The Alien's Captive by Ruth Anne Scott Read Free Book Online

That’s where the Ursidrean battle column breached our border for the first time. Now tell me the truth. Who commanded the division that crossed it first?”
    Menlo gazed out the window. “I can’t remember. It was too long ago.”
    Aquilla pushed Menlo back to the middle of the room. “You’re lying.”
    Menlo only shrugged.
    “Which division did you fight in?” Aquilla asked.
    “I was in the Tenth Division,” Menlo replied.
    Aquilla’s eyes flashed. “If you toy with me, you’ll find yourself in a very unpleasant position. Which part of Avitras territory did you attack?”
    “I’m already in an unpleasant position,” Menlo replied. “My position couldn’t get much more unpleasant.”
    Nausea gnawed at Anna’s insides. She clasped her hands together in her lap until her knuckles ached. Aquilla might as well be interrogating her.
    Something thumped against on the balcony outside, and a line of Avitras men filed through the door. The first one stood taller than Aquilla himself, and his teal feathers caught the fading sunlight and glowed brighter than Aquilla’s pearly feathers. Anna recognized Piwaka, the Captain of the Guard.
    Wrinkles softened his skin with the first signs of age. He surveyed the room in one glance, and he smiled at Anna and Penelope Ann. Anna blushed, but she couldn’t smile back. This was nothing to smile at.
    The Guards formed a line behind Aquilla and faced the prisoner. Aquilla threw back his shoulders. “I’ve been questioning our prisoner about his involvement in the first Ursidrean war. He won’t admit it, but I’m convinced he knows the identity of the division commander for the Eastern Divide.”
    Piwaka frowned. “Is that true? Do you know who the division commander was?”
    Menlo shifted from one foot to the other. “I was just a foot soldier. I had nothing to do with command. I know who my division commander was, but I couldn’t say whether I fought on the Eastern Divide or not. To tell you the truth, I don’t know where I fought. I only know I was somewhere in Avitras territory.”
    Aquilla rounded on Piwaka. “Don’t believe a word he says. He’s spinning a yarn to throw us off the track.”
    Piwaka shook his head. “You know how it is in combat, Aquilla. Most soldiers don’t know the first thing about their commanders’ plans or where they are. They care about keeping themselves alive, and not much else. You’ve fought in enough border skirmishes to know that.”
    “Can’t you see he’s lying through his teeth?” Aquilla shot back. “He’s hedging so we don’t find out who the division commander was.” He turned back to Menlo. “Tell us who your division commander was. If you can’t tell us what part of our territory you fought in, you can at least tell us who you fought under.”
    Menlo opened his mouth to answer, but Piwaka interrupted. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. He just said he doesn’t know anything.”
    Aquilla narrowed his eyes. “And you believe him over me?”
    Piwaka shrugged. “This won’t accomplish anything. Finding your brother’s killer from one lowly soldier will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. You can’t expect every Ursidrean that walks through your door to know where every other Ursidrean was during the war. It’s impossible.”
    Aquilla rushed at Menlo. “You’re hiding something. Tell us who your commander was.” He fell on Menlo with kicks and punches, but Menlo got his arms up in front of his face before he did any serious damage. Piwaka took one long step across the room and hauled Aquilla back. “That’s enough. You’ve done enough.”
    Aquilla spun around with his fist raised, but Piwaka didn’t flinch. He stared Aquilla down with the same quiet smile he gave Anna when he first walked in the door. Aquilla’s fist fell at his side. “You can’t believe a word they say. You know that.”
    Piwaka shook his head again. “You can see by looking at him he’s telling the