by L. Fergus
A crash at the other end of the hallway startled Kita. The wall had collapsed, revealing a large metal disk six feet in diameter. A humming noise came from it. An invisible force pulled Kita down the hallway. The pull was so strong she couldn’t resist and slammed against the disk.
One of Glen’s men came back. Kita didn’t want someone else to get stuck with her. “Get out of here, Mickey. Tell the Shadow Master what happened. This was a trap for me. He’ll know who to contact to get me out.”
The man gave Kita the thieves salute before he dashed upstairs just as the first guard’s head appeared from the stairwell. The guards were dressed in leather and wielded clubs. They didn’t advance but took up station along the hallway. The door across from Barb’s room opened and Cunningham stepped out with someone wearing a hood.
“Well, well,” said Cunningham, “it looks like the Master was correct. Our little Katrina Logine can be caught if you have the right trap.”
“Cunningham, you snake! Let me go so I can kill you!” Kita roared.
“Interesting choice of words, my dear. May I introduce you to my advisor, Serpentine.”
The other figure took off his hood, revealing a man with solid black eyes and green scales covering his face. When he opened his mouth, a long thin tongue darted out, and two long fangs unfolded.
“You’re more of a snake than he is.” Kita spat at Cunningham.
He slapped her face. “Think of that as your first lesson in respecting your betters. Though, we might finish an earlier lesson.”
Lustfully, he ran a hand down Kita’s armored front and between her legs.
“The Master gave specific instructions not to touch her or do anything that might set off her berserking ability,” Serpentine hissed.
Cunningham’s lip curled. “I guess I’ll have to get my fun in other ways. I have a lot planned for you, Kita. How much pain can a fallen angel take? I’ve brought in a specialist just for you. But first, Serpentine would like to take the Master’s share of the prize.”
Serpentine pulled a syringe from his belt and drew a large vial of blood from Kita’s arm. When he finished, a block of ice encased the syringe. He tucked the frozen vial in a bag.
“Get her downstairs and tell Dmitri to be ready for a visitor.” Cunningham kissed Kita’s cheek. “You’ll be begging for me before this is over.”
Kita gnashed her teeth. “I’ll die first.”
The guards wheeled Kita, still attached to the disk, down to the basement. It was a bumpy trip down lots of stairs. They took a confusing route through the prison’s basement and delivered her to a small room with a set of odd-looking tools laid out on a bench. More hung on the wall behind it. She was left alone to study them.
An older man, who looked like someone’s grandfather, entered the room. His hair was white, and his overweight stomach was hidden under a heavy leather apron. He had a happy face, but his hard eyes made Kita worry.
“Hello, my dear,” the old man said with a warm smile. “I have the privilege of working on you.”
His smile resembled the smile grandfathers gave their grandchildren to reassure them. Kita didn’t find it reassuring.
“You’re Dmitri?” Kita said, trying to calm her nerves.
“Yes, I am Dmitri the Dismemberer, as those who find my work disturbing call me. Others call me Dmitri the Deliverer for being able to extract what I need from a subject.”
“And what are you to extract from me?”
“That's the curious thing. I am to extract nothing, just cause pain. Normally, I’d scoff at such a meaningless task—any idiot can cause pain. I took the job after they described your unique abilities. It sounded like an interesting challenge.”
“I bleed like everyone else. I don’t know if I can scream as loud as some.”
“Not everyone can heal as you do.”
“That only goes so far.”
“I guess we’ll find out how far it goes, won’t we? If you pardon the intrusion, I have been instructed to remove as much of your armor and weaponry as I can. My employer is interested in keeping it.”
“Well, since you were nice enough to ask, feel free,” Kita said in a sarcastic tone.
The old man worked diligently to remove what he could. Ugh. His hands feel old and leathery. He could have warmed them up.
“Now, my dear, this is going to hurt,” Dmitri said as he picked up a set of spikes and a hammer. He lined up a spike over her hand and struck it with the hammer. In retaliation, Kita heated the spike. The temperature climbed fast enough to burn Dmitri badly. The spike melted and the hole in her hand closed.
“Impressive, but this is not a two-person game.” Whistling, Dmitri went to the workbench and came back with a tiny knife. He grabbed her breast and Kita screamed.
Dmitri was gone when Kita awoke. Pain ebbed and flowed through her body. She struggled to remember what had happened, though a part of her was glad she couldn’t. A whistle from the hallway sent shivers down her spine.
Dmitri entered the room with his reassuring smile. “Ah, good you’re awake, my dear. You have quite the tolerance for pain. Let’s have a look at you.”
Dmitri studied Kita. “Well, it looks like things regenerated. The ear and other fleshy parts I expected. The hair and fingernails are a surprise.”
The removing of Kita’s hair hurt her vanity more than her body. She was furious over her missing breast. How long is it going to take to grow back? I don’t want to be lopsided for Snowy.
“I understand you have a unique skeletal structure that’s said to be indestructible. I think we should test that assumption. What do you think?”
“To the bloody moons with you,” hissed Kita.
“Such language from a beautiful young thing. Your mother must not have taught you your manners. Let me reinforce the lesson.” From the bench, he grabbed a knife, pliers, spreader, and a block of wood.
The familiar whistle woke Kita. Dmitri came through the door, smiling. “Awake, my dear? Good. This morning over breakfast, I was thinking you’re the first person I’ve ever worked on with wings. I’ve plucked a few chickens in my day. I wonder if it’s the same.”
Dmitri puttered around his bench before approaching with a pair of pliers. Kita whimpered before he started.
“Now, now, no need for that yet. Let’s have a look at you. Hmmm, interesting. Regeneration has slowed. I would have expected the areas from our first session to be healed. The newer areas have only started to close. Interesting.”
That’s because I’m getting hungry, and I can only heal so much at once, jackass.
“Shall we start plucking?”
Kita couldn’t remember when the tears stopped flowing. She just knew she couldn’t cry anymore. She begged him to stop and to kill her, but it only came out as an airy wisp. Her body gave up and stopped regenerating as her stomach ached from hunger. Images of Cunningham visiting several times stuck in her mind. Kita didn’t remember anything after that. She floated in and out of consciousness, unable to process what was happening to her.
Something roused Kita from her unconscious state. A guard stepped away with a vial of smelling salts. She strained to focus. Dmitri’s tools were gone, and Cunningham stood before her with a sick smile.
“Money well spent. Don’t you think? I had to buy him a whole new tool kit to work on you.”
Kita tried to answer, but she couldn’t form any words in her mind.
“No need to answer. Dmitri has left you in quite the state. Would you like a look? He said you’d developed a way to see without your eyes. The Master will find this most interesting.”
A mirror appeared in front of Kita’s face. She didn’t have the strength to react. Her mind couldn’t put what she saw into any type of relational context. The creature in front of her couldn’t be her. Any distinguishable features from her face had been removed. Whatever it was, it wasn’t her.
“I had hoped for a better reaction. No matter. Dmitri has done all he could. Now, I get my turn. I u
nderstand you like to slow hang traitors—like my spy you left in the square in Leedings. I thought it would be a fitting punishment for you. I understand you have metal or whatever bones, so breaking your neck isn’t a problem. You have twelve hours to think about your mistakes in life before you swing.”
Kita awoke on a platform attached to the disk, overlooking a crowd of people. A noose around her neck barely registered. Someone was talking, but she had no idea who or why.
In the front row, a group of hooded monks bowed their heads chanting. The guards pushed everyone in the crowd back, but not them. The blue sky was filled with fluffy, white clouds. She liked it.
Kita’s stomach rumbled and ached. She wished she had something to put in it. Aren’t the condemned supposed to be given a last meal? Condemned— I’m condemned, aren’t I? I’m going to die. Tears burned as they moved down her face. I’m not ready to die yet. There’s something important out there for me…I wish I could remember what it is…
Cowboy waited in the shadows with his Winchester on a rooftop high above New London’s square. On the other rooftops, Shadow Guildsmen and legionnaires waited.
The hangmen moved to the lever. Cunningham rendered his verdict with a thumbs down and the lever was pulled. Kita fell and the rope caught, leaving her dangling by the neck.
Cowboy aimed and fired. His shot echoed off the stone walls surrounding the square and stunned the crowd. The rope holding Kita snapped, and she fell to the ground. The hooded monks in the front winked out of existence. The remaining monk ditched her robe.
Snowy phased next to Kita. Touching a claw to the wiring of the electromagnet disk, she shorted the machine with a jolt of electricity. Kita slid into Snowy’s arm.
“For all the suns in the heavens, kitten, what did they do to you?”
Snowy phased through the crowd to Cowboy and a group of legionnaires. She handed Kita to Cowboy and then phased away. Cowboy and the legionnaires rushed Kita outside the square’s walls to a group of waiting horsemen. He handed Kita to the lead knight and whistled for Nightmare.
The riders galloped through the city. Shadow Guildsmen stationed along the route kept the way clear all the way to the main gate. Bells tolled in the horsemen’s wake. Guards ran to shut the main gatehouse’s portcullis as the horsemen barreled through the opening.
Cowboy led the riders across the countryside. Behind them was a large dust cloud. A large thicket came into view. The riders rode through the woods and pulled up when they reached a clearing with a snarl of downed trees around it. Cowboy waved to the others to wait. The knight carrying Kita disappeared into the forest.
The sound of hooves coming through the thicket announced the arrival of their pursuers. Cowboy and the riders drew their weapons. The pursuers trotted into the clearing and surrounded Cowboy and his group.
“Surrender the girl and we’ll kill you quickly!” yelled a pursing knight.
“Come and get her!” Cowboy yelled back.
“You heard the fool, men—”
A rock clanged off the knight’s helmet. From the woods, hundreds of angry Arconians fell on the pursuers. Cowboy and the riders picked their way through the thicket and galloped off to catch up to the knight with Kita.
Kita hovered in and out of consciousness. Different voices came and went. Some would stay for a long time and talk to her; others would say a few words and leave.
On one of her more alert trips into the edge of consciousness, a man and woman spoke.
“My men found her swords and armor in a room in the castle’s basement. The room was worse than a slaughterhouse. A pile of body parts and flesh must have been hers. My men brought back the bones. We aren’t sure if she needs them or not.”
“Thanks,” said a sweet voice. “Her bones will speed up the healing. Any word on the person who did this?”
“Not yet. We’re kicking in every door in New London and checking under every rock outside of it. We’ll find him. No one can hide from the Shadow Guild for long. What do you want us to do when we catch them?”
“I don’t know if she’ll want the first crack at them or not. I know I do, you do, and there’s a list a mile long after us. Bring him here. If she’s awake, she can decide what to do with him.”
Kita drifted back to unconsciousness.
Kita awoke and tried to ask for some water. The words wouldn’t form in her mouth. Something was missing, and she wasn’t sure what. She tried repeatedly, but the person looking at her didn’t move. Frustrated, she went to sleep.
Voices brought Kita around. Something was pressing on her arms and legs. People appeared near her head and they had something in their hand. They touched her face and it hurt. Hands grabbed her mouth and forced it open. She tried to resist, but she was too weak. They shoved something into her mouth and down her throat. Scared, she slipped away.
A hollow raspy voice in her darkness brought Kita back to the edge.
“They’ve sent forces to the estates and states that are under attack. How’s she doing?”
“Better, I think. She has lots of new growth. The feeding tube was a good idea. Where did you get the medical supplies from? The bones Glen brought have been absorbed by the body,” said a sweet voice.
Glen—the name was familiar. A friend or family member? A lover? I wish I could ask, but I’m too tired. Maybe later. Kita drifted back to unconsciousness.
The blackness faded as Kita floated to the surface. She burst into consciousness like a swimmer coming up for air. The world came into focus. She was alone and something was causing her to gag.
With stiff arms and hands, she reached to her mouth and found a tube. She pulled it out, causing her to gag even more. She was missing body parts that should be there. Her left-hand fingers were missing or partially there. On her right hand, half her palm was gone. What else am I missing?
When she tried to sit up, a weird tube went into her arm. Pulling it out with her stumpy fingers hurt, and it only came out in one direction.
Kita slid to the edge of the bed. Standing for more than a few seconds was tiring. Her legs didn’t want to hold her, and she kept teetering to one side. She sat back on the edge of the bed. Looking down, she discovered half of her left foot was gone, and she was missing toes on the right. When she went to stand again, she tried to compensate for her missing foot and fell to the floor.
I need some practice. I will master this. She kept trying until she could walk around the room without stumbling. Tired, she sat on the bed.
She scratched an itch on her face. It hurt. There was a small mirror on the wall. Kita walked to it.
What she saw in the mirror was not what she thought she should look like. Both her ears were deformed. Her lips were gone—along with most of her teeth. A nub was left of her tongue. Large scabs covered where her roses used to be. Only two holes remained of her nose. Her short and patchy hair hung plastered to the side of her head. Was I turned into a monster?
A new sensation came from her stomach triggering a new need. She was hungry. She made her way back to the bed. The tube in her mouth must have been for food or breathing. She traced the tube back to a machine. It took a few tries, but she unscrewed the lid. Inside was food. It didn’t taste good, but she drank the entire container anyway. Exhausted, she climbed into bed and fell asleep.
A set of voices came to Kita in a dream.
“I found her like this. Do you think she got up?” said a sweet voice.
“How’d she get the feeding tube and IV out by herself? She doesn’t have any hands,” said a gruff, metallic voice.
“The food mixture is gone. I think she got up and was hungry.”
“That girl doesn’t know when to quit. Let’s let her rest. Maybe the next time she gets up she can talk to us.”
“Ok. I’ll bring some more food up and leave it out for her. I know healing takes a lot of energy.”
The voices left, and Kita drifted off into the ether.
Kita awoke with a start, her mind alert. She sat up and e
xamined her body. She had all the fingers on her left hand, but nubs on the right. Her right foot was whole, and her left foot was missing a few toes. She limped to the mirror.
Her face showed improvement. Her nose had reformed. Gone were the scabs on her cheeks, and her eyelids were back, though her eyes remained gone. Her ears looked almost human and her lips were nearly complete. Opening her mouth, she found a few teeth and most of her tongue.
She tried to speak, but could only make a few sounds. After a while of practicing, she could say whole words. Good enough for now.
On a dresser sat her armor and weapons. A chill went up her spine and fear tingled in her fingertips. Her breath caught in her chest, and she felt panic creep into her mind. I can’t do that again. I can’t. The pain is too much. Look what it’s done to me. She fell into a corner and clutched her head. Her body went rigid, and she couldn’t breathe. Panic gripped her. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t cry for help. She wanted out but was trapped in a forever-deepening pit of despair. She wanted to die. That was a way out, a release. But her body refused to move, unable to end the torture. Instead, she sat, letting the fear race through her head as the pain in her chest felt like it was going to explode. Please stop, please. I’ll do anything…Anything…I won’t touch a sword again…I’ll give it all up…Just make it stop.
Kita crept downstairs carrying her armor and weapons. She wore a peasant’s dress she found in a dresser.
“Kita! What are you doing up?” Snowy cried and rushed over to her. “You shouldn’t be down here, kitten. You’re not done healing. Come on, let’s get you upstairs. What are you wearing? Is there something wrong with your armor? We can get it fixed if there is.”
Kita shook her head. “I’m done,” she whispered.
“Done? Done with what?”
“With these.” Kita dropped the armor and weapons to the floor. The equipment clattered loudly in the silent room. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this anymore.”
