Stini had been spared. He'd been given an option of death or service in the Lamonte military. He'd wanted to choose death. It would have been the easy thing to do; the right thing to do, surely. If he'd died then, he wouldn't be here now, with all this blood on his hands.
But he hadn't been able to cause his own death. He'd been a spiritual man, not one of the chapel -- that was an Arinford teaching, not Serjya, but he'd worshipped his own gods, and he knew one thing for certain. If he gave up his life so easily, he'd never see his family again.
Besides, he wanted vengeance. He needed it. So he'd joined the military and he'd proved himself a traitor as soon as possible, fleeing to Arinford. He'd retrained there and joined the Guard. He'd fought hard for an officer position, and he'd finally been rewarded one. He'd started off as a captain, and then he'd become a Lieutenant.
Now he was a commander.
"Please spare my baby," the woman was wailing, "Please don't kill her. She's just a baby. She hasn't done anything. She's just a baby."
Stini thought of the small child in the other room and the way the little girl and looked up at him, as though he was perhaps just another friend come to offer cooing words or soft embraces. The child had died easily, much easier than the mother would.
"I'm sorry," Stini said. He took a step closer to the woman, "I want you to know your life is not thrown away. You're helping to stop this war."
"No!" she wailed out, "Don't kill me! Don't kill my baby! Please, have mercy. What's wrong with you? Why are you doing this? I don't understand!"
Stini knew he couldn't explain it to her to make her understand. He couldn't make her see how her life would help to prevent so many more deaths. It was a sacrifice, much like the one he was making. When he said that his soul was a sacrifice, he'd meant every word.
He'd never see his family again. There was no place for him where they were. There was no place for a man who killed babies and mothers. There were so many more dying though, because nobody would stand up to Sullivan. None of his people would stand up and refuse, for fear of their lives. He had to make them fear him and his troops more than the Black King. He had to show them at the Lost Brigade was more dangerous than refusing Sullivan.
If they were doomed either way, they could at least serve some purpose in their deaths. Stini blocked out the woman's cries and then drove his sword forward. It slid through her chest easily. She gasped, eyes dropping to the wound. She cupped at where the wound was, as though to hold in her spilling blood. It gushed out red over her hands, staining them.
"I'm sorry," Stini said. He pulled his sword out of her body and she crumpled to the floor. She stared at him for a long moment, before the light in her eyes dimmed. She let out a cough, and then the light extinguished completely.
"Commander," Aeliana said, stepping into the room, "We're finished."
He looked over at her. He wanted nothing more than a long drink and a quiet night, "What have we done? Gods, what have we done here?"
Her own sword was bloody. He could see splatters of red over her armor. He saw something else too, though. He saw anger, in her eyes. She stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder. Her fingers clenched painfully, "Don't you dare, Stini."
"Don't you dare say that now," Aeliana repeated. "Not after what we've done here. Not after what you ordered our men to do. You don't get to do that. You go out and you tell them how proud you are of them, and how much good they did tonight. Don't you dare suggest something else."
Stini sheathed his sword.
"Tell me," Aeliana said. She didn't let go of his shoulder, "Tell me that you'll treat them like they deserve, Stini, or I'll kill you here, myself, and tell them the woman had a knife hiding in her sleeve. You demanded their souls, but don't you dare let them believe it was for nothing."
"It wasn't," Stini said. He cared for Aeliana, but sometimes he hated her more than she could ever know. "It wasn't for naught. We've done well here tonight. It was hard, but we did a good thing. These men and women and children have given their lives to help stop the war."
Aeliana looked at him for a full minute and then let go of his shoulder. Stini saw there were tear tracks on her cheeks. He knew better than to comment on it, though. It wouldn't do. Not now. Maybe not ever. He wanted to hug her, but that wouldn't do either.
Instead, he stepped around her, heading back to where his men waited. If there had been any doubt that they were his before now, it was gone. He looked at their place, solemn faces, and drew his sword again, raising it into the air.
"Death to the Black King!" he shouted. "Death to those who support him! We are the Lost Brigade!"
NINE
So Run, the World Away
"ONE OF US WILL BE SICK," SEAN said, looking over at Janice and Will. "I mean, really sick. You have to be convincing. I've never been good at pretending though. My sister, she always knew."
Will shook his head, "That won't work. The guards don't care if you're ill. I spent three months will a high fever and the most they did was bring me extra water. I might have died without them blinking an eye."
Sean sighed. "What about a fight?" he suggested.
"Nope," Will said, "I've watched prisoners duke it out before. The guards just bet on who was going to win. It turned out to be the bigger guy. I think he lost three silver on that bet. Thought the underdog would win."
Sean sighed again, but Janice laughed.
"We need to figure something out," Sean said, "We need a way to get them to open the door, even for a moment. If that happens, we can get out. I know it."
Janice shrugged, "I could come onto one of the guards. Seduce him, steal his keys. Or just get him to open the door. Shouldn't be too difficult."
Will snorted.
Janice shot Will an annoyed look, "Watch it, Will."
"No, no," Will said, "It's nothing against you. Most of the guards that come down here are on Catherine's payroll. Even more of them are in her bed."
Janice blinked. "She slept with the guards?"
Will shrugged, "Amongst other people."
He thought of the day when Catherine had attempted to seduce him. She'd been wearing a beautiful dress, and her hair shone like gold. She'd lifted her skirts, revealing her lack of undergarments.
She'd offered to make Will a man -- a real man -- and was angry when he'd refused. The anger had quickly changed though. He wasn't sure what it had changed to, but she'd gone from threatening to remove his head, to telling him she would marry him someday.
He was terrified of Catherine.
Of course, he didn't say all this. Perhaps Janice and Sean read something in his face, because neither of them pushed the issue.
"I just need to figure out how to get the cell door open," Sean said with a sigh. They'd been hashing out the possibilities all morning.
"You'll do it," Will said suddenly.
"I'm glad you have faith in me," Sean said.
"It's not that," Will said, "I just know it."
"Did you dream it?" Janice asked curiously.
"No," Will said, "It's just this feeling I have. He's going to be the one to open the cell door. Not the guards."
Will didn't know where his certainty had come from, but Sean looked skeptical. "I trust you," Will said.
"That trust is great," Janice said, "But it still doesn't help Sean open the doors. Even if we had something to pick the lock with, it wouldn't work. These padlocks are special."
Will shrugged.
"Besides," Janice continued, "We can't manipulate. That's the only way I could see taking the guard out."
Sean closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think. Then he reached for Janice's hand. "It doesn't make sense."
"I know,--" Will started to say, but Sean held up a hand. Will fell silent.
"It doesn't make sense how this cell could be blocking manipulation," he said. "It's not a person. It's just a room. Besides that, manipulation is something we do with our minds. How do they block that?"
"I don't know,"
Janice said, "But they do. We've tried manipulating before. It doesn't work in here."
Sean gave Janice a slight smile, "Well, you couldn't manipulate anyway," he reminded her. "You gave it up in favor of a bow."
Janice's cheeks flushed red.
Will quickly interrupted, "I can't manipulate either, Janice."
"They don't teach that at the capitol?" Janice said, momentarily distracted from her embarrassment.
"They do," Will said, "If you have interest in becoming a Priest. I really never favored that career path."
Both Janice and Sean smiled at that.
"Anyway," Sean said, "I should still be able to manipulate. They must have some sort of protectors down here."
"You think so?" Will asked.
Sean frowned, "Think about it. Lamonte only started training priests when the war began. How long has this dungeon existed? They wouldn't have needed to protect it before the war -- no citizen could manipulate. Will, are the cells in your father's prison protected from manipulation?"
Will gave it a long thought, "No. I don't believe so. My father used to send priests down there, to take penance and to heal any prisoners who had injures."
"So they can't be protecting the cells," Sean said. "They have to be protecting the guards. That's what they've been doing. Since we got here!"
He let out a low curse, but Janice squeezed his hand gently, "We know now. What can we do about it?"
Sean gave a slight smile that caused Will's skin to crawl slightly. His hand had crept back to his amulet and he seemed to be gathering strength as he stood there, growing taller and taller in his stance. "Why, we're going to show them that for Lamonte guards, there is no protection."
It was almost nightfall when one of the soldiers brought food down for the prisoners. Since Sean, Janice, and Will were in the back, their meals was brought last. Sean wasn't surprised to see it was a different guard tonight. It was the warden's responsibility to make sure the prisoners were fed but more and more, he sent others down to deliver the food.
Sean thought about Catherine. He'd only see the princess once, in passing. She hadn't shown any interest in the prisoners since their arrival. From what Sean had gathered from Will, this was a good thing.
"Backs against the wall," the guard said in a bored voice. Sean forced his thoughts away from the princess. He had a job to do.
"Go on," the guard said. He waited until all three of them had their backs against the wall. They were only fed once a day and it was always the same: old bread and questionable cheese. Tonight was no different. The guards pushed through three small, burnt loaves, "Enjoy."
"Wait," Will said, "I need to ask you something."
The guard turned his attention to the prince. He eyed the teenager and snorted, "I'm not here to answer your questions."
"This is an important one," Will said, "I wouldn't walk away."
This caught the guard's attention. He paused and looked at Will, incredulously, "You're telling me what to do?"
Will nodded. "I am. Because I know something. I just want to confirm it, of course. But, uh, you're sleeping with Catherine, right? Catherine Sullivan? The princess?"
Sean watched how the color drained out of the man's face. So the rumors were true. He couldn't help but feel a bit of surprise. He knew that teenage girls were capable of much, but this man was old, with a scraggly beard, and a bit of a belly. He couldn't imagine what the princess wanted from him, especially if she was taking what she needed from younger, more attractive guards.
"What did you say?" the guard demanded, taking a step closer to the cell. His color had flooded black, making his cheeks look blotchy and red.
Will stepped off the wall, "I said you're sleeping with Catherine Sullivan."
"How dare you," the guard said, but the words seemed forced, "you could be executed for speaking such lies against the princess."
Will laughed. The sound was young and beautiful. "Executed? Oh, what do you think I'm here for? Recreation? I don't need to commit more crimes. I'm the Prince of Arinford. I'm not leaving anytime soon."
The guard narrowed his eyes at Will.
"I don't need to lie," Will said, "I have no reason for it. I'm sure Richard Sullivan will understand when I explain to him what you've been up to with his daughter. Do you think it's worth a beheading? You could share my cell while we wait. I think there's room for one more."
"Shut your filthy mouth," the guard said, "I don't want to hear another word from you."
Will shrugged. He took another step forward, "Did she tell you she loved you? Did she say you were important to her? You know, she told me these things too. She showed me everything below her dress. I can't really blame you for sleeping with her."
The guard glared, taking a step closer to the cell, "You want to die early, boy? Don't want to wait for the ax?"
"You think the King will be happy if you kill his prisoner, whom I might add is probably more important to him than you, before he wants me dead?" Will asked. "You think he'll just forgive that? That could be considered treason as well. You just want to rack up the crimes, don't you?"
"I'm not going to kill you," the guard said. A malicious smile formed on his face, "I don't have to. Your friends are going to kill you. Maybe you fought over that bread. I hear it's pretty tasty when the mold is scraped away."
Will snorted, "Them? No one would believe they would kill me. They're Arinford prisoners. Why would they kill their prince?"
The guard shrugged. His eyes were glinting with dark intent, as his hand went down to rest on the pommel of his sword, "Not my problem. I'm sure they'll come up with a reason."
"Or they could tell the king what happened,' Will suggested.
"Not if I cut their tongues out," the guard threatened. He glanced back at Sean and Janice, who were both still silent, "Thought it looks like those are already gone. Not much for talking, are they?"
Will shrugged, "Not till they have proper motivation. I'm sure this will make good motivation for them. Maybe the king will pardon them for the information about his daughter. That's worth a pardon, right? The King loves his daughter very much."
The guard growled at him, lifting his sword a few inches out of the scabbard. "Maybe I'll just kill you. King Sullivan won't mind if I kill prisoners who tried to escape."
"I'd say you don't have the guts to do something that heinous," Will said, "But you do sleep with Catherine. I suppose you deserve more credit."
"Shut your filthy mouth about her!" the guard roared, his patience at an end.
Sean knew this was his chance. He kept his position on the wall, but he closed his eyes, breathing in shallowly, trying to reach for his Chakran. It took a moment to find it. It had been so long since he'd had a need for it. When he'd centered himself, he reached out towards the man with his mind and energy.
They'd told him the dungeon was immune to manipulation, but now that proved to be false.
Sean wanted to tell Janice, but he knew he wouldn't have time. He could still hear Will and the guard arguing, as Will did his best to antagonize and distract. Sean reached up with a hand, clutching the amulet around his neck. Feelings and thoughts immediately flowed into him, but Sean forced himself to ignore these. It was energy he needed, the strength.
He let it fill him, all of the energy they'd stored over the last six months when they were too upset to sleep, or when they were unable to relax. The amulet had kept him alive over several years but now it gave him more than the strength to fight the poison that had once filled his body. It gave him so much more.
Sean drank it in, letting it warm his body and fill him with an abundance of energy. It made him feel tall and powerful. He was powerful. He reached out again with his mind, touching that of the guard. It felt like pushing on a bar of steel.
But even steel could be bent, if there was enough pressure. Sean applied pressure now. It was painful, excruciatingly painful. He knew attacking a protecter caused the worst sort of pain.
Sean ignore
d this, drawing in more energy from the amulet. He was stronger, he knew that now. He was stronger than them all. He focused again, forcing the energy towards the man, concentrating with all his might.
Suddenly it felt as though something snapped. He stumbled backwards, but as he did, the guard stumbled forward. He was red in the face, but it was a different sort of red. It was the red that slowly turned to purple. The guard clutched at his throat, unable to speak, unable to breath.
Janice reached over, steadying Sean, "Are you alright?"
He heard the worry in her voice. He quickly got hold of himself, but it was difficult. "I'm fine," he eventually breathed out. "That was just harder than I expected."
"What's happening to him?" Will asked. The guard had sunk to his knees and was still clutching at his throat, his thick fingers scrambling, trying to figure out how to stop the choking. Will looked both fascinated and disgusted.
Sean looked over at Will, "He's choking on his own tongue."
"Something he should have done a long time ago," Janice muttered. She gave Sean a smile, squeezed his hand, and then moved forward, watching the man choke to death.
Sean didn't care for the scene. He cared only for the way he felt the moment; as though he were crumbling. He clutched at his amulet, trying to draw energy from it. There was a bit, but not much left. He was shocked at how much he'd used. He drank it in, breathing deeply.
As he did, he felt the emotions come over him. Most of them were old. To his surprise, one from Matilyn suddenly washed over him. She'd been thinking of Eldrin. He could almost see the memory, that's how clear it was. They'd been arguing.
Sean dropped the amulet.
"He's dead," Janice said.
Sean hurried forward, kneeling down and reaching through the bars. He had the longest arms. Still, the man was almost out of reach. Sean managed to snag his hand though and began laboriously pulling him closer. When he was finally close enough, he unhooked the key ring from his belt, and then stood to unlock the cell.
Revolution (Cartharia Book 2) Page 9
