Stranger in a familiar land

[Adrian Kane]

The flows of saidar coursing through his feet pulsed a river of warmth, but what really ground Arikan’s teeth tight together was the constant tickling. He would take a shit in the Pit of Dhoom before letting Talin see him laugh, but it was a hell of a torture. He almost yearned to trade her for the Questioner.

“Yes, Tear,” he muttered between clenched teeth. “Is there a reason or do you enjoy sulking around with gutter trash? Suppose I should be grateful. At least it’s not Illian. Take me there, and I'll leave your body in one of the canals for the alligators to tear to pieces." He was staring at the ceiling when he said it, but the tone of his promise suggested similar experience with disposing of bodies. The marshlands around the city of Illian were extensive and infamously dangerous.

Talking seemed to distract himself from the sensations rippling through his feet. So he kept it up. Not that he enjoyed conversating with Talin. Her voice was so shrill, it cut his ears like glass.

“So? You going to say this one thing or do I have to torture it out of you?” His gaze found hers, one brow slipping up with the semblance of a joke. Probably.