by K Hanson
She concentrated on freezing the ropes enough to break them. While she projected cold into the fibers, they held fast as she tugged on them. Nereyda gave up fighting, not wanting to exhaust herself. She’d watch and wait for an opportunity to escape or fight back. The men brought her through the winding city streets to the wall that stood at the base of the slope leading to the Temple of Ameretat.
“What do you have there?” asked a Sentinel standing at the gate.
“The gift thief herself walked right into our city.”
The man leaned forward in surprise. “Really? The priests will be thrilled to finally have her in their possession.”
“I know. Mind opening the gate so we can show them?”
“Oh, of course. My excitement got the better of me. Forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive, brother. This is a great day for the church.”
The escort behind Nereyda prodded her ahead through the gate and they began the ascent to the large temple building that loomed above. She supposed that the spires and domes were intended to inspire awe. In the moonlight, though, they took on a sinister look. Nereyda dragged her feet as they climbed the stairs, but the Sentinel shoved her so she tripped. He yanked her back to her feet, and they resumed the climb.
When they reached the temple at the top of the stairs, Nereyda glanced toward the battle at the city wall below. From what she could see, the rebels had poured into the city through the hole that she had blown open, though the Imperials had organized into their usual three ranks, and rotated through them as they fought. This slowed the rebels down, but did not stop them.
“Hey, pirate, come on.” The lead Sentinel had opened the large golden doors, and they hauled her inside the sanctuary.
The murals covering the walls were filled with images of legends and myths that formed the basis of the church’s teachings. All superstitious nonsense to Nereyda.
A man in blue robes emerged from the back of the sanctuary. “Ah, Firat and Celik, what brings you here? Who is your friend?”
“Sabah, this woman destroyed the city wall with lightning. And she matches the description of the gift thief.”
The old man’s eyebrows rose and he sprang up to the platform in the center of the room to get a better view of her. His icy eyes matched his robes. “Exceptional. Our inquisitor said she might be coming our way, and now she walks right to us. Bring her closer.” He beckoned with his hand.
Nereyda was brought to him. “What’s your problem with me?” she asked. “I’ve never met any of you before. Why do you want to capture me?”
“Our problem isn’t with you. It’s with what you’ve stolen, whether intentionally or not. We want to help you.”
“If you want to help me, then this whole Inquisition might be a bit much, don’t you think? Why not just send a nice card or a messenger to sing me a song to invite me here? And I don’t think I need your help.”
He flashed a wolflike smile. “Ah, but you do. This lightning, and whatever other power you have, is a gift stolen from the gods.”
“I didn’t steal it from anybody. I just touched some glowy light stuff in a fountain, and I woke up like this. Nobody was there, unless the crazy fire demon counts, but he wasn’t really in a talkative sort of mood.”
The high priest jumped down next to her and used one hand to turn her face toward the murals while pointing at them with the other. “Do you know the story these paintings tell?”
Nereyda shrugged. “Some bullshit to trick people into following you, probably.”
“This is the story of Corinna, and how she destroyed the world as it was. Long ago, the gods gifted us with tremendous power, which we used to perform wonderful feats for the benefit of all. But this Corinna only craved more and more power. She rose up to take the world for herself, using powers much like yours. For her hubris and greed, the gods punished us all. They smashed the part of the world that she had claimed, creating what we know as the Shattered Sea, and took all of our powers away from us. Now, here you are, with abilities of your own, helping enemies of the Empire tear down everything we have worked to build these last centuries.” His face contained pure zealous rage. “It is as if you are Corinna reborn, determined to lead us astray and attract the wrath of the gods once again.”
“Look, I might be a pirate, but this is one of those rare times when I’m not trying to take things for myself. Sure, I might get a ship out of the deal, but aside from that, I just want to help my friends so they can give people a better world than you’ve given them. Besides, how do you know your men are telling the truth? You haven’t seen me use any of these abilities. As far as you know, your minions grabbed someone off the street who happens to look a bit like the woman in your murals.”
“You’re right,” said Sabah. “We need to make sure you are who they claim you are. Men, take her to the back room. You know which one.”
The Sentinels hauled her toward the rear door of the sanctuary, with the priest behind them. They passed doors that led into offices, bedchambers, and small private chapels. They reached a closed wooden door with a lit torch on the wall next to it.
The lead Sentinel grabbed the torch off of the wall and shoved the door open, then led the rest of them into the room. As he lit torches around the small room, the purpose of the chamber became clear. Near the middle of the room, but slightly off-center, stood a rigid wooden chair with ankle and arm restraints. Next to it, chains dangled from the ceiling and connected to a winch in the corner of the room. Light from a glowing fireplace in the corner glinted off of a wall of sharp and otherwise uncomfortable-looking implements.
Ice crawled down Nereyda’s spine and her mind raced in search of an escape, but she concealed her fear with a snarky mask. “What, are you going to torture me until these powers go away?”
“Perhaps, but that’s not our purpose here today. We’re going to torture you until you show us everything you can do.”
“You could just ask. I’d be happy to put on a show for you.”
“I’m sure you would, but our chief inquisitor has told me about how pain and distress bring your powers to the surface. So that’s how we’re going to start.”
“How does he know that?”
“Because he knows you.” The nasty grin reappeared. “Men, chain her up.”
There was only one person who could be the chief inquisitor. Erhan.
The Sentinels removed the rope that restrained her, moved her arms in front of her, and locked her in a set of iron handcuffs. One of the Sentinels went to the winch and used it to lower one of the chains. They hooked the handcuffs to the chain, then winched it back up. The chain lifted her arms above her head, then kept going. Her shoulder muscles stretched and ached as she was hauled up inch by inch until her toes barely touched the ground. She gritted her teeth as her shoulders took all of her weight.
“Where is Erhan now?” she asked. “Why not wait for him?”
“Oh, he was here. He warned us that the rebellion was coming. But I made him leave the city. If Goremia falls, someone needs to carry on our work.”
“What’s the point of doing this right now? Wouldn’t you rather run from the city? What are you going to do when Goremia falls? Keep me in here forever and hope the rebels decide to ignore the temple?”
“You know what? You’re exactly right,” said Sabah. “Celik, go spread the message that the church is ordering all civilians within the temple’s walls. The power of faith will protect them from the invaders.”
Celik bowed his head briefly, then slipped out of the room.
“You’re hoping that the rebels will hesitate to attack the temple if civilians are in the way,” said Nereyda.
The priest shrugged. “We are their shield as they are ours. However, we have no time to waste on continuing this discussion. Firat, cut open the back of her shirt.”
The Sentinel took out his dagger and ran it up the length of the back of her shirt. The blade nicked her skin, leaving a gash that dripped blood down her
back. The pain from the cut and the chill from the air raised goosebumps on Nereyda’s skin.
Sabah paced along the wall of torture instruments. “No need to get too creative yet. We’ll start with the basics.”
He grabbed an iron poker and looked it over before setting it in the flames within the fireplace in the corner. “We’ll save this for later, in case we need it.” His voice contained an unsettling amount of joy. Going back to the wall, he took down a cat-o’-nine-tails. “We’ll start with the one without the hooks. If this doesn’t work, we’ll upgrade to the other.” He held the handle to Firat. “You may start. Not too hard at first. Let’s work our way up.”
Nereyda took short, quick breaths to prepare herself as the Sentinel stepped behind her. A whisper sounded a fraction of a second before the nine knotted cords struck Nereyda’s back. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out.
Firat fell into a rhythm as he struck her back again and again. Each stroke hit harder and carved deeper into her flesh. As the whip snapped, warm blood crawled down the skin of her back. An iron scent permeated the air. The storm rose inside her of its own initiative. A blizzard charged forward from within.
Icy cold grew inside her. A chill spread through her arms and to her wrists. The shackles strained as they froze.
When they felt cold enough, Nereyda yanked her wrists apart and shattered the handcuffs before falling to the ground. As she tried to push herself up, her arms wouldn’t give her their strength. Her shoulder muscles ached with a deep pain from supporting her weight, and her arms had fallen numb. Before she could summon the strength to stand, Firat grabbed her and yanked her arms back behind her.
“Did you use the iron shackles?” asked Sabah. “The inquisitor told us she’s done this before. Weren’t you paying attention?”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Never mind, use the gold shackles and string her up again. With her arms behind her this time.”
“Didn’t you get what you wanted? You saw me freeze those handcuffs,” Nereyda asked as Firat shackled her wrists again.
Sabah ran his fingers through the blood on her back, and she recoiled. “And you did very well with that. But let’s see what else you can do. And if, at the same time, we can set an example for the world and show it what happens to people like you, all the better.” He laughed to himself.
As the Sentinel turned the winch and the chain pulled her arms up behind her back, Nereyda’s shoulders strained with agony. She pressed herself up as high as she could on the tips of her toes as the chain tightened, but that only got her so far. Her shoulders strained with ever increasing pain as the chain lifted her off the ground. With two pops, her shoulders dislocated, allowing the chain to lift her arms the rest of the way above her head. Nereyda’s head spun as she felt herself going into shock.
She groaned in pain. “Haven’t you done enough?” she said through gritted teeth as she tried to push the pain behind her.
“Hardly. Firat, continue.”
Firat took up the cat-o’-nine-tails again and resumed his flogging of Nereyda. The welts on her back broke, and more blood dripped down her back. One stroke, in particular, felt like it ripped a piece of flesh from her.
“Sir, one of these cuts is bleeding pretty badly.”
“Well, we can’t have that.”
Sabah strode to the fireplace and grabbed the handle of the iron poker. The tip glowed with heat as he pulled it out and paced behind her again.
“Where is it? Hard to see among the rest of your work.”
“Right there, sir.”
“Ah, yes.”
Nereyda’s back lit on fire as the priest pressed the hot iron against her. She finally let out an agonized scream. She had suppressed it throughout the whipping, but the scorching metal crossed the line.
“Perhaps we should try something else. We don’t want to accidentally make her bleed out on us. What would you like to use next, Firat?”
The door crashed open, and Celik burst into the room, panting. “Sir, all the civilians we could find are within the temple walls.”
“Excellent. Care to join us for the next part?”
“That’s not all. The rebels are nearly at the temple gates. The people are scared and don’t know what to do.”
“Ah, then we might have to cut this little session short. Firat, lower her down and bring her outside with us. Let’s show them our prize.”
As the chains lowered her down, Nereyda still had to use them to support her weight, despite the agony that it caused in her shoulders. Her legs wouldn’t support her, and she didn’t want to fall down. Firat unhooked her handcuffs from the chain but left them on her wrists. He caught her as she collapsed. Her arms hung uselessly from her shoulders. She tried to concentrate on breaking out of her handcuffs with what little strength she could summon. While the gold became frigid, it wouldn’t shatter no matter how much she strained against it.
“Ah, yes, those golden handcuffs are quite a good investment for something like this,” said Sabah. “Iron becomes brittle in the cold, but not gold, as you’re discovering.”
Nereyda wished she could come up with something to say but saved her energy.
The priest and the Sentinels brought her through the sanctuary, out of the temple, and to the top of the stairs. Hundreds of people had gathered inside the temple walls and covered the mountain slope that led up to the temple. They huddled tightly together and cowered. Outside the walls, silver moonlight reflected off the rebel army’s armor. They had closed in and maintained a siege of the temple grounds, but had stopped short of a direct attack on the temple itself. The wall only stood one story tall and would not stop an invasion for long if they decided to make an assault.
“Friends,” called Sabah. “Friends, I have some wonderful news to share.”
The crowd of civilians quieted and looked up at the priest and his curious guest.
“I know that our city has fallen on dire times, but not all is lost. For it is this very day that the gift thief we have been pursuing so relentlessly has walked right into our city. Here she is.” He nodded to the Sentinels, who threw her on the ground in front of the priest.
Nereyda yelled in pain as she landed on her dislocated right shoulder.
The crowd took an instinctive step back, pressing itself against the wall.
“I understand your fear. She is indeed dangerous and has killed many of your fellow citizens. However, rest assured that she is properly restrained and has been broken.” He projected a calm confidence. “You will not face any threat from her today. Now, you are probably wondering what good this does us when we’re surrounded by our enemies. While these walls keep them out for now, they will not last long if those rebels decide that your lives are worth sacrificing. Even if they don’t attack, our walls will not keep out those deadly enemies of starvation, exposure, and thirst. Fear not, for the gods provide a means for our escape, as they have always provided for us.”
The high priest raised his voice louder. “To those rebels outside the walls, we have someone that seems quite important to your cause. We will not offer her to you, but if you don’t want to see her die right here on these steps, you will let us out of these walls so that we can head east. We will take this gift thief with us, and if we catch any sense that you are following us or attempting to reclaim her, we will execute her. Consider this offer and send a messenger to the gates within an hour. This offer will expire then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Limbani’s eyes were wide as she took in the scene at the top of the stairs where the slope rose above the temple wall. “My lord, what are we going to do?” she asked Devrim, who had come in to the city once it had been mostly secured.
Devrim’s face was white and he spoke with a distant voice as he gazed up at the priest and Nereyda. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I’m not ready.”
“We won’t let her die. Focus. We need a plan,” said Limbani.
He shook his head. “F
or once, I don’t know what to do. How could you let her run into the city like that?” He turned and grabbed Limbani’s shoulders. “You didn’t even consult me.”
She shrugged his hands off. “What should I have done? She wanted to go, and she did. Nothing I could have said would have stopped her. We needed a way into the city, and she volunteered, then delivered. But we don’t have time for this debate. We need to get into the church grounds.”
He paced back and forth, his hands clenched. “What would you have us do? Storm the temple? We’d kill hundreds of civilians, and they’d kill Nereyda before we even get close.”
Limbani stared up the mountain. Even from this distance, moonlight reflected off of the wet blood that darkened the spot where Nereyda had been dropped. The pirate couldn’t even stand. Limbani’s new friend, someone who had fought at her side, lay in visible agony. “Let me come up with something.”
A sharp shake of his head. “No, it’s too much of a risk.”
The thought of abandoning an ally to die was too much for Limbani. “I can’t just leave her there without trying to help. I’m going to do something,” Limbani said with resolve, then stormed through the ranks of soldiers to find her lieutenant.
“Come back here, General,” he yelled after her. “I order you to stand down.”
Limbani kept going, for the first time ignoring an order from Devrim. When duty conflicts with friendship, one needs to win out. Today, it was going to be friendship. She’d deal with the consequences later.
She found Adnan and got his attention. “Lieutenant, we need to get Nereyda out of there.”
“Agreed, but how?”
“Select your best nine soldiers and send them to meet me at the east end of the temple walls. I’ll be there soon.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned to go but Limbani caught his arm for a moment.
