Dust (Of Dust and Darkness) (17 page)

             
Condescendingly, I sing, “Are you the court jester?”

             
His arm swings so fast I can’t react, even though I should have seen it coming. The back of his hand smacks the side of my face and my head swings violently into the cave wall.
Jagged shards of
rock slice my chee
k and
punch
my forehead. Instant pain radiates from my head, which already hurt to begin with. My hand automatically reaches for the cheek that was struck, now inflamed with a steady burn. I dare not look back; part in fear, part in trying to control the tears trying to force their way out.
I will not cry for them.

             
“My name is Finley,” the jerk adds. “And as a matter of fact, I am in the court system. I’m the Warden of this prison, though I usually don’t have to make an appearance. I don’t
like
to make an appearance. I
detest
this place and everything in it. But thanks to
you
, here I am.”

             
With my tears under control, I turn to face him, eyes glaring back with murderous passion.

             
“Maybe if you hadn’t imprisoned me wrongfully I wouldn’t be here to bother you with escape attempts.” His silence chills me to the bone. I’m not sure if he’ll strike me again, so my body immediately tenses, awaiting impact. When he doesn’t, I add, “I don’t belong here and you know it.”

             
He chuckles to himself and paces the diameter of the hole. The spriggan standing guard behind him sends an amused sneer my way. “You don’t belong here,” he replies, mocking me. “Tell me this, number sixty-eight. Has anyone come looking for you? Anyone at all?”

             
Anger flushes my cheeks, and my fists clinch on the sides of my body.

             
“You ran through the barrier easily enough. So you know anyone could have walked into the prison and saved you at any time. But they haven’t. Because you’re replaceable. Your Hollow never even sent a search party because you’re not worth the effort.

             
“You didn’t have a lover back home either, did you? Nor a family to stand up and fight for you.” He pauses dramatically and cocks his eyebrows, challenging me to correct him. He chuckles when I don’t. “Trust me. You’re right where you belong.”

             
I turn my gaze away, hi
s words hurting me more than I
like to admit, because no one has come for me. Or at least never found me. My chest takes on weight and my torso sinks lower to the ground.

             
“The quicker you admit that to yourself, the quicker I’ll let you out of this hole and put you back with your inmates. Got it, sixty-eight?”

             
Annoyed, I spit, “My
name
is Rosalie.”

             
He bends at the waist to level our eyes. They’re cold and dark and chilling. “You have no name. Just a number.”

             
I’m fuming inside, but decide silence is my best defense for the moment. When I refuse to take the bait, he rises and spins toward the spriggan. “I see you’ve already had your water ration for today. Here’s your fruit.” He pulls a
mini
strawberry from his pocket, but before I can even contemplate whether it’s worth reaching for, he drops it on the floor and squishes it with the sole of his shoe. “Eat up. You’ll need your strength for our session tomorrow.”

             
He roars with wicked laughter as he takes flight. The spriggan, with his eerie smile in the flickering shadows, grabs the lantern and ascends behind him, leaving me in darkness once again.

             
I debate a good ten minutes about whether or not to eat the strawberry. What he’s done is demeaning, but I can’t deny the hunger within. I missed breakfast the day I ran, and I’m not sure how long I’ve been here; long enough my stomach seems annoyed over having food in front of me that I’m not eating.

             
I do the unthinkable and suck it up…literally. I try not to think about the number of pixies that have lain on this floor before me, possibly defecating in this very spot. The strawberry is a necessity if I’m to endure whatever Finley has in mind for me tomorrow. I find the strength to suck up a few water puddles as well, holding my nose so I won’t taste anything more. Luckily, I think my taste buds are still missing-in-action, so it’s only a matter of overcoming my mind that what I’m doing is disgusting.

             
Proud of myself for not being a complete pushover, I find a spot on the ground that doesn’t seem to poke any part of my body and allow myself to rest. No matter how much he pushes, no matter how much he hurts me emotionally or physically, I will not roll over and die easily. If he hates coming out here to deal with me, then I’ll make sure to ruin every damn day I have left in me.

I guess Finley couldn’t be bothered to come torture me yesterday because I’m certain more than a day has passed. Not even a spriggan came with
food and
water. Not surprising, really, considering they left me without sustenance for four days before. I pray they don’t do that again. Without someone to nurture me back to health, I’m as good as dead if left here in that condition.

             
I’m quietly lying on my side when I hear voices echoing in the distance. One voice snaps at another.
Finley
. My conviction is tested as my heart immediately panics and thumps madly within my chest. As the faerie and spriggan descend my prison and paint it with light, I find the courage to stand on my feet. I’m already three inches shorter than him; no point trembling like a caged animal.

             
He’s surprised to see me standing – or amused. I hate that I have to lean the back of one of my shoulders against the wall for support, and I think he knows it. But still, I will not cower. Willow told me no pixie ever came back the same, and eventually committed suicide. I know the road before me will be difficult and painful, probably demoralizing, but I will fight it to the best of my ability for as long as I can find the strength.

             
“Well, well, well. Someone’s got spunk. Perhaps we’re feeding you too much.”

             
I calm my nerves, releasing long, rhythmic breaths through my nose. I keep my reaction impassive.

             
“Any self-progress yet? Still believe you’re better than your fellow inmates?”

             
“I’m not better. Just more determined to fight for what’s rightfully mine.”

             
He shines one of those twisted half-smiles, making his cheek bulge. “Let’s see what we can do about that determination, eh?”

             
Finley cocks his head in my direction. The spriggan is lightning-quick to wrap his arms around me. I’m powerless against his grasp; one hand alone
can
reach
all the way around my neck. I scream and thrash against his body with all my might, but he squeezes our chests together tightly, constricting my lungs and incapacitating my limbs. His hands splay against my spine and the vertebras pop down the line.  I cringe in sickness as his fiery breath disgustingly licks the top of my head. I’d never been held by a male before, and this isn’t what I pictured for my first time. The spriggan keeps pushing against my spine, squeezing me so tight his own chest recedes to accept more of mine. My lungs strain madly, trying desperately to pump within an inch of space. Fire burns across my chest and my limbs begin to tingle. My legs weaken and jiggle in place. A wheezing noise escapes my mouth and the spriggan suddenly releases my body. I drop lifelessly to the floor, my lungs gasping at the chance to breathe once more.

             
Something rams hard into my back and I stumble forward. Before I can fight my way back up, the spriggan jumps on my back and holds me flush to the floor. Protuberances in the rock dig into my hip and left shoulder.

             
“Get off me!” I scream, twisting aggressively, regretting the movement as the rock tears at my flesh. I feel his hands snatch the base of my wings and every cell in my body screams in panic. “Noooo!”
I choke.

             
I hear the deafening crack before I feel the sharp pain radiate from my upper wings and down the length of my spine. The screams, wet tears and chest convulsions are instantaneous, and as much as I try to contain them, I can’t. The veins in my wings overheat and a fiery burn encroaches the nerves of my spine, sending painful shivers throughout my body.

             
Finley’s laugh echoes cruelly. “Give it another break.”

             
I gasp before the spriggan returns pressure to my back and squishes me down. There’s a second crack, this time to the piece joining my lower wings. I want to scream, but until the spriggan decides to release his weight, all I can do is whimper. Tears flood my eyes and drench my face. My breaths come short and fast, unable to fill with any more air, and my midsection begins to cramp.

             
Finley leans down to my line of sight. My vision is blurry and distorted, so I actually see three sets of creepy smiles staring down at me. “Tell you what. Next time, if you haven’t realized you’re a nobody that belongs here, I’m going to have your wings broken in sixty-eight places. Just to get it through that thick head of yours.”

             
I close my eyes and moan, not caring if he sees it as defeat. He’d fare no better against this monstrous beast. I don’t remember them leaving or the cave fading to darkness. I only awake because a rush of water slaps the floor beside me and rebounds up and over my body. It drenches my wings, adding more weight to their delicate structure, and I scream as the two breaks shift downward, intensifying the steady pain. I pull my body into the fetal position and cry my heart out, letting it all out: the cries, the screams, the trembles; until the dark within the darkness takes me.

Something presses deep against my neck. It’s scratchy enough to snag
my
hairs and completely unwelcome, but my body doesn’t seem to react.

             
“Is it alive?” a gruff voice asks.

             
“Seems to be.”

             
Spriggans. Not Finley. Either way, I find any of their hands touching me disgusting. I snap my head and the hand retreats. I mutter, “Rosalie.”

             
One huffs, the other chuckles. A hard metal object suddenly crashes against my forehead and water drowns my head. For a second, my body jumps at attention, then succumbs to numbness immediately. Multiple soft thumps hit the floor before me, but I don’t open my eyes until the spriggans take off. Before the light fades, I notice several blueberries scattered across the floor. Lightning fast, I spring to collect every last one of them, ignoring the sharp pains and cramped muscles throughout my body. I also snag the bucket
before all the water leaks out
, catching ripples with my eyes before I’m in complete darkness again.