Steel Maiden

by Kim Richardson

  “Thought you’d get away, did ya? Thought you could take what don’t belong to ya and not suffer the consequences?”

  He pulled my hood back with the edge of his sword. My long dark hair fell around my shoulders.

  I saw the feral look the guardsmen get when they see a pretty face. I shivered inside, but I wouldn’t show them fear. Like a trapped animal, I hid the anxiety that filled me. The priest’s guards were notoriously ruthless and loved to abuse their power, especially with women from the Pit.

  Slowly, I moved my hands towards my belt, but didn’t find the hilt of my daggers. I had forgotten that they had taken my weapons.

  “Pretty little thing, aren’t you?” said the younger guard with an oily voice that matched his oily face. He looked about my age. The front of his uniform was soiled and wet.

  “A little too skinny—I like my women with meat on their bones. But you’re still a woman. Maybe, I’ll just have a little fun before we bring you to the high priest?”

  I frowned at his mention of fun. My hands trembled in fury.

  “I’m the senior guard, Garth,” said the older man.

  “Never said you weren’t, Baul.” Garth rolled his eyes.

  “If anyone gets to do anything, it’ll be me first.” Baul looked at me and grinned.

  “We’d be within our rights to do with you what we will, seeing as you broke the law, and being from the Pit and all. We can do what we want with you.”

  Rape would be worse than a death sentence. If I had a choice, I’d pick the noose. I had witnessed horrible things when I was growing up in the Pit. I’d discovered women’s bodies left to rot in the sun. Girls and women who’d once been full of life had been tossed away like garbage. I knew what was coming, and death would be better. Could I outrun them? I wouldn’t get very far. I was completely useless. I was a damn fool.

  The tip of a sword brushed my neck, and I felt warm liquid trickle down to my collarbone.

  “But the high priest said unspoiled, and he was very specific,” said Baul. “Too bad, I think you would have enjoyed me. I guess it’s your lucky day.” He laughed without humor.

  “I guess it is.” I spat, feeling like the unluckiest person in all of Arcania.

  “But don’t thank the Creator just yet. The priest has plans for ya. Mark my words, you’re going to pay for what you did.”

  His expression became suspicious, and he leaned forward. His hot breath tickled my ear, but the smell of rotten eggs and ale stung my face.

  “How did you do it? How could a woman walk through the sorcerer’s fire?”

  There was trace of fear in his voice, and I took comfort in that.

  Good, let them be scared. But the truth was I hadn’t really thought about it much. Why was I able to pass through the green fire when everyone seemed to think that it was impossible? I knew it was magic, I just didn’t know it was sorcerer’s magic. Maybe the sorcerer had made a mistake with his magic? Did Mad Jack know that I’d be faced with magic? He had acted so strange, so surprised when he saw the crown. What had he not told me?

  “How did you get past the fire?”

  My attention snapped back to the guards.

  “How is it that you’re still alive? You should be dead. No one can survive the fire.” He paused. “Unless…”

  “She’s a demon.” Garth turned pale.

  “I’m not a demon.” I scrambled to my feet.

  I would look them straight in the eye. I would not cower on the ground like an animal any longer. Their demeanor changed for an instant, and I saw the nervous fear in their eyes.

  Something about me made them nervous. It filled me with new hope.

  Baul tapped the pouch at his side, my pouch, where the crown lay hidden. He stared at me curiously, and for a moment he said nothing.

  “How’d you do it then? What kind of trickster are you?”

  I smiled wickedly. “Give me back my weapons, and I’ll show you.”

  “She’s got magic, that’s what,” said Garth. His eyes widened in recognition.

  “She’s one of the cursed, a magic bearer. Only a witch could get through the sorcerer’s fire, or a sorceress.”

  I flinched. No one had ever accused me of being a witch or of possessing magic. It was absurd. If I weren’t in so much pain, I would have laughed out loud.

  “If I had magic, do you think I’d still be living in the Pit? Don’t you think I would have magicked myself out of this hell?”

  I could see they were thinking…

  Baul raised his brows. “She’s got a point.”

  He smiled maliciously. “Unless you’re a stupid witch.”

  Both guards started laughing, and I wished I could kick the laughter out of them.

  I knew I wasn’t a witch. Witches could cast spells and enchantments, raise the dead, and even shape-shift into other creatures. I would have found that useful to hide from the priest, if I were a witch—which I wasn’t.

  I knew that witches called their powers out of the Earth itself. Even if all those tales about witches were true, I still didn’t understand how I managed to get my hands on the crown.

  I knew things would get a lot worse if I were to do anything stupid. The priest had said I should be delivered to him unspoiled, and yet they had beaten me unconscious. I wasn’t ready for another beating.

  I had already ruined Rose’s life. Perhaps my dumb luck would grant me another chance to make up for my impetuousness. If only I could get back to Rose…

  Baul laughed under his breath.

  “It don’t matter what she is. Magic is forbidden in the Empire. Magic is treason and is punishable by death. You steal our high priests’ treasure? It’ll be fire for you. That’s right. We know how to kill witches. I’ll enjoy seeing you die.”

  Before I could protest, Baul grabbed me by the arm and yanked me hard around. “Tie her up.”

  My arms snapped back forcefully as Garth bound my wrists together with rope.

  Baul snapped me around again to face him.

  “You’re going to wish for death before he’s done with ya.”

  He rolled his eyes over every inch of my body, and as I recoiled he raised his sword and pointed. “Let’s go. Try anything, and you’ll die.”

  We moved in silence. Garth was at the front while Baul walked behind me. His nearness made my skin crawl.

  We made our way deeper into Soul City. The city was surrounded by a ring of thirty-foot stone walls with gateways leading out into the rest of Anglia. I had always wondered why they bothered with the walls. Maybe they feared the other realms, and the walls would keep them protected in case of a rebellion. The thought of crumbling walls made me smile.

  Soul City lay in the northwest region of Anglia, the western realm of Arcania, which bordered the West Sea. The city was the heart of the Temple of the Sun Empire. It was a new regime, and by the looks of it, it was blossoming.

  Traders were busy with carts topped with fresh meat, vegetables, and rice. The city bustled with sounds of wagons and merchants organizing the day’s market. A plainly dressed and weatherworn mother and daughter arranged handmade jewels and silks scarfs on their small table. When I got closer, I saw that the material was embroidered with the symbol of the temple, a brilliant sun etched in gold. They looked up at me curiously as I passed them, but they quickly looked away in fear when the guards caught their eyes.

  Women dressed in fine silk gowns and men in refined tailored coats busied the streets. It was common knowledge that after the priests had come into power, most of the noble and wealthy families had still been allowed to reside in the six kingdoms. They kept their lavish villas and their pockets filled with gold. All they had to do was yield to the priests’ rule and abolish the monarchy. They got to keep living as if nothing had changed. They made sure the folk from the Pit stayed in the Pit. There was no mingling with our kind of people. The noble families never stood up for us and never cared about us, even though we were Anglians just like them.

  If S
oul City was the pride and joy of Anglia, we were its shame. The rejects, the crippled, the poor, and the old were relegated to the Pit.

  I caught a few vicious glares from some noble women in ridiculous tall hats. I wondered if they’d ever laid eyes on someone from the Pit before. Their disdainful expressions led me to believe that they had not. One gave me a nasty smile like she was glad I was going to die. Bile rose in my throat. I hated these people almost as much as I hated the priests.

  I heard laughter and turned to see children playing together. Their fine happy smiles matched their fine happy clothes. I envied their innocence.

  But as I passed the children, a cry caught my attention. In the middle of the street, in full view, a young man was tied to a post. His naked body was caked with dried blood, and red, angry lesions covered his skin. He looked barely human. A sun symbol was branded on the side of his cheek. He wouldn’t last the day in the hot sun. Women in long elaborate gowns looked on as if the poor man disgusted them. Others laughed. He was on show for the wealthy.

  Heat rose to my face. If I had the use of my arms I would have punched them.

  Garth caught me looking, and he smiled.

  “That’s nothing to what’s gonna happen to you, witch.” He laughed.

  But I couldn’t look away from the young man’s sad eyes. What had he done to deserve this? Angry tears welled in my eyes as Baul hit me in the back and propelled me forward.

  Two men wearing robes tied in the middle with gold sashes strolled in the street. Their pale skin stood out against the deep black silk of their robes. I could see intricate designs in gold trim woven around their sleeves. The backs of their shaved heads were tattooed with the image of the sun.

  Priests of the Temple of the Sun.

  But what I saw next made my knees go weak.

  Two young women and a young man wearing only see-through white tunics walked behind the priests. Their heads down were, and their nipples and genitals showed through the thin fabric. They wore thick leather collars around their necks like tethered dogs. They were young. So young.

  I felt ill, but I couldn’t look away. Rose and my mother had tried to save me from a life of sadistic torment and sexual slavery, but now I stared unblinking at my future. My blood chilled. If the high priest didn’t kill me for stealing the crown, this was the life that awaited me.

  CHAPTER 6

  EVERY STEP FORWARD SENT a jarring pain through me. My legs were cement blocks, too heavy, and I dragged them along, taking my time. We were moving too fast towards whatever torment and misery awaited me. I didn’t dare look at the guards. The misery and tears in my own puffed-up face were a dead giveaway that I was already miserable. No doubt the guards were smiling.

  I felt detached from my body like I was having a waking dream. I tried not to think of the bleak sadness I saw in the faces of the concubines we had passed. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be paraded around town naked and with a collar around my neck, to be a sexual pet.

  Mad Jack’s betrayal still hurt more than I expected. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had thought that he’d been sweet on me. His dark eyes stared at me for a little too long and a little too often when I saw him in the Pit or traded with him for food or for another book for Rose. I’d picked up on it years ago. And I had welcomed it. But now I realized how wrong I’d been. I had fooled myself into thinking he cared.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d been wrong about men. I’d had my adolescent heart broken a few times. I’d had a few casual lovers, but I’d always been careful not to let my guard down, not to let myself care, or give my heart away. Once you did, you couldn’t get it back. Affairs usually ended up hurting anyway, but for some reason, Mad Jack’s betrayal ached more than I cared to admit.

  The puzzled look on Mad Jack’s face still haunted me. I couldn’t figure out why he had looked so sorry, when he had basically handed me over to the guards.

  I was so caught up in my own anger that I hadn’t noticed the temple until it was right in front of me.

  It was a pyramidal structure, approximately forty-five meters in height and was surrounded by smaller pyramids that looked like pointy hats. It was made of gold, to represent the sun, but it also represented wealth and power. I was amazed at its size and beauty. The wealth of the temple was obvious, but this went beyond anything I could have imagined. It was wrong.

  “Move!”

  I hadn’t realized I had stopped to admire the temple. But I wasn’t really admiring it. I feared it, and the fear choked me. My legs stiffened, and I couldn’t move. I took a long shuddering breath.

  “I said move!”

  Something rock hard hit me in the back again, and I stumbled forward, surprised that I actually caught myself before I fell on the stone path.

  “We don’t have all day. We’ve got more important things to do than to parade a witch around the grounds.”

  Baul shoved me through an archway, and I could see the grand entrance to the golden temple. Garth ran forward and threw open two massive walnut doors. I tensed as I walked through the doorway and into a foyer that was two stories tall and emptied into a large hallway. My heart thudded painfully.

  It was a plush space. Walls of gold surrounded plate glass windows that looked out over the city. The white and gold banners of the Temple of the Sun hung from the walls. Our feet echoed on the black marble floors. And somewhere within the temple I could hear the distant sound of voices chanting. Gold columns lined the grand hall on each side and supported the second floor above.

  Priests scurried around the temple in a blur of ebony robes that billowed behind them as they moved about with important expressions on their faces. I had never seen so many priests at once. I saw the unmistakable look of lust in the eyes of those who stared at me, but most of them ignored me completely.

  Adolescent boys followed some of the priests like eager puppies. Their dreary, linen robes stood out against the silky black robes of the priests. Apprentices, I realized. I also spotted temple servants in brown tunics. Everyone was male. All boys. All men.

  I broke into a cold sweat. Was I the only female in the entire temple?

  As I made my way forward, I caught glimpses of rooms on each side of the hall. The hall eventually opened up into a large chamber with an altar in the middle. I frowned at the altar. This was where they performed their temple ceremonies, where they intimidated and converted unbelievers.

  I committed the interior of the temple to memory, just in case I survived. I would need to know the layout if I were to escape.

  We walked around the altar and came to a chamber on the left where a man sat behind a large mahogany desk with a stack of documents in front of him. He scribbled in a large ledger and did not look up. He wore a heavy-looking white robe made of silk. It was embroidered with jewels and golden thread around the cuffs and neck, and a large sun symbol was stitched in lavish jewels on the front. He wore a pyramid-shaped white hat, and I suspected he was the high priest.

  A shadow appeared behind him, but as I tried to get a better look, Baul grabbed me and held me steady in front of the desk. Garth looked nervous, which only made me feel worse. Blood pounded in my ears as I tried to steady my breathing. I looked around the chamber for a means of escape if things turned sour.

  Baul cleared his throat. “I beg your pardon, Your Grace, but as you requested we have a brought you the thief.”

  “Which thief?” said the high priest without looking up from his ledger. I saw a shadow behind the high priest again but it disappeared before I could get a good look.

  “The thief who stole the Anglian crown, Your Grace.” Baul stepped forward, placed the golden crown on the desk, stepped back, and folded his arms behind his back.

  The high priest dropped his pen and looked up. The dark purple shadow under his eyes made his pale gray eyes stand out. With a stone-cold expression on his thin face, the high priest took the crown and inspected it as though he was making sure it was the real Anglian crown. As he pla
ced it back on the desk, his eyes found me, and my breath caught in my throat. I shuddered under his unnatural stare.

  The high priest looked particularly interested in me. “She passed through the sorcerer’s fire?”

  I cringed under the priest’s piercing stare. There was something wrong with the way he looked at me. It was almost like he was happy to see me, thrilled that I’d survived the fire. But why would he be?

  “Yes, Your Grace. She must have some kind of magic. Shall we bring her down to the prison cells or would you rather we take her to your chambers—”

  “No.”

  The high priest pushed his chair back and stood up. In a single swift move he made his way around his desk and stood before me. His white robes billowed behind him like great big wings. He was taller than the two guards, and he looked like he spent more time scribbling in his ledgers than he did eating. His pale eyes bored into mine. I felt my heart rate accelerate, but I wouldn’t look away. His face showed intrigue, contempt, and even victory. He was the creepiest man I’d ever seen.

  But when the shadow emerged beside him, I flinched and stepped back.

  The shadow wasn’t a shadow at all but a horribly deformed creature with long gnarled fingers and toes. It seemed to be made of mist. Its body had a see-through quality, as though it was a specter, as though it wasn’t really there. Its dark gray skin was barely covered in what appeared to be a ragged old pair of trousers and a shirt. When it turned its large, protuberant eyes onto me, it took all my self-control not to bolt.

  What kind of priest would keep company with such a creature? My eyes flew to Baul and Garth, but neither of them seemed to take any notice of the vile thing. They were both watching the priest. The smell of wet dog and rotten flesh emanated from it, and it looked straight at me with large, wet eyes.

  The high priest frowned, but then he followed my gaze to the creature. When he turned back to look at me, he looked satisfied.

  The creature moved towards me, but the priest shot it a look and the beast cowered behind him and nearly disappeared altogether behind his robes.