Land of Shadows

by Jeff Gunzel

  Chapter 14

  Addel slowly hobbled through the tower, weighed down by a heavy heart. She had made many mistakes in her life, and wondered if now they were all coming back to haunt her. She had been summoning the puppeteers for days, and was exhausted. A flashing light show could be seen beneath the door of Dragot’s forbidden chamber as she passed by. No doubt he was attempting to contact Krytoes once again as the final preparations were being made. She longed to be anywhere else but here. She just didn’t want to be part of this anymore.

  There was a time long ago when she no longer fit in normal society. Born with special abilities that needed to be kept a secret, her life had been anything but ordinary. Addel had been exposed to a world where anyone who could do extraordinary things with the aid of natural forces was simply known as a witch. Black powers could only be explained as sources of evil. However, her innate abilities were only part of the problem, as she was born quite hunched and deformed as well. A broken body seemed a strange irony, given her substantial mental gifts.

  In the harsh world of Tarmerria, such a child was rarely ever kept alive. However, Addel had been a rare exception due to her parents, who could not go through with it. But although her parents kept her locked away and hidden for obvious reasons, they were far from kind. They needed only the smallest of reasons to beat her incessantly. Addel knew it was because they had been robbed of having a child they could show to the world, a child that could be productive and someday contribute to the town, as all must eventually. Whenever they whipped her, she never held a grudge. She knew her very existence had robbed her family of ever having normal lives. Perhaps it would have been better had she been discarded at birth.

  The day her hometown of Ackles was raided, she was forced to flee as the raiders set each and every home ablaze. Her parents had been among the many who had lost their lives that day, trying to defend the town.

  She remembered getting several miles outside of the town before collapsing. When she awoke, Dragot’s grotesque face stared down at her, like a lion eyes a wounded rabbit. Of course he’d had nothing to do with the raid, but it made his agenda easier when the stupid humans attacked one another, which seemed to be the case so often. He was an opportunist and was able to sense Addel’s abilities. Between that and her obvious physical disabilities, he was sure she had nowhere to go. He offered to take her in as long as she served his cause. What choice did she have? No town would have taken her in given her deformity. If she proved her usefulness using her innate powers, she would have been hung for dabbling in black magic. She had had little choice but to go with Dragot.

  At the time, it almost seemed like a good idea. She was bitter at humanity for rejecting her. It seemed this would enable her to take revenge on the society that turned its back on her. But that was many years ago, and her bitterness had long since subsided. It seemed all this had gone too far now.

  She hobbled back to her dingy room and flopped into her chair, placing her head in her hands. What was she going to do? There was no place for her to go. What would be asked of her next? She didn’t want to think about it.

  Addel had never felt this alone in her life.

  The door flung open and Dragot barged into the room. His wicked grin was very telling. “Why do you look so sad, Addel?” he said in his usual mocking tone. “I have news that will cheer you up.” His grin widened even further as she looked away. “I have received a gift from the dark lord himself, one that will allow for the final piece to fall into place.” He tilted his head sideways as he stared at her with those cold, yellow eyes.

  She felt so defeated. Addel knew how very weak she must appear right now, but she just didn’t care.

  “I think you had better follow me,” the half-demon hissed, then turned to leave the room.

  With a sigh, the witch struggled to rise from her chair and followed him out. Her head was bent so low that she could only watch her own toes as she dragged behind, not really even thinking about where he was taking her.

  When they arrived at the chamber where he kept all the caged humans, she looked up for the first time since leaving her room. The harrowing scene around her turned her blood cold. Not only were the human puppets out of their cells, roaming around mindlessly, but some were armed with crude weapons as well. Those white eyes and open mouths continuously oozing foam sent shivers down her spine.

  Suddenly, a large clawed hand grabbed her by the hair, snapping her head back. Addel screamed as Dragot pinned her high up against the stone wall with her feet dangling off the ground.

  He put his face right next to hers. His eyes burned with intensity...with madness. “I need a gateway that will transport my pets to the front wall of Taron,” he hissed, his nose nearly touching hers.

  “B-B-But I can’t,” she stuttered as she tried to turn her head away. “I-I don’t have the strength to make a gate that size or to hold it that long.” The side of her head pressed hard against the wall as she tried desperately to get some space between her and the creature. She could feel his hot, foul breath against her cheek, pulsing in short steamy bursts.

  Dragot’s smile widened. His yellow eyes danced with amusement, relishing in the woman’s squirming.

  “I’m perfectly aware of your ‘limitations,’ witch!” he growled in a low rumble. “This is why you are going to accept the dark lord’s gift: A temporary bump in power that will allow you to accomplish what I demand!” He backed off just a bit, but still kept a firm hold on her. Suddenly, his eyes turned a solid light blue. He muttered something under his breath.

  Globes of blue light descended down his arms and through Addel like waves in the ocean. Each pulse sent white-hot pain surging through her body. The agony was so great, it became paralyzing; she couldn’t even scream. Addel convulsed helplessly as wave after wave jolted through her, each one pushing her threshold of pain to a new limit. The slim part of her that still held to a thread of conscious thought wondered if she would go insane from the pain—pain a human body was never built to accept.

  Dragot grinned as the jolts continued to pulse through his arms. “This might hurt a bit,” he whispered. She never would have heard him anyway.