Half-Bloods R • 1: Fallen World

C • 6 : Tear the Muscles, Shatter the Teeth

Arva, hands cuffed behind her back, was thrown into a chair. A desk sat in front of her and across from the ex-second captain, Darwin sat into a chair of his own as Demi, Vaelan, and Elizabeth stood behind a one-way mirror, watching the scene in silence.

From morning to the afternoon, Demi along with the others had been questioned and interviewed in a truth circle, ensuring that they couldn't lie. The same white circle had been drawn around Arva and Darwin, if either of them lied, they would be shocked, the more they lied, the worse it would get.

None of them said a lie, except Vaelan apparently, and Demi knew why. When asked whether he was truly serving the revolution, he said yes, but the circle zapped him. The question was asked over and over, as well as questions asking who he was truly serving.

When he finally said Demi's name, the circle didn't zap him and the interview was over.

However, the interview that was happening now would be a different case, Demi expected it would be full of painful and horrific strikes of electricity.

Darwin cleared his throat and started the interview, Demi and the others, along with Darwin's most trusted soldiers all snapped to attention.

"Ex-captain, Arva, do you know where you are and why you're here?"

Arva just remained quiet with violence in her gaze, she was staring at the window, and she seemed to be looking at Demi specifically. Demi told herself that Arva couldn't see her, but she called her own bluff. It was her aura, and Vaelan's, and Elizabeth's. Nothing could hide an aura from a magic-user. Although, Vaelan was great at masking his aura, making it almost undetectable but still plain.

Darwin repeated himself, "Arva, do you know where you are and why you're here?"

Arva's head snapped toward the captain, "The third interrogation room on the left, hall D in the old San Antonio police department building. I'm here because you think I betrayed you when in reality I had the best intentions—!"

Arva was cut short by a surge of blue arcs of electricity. She shook violently and was left twitching when they finally stopped.

Demi had never watched an interrogation like this one, most interrogations she watched didn't involve a truth circle. It almost brought tears to her eyes until she remembered who they were interrogating. Arva, the woman responsible for the death of half of Demi's squad, as well as Christopher's capture. Demi stilled herself and kept watching.

"Best intentions? For the revolution or the Order, Arva?" Darwin pressed.

"The revolution—!" Cut off again by the spell, foam gathered at her mouth as she screamed out in pain, "The Order!"

The spell stopped and Arva jerked around for a few more seconds but eventually calmed. Arva was already struggling to breathe, smoke rising off her body.

"Come on, Arva, you've used this kind of interrogation before, did you really think you be able to lie?"

"Nope," she gave an unsettling toothy grin, "Just testing the voltage."

The spell stayed still and flickered.

Vaelan suddenly whispered in Demi's ear, "She just found a loophole, she gave a half-truth and the circle favored the truth rather than the lie."

Demi nodded, Arva was trying to figure out how she could get away with the least amount of truth and the most amount of lies.

Vaelan pressed his hand against the window and uttered an enchantment. Slowly, the circle changed shape. It now held a large diamond in its center and every rune and line turned black.