"And if you're not careful, she'll bite your dick off too," Rais said levelly. Hulu, although red in the face, blanched at that thought. As pleasurable as such an act was, it also left him with a very vulnerable appendage unnecessarily exposed. And Rais felt for a dagger along his belt. Jazad was busy eating, slurping at his ale and vaguely focusing what was going on.
Occasionally, Jazad's eyes flickered to Naadia underneath the table, and he cleared his throat. Awkward.
"So when did you last see Anki, Hulu?"
"F-fuck... Maybe day before last! I-...shit, watch the teeth!" he hissed. It was hard to focus on two things at once, but damn if he wasn't trying. "Anki was in here just earlier today! A few hours ago... But he wasn't alone... Fuck, I'm gonna..."
"You come and I'll slice your dick off myself," Rais growled and leaned in menacingly. "Anki was in here. Keep talking." Hulu eyed the ivory mask, the cold expression making him unsettled. Rais kept a hand on Hulu's face, holding his chin firmly to keep his eyes from glancing below, and refused to let him look away.
"He had men with him. They came in really fast, kept close to Anki, who looked like...he'd been drugged or something. Not on the hookah drugged, but...maybe paralyzed. I dunno. He was taken to the back. I tried to talk to him, but he was all out of it. And one of the men shoved me off. He-he-he- h-had a tattoo no his neck. N-no. A branding! It was like crossed spears...inside a circle. They went into the back... And didn't come out."
Rais felt his stomach grow cold at the knowledge. So Anki did not leave of his own volition, and that made the stakes suddenly higher.
"Can I-I?"
Rais shoved his face away. "And do not make a mess of my friend down below," he chided and moved up from the bench to let Hulu leave when Naadia was finished.