cinder didn't have much hope of it being helpful.

However, some time after that, when Kate seemed to have fallen asleep uneasily, someone did approach the cells, only they did it by swinging over the rocky walls behind them, which had ledges on them, some big enough to lie down on if you wanted to.

This person was very small and slight, but when she walked up to the cells, she was limping.

She had a hood up on her head, but when she got closer, Cinder could see her face had scars on it.

She looked around. The other guards had seemed to have walked away from this area... Were they really not worried about them escaping just because the Grimm were there...?

The Grimm didn't do anything to the woman.

She was younger than Cinder, probably right between her and Yang's age.

"Don't react," she whispered.

Kate stirred and then looked up. "Oh, it's her now," she said.

"I guess Kate already told you about me," the woman said in a hushed voice.

Honestly, she sounded like someone had hit her in the throat ages ago and she hadn't recovered from it--and Cinder would know from experience.

"Who are you?" Cinder asked, moving more to the end of the cell.

"Does it matter?" the woman said. she reached into a bag on her shoulder and took out some small bags and passed them through the cell bars.

Kate took one and opened it and began to eat the small rations inside hungrily.

They were a lot like the military ones...not very good, but if it was not poisoned, Cinder would take it. She couldn't afford to get weak.

She eyed the woman.

"I guess you don't see any resemblance," the woman said, pushing her hood back a little to show her face more. "It's hard to pick out under the marks, huh...?"

Cinder didn't see what she meant, and then she realized--she looked a lot like Mala...only far less cold and snake-like in her expression, and her hair was black, not brown.

She also was a bit darker than her, complexion-wise.

"Are you related to her?" she asked. "Mala?"

"You guessed it," the woman said. "I'm her sister...half sister."

"But I thought that Rhodes died before..." Cinder said.

"Who is Rhodes? Is that her father's name?" the girl asked curiously. "She's never told me. But no, we don't have the same father. We have the same mother... Did she tell you about Gene yet?"

"Oh, yes...the former leader of this devilish band of cutthroats." Cinder would have used worse language...but Kate was right there, and she had been through enough without someone frightening her more by assaulting her ears--not that Cinder supposed it would matter that much, but she could just hear Salem lecturing her now about decorum... Funny that after all this time, that was what she remembered about that experience.

Fay would have said so too.

"That's my father," the girl said, shrugging. "Or he was. Not that I remember much about him."

"I can't believe you're still alive then." Cinder was blunt.

"If Mala told you about our family, you know that it's not from affection," the girl said. "It's just that, when I was little, our mother made Mala promise not to kill me."

"She had to make her promise that when she was a child?" Cinder said.

She might have been impressed with that in the old days, but it sounded pretty disturbing now.

"Mala is several years older than me. She wasn't much of a child by then, and most bandits start killing people long before they're your age." The girl shrugged. "Mala always swore to our mother that she'd make Gene pay for what he did to them. I suppose she was worried that that would include me, not that he cared about me more than any of his other children... He had a bunch in the tribe. After Mala took over, she killed them all except for me. The only thing my sister ever has principles about is keeping her promises...which is why she only makes them to people she likes. That has not been anyone since my mother died. Was killed, I should say."

She sat on the ground, wincing. "But not killing doesn't mean you have to be kind to someone. My father was a monster himself. I got this from him." She touched one scar. "I got the rest from Mala. And this." She rubbed her bad leg. "Otherwise I probably would have tried to run like she did ages ago. Since I'm not any good on the field either, I serve the tribe. But all of them avoid me like the plague because of how much Mala hates me. Anyone caught being nice to me gets punished. So the only company I really get is you prisoners."

She shrugged. "It could be worse... At least I don't get the treatment that the other girls here get...because that would upset Mala also. Not for the reasons you'd think though. She would get jealous."

Kate nodded at Cinder as if this one she knew.

"You're pretty forthcoming about this," Cinder said to the new girl.

"I have no reason to hide it from you. Your life is worse than mine is right now." The girl shrugged.

She had a point.

Cinder almost had to smirk. "What's your name, girl?"

"No one uses it." The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But my mother named me Esmeralda. Es for short."

"I see...so Esmeralda." Cinder wasn't even sure she said it right. "You help us because you have no one else?"

"I used to," Esmeralda said. "Some of the tribe used to be nicer to me, even if they risked getting caught. But lately they've all changed. The things that go on here...I can't even speak of them."

"But you've never had the...special treatment they do?" Cinder said.

"No, Mala would never want me to be stronger," Esmeralda said. "And I don't want it anyway. Everyone who takes that becomes strange...crueler, like animals. Even Mino... He used to be nicer."

"Mino?" Cinder was skeptical.

"I guess you've seen his dark side," Esmeralda said. "I suppose he's worse to anyone outside the tribe...but we're both outcasts. To outcasts, he was nice, once...nice for one of the tribe anyway. I thought it was normal for people to act this way, but Kate has told me that it's very different out there. I've never left this place for longer than a few hours into the woods, always under watch. It seems people in the world out there actually do not hurt others all the time."

"More of them do than I'd like to think about," Cinder said. "But now and then, yes, I suppose there's some who try to do good."

"You're so lucky." Esmeralda leaned on her hands with big eyes. "You've gotten to know people like that."

Cinder found her a little weird...and why did she remind her of Emerald in a strange way?

[Could be that their names mean the same thing.]

"Es is nice," Kate spoke to Cinder. "She's the only person here who is."

"I'm weak," Esmeralda explained somberly. "And if you're weak, you can't afford to hurt people--they can hurt you back worse. If I ever fought back at Mala or the others, they would hit me harder...so I learned not to fight back. But somehow I still kind of look up to you prisoners who still try. I wish I could do that..."

She glanced around to be sure no one was there and then moved closer to the cell. She said in a low voice,

"So is it true that you're one of the world heroes?"

"Yes," Cinder said. "Sort of. I was there. I wouldn't call myself a hero."

Esmeralda didn't hear anything past the yes.

"Wow," she said. "The others talked about them. They say they're powerful people, the most powerful people in the world. They say they fought gods and monsters and can heal sick people and destroy Grimm with one look."

"Not all of us do all of that. It's distributed into different gifts," Cinder corrected.

"Still... So which one are you?" Esmeralda asked. "Can you destroy Grimm?"

"Not like that... I have to use a weapon." Cinder meant that to be a wry comment, but both girls seemed to think it was still cool.

"Can you kill those?" Esmeralda pointed at the ones near the cage.

"No..." Cinder said. "Not from here... if I got close, I suppose."

"If you could kill them all, maybe we could leave," Esmeralda said. "The only thing I want in life is to get out of this place just once, for real. I feel like if I could even have one day out there, I could die in peace."

"That's awful," Kate said.

"I guess it's not the kind of thing you think is good." Esmeralda shrugged. "But if you had nothing else to think about... I wish I had the kind of life you both have had."

"Don't wish that about me," Cinder said. "My life has been full of darkness."

"And do you think mine is wonderful?" Kate looked at her. "Look at where I've been."

She seemed a bit more spirited with her "friend" here.

"Listen, Esmeralda, do you know if any of the other prisoners are alive still?" Cinder asked. "Or are joining the tribe?"

"I'm sorry, but I'd get punished if I told you anything about them," Esmeralda said, rubbing her leg again. "Mala only lets people meet their old friends if they've already been broken in. She says they would have hope otherwise."

"Your sister is a piece of work," Cinder said. "And I've met people who were cursed with evil magic before who were less psychotic."

"Mala is cursed with evil magic," Esmeralda said. "But she was horrible before that. Even compared to the other bandits. My father used to say that some people are born with evil in their hearts and they can't change it, and that he and Mala were the same there, though she wasn't even related to him. But he said that people who have evil in them make the best bandits."

"He sounds horrible," Kate said.

"He was," Esmeralda said. "But he was strong."

"That is not strength," Cinder said, which was quite a thing for her to say. "That is just ruthlessness. People confuse the two. It's easier to be strong if you cut down everyone else to beneath your level so they can't fight."

"It's as if you met him," Esmeralda said, sounding totally serious.

Cinder found her weird...

But, thinking about it, she realized that of course she was weird. Someone like her had no idea what people really acted like who weren't...bandits. She must be completely maladjusted to life.

It was surprising that she was able to even speak to them at all...and that she seemed to have no touch of the Avarice in her. Cinder couldn't sense any Grimm in her at all.

Was it possible there were people the Grimm would leave alone?

Or was it just that the Grimm, seeing how weak she was, had bigger fish to fry? They were ruthless monsters. The weak would be preyed on anyway by other humans--why bother doing it themselves?

And she wasn't much use as an ally if she was this weak, but as there weren't that many choices, Cinder supposed she had no better options. At least this girl could walk around--sort of--in the camp openly.

"What if we could get out of here?" she asked in a low voice. "Would you go with us?"

Kate looked up. "What do you mean? Isn't it hopeless...? They've caught you, and you're much more powerful than anyone else in the world."

Cinder had a moment of realizing that Pyrrha might have had a point about that. In the eyes of common people, maybe they had become the most powerful.

And to think, she couldn't take credit for it at all. Things sure worked out strangely.

That would have made her mad in the past, but now it seem inconsequential. [A life or death situation will do that to a person.]

"There may be a way," Cinder said. "But if it was to work, I need to stay alive for at least a couple days here. So, Esmeralda, do you have any tips on ways to do that?"

Esmeralda looked around again. "It depends on if they think you'll be useful... I did hear Mala say that she wanted to keep you alive for a while...but sometimes she changes her mind fast. If she flies into a temper, she might just kill you. Especially lately. Sometimes I think she'll forget her promise and kill me... I try to stay out of her sight. But if you seem strong enough to fight...and don't give her too much back talk--and do not ever bring up my father or mother."

"A little late for that. She brought them up," Cinder said.

"She always wanted to meet her real father," Esmeralda said. "She told me that once. She hit me, and then she said that one day she would find her real father and leave this hell hole and I would always be stuck here, with Gene...but after she came back, she never said that anymore."

Cinder felt strangely uncomfortable.

No, she didn't believe for a second that Mala was only a headcase because of Rhodes dying. Clearly she'd been cruel long before that and probably psychotic.

But even so...to snuff out the only hope of escape someone had, well...considering that Rhodes had been her own ticket to freedom, in a sense, it was almost as if she'd stolen the chance from Mala by...

Oh...

She was such an idiot!

"That's why she hates me so much." She sat back. "I had the life she thought she could have."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

But Cinder didn't want to tell them. She knew both of these girls were looking at her like she was a hero right now...and while it was ridiculous, it was kind of a pleasant change from being called a witch, or worse, by the others...and if she told them, they might decide she was just as bad as the bandits and not want to help her escape.

Or follow her if she did.

"But you are as bad at them," a voice said to her, in a nasty tone. "You're the same as Mala and all the others. Why should you hide that from them? It's not new to these girls. Let them see you for what you are and act accordingly."

But she shoved that away.

"I...just have had similar experiences to her," she lied instead. "But I got out."

"Did you run?" Esmeralda asked.

"I did..." Cinder closed her eyes. "But it wasn't really that... People pulled me out of it, people who I owe everything to now, but I've never really liked to admit it. Otherwise I might have been just like Mala."

Now, even in her worst days, Cinder was not quite that monstrous, but she didn't see this in herself...and anyway, what difference would it have made? Evil is evil.

"That's amazing," Kate said. "Could they save us?"

"We're not dead yet," was Cinder's most cheerful thought. "While we're alive, there's a chance. Esmeralda, if you could keep your ears open for any news of anyone else new being brought in."

"Funny you should say that," Esmeralda said, "because I heard someone say that they were going to bring in some new people just today."

"What?" Cinder's first thought was that they had raided another town. "More for..."

She looked at Kate.

"I don't know who," Esmeralda said. "I probably won't see any of them but the ones they put in here. At least for long."

"Can you find out if any of the people here are still...not turned?" Cinder said. "And if the new ones might be able to fight... It won't matter if we get out of here, whatever they told you to do. They could leave with us."

"Do you really mean that someone might be able to...? But there's so many Grimm here," Esmeralda said.

"More than I've ever seen," Kate echoed.

"It won't matter," Cinder said. "Grimm we can handle. But the more we know about the bandits, the better. Esmeralda, you are the only one who can look around. It could depend on you."

"Depend on me?" Esmeralda said oddly. "Huh...that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."

She tilted her head. "I guess it'd be nice to be useful for once...but I would get in big trouble."

"We would die," Kate said weakly. "And we're locked up..."

She gripped the cell bars. "But if there's a chance we could finally get out of this hellhole...maybe I can hold out for a few more days."

"You can," Cinder said. "You and I just have to survive that long..."

She hoped she was right. She was sure the team could find them...but less sure they'd be ready for the tricks the bandits might have.

Esmeralda got up slowly.

"I have to go before someone else sees me," she said. "I'll come back if I can."

She hobbled away.

"And that's our best chance of help," Cinder said dryly.

"I thought that was you," Kate said.

"Let's hope so." Cinder frowned to herself.

* * *

Esmeralda got to fulfill her role of unofficial spy sooner than she imagined. She was sneaking her way back to the corner of the camp that she lived in--a very small hole in the rocks without much furnishings--when she spotted Mino coming back in the main doorway to the cavern.

There were other people following him, and they were dragging some people.

She hid behind one of the tents to watch.

Mala, who looked even more wired now than before, as if she'd been riled up by something, came to meet the group in the center of the cavern as usual.

Esmeralda snuck closer but still out of sight. Mala would start throwing stones at her if she saw her in the center of camp.

Some of the other bandits coming to see pushed past her roughly, but no one cared enough to stop and do more.

The prisoners that were there were a young man with grey hair who was looking pretty groggy, so they'd used those spell knock-out darts they had on him.

And an older man who was humongous and scary looking but seemed more tired than anything else and was also barely awake.

And one man between their ages, who was very alert looking, surprisingly. And very handsome, Esmeralda thought to herself.

She wasn't like the others...mostly because she couldn't be, but she appreciated aesthetics as much as the next girl.

She felt bad for him though. Mala and the other female bandits tended to be pretty awful to the cute ones. And even worse to them if they were women.

Esmeralda didn't really get it, but there were a lot of things she didn't get about how the tribe members thought.

She suddenly saw that the man was looking her way.

She backed up. It wouldn't do to get caught here like this.

One of the bandit women, who was not very pretty notably (which was why Mala tolerated her), stepped forward to explain their catch. Her name was literally Denise, but her bandit name was Magpie because of how she would steal shiny things off the people the tribe attacked--even if they were already dead.

Magpie bowed to Mala. "Milady, we've brought some of the dread heroes. The Grimm slayer."

She pointed at Mercury. "And two of his bodyguards."

"I see you had to incapacitate them," Mala said. 

She walked up to Royal. "You seem like you're the most sharp right now... Hmm, dressed like a pilot, I see."

Royal wished that he'd thought to change clothes.

"Pilot?" Striker said, joining Mala. "That sounds familiar. Could it be this is the one you wanted?"

"That seems a little too fortuitous to have on the same day," Mala said. "But then again, if all I've heard is true...affection does the oddest things to people who suffer from it. What's your name, flyer?"

"Archibald Duke," Royal lied to her.

Mala eyed him. "I don't think it is," she said. "My...to think, her team and her boyfriend on the same day."

She seemed gleeful about it. "This is too good...and it is too good to be true. You must have followed her here." She pulled out her knife and held it under his neck. "Are there any more of you out there?"

"Just us," Royal said.

"There was one more," Magpie said. "But she got away. Branwen's portals..."

"Where was this?" Mala asked sharply.

"Far from here. Miles... They didn't seem to know where our entrance was still," Magpie said.

"So Branwen is actually coming to fight her own battles now?" Mala said.

"She never came...just got the other girl out," Magpie said.

"Isn't that just precious?" Mala said that word like it meant the opposite.

Esmeralda knew that look. She was going to hurt someone any second.

"Milady, shouldn't we just kill the Grimm slayer now?" Striker asked. "Once he's more alert, he'll probably start tearing into the Grimm. And it takes days to regrow them."

"He might, but we can't nix him yet," Mala said. "We need him. How else are we going to figure out how to immunize our pets to their attacks? We can only kill him after that. The big guy looks like he might be useful also. Honestly the blonde one is the only one I'd slay right off, but not if he's useful. I suppose we'll have to test that. Striker, you and your guards go get that witch. Bring her to the interrogation room again. And, Magpie, you and yours bring this guy there. Take the other two and make sure they're restrained properly, away from the other prisoners. We'll see if we can persuade them to join our little band."

"As you wish, milady," Striker said. He and some of the others walked away.

The rest split as Mala had said.

"I want your scouts to make sure none of the heroes are following them," Mala said. "I'm starting to think this wasn't just dumb luck. Someone must have tipped them off as to the general location of the hideout."

She turned to Mino and Hypnosia. "Did Fina talk?"

"She probably did," Hypnosia said. "She was being docile when we last saw her. They broke her. She was no use to us anymore."

Mala suddenly slapped her so hard she fell to the ground.

The other remaining bandits stepped back.

"You didn't just kill her??!" Mala raged. "You know the penalty for informants!"

Mino looked down. "We would have killed her, but we barely were able to escape before they realized what we were doing. Killing her would have slowed us down too much," he said.

"Did I ask for an excuse?!" Mala hit him also with blunt end of her dagger.

She hit hard for her size, and he stumbled back.

"If you weren't still on the job, I'd have both of you beaten for this," Mala raged.

Esmeralda knew that Mala would have killed them if they were anyone else, but Mino and Hypnosia both had very useful capture Semblances, and they would be hard to replace. Mala only tolerated failure from people who had talent that could not be replaced.

Even so, she could be quite harsh without killing them, and if she hadn't been distracted with the other hostages, likely she would have done more, but she had more things to think about.

"Get the job done," she said. "I want him here before they realize where their other little heroes have gone to. But take a different route out. They could still be watching this area."

"Yes, milady." Hypnosia bowed.

Secretly she was relieved. The more time they were away from the hideout, the less she could have time to be shot with the Grimm injection.

And more time Mino had to reconsider if he really wanted to do this. He seemed to be getting more uneasy now that they were back here and without the Grimm.

It was true that Cinder might be in serious trouble now, but Hypnosia figured she could do nothing about that, and, already in her old surroundings, it was easier to think more of herself first.

She didn't notice that change, since she thought just wanting to get away from the Grimm was still a sign of the effects lasting of being freed, but the slip towards selfishness was subtle.

Mino, not being burdened with caring, didn't have any change to notice.

Esmeralda didn't dare follow Mala to the interrogation room.

Instead, she decided to sneak after the others and see where they were taking them.

* * *

Cinder had been trying to use the time when she didn't see any guards.

Taking off one of her shoes, she made the glass come apart.

Inside it was a tiny slip of paper, and she'd had a pen stashed along the inside...which wasn't comfortable, but who cared? She was never one to let a little discomfort stop her.

She leaned on the bars in the back of the cell and wrote out a short message.

She wasn't sure it would work--this place was crawling with Grimm--but apparently it was a small enough thing to slip by, because the letter vanished.

She just hoped the time schism worked in her favor this time.

Not long after that, a bandit man she didn't recognize with two other lackeys came to take her out of the cage.

Kate gave her a wild look of fear.

Cinder knew they were going to take her somewhere to try something utterly detestable--and she wasn't wrong, just not in the way she imagined it.

None of them seemed to notice she wasn't cuffed anymore. Then she looked at their faces and saw how vacant their expressions were of any interest in this... Maybe the Grimm made them more absorbed in insignificant things.

To her surprise, they just took her back to the same shed as before.

Did Mala have more crappy life stories to tell?

Mala was leaning on the wall outside it, sharpening her knife, which didn't bode well.

After what Esmeralda had told her, Cinder disliked her even more, but she also felt kind of guilty.

Could she really have helped create this monster? But surely she couldn't take all the blame for it...yet...

"Ah, Cinder." Mala using her first name made her skin crawl. "You won't believe the luck we've had today. We've bagged a few more people since you... So many, in fact, that I half thought it was a rescue attempt."

Cinder didn't react outwardly, but in her head she flinched.

"Is that a joke?" she said coldly. "I would think you'd have better tactics than that."

"It might be a joke. I guess we'll see," Mala said. "Really, I was going to leave you alone till tomorrow, but now I'm getting just a little pissed off. So tell me, you're partners with a flyer for Atlas, right?"

Cinder felt herself start to sweat.

"No," she said. "I don't have a partner."

"Oh?...Oh, right." Mala tilted her head. "You don't do that, right? But I could have sworn I heard that you did. What was his name again...? I don't remember. Tall guy, nice looking, blonde, kind of seems too soft for the military."

She should try saying that when he was around Watts...

But Cinder didn't react. "I really have no idea what you mean," she said. "Is this a game?"

"I think I remember," Striker spoke up, though she didn't know that's who it was. "The one from the elites... They used to have that shoe company. Zapato, right?"

"Oh, yes, the shoe thing," Mala said. "Speaking of which...are you missing one?"

Cinder shrugged.

"Who wears glass shoes anyway?" Mala mused. "That's just stupid."

"Everyone seems to think so," Cinder said. "But I'm not afraid to be different."

"I see," Mala said. "So you really don't know this Zapato guy at all? I must have the wrong name then. In which case, the person we have in there--" Jerking her head at the shed. "--isn't anyone you know?"

Cinder's stomach felt like the bottom dropped out of it.

But she was convinced this was probably a trick. No way...

"I can spot that bluff a mile away," she said aloud. "You don't think that's going to work on me? Please, show, don't tell."

"Show, huh?" Mala said. Even though she was smirking, she looked cold. "Well, if you insist."

She opened the door.

Of course the others had tied Royal to the wall so he wouldn't get away while they were outside.

The lighting wasn't that good, but Cinder saw him anyway.

She was already prepared not to react, however. As soon as Mala opened the door she knew it wasn't a bluff.

So, with surprising calm, she said, "I don't know that person."

"Don't you?" Mala got that gleam in her eye like before she lashed out.

Grabbing Cinder by her hair before Cinder could move out of her way--and the guards would have stopped her anyway--she yanked her hard to the ground.

That hurt way more than something that didn't inflict damage really should have.

"Stop lying," Mala hissed. "Do you really think my own men wouldn't recognize both of you? Striker was there before, you imbecile... It was because of you that Bruiser died and because of your boyfriend here that we had to kill Blighter also."

That was a lie--they would have killed Blighter anyway just for being caught with them, but Mala didn't care about the truth.

Cinder didn't care that much about the pain. She was more focused on how Royal had got himself captured in less than one day, and if she would strangle him for it later if they survived.

But no...it was all over. If Mala knew, then she had the power here. The whole plan was ruined.

Well...not entirely... There was still a slight chance if this meant the heroes were close to finding them.

If Royal was caught, who else was? Hopefully no one they'd think she knew.

She then wondered what kind of thing Mala would use this leverage for... It was one thing to not care if Cinder fought her guards, but, she definitely seemed like the type to enjoy using leverage in the worst way possible.

How well would it work? Cinder had never had leverage used against her in that way and had no idea how she'd hold out against it.

Royal heard what they were saying. Though he couldn't see Cinder from that angle.

He was sure Mala was doing something though. He already had the creeps just from meeting the woman for a few minutes.

But if she was threatening her, Cinder was still in good enough condition for it to be necessary... Weird thing to be optimistic about, but...

"I should let them waste both of you." Mala yanked Cinder up now. She seemed to enjoy this. "But that would be a waste of an opportunity. So how about we do something more productive? I want you to tell me how your boyfriend knew where you were. My bandits captured you, but you must have left some kind of trace behind. Crafty, I have to admit. I was told you had no brain."

"Did...Watts tell you that?" Cinder gritted her teeth.

"He did." Mala didn't care if she knew.

"He says that about...everyone," Cinder replied.

"If you won't talk to me," Mala said, "how about this? I'll order them to start using some of our persuasion methods on that poor Zapato guy...and if that's not enough incentive, I can think of more. Do you want to test me?"