Between Heaven And Hell

Ray'ven hummed lazily under her breath as she descended the stairs to the dungeon, two trays held in her hands as she nodded her head to the guard stationed there. With all of the drama that seemed to be added to the castle with the addition of the three women and the daughter of her master, she was glad to get away from the noise.

"Dinner time, dear pirates. I hope I did not keep you waiting long." She greeted both Razmyr and James. It was still odd that Ja'ule was keeping them both restrained there, but Ray'ven would not question his choices, especially after the way she had spoken to him during her momentary possession. She placed down one tray in front of Razymr before walking a few cells down and doing the same for James. She avoided looking at him all together, turning and making her way back to Razmyr's cell and taking a seat in front of it.

The pirate lord of the Black Daggers tipped his head downward to caste cerulean blues at the tray of food she'd slipped inside his cell. He'd spent the past few days staring at the ceiling over and over again until he'd memorized every crack and hole in the wall. That or sleeping the endless hours away that seemed to run together. Even now with food in front of him, Razmyr didn't want it. "Three or four days and now he decides to give me food after a deal? Funny he'd stoop so low as to poison me instead of taking my life with his own hands. Though I'm sure he's just a busy man and doesn't have the time to clean up the mess." He pushed the tray harshly, spilling its contents all over her and the floor. Seconds later his face pressed to the bars, hands coiling around the metal till his knuckles were red. "I want out. I want my ship. I want my sword. And I want it now. If I had anything to do with that attack, my men wouldn't be dead. Hell, I wouldn't have staged something that could have put my own life at risk either."

Chewing came from three cells down, then a soft yet masculine voice followed. "Is there any way that I can have some tea with this? It's actually pretty good. Give the chef my thanks."

"James. That could be," Razmyr started angrily.

"Poison? A few minutes have passed and I'm still alive. Living your life in fear is not living at all." He laughed out loud. This wasn't a laughing matter. James always found a way to smile even through the darkest of times.

Ray'ven's eyes closed and she inhaled slowly, brow twitching as the food she had prepared was wasted all over the front of her blouse. Her lips pressed thin as she exhaled, eyes opening and narrowing on the pirate. She wiped away the mashed potatoes that had clung to her cheek with a handkerchief she pulled from her pocket.

"I assure you, starting with demands will get you nowhere, Mr. Krestov." she said evenly, sea-colored eyes boring into his own. A wave of her hand saw to it that a tray of tea appeared in James' cell. "And you are most welcome, James. I had little time to prepare it, but I am glad it is to your liking...now." She drawled, crossing one leg over another. "If you are done with your list of demands and do not wish to eat, Mr. Krestov, I will be moving you to another area to...talk, if you would."

"Thought you'd never ask." Razmyr's response was quick. He was already on his feet, waiting by the door with his arms folded. "Leave James out of it. I know your master has been looking for him. He hasn't gone back to Ragnar. If that's what he thinks."

Ray'ven stood as well, nodding to the guard to unlock the cell, keeping a close eye on the pirate. She was not foolish enough to let her guard down around him. She took a step away as the cell door swung open. "James' will come to no harm from me." She told the man. What her master planned to do with him was nothing she had any say in.

The guard placed chains around Razmyr's wrist before pulling him from the cell. "To the interrogation rooms." She ordered and the guard shuffled forward, pulling Razmyr along with him, Ray'ven following close behind. The interrogation room luckily was not too far from the dungeons.

Razmyr kept an eye on Ray'ven, noting that she walked closely behind him. But the handsy guard that kept pushing and shoving was getting on his last nerve. His first mistake was walking beside him. The pirate extended a leg swiftly, causing the man to stumble forward. The moment he did, he had the length of the chain that strung between his shackles around his neck, pulling tight. "Again. Why am I being interrogated when my men and myself were being attacked by him? He knows my magick. It is nothing compared to those shadow creatures that tore my ship apart." He gritted his teeth, kicking the back of the guard's leg so he could drop to his knees. During the time of his descent, he twisted his arm, snapping his neck and doing the best he could to retrieve the weapon within the sheath upon his hip.

"If you want to ask me questions, you will do it where I'm not tied to a chair getting beat when it isn't to your liking. Any other time I don't mind being on my knees, but usually I'm not the one begging for mercy when I do." With that, he lifted the sword, pointing it inches away from her face. Clearly, he wasn't about to attack, not unless it was necessary. There wouldn't have been a warning.

Ray'ven tsked as Razmyr killed the man, eyeing the dead body on the floor with disdain before staring back up at the pirate, unimpressed. She raised a hand and moved the blade from her face, then without warning the floor gave way beneath them as she portatled them directly inside the interrogation room. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, she waited for the man to get his barring.

"If you are done, we can begin now." She raised a brow, leaning back in her seat.

Razmyr's stomach lurched as a result of the portal she'd pulled them through. It wasn't the first time and he hated the vile sensation it left behind. Giving her a snarl of annoyance, the pirate lowered in the seat opposite where she sat—chains rattling as he settled. "Go on. I don't have all day." He balanced the sword on his lap, legs shoulder-width apart.

There was an amused tilt to Ray'ven's lips bow and she tilted her head slightly. "What do you know of the creatures that attack your ship?"

He leaned forward so that his elbows rested on the flat of the blade that rested atop both his knees. "I don't know shit. You tell me what blew apart my ship and shredded my men." The look in his eyes rang true. He didn't know anything about them. "I didn't kill you. I had the chance to and you know it. If I really wanted to break the bargain, I wouldn't need anything or anyone else to do it. Unlike your master...I get the job done myself. I don't need a little minion."

"And I'm sure you're proud of yourself, truly." She rolled her eyes at his insults, having already grown used to the rude way he spoke. "What of the attack from Rueborn? Why did he attack you? Why was Lady Stelitzia found on your boat? What were you planning to do with her?"

"My men found her in the caves of the mountain after we were attacked by Ragnar's men. And had your master retrieved the throne, that wouldn't have happened. As for the attack from Rueborn, you're asking the wrong fucking person. Get miss squinty eyes." Razmyr leaned a little closer. "After all, his dark hands went for her. Then nothing. Gone. If you ask me, I find that suspicious. Not all families are good families. She could be stabbing you all in the back just like Ja'ule's doing his father in vice versa." Finally he allowed himself to relax in the chair, shifting so that the manacles weren't cutting into his rest and chafing them more. "What was I planning on doing with her?"

His tone held amusement and malice, a hand running along the stumbles of hair that started growing in around his chin days ago. "I wanted answers just like you. Why was she there? How did she survive Ragnar's attack, and how did she escape Sam?" His brows rose. Surely it was a new name he tossed into the mix. More questions would come spilling out her pretty lips soon enough. All he was doing was buying himself more time.

At the mention of Sam, Ray'ven's eyes narrowed. "The prince of Eli'ak was there? He has supposedly been missing since the death of his father…" Ray'ven trailed off, lips pursing in thought.

"He was there. He attacked me. And Strelitzia was taken." Razmyr's response sounded nonchalant. The entire side of the interrogation wall exploded, dust and debris raining down. The orb-lit layers hung down from their golden metal strings, some even crashing onto the ground and shattering. Heavy smoke filled the room.

"And that's my cue." Said the Pirate, then silence after his shackles clanked a few times.

Ray'ven had just opened her mouth to ask another question when the side of the room exploded sending her flying. On instinct, her body twisted mid-air and she landed in a crouch, Magick swirling around her and she prepared herself for battle. "You will go nowhere." She hissed at Razmyr in irritation, a sphere of translucent black ice forming around him.

"I beg ya pardon," A deep Ogosian voice came from inside the room, the familiar tone of Baeron who was hidden from the cloud of debris inside the room. The sphere of translucent ice cracked down the middle, and Razmyr jammed the tip of his sword inside, twisting. The coldness rained down upon them. Baeron punched Ray'ven in the side hard enough she slammed into the only standing wall.

"Ceiling." He told Razmyr. Without questioning. The pirate ran up his back, letting his hands catch the jagged edge of the hole in the ceiling. He pulled himself up effortlessly, vanishing.

The force of the punch sent her body slamming into the wall, stone cracking and ribs screaming as they threatened to snap from the blow and Ray'ven found herself momentarily winded. Sucking in air, she glared at the man who had punched her, faltering for a second at the familiarity. Pulling herself from the wall, she pulled off her now fully ruined overcoat, tossing it to the side as she faced off with the new threat. "Has no one ever told you how terribly rude it is to punch a lady into a wall without first introducing yourself?" She asked. "Now it's only fair that I slug you in the face for that."

"Now weh know ya aren't a lay'deh. Never have been." Baeron pulled his sleeves up and cracked his sturdy neck from side to side. "Dun ya worry, I'll be gentle. Tryin' to be 'uh better father for my kid." Then he jumped into the air, coming down with an overhand punch. He missed when her head tipped right, his entire fist going through the wall and shattering upon impact. More chunks of plaster rained down upon them.

"Oh, ho, ho, we gettin' fast R weh?" Baeron dusted his shirt, knuckles a powdery white.

Ray'ven smirked, a sense of enjoyment bubbling in her chest. "That or you're just slow." She said, just as she brought up her own fist to slam into his stomach. Baeron curled forward, his stomach muscles bunching around her fist and catching it there. The burly man slammed his forehead into the sorcerer's forehead, taunt arms wrapping around her waist and heaving her into the air in a bear hug. His grip tightened, squeezing until her breathing was restricted and her back popped.

"Common. Yer lad is a wee bit old." He breathed out heavily as he squeezed tighter.

Ray'ven wheezed and she could taste the copper hint of blood in the back of her throat as the man tried to squeeze her to death. With a swirl of mist, she found herself a few feet away, gasping in the air before she glared. "Old my ass. You're bloody built like a mountain." She accused him. Standing up straighter caused her back to pop again and she grimaced.

Baeron stumbled forward, arms empty. "I'm tryin' to make this quick. Would ya believe I'm thirteh-five?" He was chuckling, a burst of hearty laughter that only came from those who loved casual fights in Ogosian.

He lifted his arms in the air, conjuring all the worry he had for his pregnant wife and transferred it around him. The air picked up around them. Cement, chairs, and tables spun around in the air, smacking into her. "Ya are dark magick. Ya know a mage always has the upper hand. Ya aren't going nowhere but to sleep. Course I won't kill ya. Heh, what kind of a father would I be," He closed the space tighter, a smile on his face. "Me? A father? Who would have imagined!?"

He shot his arm forward and a wall of metal wedge itself in between, curling inwards and wrapping around his arm. "Well, that's new for ya."

Then it expanded, another slab wrapping around his entire body. He trembled, his breath coming out in wheezes. He wiggled his head. Ja'ule stepped inside, looking between Ray'ven and the redhead with the large beard. "Explain the meaning of this?" A loud crack echoed out and Baeron wailed deeply.

"My ribs! Oh ya fuckin' pipe hole." Came grunted through clenched teeth. He looked dizzy, face red from lack of oxygen. "Aila." He mumbled his unborn child's name as he slowly fought unconsciousness and death.

"Master, Wait!" Ray'ven stumbled forward, moving to protect the man before she could think about what she was doing. Bowing deeply, she kneels before Ja'ule. "Please, the error here is mine. I was foolish enough to underestimate Razmyr and allowed him to escape. This man only wants to save his wife and child. From the collar he bears, they are no doubt being held by Ragnar and we know what he does. Please, forgive him this once. I will take blame for the damage done here."

Ja'ule lifted a brow. "Ray'ven," He warned, his voice a daring and crackling fire. "Move. I'm overlooking your mistake. I won't do it again. We don't afford weakness when it comes to our enemies. He knows our hideout. I don't leave my enemies alive." He grabbed her by the arm and shoved her out of the way, stepping ahead to deliver the final blow. A thousand pieces of metal twisted onto needles and swords made from him and he shot them forward. They all came shooting at the burly man only for him to vanish from the metal shell with a wave of Ray'ven's hand.