And Blue Skies From Pain by Stina Leicht Read Free Book Online Page A

shape-shift. Trapped. Was stupid to have come here. A powerful need to run tightened his muscles. The reasonable part of himself knew he was over-reacting. Why was he so terrified of an Inquisitor and not the spotty boy with the Kalashnikov? Then it came to him. Loyalist hatred was mundane. Terrible as it was, he understood it. Loyalists hated anyone who wasn’t a Loyalist. Every Irish Catholic knew that. He’d grown up with such things. On the other hand, murderous Inquisitors, demons, and Fey were aspects of a strange world he knew little about—a world with rules he didn’t know, a world he’d been dragged into against his will.
    Father Murray whispered to the Inquisitor, “Leave us for a few minutes.”
    Father Conroy paused and then shrugged. “I’ll be outside with security if you need me. Knock when you’re ready.”
    Waiting until the keys finished rattling in the lock, Father Murray took a deep breath. His shoulders dropped, and he seemed to relax a bit. He moved away from the door. “I’m watching over everything they do. I won’t allow them to hurt you.”
    “More like I won’t.” In Liam’s experience, it didn’t take strength to wield a knife with deadly force—only the knowledge of where it was best employed. “And I’d be able to see to that for certain if you hadn’t—”
    Father Murray shushed him and gave the door a meaningful glance.
    Liam pointed to the tray and whispered, “I know what torture looks like, Father. And from where I’m sitting it looks like that. At least, until the bleeding and screaming. And I’m not about to let it get that far.”
    “You’re free to go any time. You do understand that was part of the agreement?” Father Murray asked. “Your father is proud of you for volunteering for this. We all are. It’s a brave thing, agreeing to come here. But you’ve lived through a great deal—”
    “No more than anyone else.”
    “—too much if you ask me. So, tell me you can’t do this. I’ll get you out of here. Right now. But if you can endure it—Liam, think of the lives that can be saved. Remember why you’re here.”
    Liam stared at the tray and swallowed. His mouth was dry. His tongue scratched against the roof of his mouth.
    “Can you trust me?” Father Murray asked.
    Liam pushed a hand through his hair. He couldn’t help noticing the tremor in his fingers as he did so. He told himself it was the chill in the air. “Aye,” he said. “I will—I can.” He wasn’t about to admit to fear within Father Conroy’s hearing. “Scalpels make me a wee bit nervous.”
    “I can’t blame you.” Father Murray sighed. “Would it help with the anxiety if you had detailed descriptions of the procedures to be performed?”
    “Aye, it might.”
    “Then, I’ll see what I can do.”
    Resigning himself, Liam slipped out of his anorak, tugged his sweater off over his head and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. Within a few minutes he was sitting on the examination table once more—this time, dressed in his underpants and a fervent wish that he were anywhere else. The stomach-churning stench of antiseptic, mold, and cleansers was impossible to ignore. The paper covering the examination table’s brown vinyl padding crackled underneath him. His skin prickled in the cold, musty, recycled air. He’d grown so accustomed to a tingling sensation preceding a shape change that while Father Murray’s back was turned Liam automatically gripped the edge of the steel examination table and was disappointed when the goose bumps on his arms didn’t instantly fade.
    Fucking hypnosis.
    You can negate the effects any time you wish. Father Murray said as much.
    What if I’ve angered the monster? What if it refuses to come when called?
    Father Murray signaled for the Inquisitor to return. Upon entering, Father Conroy appeared surprised that Liam had agreed to continue without extreme coercion. With a small nod, the Inquisitor went to the desk and picked up a new