"Just redirecting the delivery we were expecting to the estate. We may not have time to clean up before they were due to arrive and the delivery man might have had bit of a shock when he saw the mess outside," he explained.
Rebecca grinned at his words. "The mess!" she said dryly. "You mean the dismembered corpses hanging from the trees."
"Er, yes," replied Fergus, grinning back. Oliver chuckled softly.
Jack sat watching their interaction, his eyes hard. What could have been a flicker of fear surfaced briefly in their depths as Marcus returned, the blowtorch and gas canister in his hands. Julia saw it and smiled humourlessly.
"Tell me what I want to know, Jack," she said flatly, as she turned the blowtorch on and lit it. She put it down carefully, and lifted the axe again.
He just stared at her coldly. She shrugged, and the axe flew through the air, landing with a thud just above where the last blow had removed his hand. The newly formed stump spurted briefly before the searing heat of the blowtorch coagulated the flesh. Jack screamed.
Rebecca shut her eyes, but then opened them resolutely. Jack's head slumped forward, his hair hiding the agony on his face. I reached out into his mind and knew that he would now tell Julia what she wanted to know.
Oliver must have sensed that too, because he looked up at his mother and nodded. She looked relieved that she would not have to continue delivering this torment. She was obviously discomfited by the whole experience. I remembered how I had been before I'd met Rebecca, and wondered if I would have continued if I had been in this situation. Probably.
And then Jack started talking.
Rebecca
It was hard sitting there, watching it all. I stayed for several reasons, though. Mostly in support for Julia and Oliver. If I'd left, it might have implied disapproval. I didn't disapprove. This needed to be done. Julia needed to know what happened to her sisters. If they were alive they could need help. They could have children who needed help. The length of time that had elapsed since their abduction only seemed to add to the urgency of the situation.
I'd also figured out that Oliver had been conceived during that last encounter with Jack. He had removed her hands so she couldn't fight back. I tried not to imagine what she must have gone through. It seemed only fitting that Jack should taste a little of that suffering.
I also wanted to make sure that he died before this day did.
Angus leaned against that stone wall, seriously distracting in amongst all the blood and pain, with his muscular arms folded across his naked chest, and concern for me on his face. I winked at him, and he looked a bit startled, and then he grinned back at me.