Kong Ming walked in with the judge who had heard our oaths.

"Cleo, you accused me of lying. I brought along the judge who took our words, and he will read and recite what we said."

The old judge came close, not looking at Cleo's nudity. "Cleo, I will send your parents away on a ship, so they will be out of my reach and safe to your satisfaction. In exchange, you will show me where the treasury's remains are. I give my word as to the truth of this, and that I will abide with it."

He cleared his throat. "He did exactly as he promised. He sent them out of his reach, and safe to your satisfaction; a fact you stated on the wharf as they sailed away. He never promised that they would not be brought back." The old judge bowed to her, then much lower to me and left.

"That is quite enough of your bandying about the word "liar", girl. Your parents stole this land from the Emperor of China who I serve. I was sent here with the instruction of regaining the land, and killing the leaders in a hideous method to set an example for other would-be invaders. Being a loyal servant, I do as I am told."

She had me angry now. "YOU, my young slut, have gotten off too easily to this point. Your time is quickly coming!"

I turned to The Ox. "Break the man to bits on the rack; rend him slowly and awfully, making it last as long as you can. One turn at a time, minion, one notch. YOU!" Pointing at another minion. "Get the metal-tipped flogger out and rip his skin from his scrawny body. Use salt and vinegar and lemon juice on his wounds. Infest him with maggots and fleas and stinging ants. Burn the hair from his head and armpits and crotch with flaming oil. Crush his balls in vises, use a grater on his penis until you can tease out the piss tube free of the flesh."

"THERE, Cleo! Are you satisfied now? Call me a liar? Your father will die a death of horrible agony, thanks to you! And your mother will be next... and then, after I have raped your every hole and flogged your body, I will give you to the guards... then to the dogs... then to the horses..." I was flaming red in the face, huffing with the shouting efforts. An aide helped him sit, as he would spend every minute of the rest of the tortures, watching the three.