I follow Kai down the hallway his magic is leading us down. Both of us quiet and alert since this whole area wasn’t in the plan.

When we get to where there are rooms and windows facing inside - one-sided mirror maybe? - Kai and I pause at the sound of a female crying out in pain.

I don’t breathe as Kai’s magic - another of those orb things - leads to the room the cry just came from.

“Fuck. Kai, we can’t wait. We need to do this now and take care of whoever’s in there with her.”

Kai runs a hand through his carefully messy auburn hair. “We don’t know that it’s her, Mercy. My magic could be wrong.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not chancing it. Come or don’t. If you choose not to, then just make sure you stay out of my way.”

“God damn it Mercy!” Kai curses a second before I start to pick the lock on the door.

It opens quickly and I open the door as another cry echoes through the air.

Moving swiftly through the large room I stop in shock, trying to register what I’m seeing.

There wasn’t a picture or name given to us about the seer we were supposed to be pulling out of here, just a prisoner number. The platinum blonde hair of the seer, similar to my own color just a shade or two off, is damp with sweat and dried blood while a large man proceeds to beat the hell out of her. She’s naked and chained to the wall by her arms, dried blood, cuts and bruises cover her body.

I know that hair. I know that fucking seer.

Red hot rage slashes its way through me.

“You sick son of a bitch,” I growl. Xena lets out a soft gasp of surprise when I speak, her swollen eyes open as best as they can to look towards me.

The man in front of Xena who turned when I walked into the room looks startled. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m officially your worst fucking nightmare. By the time I’m halfway done with you, you’ll be begging for death,” I inform him with a wicked smile on my face. I flick my eyes briefly to Xena before turning back to the sick fuck in front of me. “Xena, you good?”

“M-M-Mercy? Y-you’re here? H-how?” She stutters. Her voice coming out gargled, like it hurt her to talk.

“Mercy, you know her?” Kai asks, walking casually in the room to stand beside me.

“She’s my best friend. She disappeared a few years ago, her parents claimed to have no idea what happened to her.” I pause. “She’s also our seer that we’re looking for.”

Kai looks at me but I refuse to take my eyes off the shaking man in front of me.

“Go get Xena a robe or something and get her out of those fucking chains,” I tell him, shaking in rage. It takes him a moment to do as I ask.

He leaves the room quickly since there isn’t anything for Xena to wear in here, just a wall and a bucket for her to use the bathroom set off next to her.

“Did they touch you Xena?” I ask, softening my voice despite the anger running through my veins. She flinches and that gives me all the answer I need. I grab the man by his button up shirt and push him into the wall next to Xena. “Did you touch her? Keep in mind that if you lie to me I’ll make your death a thousand times worse. If you didn’t touch her, I’ll make you hurt for a bit then kill you. However, if you did touch her I’ll have a lot of fucking fun with you.”

I vaguely register Kai had walked back into the room while I was talking but I, otherwise, ignore him.

“Did. You. Touch. Her!” I shout at the guy in my grip after he doesn’t respond.

He whimpers. “N-no. I never touched her that way.”

I turn my head to Xena who shakes her head. “He g-got off on m-my pain.”

“Mercy! Do not touch the human!” Hunter’s voice shouts in my head. Since he knows what I’m about to do I can only assume that Kai told him what was going on.

“Sorry, Hunter.” Not really sorry but I am sorry I’m going to piss him off and disobey a direct order. “He needs to pay.”

I slam my mental blocks up, keeping Hunter and the others out of my mind so they can’t try to talk me out of it. I speak to Kai while looking in the soon-to-be-dead man’s eyes. “Get Xena out of here. I’ll be out right behind you.”

“Mercy,” Kai starts but I cut him off.

“No. He needs to pay, they all need to pay for what they did to her but I’ve only got this son of a bitch in front of me and he’s going to fucking pay for what they all did to my friend. Nothing will come back on your precious group but this is something I need to do.” I turn my head to face Kai as he nods his head in understanding and quickly gets to work on Xena’s chains.

I turn to my captive ignoring Kai’s reassuring words and trying to block out Xena’s whimpers of pain as he helps her. “Now then, you get off on beating on girls do you?” He opens his mouth but I put a finger over his lips, quieting him. “Don’t forget the penalty for lying to me.”

“Y-yes,” he stutters, his fear coming off of him in waves.

“Sick fucking bastard,” I growl a second before grabbing my dagger from my hip and jamming it into his thigh, avoiding his artery so he won’t bleed out.

He bellows in pain and falls to the floor. He sobs and tries to scoot away from me. The stupid human traps himself into a corner.

“M-Mercy,” Xena calls out to me, making me look back at her wrapped in a sheet in Kai’s arms. “Make it h-hurt.”

I smile reassuringly at her. “You got it babe.” I move my gaze to Kai and see he’s looking from me to the man on the ground whimpering while he huddles his leg close to his body. “Get her out of here. I’ll be there soon.”

“Make it quick,” Kai says with a pointed look before disappearing out of the room with Xena.

I turn back to the sniveling fool on the floor. “Now you’ll learn what happens to people who fuck with my friends and family.”