Page 88 of Gilded Curses

At the time, Orin hadn’t appreciated the little piggy rhyme as much as he did now while Desmond continued to scream and blood flowed from his severed finger. The poor little pinky piggy had received the worst of it so far.

Two of Desmond’s other fingers were missing their top joints, and he’d chopped all the others down to the knuckle, but the little pinky was the first to go completely. It wouldn’t be the last.

Desmond had woken twenty minutes ago, but Orin had yet to ask him any questions. He’d make sure that by the time he removed the ball gag, Desmond would be ready to blather all his secrets.

As Desmond continued to thrash against his restraints, Alda grinned before coming forward to toss some of the powder that would stop the bleeding onto the appendage. Aurora had uncovered it in Desmond’s bathroom, and it was such a handy thing, especially since Orin was just getting started.

He couldn’t have the man passing out from blood loss again. Pain, sure; Orin could revive him pretty fast from that.

Aurora wasn’t smiling, but she didn’t suggest stopping and didn’t look away while he worked. Desmond had ensured many of his followers considered him the enemy and wouldn’t do anything to help him.

Orin was positive most of them would gladly throw Desmond to the dogs. Alda certainly would.

Orin started making his way through what remained of Desmond’s fingers again. “This little piggy….”

Over the years, especially during the first war against the Lord, he’d tortured others to get the answers he sought but never relished it like he did with Desmond. He started singing when Desmond began sobbing against the ball gag.

And he’d finally reached the point he sought, although it was far sooner than he’d expected or anticipated. He was having too much fun with this, but the man was already breaking.

He’d prefer to remove the blindfold so Desmond could see him, but he supposed being in the dark made this scarier. He’d have to settle for that.

Orin finished singing the nursery rhyme before lopping off what remained of Desmond’s thumb. When he finished, he sat back and set the knife down. Once he removed the ball gag, Desmond sobbed gibberish as his tears soaked the blindfold and seeped free to slide slowly down his cheeks.

“There, there, Desi.” Orin patted the man’s cheek as he spoke. “It’s not so bad. At least you still have parts of your hand. You might be able to still use it to jerk off.”

Alda snickered, and a smile tugged at the corners of Aurora’s mouth.

“Where’s my hand, Desi? I thought you were going to put it on your mantel. I didn’t see it there.”

When the man opened his mouth to scream, Orin shoved the ball gag back in it. “I’m disappointed in you,” he chided.

This time, it wasn’t the fingers he went for as he placed the blade against Desmond’s balls. The man kept sobbing, but he stiffened, and some of his noises subsided as his heart pounded so hard it vibrated his chest.

“I enjoy playing games too,” Orin told him. “Which is something you know because you eavesdropped on us, which wasn’t very nice of you.” Desmond recoiled when Orin dug the blade a little deeper. “But games become boring, and I’m getting bored, Desi, so I’d suggest you start keeping me entertained by answering my questions. If you try to scream, I’m going to assure you that it won’t matter how many fingers you lose because there won’t be anything left to jerk off; do you understand me?”

With tears dripping from his chin and snot pouring from his nose, Desmond nodded enthusiastically. Orin kept the knife against Desmond’s dick while he removed the ball gag again.

“Tell me, Desi, where are those Augmentation Stones I’ve heard so much about?” Orin inquired.

Desmond’s head twisted toward where he’d last heard the girls; it was where they stood. “You bitches! Why are you telling the enemy our secrets?”

When Orin pressed the blade deep enough to draw blood, Desmond’s breath sucked in as he stopped speaking.

“Not our enemy,” Alda replied. “That would be you.”

Desmond started to sputter but stopped when Orin placed the ball gag back in his mouth. “I think I made it clear you’re only to speak to answer my questions.”

With that, he sliced deep enough that he took off half his dick. Desmond screamed as more tears streamed down his cheeks.

When Desmond finally settled into pathetic whimpers, Orin started talking again. “Okay, I’m going to ask you one more time, where are the Augmentation Stones? When I remove the gag, all you’ll do is answer my question. If I get anything more than that, I will make you a eunuch. Is that understood?”

Desmond nodded.

“Good.”

With that, Orin removed the gag.

“I don’t know where they are,” Desmond gushed.