"You're probably right." Tylen took a seat at a nearby table. He'd never thought much of torture as an interrogation technique. If someone tortured him, he'd say whatever he could to make the pain end. Maybe he was a coward, but he was all right with that.
He waited at the table, tapping his foot against the stone floor. It wasn't long before the screams started. Tylen cringed when he heard the first scream, and it only got worse. Yes, William and Maria had been awful to him, but did anyone deserve pain like that? Even though Tylen was an Imperial Guard, Crayden still burned brightly in his mind.
He couldn't oppose the Order the way he always had.
The screams continued for minutes. Tylen hadn't heard the boy screaming, at least, but that was hardly comforting. The longer Tylen sat there, the more anxious he felt.
"Maybe you should go outside," Sam said. "Get some fresh air."
"Do you actually support what he's doing?"
"They're high-ranking Order members. We've gotta get secrets out of 'em somehow."
"But their son is in there," Tylen said. "He must be only five or six years old. Are you going to let Gerald torture a little boy? I know Warrick is our ruler. I trust in his vision. But there's a point when you take things too far."
"Perhaps."
The screams went on and on, grating against Tylen's nerves. He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care what Sam or Gerald thought. This had to end. Now.
What had come over Tylen? The Tylen from the days before Crayden never would have thought to interfere in something like this. That Tylen never would have let Berig and the others go free. Nor would he have accepted that Nadia wouldn't marry him.
"Tylen, come back!" Sam said, but Tylen didn't listen. Maybe he'd face punishment for disobeying his commander, but he didn't care. He couldn't listen to another moment of this.
You could always go outside, he thought. Before Crayden, he would have done just that and thought nothing of it. But he could still hear the screams of children as they were butchered in the streets of Crayden, as they burned alive.
Could Tylen ever support Warrick after what Warrick had done in Crayden? It was easy for Warrick to say he had a greater plan that would benefit the world. But was that true? What if Warrick was simply a cruel man hiding behind rationalizations?
Regardless, Tylen had to stop what was happening now. He burst into the interrogation chamber as screams rang out, louder than ever. William was stretched out upon the rack, tied so that his arms and legs had all been dislocated. With enough force, the rack could pull him apart.
Maria was naked and tried to cover herself. Cuts and burns crisscrossed her body.
Gerald turned toward Tylen, fury in his eyes. "What're you doing here, Tylen?"
"You can't keep doing this. They're obviously not going to tell you anything."
To Tylen's horror, a slow smile spread across Gerald's face. "Perhaps not. Perhaps pain isn't sufficient motivation." He marched across the room, taking hold of their son. The boy screamed as Gerald dragged him across the room.
"Don't hurt him!" Maria cried, rocking back and forth.
Gerald threw the boy down on the floor and placed his steel boot against the boy's neck. "The bones in the neck are quite weak. All I've gotta do is put all my weight on his neck. It'll crush his windpipe, and he'll suffocate to death. So why don't you give me some names? Then you won't have to see your son die."
"No," Tylen said. "You're taking this too far."
"Leave this room, Tylen. You are not needed here."
"Yes, I am." Tylen was surprised by the vehemence in his words. He'd never considered morality worth much. All that used to matter was getting the outcome that was best for him. But who could retain that kind of outlook after Crayden?
Sam stood at the entrance to the room, frowning.
Tylen turned to him. "Are you going to let him do this?"
"I don't like it either, but we have to get some answers. The Order is becoming more of a threat than ever. We have to eradicate the threat."
"The Order is not a threat," Tylen said. "Not with Warrick in control."
"Are you questioning our emperor?"
Tylen took a deep breath, trying to construct a good response. "I do not question his plans. I just think there are better ways to bring them to fruition."
"If you're so confident," Sam said, "then you get the names out of them."
Tylen felt paralyzed. On the one hand, he couldn't let this little boy die. On the other, he had his own life to worry about. He'd already risked a lot with his vocal disagreement. If he took action to contradict Sam's orders, he might not escape alive.
"We will not give up our friends," William said, pain twisting his expression.
"You'd sacrifice your own son?" Gerald asked.
"One life, however much we might cherish it as parents, is nothing compared to the lives of the hundreds you'd kill if we gave you the names."
Tylen's mouth dropped open. How could these people believe so strongly in something that they'd watch their own son die to preserve it? He wasn't sure he'd ever felt like that about anything. He'd never liked children, but could even he give up one of his own?
Tylen knew what he had to do. Warrick expected big things of him. Surely Warrick wouldn't kill him over this.
That thought, more than anything, drove Tylen to action. He launched himself at Gerald and collided with him. The force of the impact sent Gerald flying a few feet across the room, away from the boy. Tylen landed atop him.
Gerald looked up at Tylen with a twisted grin. "Didn't think you had it in you."
"Neither did I."
Tylen rose from atop Gerald, then retreated a few steps and took the boy in his arms. The boy's eyes were wide, his face pale. He screamed, and tears flowed down his cheeks.
"I expected better of you," Sam said.
Tylen glared at him. "I could say the same about you."
"You're not leaving this room with the boy." Sam held his sword ready, and Tylen understood the look in the man's eyes. He was ready to kill.
Had Tylen made the biggest mistake of his life?
"Warrick should decide this," Tylen said. "If he says I'm in the wrong, I'll accept whatever punishment you think I deserve, but I think he'll take my side."
Sam hesitated. "Fair enough. For your sake, you better hope you're right. Warrick is capable of making your death unimaginably painful."
"I'll take that risk."
Chapter 16: The Right Decision
Tylen held on to the boy, who had given up any struggling and was now whimpering in Tylen's arms. At last, Warrick entered the interrogation room. Tylen's heart climbed into his throat.
Warrick glared at Sam. "This had better be worth my time."
"Tylen has disobeyed my direct orders," Sam said.
Warrick turned his stern gaze to Tylen. "Explain yourself."
"They were going to kill this boy to get his parents to talk. I don't care what we're trying to accomplish. There are some lines you don't cross."
To Tylen's surprise, Warrick smiled. "Well done, Tylen. You made the right decision."
"Your Majesty, I don't understand," Sam said. "You told us we were to use any means necessary to get the names out of them. How can you say that and then support what Tylen did here?" He hesitated. "I don't like it either, but I had to follow your orders."
"And that is the difference between a follower and a leader," Warrick said. "Tylen had the courage to take a stand."
"I still don't understand," Sam said. "Was this all some kind of test for us?"
"Yes, it was. And perhaps it was a test for me as well. I see now that I have allowed those under my command to stray from the right path. There are some things that require us to use any means necessary. This is not one of them. The Order is unimportant in the grand scheme of things." Something flashed across his face. Regret? "It isn't like Crayden."
Now Tylen heard the sadness in Warrick's voice. "Then why did you burn Crayden?"
/> "It had to happen. Our future demanded it. A day doesn't go by that I don't regret what I had to do. It's the kind of decision a leader has to make."
"Then I'm not sure I want to be a leader, Your Majesty."
Warrick's gaze was distant. "Sometimes leadership is thrust upon us whether we want it or not." He glanced around the room. "I wish to speak to Tylen alone. You may continue with the interrogation."
Tylen hesitated a moment, but then he followed Warrick. They made their way to an empty room off the garrison's main corridor.
"I'm sorry I forced you into this situation, Tylen."
Tylen didn't know how to respond.
"This was a test for you. A very important test. From what I've read in the Webs of Fate, you had to pass this test. Otherwise, nothing would have gone according to plan."
"Can you tell me what this plan is?" Tylen asked.
"I'm afraid not. But you should know that you're following the right path."
Tylen felt a brief surge of courage, or perhaps recklessness. "Your Majesty, why do you trust me? You know I was in Crayden. You know I've seen the horrors you're capable of. It seems to me like you're taking a great risk."
"It is a great risk." Warrick smiled. "I don't trust you at all. But that doesn't matter. It is necessary that we work together."
"And if I decide I don't want to play along?"
"Then you will no longer be necessary."
Tylen understood the implications of that statement.
Chapter 17: Lure of the Wisp
Ander rested for a few hours in the oppressive darkness of the caves, and then the group started traveling again, following a series of narrow passages. At each junction, Sarah stopped, closed her eyes, and considered which path they should take. Ander didn't know how she did it, but he had to trust her.
They didn't speak much. There could be monsters anywhere. But soon the silence grated on Ander. It gave him too much time to dwell on his worries.
Was Nadia still alive? Would Aric reach Luminia and be healed? Did Ander's own party stand any chance of sending Warrick to the Shadowed Land? Ander knew these doubts were useless. He had to focus on the present, on leading this party, but the longer he marched in the suffocating darkness, the more his mind followed paths just as dark.
He glanced at Talia. "How are you faring?"
"Fine. Why do you ask?"
He couldn't help but notice the tightness in her voice. A lot of time had passed since Graig's death, but no one could fault her for falling into depression. Ander felt a bit of her pain himself. He'd known Graig as a good friend, and a good man.
"You've been rather quiet lately," Ander said.
"What is there to talk about here?"
"Anything," Ander said. "I can't stand the silence."
"You sure it's wise to talk?" asked Captain Davis. He, too, had been quiet lately. Of course, he'd always been a man of few words.
Ander peered through the darkness. "I don't know how wise it is, but I feel like I'll go insane if all we do is walk through these dark caves. I feel like the walls are closing in on me, and the silence only makes it worse."
Captain Davis chuckled. "Never took you for a man who let fear bother him."
"There are a lot of things I usually keep to myself."
"I know how that is," said the captain.
They continued walking, falling into another tense silence. Ander kept trying to make conversation, but he found nothing to talk about. After all the time he'd spent with Talia and the captain, he felt as if he didn't know them at all. He'd always focused so much on the task in his work for the Order. But what kind of leader did that make him?
How could he forget the human element in all his missions? He needed to learn how to relate to his companions.
"How are you doing?" he asked Sarah.
She hesitated a moment, gripping her torch tightly. Its flickering light cast ominous shadows against the walls. At last, she said, "I'm terrified. This place brings up all the memories of that day so long ago. It also brings up something else." She paused a moment. "I want a chance to see my friends. I want a chance to make things right."
"But they've been taken to the Shadowed Land," Ander said. "They're beyond your help."
"Not necessarily." She shook her head. "Oh, never mind."
Ander didn't like the turn this conversation had taken. When he looked into her eyes, he saw the disturbing truth. She had no intention of following this quest to its conclusion. She intended to join her friends in the Shadowed Land.
"You don't want to go there," he said. "It's an evil place."
She avoided his gaze. "You don't know that."
He put a hand on her shoulder, hoping the gesture came across as comforting. "But you can't truly want to go there. It's too dangerous. You might die."
She rounded on him. "You think I don't know that!"
"But even if you go there, you probably won't find them. They could be dead. They could be far on the other side of that strange world. It would be a blind and foolish quest."
Her gaze became more intense. "If you failed your friends like that, would you just abandon them? I didn't think you were that kind of man. A coward."
"I am no coward," Ander said. "I am a pragmatist." But then he remembered how he'd refused to leave Berig behind on the Red Plateau. That decision had gone against every rational thought in Ander's head, but he'd done it anyway. How was Sarah's situation any different?
"I understand how you must feel." Talia edged closer to Sarah. "If there were something I could do for Graig, however doubtful, I'd do it without hesitation."
Sarah didn't meet her gaze. "Thank you."
"You've made your decision," Ander said. "Haven't you?"
"Yes. I'm going to let one of them take me to the Shadowed Land. Now that I think about it, I made that decision long ago. I was simply afraid to make the journey through these caves. But with people like you by my side, I know I can do this."
"You'll be alone in the Shadowed Land," Ander said. "Defenseless."
"I'll manage."
Nothing would change her mind. Ander had seen this same kind of determination in Nadia. No one had ever convinced her to abandon her dreams of killing Warrick. Had those dreams killed her?
No. He couldn't dwell on uncertainties. He had to focus on the path ahead and lead this party to the best of his ability. If that meant allowing Sarah to make a foolish decision, he had to accept that. Once she obtained the essence of the Silver Wisp, she would no longer be vital to the party's success. That reasoning felt cold and heartless, but it was right.
A low rumble jolted Ander out of thought. He peered into the darkness outside their circle of flickering torchlight, but he couldn't see anything.
The rumbling intensified, coming from beneath them.
"Run!" Ander shouted. As they sprinted through the dark and narrow passage, the rumbling became so strong they could barely keep their balance. Twice, Ander had to help Sarah to her feet. One of these times, she dropped her torch, so they had to make their way by the light of Ander's staff.
A massive reptilian head burst from the ground in front of them. Its mouth was large enough to swallow them whole. The party skidded to a stop.
The monster's head lunged toward Talia. She tried to slash at it with her sword, but it knocked the sword out of her hand, closed its mouth around her, and burrowed back beneath the ground.
"No!" Ander screamed, falling to his knees. Blood pounded in his ears as he peered into the burrow the monster had left. Maybe if he got down there quickly enough, he could save Talia. He started down the tunnel.
Captain Davis gripped his arm. "Are you insane? It'll kill you, too."
"I have to save her." Ander broke free from the captain's grip and raced into the tunnel. The footing was difficult, but he didn't care. Guided by his staff, he scrambled on his hands and knees. Rocks shifted behind him.
"We're coming too," Sarah said.
"No, you're not," Ander said
.
Captain Davis barked a laugh. "Sorry, but you're not doing this alone."
Ander bit back an angry retort. "All right. But, please, try to stay alive."
"As if we'd try anything else," said the captain.
They delved deeper into the tunnel. At times, they descended almost vertically. At other times, they had to climb a steep incline. The rumbling had grown softer, and Ander's insides turned cold. Soon the monster would be too far away.
Already, it had been too long. He knew this logically, but that didn't stop him.
At last, the tunnel opened into a larger passage. They stopped and listened, but the rumble had disappeared. There was no hope of catching the monster, no hope of saving Talia. She'd died just as senselessly as her husband.
How could Ander believe in a God that allowed such things to happen? His legs collapsed, and he hit the ground hard, tears streaming down his face.
"This isn't right!" he said through gritted teeth. "People aren't supposed to die like this!" The tears came stronger than ever. "I've failed her. I'm useless. I'm the worst leader you'll ever see."
"No, you're not," said Captain Davis.
Ander rounded on him. "Why not? I abandoned you when I could have saved you. I failed to see Farah's treachery. Now I lost Talia. And why? Because of these stupid Webs of Fate. Why should we let them control us? Why should I go against every logical thought in my head?" He punched the wall and winced as pain shot through his hand. "It's all so damned useless. We're not going to fool Warrick. He knows we're coming. He has to."
"And what do you propose?" asked Captain Davis. "Should we give up and go home? Remember. We don't have a home. Warrick took it from us. None of us came here against our will. Talia knew what she was getting into, and she wouldn't blame you at all. You can't foresee every horrible thing that might happen. You're only human, Ander."
Ander didn't care. Deep down, he knew the captain was right, knew it was foolish to blame himself for everything that went wrong, but he was a leader. He'd been chosen to carry out such an important mission, and he had to hold himself to a higher standard.
Never in his life had he allowed himself to cry like this. He had no idea how long he lay on the rocky ground, bathed in the light of his staff and letting his tears flow freely.
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 64
