I reached him and drove my boot hard into his ribs. He gasped, clutching his chest, and kept scrambling until his back slammed against the cold cave wall. In desperation, he raised his hand. Before I could move, Ken nocked an arrow and loosed it in one smooth motion. The arrow punched straight through his palm with a wet thock, pinning the hand to the stone behind it.
The man screamed, a high, animal sound that echoed off the damp cave walls.
He stared at the arrow shaft protruding from both sides of his hand, blood already running down his wrist. "Stop! Stop! Please, gods, stop!"
I crouched beside him, calm despite the adrenaline still burning in my veins. "Why did you do it?"
"NO! Please… let me go!"
I grabbed the arrow shaft and twisted it sharply. The wet grinding of metal against bone made him shriek even louder.
"Or things'll get uglier," I said quietly.
"Coin! I did it for the coin!" he shrieked, spit and tears mixing on his face. "Pleaseee!"
"Who hired you?"
