"Why won't you break?" Makari asked one day, his voice a deadly whisper. He had thrown his shock wand to the ground and paced the room like a caged beast.
I braced myself for the worst, expecting a beating. Instead he grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled me to my feet. Anger, I could have handled, but his torn expression shattered my heart.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
I knew I wasn't responsible for his pain—that was Drevin's fault—but I felt a strong desire to erase his torment nonetheless. It didn’t matter that he was the enemy, part of me wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. Ironically, the other part wanted to crush his windpipe and run as fast as I could.
Makari’s expression changed, making the decision for me. All emotion disappeared as though he had wiped it clean. "Well, delohi-saqu. It appears my father was right about you after all."
I shook my head. I knew this day was coming, but the knowledge did nothing to prepare me. "Don't, Makari. I'm not the delohi-saqu. I'm trying so hard to make you understand. I—"
"Stop, Auren," Makari said, giving me a shake. "I'm not bringing you to my father just yet. I need more time to find out what his plans are for me."
I felt pain tear through my heart and tried to push him away, but he pulled me into him, holding me as I sobbed. I detected the tension in his body, the undercurrent, and knew instinctively he was as bewildered as I was. His need to comfort was so strong he was powerless to stop it, and yet he professed I meant nothing to him. In that moment, I doubted the truth in his words. He wanted me to believe the only reason he kept my identity from his father was to protect himself. That couldn’t be the only reason, my mind argued. Perhaps it was wishful thinking—my own need to justify how I could love him when he treated me so badly—but our connection was too deep for lies. I tried not to hope, but I wanted so badly to release him from his father’s grip. Makari wasn’t incapable of love, despite his upbringing and, even if he was, I couldn’t hate him for that.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Makari asked.
"Like what?"
He sighed. "You're making this so hard for me, Auren."
"Good," I said, softly. "It should be hard."
Chapter 2
When Makari arrived at my cell the following morning, I found it impossible to read his mood. Normally his expression told me something, held a hint of compassion, but today it was an expressionless mask. Emotionless and cold. It sent an involuntary shiver through me.
Without saying a word, he grabbed my arm to pull me to my feet and half dragged me to the cleansing room. I stumbled a few times, but he didn't slow. He simply pulled me to my feet again and kept moving.
I prepared myself for the worst, expecting his anger. But I began to relax as soon as I realized there were no ripples of emotion coming from him. He seemed more determined than anything. Maybe we could talk and he would finally see reason. That hope was dashed as soon as he began strapping me to the table, and though I tried to fight him off, he was too strong. The exertion made it difficult to breathe, as did the uncertainty. It couldn’t be good if he felt the need to immobilize me.
"We're going to try something different today," Makari told me.
The look he gave me had chills racing through my body. It was as though he no longer recognized me as a person. For the first time since running into him on Nadiria, I was truly afraid. Being turned over to his father no longer seemed like the worst possible fate, and in that moment, I knew my only hope of survival was escape through the shadow world. I'd wasted so much time in my efforts to find my father. It was impossible. I realized that now. My father was lost, but I had one last chance to get away.
As I began to pull the veil around me, Makari's hand wrapped around my throat and tightened. The distraction shouldn't have been enough to keep me from shifting into the mist. He was anchoring me in some way, but how?
"Don't do it, Auren," Makari said, his face close to mine. "I will follow you wherever you go. We're linked in a way neither of us fully comprehends, but I know you can’t hide from me. If you go to your friends, they will die. I promise you that."
My chest tightened painfully and tears filled my eyes. I was truly trapped. This was why he hadn’t used a recinder. He didn’t need one. There was nowhere I could run that he wouldn’t find me. All the power I had been given by the shadow people was useless. Why had they allowed my parents to bring me into the world if my fate was to be at the mercy of my enemy? A cold realization hit me. Maybe Makari was right and the shadow people were liars. Emotion rolled through me in a wave, tearing an ear-piercing sound from my throat. Makari loosened his grip, startled, but his expression no less determined.
"No," I screamed in my mind. He couldn't be right. This couldn't be right. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax. "What are you going to do to me?"
When Makari didn't answer, I lifted my head to look at him. He pressed it down and secured a strap across my forehead, so I was completely immobilized.
"You seem to be immune to the effects of the shock wands, but maybe you will respond to a different kind of pain. It's an old method of torture, and one the Galvadi rarely use anymore,” he said, as though reciting simple facts. “But sometimes it becomes necessary."
This was it. This was likely the torture method used in Kado's vision. I couldn't let it happen. "Makari, please. Please tell me what I can do to make you see there’s another way."
"I've already seen, Auren. I know who you are. This isn't about proving your innocence anymore. It's about proving to my father I have more worth than being a hunter of shadow stalkers," he stopped what he was doing, and rested his palm on my forehead. "You're going to tell me where the Coalition is hiding."
He was going to torture me for information. No! "I will never tell you that."
"Oh, you will, Auren. Then I'll give you to my father, and you will never be able to hurt anyone in the Serpent Isles. He might finally see my worth once you are dead, and…" his voice faltered. "He has everything he needs to destroy the remnants of the Coalition."
There was something he wasn’t telling me. I didn't need to read his mind to know he didn't really want me to die. Not when he couldn't speak about my impending death without betraying his true emotions. I had to use that to my advantage. I had to offer him a way out. Makari was doing this because he was afraid of his father. No, he was terrified of him. It was so clear now.
"Promise me something, and I’ll tell you where they are."
Makari’s gazed at me as though expecting deception. "What?"
"I know I will never convince you I'm not the delohi-saqu, and I know you fear what your father will do when I'm out of the way. Put a recinder on me so I can't use my powers, then go help the Coalition. You'll be saving the people of the Serpent Isles in both ways. Promise you'll do that and I'll tell you."
Makari didn't answer me right away, but I knew it wasn’t a good sign. Even if his expression hadn't given him away, I would have known he didn't believe me. He thought I was looking for an easy way out.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked after a moment. "You will never give me their true location freely."
"I know you're not stupid, Makari. It's a genuine offer. If I don't tell you the truth, it won't take long for you to figure it out. Do you really think I'd risk that?"
"I don't know what you're willing to risk, Auren. That's the problem. You will say anything to buy yourself more time."
"I have no time left to buy," I said softly. "I've already accepted my life is forfeit. It's not my life I'm trying to protect. I won't betray my friends or the Coalition."
"You have no choice in this. Not even you can resist. But I will make you a promise. Tell me now, and I will make sure you spend your remaining days with me in peace. No more cleansing. I can't promise what will happen once I turn you over to my father, but I can give you that much."
I shook my head as tears pooled in my eyes. Makari just didn't get it. H
e truly believed I cared more about myself than I did anyone else. He obviously cared about me, but his father's beliefs were so ingrained I began to doubt he would ever see me. Truly see me.
I had only one chance left. "I give you my word. Please, just tell me you won't tell your father where they are. You can tell one of the other guides who I am. Let them take me to your father while you escape. Then you won't have to worry about what he will do to you."
"And what worth is there in the word of the delohi-saqu?" he asked indulgently, as though speaking to a child.
A surge of adrenalin flowed through me, and I struggled against the restraints. It was no use. Why couldn't he see I was giving him a way out? He placed a hand on my forehead in a calming gesture, and body went still. I sank into the table, biting my lip to prevent more tears.
"I wouldn't know, Makari. I don't believe the delohi-saqu exists. It's someone your father dreamed up, so he could seek revenge on the shadow stalkers and my father. Drevin is the one who lied to you. He’s been lying to you your whole life, and you are so entrenched in those lies, you wouldn't know the truth if it spit in your face."
My words held such conviction he took an involuntary step back, and for a moment I thought he might reconsider. Then he went to the cabinet next to the desk and pulled out a small rectangular box and a tub with a lid on it. He set them on a tray next to the table. Inside the box was a strange tool I had never seen before. It resembled a vegetable peeler. When he removed the lid from the tub my stomach recoiled. I had no idea what was inside, but the odor was reminiscent of a rotting corpse.
Makari leaned over me, placing a hand on the side of my face. His eyes bored into me, imploring me to give him what he wanted. "Please, Auren. Tell me where they are."
"You know I can't. I can't betray my people."
He sighed. "Just remember you brought this on yourself. I've tried to make this easy for you. You promised to accept the cleansing, and yet you have fought me at every turn."
My eyes widened. "I didn't hide in the shadow world. I did exactly what you asked."
"No, you didn't hide in the shadow world. You just found somewhere else to hide." He sighed. "Maybe it's not your fault. Maybe it's just in your nature as the delohi-saqu."
"Stop calling me that," I shouted. "I agreed to wear the stupid recinder if you promise not to tell your father where they are. If I knew you would go to them, that you would help them, I’d tell you.” I grasped onto the small silence. “If I'm wearing a recinder, I can't hurt anyone, right?"
"So, you're admitting to who you are?"
I groaned. "No, Makari. I'm just trying to help my people. I can see you don't want to do this, so why can't we find another way?"
"Because I don't trust your intentions, Auren. It could be a trick, or an effort to buy more time so you can make your plans. Besides, the Coalition won’t trust me. They might kill me on sight."
"They don't know you. You could tell them you're a shadow stalker, or take me with you. If I’m wearing the recinder…"
Makari shook his head. He had already made up his mind. I needed another tactic.
"If they know I’ve been captured, they have likely moved."
"They're limited on where they can go now, Auren. Even if they have moved, you can give me a starting point. I've been trained to track in ways you couldn't possibly imagine. I will find them."
His words made it clear he had no knowledge of my training, or that Kado was a shadow warrior. My skills probably exceeded his, but I had no intention of telling him that.
"Tell me, Auren. We don't have to do this."
"Yes, we do. You will never believe me, and I will never betray the people of the Serpent Isles." I closed my eyes. This was it. The beginning of the end.
Chapter 3
Makari walked back to the cabinet and returned with an injection pen. "This will make you more reasonable."
He removed the cap and I braced myself, expecting him to jab me with the needle as the interrogator had done with the truth serum. But Makari surprised me by pushing it gently into my thigh. I winced as the stinging liquid was forced into my flesh, then began to relax. That was until he shot me with another dose of the drug and the room began to spin. Closing my eyes to fight against the nausea, I pressed my lips together.
"Where is the Coalition hiding, delohi-saqu?" Makari asked, a few seconds later.
My mouth opened involuntarily. The compulsion to tell him what he wanted to hear was so strong I had to grasp onto an image of Deakan in my mind. If I told Makari where they were, my friend would die.
"I'm not the delohi-saqu," I said instead.
Something cold pressed into my flesh at the top of my left thigh. My mind barely had time to acknowledge the sensation before it was scraped down towards my knee. The pain didn't register at first, as though it was too much to process. The moment my brain caught up, my eyes flew open and I screamed, trying to l lift my head to see what it was. The strap pressed against my forehead, limiting my movements, so all I could see was the tool in Makari’s hand. He peeled something bloody from the instrument and then it was gone, followed by the sound of it hitting a hard surface. My leg was on fire; it was like a razor burn, only a thousand times worse.
When Makari finished cleaning the tool, he dipped three fingers into the foul-smelling tub. They came out covered in green paste, which he spread over the raw skin on my thigh. For a moment, the cool sensation brought relief. It was short-lived. I screamed again when the burning intensified. It felt as though someone had poured acid onto my skin, and it was eating away at my flesh.
Makari wiped his hand on a towel then rested it on my forehead. I didn't realize I had been straining to lift my head, but the pressure made me relax. After a moment, my cries turned into quiet sobs. The pain was intense, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he intended to burn off my limbs.
"Where are they hiding, delohi-saqu?"
Tears ran down the side of my face. "I'm not…"
He pressed the tool to my thigh again and scraped downwards. This time the pain registered almost immediately and my throat burned with the scream trapped there. It wasn’t until he began to clean the instrument that it dawned on me. It was my skin. He was flaying me.
"Stop,” I cried, hysterical now. “Please. Stop." Somehow, knowing what he was doing made it worse.
He ignored me, rubbing more of the paste on the wound.
When I found my voice, it was hoarse. "Makari, please. Don't do this. You don't have to do this." The pain alone wasn’t enough to make me talk, but the effects of the drugs in addition to my panic were making it harder to resist. I had to focus. I had to remember why it was important to remain silent. The lives of so many depended on it.
Makari leaned over me, and though I had expected his gaze to be cold, I saw only pity. "You know how to make it stop, Auren. Tell me the location of the Coalition."
"I can't. You know I can't."
His response was to use the tool again. I tried to hold out against the pain, attempting to slip into the shadow world. But Makari's hand was on my throat before the veil appeared. "I told you what would happen if you do that. Did you think I was joking?"
"Please," I said, my voice barely recognizable. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
Makari placed a bloodied hand on the side of my face, his expression softening. "I don't want to hurt you like this, Auren. Please, tell me where they are."
"They'll die."
"Only if they continue to resist."
"This isn’t about them. It’s about me. If you kill me, then it won't matter anymore, right?"
Makari sighed, as though I was missing something obvious. "It's not that simple."
"Why? Why isn't it that simple? Your father started this because he thought I was a danger to the people of the Serpent Isles. If I'm dead, I'm no longer a threat. It can end. Just kill me."
He looked away in disgust and continued the torture. I couldn’t see my thigh, but I could feel the ra
w flesh. There wasn’t anything left.
When my mind cleared this time, my words were barely a whisper. "I'll bleed to death anyway."
"No, you won't. The Danam here," he said, holding the tub in front of my eyes. "It seals the wound and stops the bleeding. It also accelerates the healing. Within 48 hours, it will be like this never happened. Tomorrow I can work on your back, and then the following day I can work on your front again. I can keep this going for weeks or months, delohi-saqu. I will do this every day until you tell me what I want to know."
What was left of my heart shattered into a thousand pieces, and I couldn't keep the gut wrenching sob from tearing free. Whatever he felt for me, he would continue to hurt me over and over without an ounce of remorse, because he truly believed he was doing the right thing. I might get through a day, but there was no way I could do this indefinitely and he knew it.
"Promise me you won't tell your father. Promise you'll keep the information to yourself, and I'll tell you."
"I won't be making any deals with the delohi-saqu."
"Makari, please."
My pleas were useless. He was already moving to work on my other thigh, and all I could do was hang on to the image of Deakan in my mind and pray I wouldn’t break. I no longer had the ability to speak, so even when he asked me the location I was unable to tell him. When I felt tempted to try, I pictured Deakan's unmoving corpse and it was enough to silence me. I knew I would rather endure this torture for the rest of my life than betray my friend. I had to trust they would stop the Galvadi eventually.
When he had removed the skin from both legs, he started on my arms, and then my belly. By then, my brain could barely process the new sensations; every part of my body was engulfed in flame. After applying a second coat of the Danam to my wounds and cleaning the tool, Makari put everything away.
Shadow Stalker Part 2 (Episodes 7 - 12) Page 6
