It was even worse than she thought when she removed the blood stained burlap sack. She actually winced. He almost didn't look like himself. The swelling had happened quickly, distorting his boyish features. His full beautiful lips were cracked, puffy and bleeding.

She untied the gag, almost choking herself on the smell of bile and blood. She dealt with blood on a regular basis, but it usually wasn't human. She dropped the oil rag on the ground along with the sack and began to untie his hands, using one hand while her other held his chest. From the way he winced, she guessed they'd hit him there, too.

When she got him untied, she dropped the restraints in the pile with everything else and helped him slide down to the ground where he leaned back against the light pole. "Well, you look like hell. Probably nothing compared to how you feel, though." She took her wand out of her purse and waved it over his face, siphoning up the sick and blood. She glanced down to see that he'd wet himself and did him the courtesy of siphoning that up as well. No one else needed to witness his humiliation.

"Let me guess, you poked your nose in where it didn't belong and someone didn't like it."