“It was all a trap.” Floa whispered, unbelieving of what just happened. “We were… oh no… ETHAN!!!” Floa shrieked as reality set in.
“She’s in shock.” Kiroq said as the Pixie cried loud. “Get her back home with the rest of them.” His own earpiece beeped. “Yes!” and the screen turned to a furious Tattoo.
Tattoo said “It was a trap! That fucking Nependis was a double agent. Ximr is gone! He was the one who told Grayback where Sheedan would be the day several months back and why she was waiting for us!”
“Slow down, Tattoo. Calm yourself.” Kiroq grunted.
The Specialist pinched the bridge of his nose to talk more slowly. “Two minutes ago King Grayback called all the heads looking for Ximr. I said he just told us of the informant and showed him his own signature stating he personally vouched and authenticated the Ghoul was a valuable informant. I saw his look of outrage, Grayback never signed the fucking letter. I just came from Merlin who verified Ximr forged the signature and was calling to cancel the mission. Ximr is the one who told Grayback about Sheedan when we went to ambush her, but she was waiting all alone. We wondered who was the leak. You were there when she removed her suppresser. She expected us. We went to detain the Nependis in his room, but has vanished without a trace. I just made it to my office and tried contacting Ethan. His transmitter is down.
“Where are you, General? We need to abort Ethan’s mission and get him back. Go find him… Oh no… Kanade, Kanade what’s wrong.”
Over the speaker Kiroq heard Kanade’s shrieking voice “Get him back! Get him back! Get back my angel NOW!” Her shriek was beyond anything either man had ever heard. She was beyond consoling as she broke down. Tattoo’s face vanished as he went out of range from the camera and Kiroq sadly said “End call.” He knew Kanade had heard and seen everything he had.
The large Gargoyle watched as Floa, Kira, Baldr, Blake, Nell, Magnus and Ellen were sent back for immediate medical attention. As he turned around he heard “General?”
“Did you find something?” He asked the Pixie standing at his own five foot height.
She nodded and held out a rolled up sheet of paper. “This fell out of the air moments ago and is addressed to the highest ranked person. I brought this immediately.”
Kiroq’s claws gently unrolled the parchment to read ‘Tell my dear Odin I hope he’s enjoying his yearly nap and that I’ve got his precious possession to warm me up at night. And if you Order fools continue to get in my way, I’ll take my time with your ultimate weapon. Thank you by the way for making it so easy. You fools are always so gullible. Tata. Muah. Sheedan.’
“Not good. Not good at all. Ethan’s not dead, but he’ll whish he was.” Kiroq growled as the paper crumbled in his hand.
Chapter 12
Sudden, searing pain snapped Ethan from peaceful oblivion, emanating from his right wrist and he yelled. Deafening beside him was a chainsaw chewing slowly through his wrist at the hands of an insane Incubus grinning. The yell turned into a roar as the pain caused him to want to turn the purple man into a roasted eggplant, but the image in his mind dimmed when it didn’t set the maniac ablaze.
Instead the chainsaw kept slowly chewing its way through skin, sinew and bone. His agony making the torturer almost orgasm in ecstasy. Struggling did no good as he was bound naked to a rough stone boulder with metal etched in runes he didn’t understand, but his struggle was futile. Slowly the diamond bladed chainsaw tore its way through his right wrist till it was cut off and the Incubus morbidly cheered “FINALLY!” his naked body was covered in blood as he held up the prized hand twice his own in size. “You’re one tough bastard.”
“And when...” Ethan growled. “we meet again I’m going to do more than tear off your hand.”
“Not likely.” The Incubus spread Ethan’s blood all over his own foul body that the chainsaw splattered all over, spreading it with Ethan’s own newly severed hand. “Oh, you are going to be fun to play with.” He shivered in delight.
“Ah, I see our guest is awake. I thought I heard true pleasure come from in here.” Came another male voice.
Through the eye watering pain from the mangled stump Ethan lifted his head to find a six foot tall Elf in a light pink leather which was actually skin from a human who had yet to properly cure. The flesh had been peeled recently. Within three or four days. Runes plastered all over it and it were those eyes Ethan remembered. “You! I remember you. You were there at the assault on Kyoko’s castle. How are you alive? The first drones I sent was aimed for you.”
The sickly yellow Elf smiled grotesquely with rotten brown and yellow teeth. By the way it moved its finger, it was a Shaman. “Indeed you did, but as soon as I saw it I left for my mistress and one of our Dragons absorbed the seeker before it could connect. You aren’t the only fire manipulator, but you weren’t as I expected. You were less impressive than imagined.” He said cockily and boasted “Mistress Sheedan has great plans for you, but you need to be more pliant. As you can already tell, Spirit Energy doesn’t work in here. You are completely and utterly powerless. We’ve even suppressed your aura just so there aren’t any spells in the amulet. That means you are less than pitiful. And just so you are aware, if you try to escape, our personal torturer here will get more time playing. There is no escape. Until the day she allows us to kill you and take your soul, you are under the complete control of your new master, Overlord Sheedan.”
“Great. Hey Blue-balls, please make me go deaf so I don’t have to hear this windbag say anything else.”
“Why you insolent little…” The Elf was too furious to finish, but instead lifted a glowing red finger and wrote something which sent searing false pain a hundred times worse than having a hand cut off. The strap around his waist kept him from buckling. White hot pain cut through every nerve all at the same time, making time seem much longer than reality.
And just as fast as the spell took effect, it vanished. The stump where his hand had been was less than a pinprick to that awful experience. It was so overwhelming, it couldn’t be described to do any comparable justice. After it ended he not only couldn’t see straight, not a single thought could be made properly.
The end result was he fainted.
“Put him in his cell with your other prisoners.” The strongest Elf Shaman in Sheedan’s growing force ordered.
“Awe, can’t I shove a spike in his ear to make him go deaf? It was a great idea!”
“No, stick with normal torture. She wants him to eventually be productive one day. Not as a cripple.” He turned to leave.
The Incubus sneered before unbinding the giant and dragged him by one foot with three missing toes that had earlier broken off. He threw him in a cell and locked it with a wave over the lock. Red runes flared and dimmed to show it was locked.
Hours later Ethan roused to the feeling of someone brushing hair out of his eyes. Instantly he knew the touch wasn’t Kanade’s and sat up. Back when he was more or less human, the cell would have been pitch black, but with his new eyes he spotted details. They were in some kind of crudely dug out granite cave. Not one inch had any sign of comfort. It was slightly over fifteen feet up and ten wide. The smell was dank and heavy of ammonia, feces, sweat and blood among other vomit inducing odors. Thankfully his stomach was empty and judging by his hunger, it’s been well over a day since he was beaten and captured. The rock spoke of something way below ground, likely in some mountain or some deep, old mine. A candle’s amount of light came from somewhere outside bars wrapped in leather.
Looking down he saw his bloody stump wrapped in a dirty cloth, but thankfully his bracelet remained and wasn’t stolen. Lingering mental pain from the torture spell caused a shiver. Also his wing was broken. Lesions from ice had yet to fully heal, just like the missing toes on each foot. He was still naked and that bit of vulnerable information had him look to the cellmate.
A naked woman in her mid twenties crawled back into a darker corner fearfully. Grey eyes stared wide and she tried covering her
gaunt nakedness. Instantly Ethan was suspicious and it wasn’t only Blake’s lessons to be wary if you are imprisoned. Something nagged at him till it clicked. He sniffed casually and found no fear coming from her. Just arousal. It was way out of place the way she looked at him and moved back. She was dirty, but from trying to look the part of prisoner. Her hair should have been stringy, not simply matted. Also she gave off something he couldn’t quite put a finger on.
She’s a plant. An informant. He thought.
Instead of letting on that he was suspicious, he knelt to not appear so threatening and leaned up against the freezing wall and groaned as he checked out just how bad his wrist looked. It was sickening, but the bleeding had stopped. From the end came a timid “I… I tried covering it with the last bit of cloth… I had. Who… who are you?”
“Ethan… and thanks.” He gritted in pain for real. Having a hand cut off by a chainsaw wasn’t a pleasant experience. “Where am I? Who’re you and why are you here?”
“I’m uncertain… I’ve forgotten my name I’ve been here so long. I go… by… slave. You come… come from the outside?”
“Yeah. Fell in the bitch’s trap and lost to three Ice Dragons. You a Witch?”
“Yes… until I can no longer have young… then I’m to be eaten… like the other females.”
“That sucks. We’ll I’m going to get out of here. Flimsy bars are useless.”
“No don’t…”
“Ye ahhh. Fuck!” He yelled as he barely touched the leather covered bars before being painfully shocked or like acid was dripped on flesh.
Hollow laughter came across the hall and down. Ethan sucked a finger as he looked over and found a Naga lounging, missing an eye that had been recently scooped out. Next over was a Ghoul and Goblin. Further on, he couldn’t tell who else was captive, but it was clear he and the woman spy were not alone. But these others were clearly long term prisoner who lost hope. The Naga hissed “Don’t bother. The bars are enchanted to cause pain and leave you unconscious if you put any amount of force into it. There is no escape. Many go insane without sleep, but that happens after a few weeks in these lovely suites. And don’t try digging your way out. The walls are also spelled. Break off even a chip and your torture sessions will last longer before they suck us dry and eat our soul.”
“Thanks, figured that all on my own. Does anyone know where we are?”
Someone further down the hall someone said “Doesn’t matter. Knowing won’t get us out. The only hope is to die a swift death. Fat chance. The Incubus bastard though likes his fun… as you are aware.”
Ethan looked at his hand and sat down with a sigh. “I’ll keep my hope and get out. Any of you guys interested in comics?”
“Poor bastard will go nuts in a few hours.” Someone grunted a prophecy further back.
“Probably still in shock. We all were when we arrived. It would be nice to have a distraction and I’m curious what comics are. Go ahead, give us something to distract us, New Guy.”
Ethan glanced and saw the woman staring, mostly at his pecker, but he made sure she didn’t see him watching. “I’ll start with my first ever bought comic, The Green Arrow. I liked him because he was a badass archer with no superpowers other than excellent depth perception and genius enough to make arrows do really odd things like turn into a boxing glove. Personally, I wanted a comic where he dressed in pink, had little wings and shot everyone in the ass.” Some actually chuckled at the imagery. “Well he was in a boating accident and marooned on an island called…” Ethan told the entire origin story of Oliver Queen as he practically memorized every comic. He continued to speak even as some person began screaming beyond the sealed door just off to the right. Ethan went silent about halfway in as the Incubus from earlier dragged a naked Ogress who looked dead and threw her in another cell, grabbed someone else and went back to work. As soon as the door closed he went right back till the story ended.
“Not bad, New Guy.” The Naga across eventually said. “Do another. I’ve always liked the X-men.”
“Which character.”
“Jubilee.”
“Great choice. Didn’t peg you for a junkie too. The mainstream movies suck at giving all the great side characters a chance. It’s either Wolverene, Professor Xavier or Magneto. At least you didn’t choose the Silver Samurai like one of my teammates.” Thinking of Blake. “Alright, Jubilee’s story started in the Uncanny X-men number two twenty four in May of nineteen eighty nine when…” He went on talking. It helped numb the constant pain and remarkably the other captives enjoyed something upbeat for a change.
Hours later he said “Next time guys. I need some rest. Anyone got any water? Telling stories is hard work.”
“I saved some from the crack in the wall.” The spy said, pushing a bowl over to his side.
If she wanted to poison him, she could do worse, so he drank, not really caring. But for once, the water was surprisingly clean. He noticed the crack earlier and the cup where it dripped into and collected. It was just enough to soothe a scratchy throat, not sate. Especially for someone his size.
“Come on, one more. You’re one of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard. It’s almost like you put the images in our heads.”
“Only if you can spare a few drops of water.”
“You’ve not been her for two sessions and you want more than what we ourselves have?” The speaker was pretending to sound offended.
“Hey, you guys are the one who want to die early. If you want more, I need water so I can speak. All you need to do is lay there and listen.” Ethan said. “That’s is my final offer. Send me just enough to keep my throat soft. I’m not asking to chug it all down.”
“I’ll not live to tomorrow. He cut my femoral artery. Give him mine. I want to hear a good story before my true end. Can you do that?” It was the Ogress from earlier.
“The best story I know is my own. Will that do?”
“Sure. Pass this down Fellas.” She weakly said and hands passed a full cup of water down. Ethan took hold and started his story.
Somewhere after he sprouted wings there came a soft blue light that lit the darkness. Not ten minutes later the Incubus came sniffing in and a loud gulp later, the soul was gone. She was no more. Ethan saluted her memory by finishing the last few drops of her drink before sleeping uncomfortably.
“Time to play again, Big Boy!” The perverted Incubus said with a raging hard on and a wicked smile not a second before pain exploded in Ethan’s head. A deep rumble turned into a roar as Ethan knocked a long bar away from inside his hole of a cell.
The smile wiped from the Incubus as a fist from a left uppercut shot him into the ceiling sickeningly, crushing his skull by the immense force.
“Holy shit!” one of the other prisoners yelled in surprise. “One blow killed him.”
“New Guy, you really shouldn’t have done that.” The Naga said pityingly across the hall, the one good eye still nonetheless impressed with the power of a single blow.
“Why? The pervert was dumb enough to wake me after opening the cell.” Ethan grunted as he stood precariously and stepped beyond the opened gate to pick up the amped up cattle prod that so rudely woke him up. He hit the button and arcs of electricity jumped between the nodes. “I warned him I’d do more than tear off his hand.”
“Killing him wasn’t wise. Now you have to deal with… her.”
“Her who?” Ethan really didn’t like the sound of that.
“And that would be me.” Came a harsh woman’s voice. Ethan turned to find a Succubus lounging at the end of the hall, feet kicked up on a candle lit table with a cigarette between her lips. Smoke blew from each nostril after a long drag which made the stick light up and embers reddened her shadowed face. Ethan sensed that she was the source of the miniscule amount of fire he sensed. By her head was the candle she used to light the cigarettes. She lounged in revealing leather armor at the end of the hall, her eyes calmly looking at him as well as the dead torturer he killed with a singl
e blow from the rude awakening method. “You still don’t get it do you? He was kindness compared to me. If you survive, you’ll see why you should have let him play. You certainly have guts. Let’s see how they look spilled all on my floor.” Her blackened golden finger turned bright red in a jerking motion before a bolt if magic shot from her finger and slammed him up against the door.
Pain like the Elf from earlier cut through him, but this time it was more than mental agony. Rather than using instruments, she was a master torturer who didn’t have to get up out of her comfortable chair. Normal blades couldn’t pierce his flesh deeply enough and hot objects did nothing. It took a chainsaw just to cut through his skin.
Spells though proved so much more effective. He screamed as his chest was peeled back millimeter by millimeter. His face was cut deeply. Blood ran down into his eyes, stinging as she cut out his eyelids to force him to watch it all. The door’s own magic spells caused pain doubly worse than the bars. And still she cut deeper till all he was was exposed nerves in agony. The other prisoners covered their ears at his pain for they all tried before and knew exactly what he was enduring.
Just one other screamed, but in ecstasy of an orgasm as the Succubus had her other hand in her pants as she masturbated to his cries. Even through her own orgasms she kept opening up new wounds. Flaying his wings like confetti. Even cutting off inches of his tail.
This lasted all day long. When all of his skin was removed and lay in a mushy pile at his feet, he cried almost soundlessly. His voice was gone and shallow breaths hurt.
And when he thought she’d be done it started all over again. But rather than risk killing him, she caused mystical mind pain that never eased.
With a flick of a wrist two days later she flung him back into his cell where he hadn’t the strength to even shiver. His mind had shut down and finally allowed a moment’s rest. Gruel was finally brought and he was unable to manage even to drink. The other prisoners all knew what he did personally.
02 Wrath of Flames Page 44
