The taste of blood was bright and coppery on Kyra’s lips. Part of her mind objected to this as out side of normal but it was rapidly replaced by another part of her mind that was screaming about having recently been hit with a shock baton. Something cold had been dashed in her face and she could hear people shouting and rattling bars around her. Shaking her head she realized that her wrists were bound above her head. It was nearly depressing that she could recognise the feel of standard issue Union handcuffs without actually seeing them. Benson wasn’t technically in Union space, or Imperial for that matter but hardware tended to flow from one or the other. 

Her vision returned and she found herself looking at a pudgy man in early middle age. He was balding and had grown a patchy goatee by way of compensation which Kyra felt made him look a bit like a diseased egg. She recognized him as one of the prison flunkies she had seen on her way in. A shock baton waved in his hand and he was shouting something, his eyes wide with panic. That fact bought Kyra’s mind sharply into focus and she felt the first real prickle of fear since they had dragged her out of the cargo hold of Hogan’s Whore. Angry people were predictable but scared people might do anything. The deputy appeared to be shouting something and with a little effort she was able to make it out.

“I said are you a fucking witch?!” he shrieked, literal foam flecking the corners of his mouth.

“She used her mind powers on me,” another voice whined and she recognized the drunk that had identified himself as ‘old Jeb’ shortly before she had explained to him that she wasn’t interested in being groped or worse than groped because he felt like he was king shit in this half assed prison.

Kyra laughed, though the sound came out like a crackling wrasp. Suns she was dry and Suns she was sore but physical discomfort could be ignored if one had the right mindset.

“I’m not kidding, are you a fucking jayser? I’ve heard the stories. Can you read minds and do all that shit.” The prongs of the shock baton rose towards her face, electricity jumped between them in sharp unstable arcs.

“Yeah you caught me,” she croaked, wiggling her fingers in the cuffs above her head like a child pretending to work a spell.

“My evil plan to get arrested and thrown into prison is going perfectly,” she choked. Pain exploded across her face and she fell into blackness again, the smell of burning hair filling her nostrils. 

Consciousness returned faster this time, although she wasn’t certain exactly how she knew it to be so. The pain was incredible. Muscles fired spasmodically, twitching her right cheek into a painful rictus that sent fresh daggers of agony into her brain. Something had evidently happened while she had been out. The deputy was looking between her and the dispatch desk, his eyes wide. 

“What do you mean he isn’t answering! Get over there right now, go!” the deputy snarled. There was a clatter of boots and the distinctive sound of a shotgun slide being worked. The panic officer seized her by the hair yanking her head back.

“Is this your doing witch? You got backup out there?” He leaned close, close enough that she could smell the garlic on his breath. Kyra hummed a bar of Lillibullero soft enough that only she and the deputy could hear it. He leaned in closer. 

“I confess,” she murmured.

“What?” the deputy asked his eyes widening. The moment of panicked realization rolled off him like a chill wind of an icy lake. It would never have worked if he hadn’t gotten this close.

“I can read minds and do all that shape changing shit.” There was a sudden popping surge of energy and the light strips dimmed for an instant. The deputy staggered back, his hand raising to the blood that was pouring from his nose. He gave her a last look, more shocked than angry, then his knees buckled and he fell into an awkward pile, his heart thudding for an instant and then stilling. 

[i]Lillibullero bullen a la[/i]

Kyra tasted blood again as her eyes rolled back, and for the third time in an hour, fell into unconsciousness.