The Destroyer Book 2 (5 page)

"Yes. The swords make me nervous. These are the first refugees we have seen since Nia was conquered." His voice faded as he walked out the back door and closed it.

Jessmei was repeating my name like a song, low, keening. I touched her hair softly and kissed her forehead, but her eyes were far away and she did not respond. I had felt the pain she was experiencing now, and while I had cried the last of my tears for my brother and father, I knew how difficult it would be for Jessmei to recover from the loss of her family.

Rayat knocked on the door and entered with two steaming bowls of soup, a large pitcher of water, and a smaller container of milk. There was also a huge wedge of cheese on the plate that smelled better than the soup did.

"Tell us if you need more, son." He nodded at me as he backed out and softly closed the door.

Jessmei suddenly stopped crying and pulled away from me. Her eyes looked wild and I met her gaze.

"You are all I have left, Kaiyer. Everyone else I've ever loved is dead." Her hand came up to stroke my face cautiously. "You won't leave me will you? I don't want to be alone." I smiled down at her and kissed her fingertips. Her eyes were red and soaked with tears.

"No. I won't leave you. Also, we don't know if they are dead. They might be alive." I tried to comfort her. "Here, drink this." I handed her a cup of milk but she pushed it away.

"How could there be any survivors? If my father is dead, then my mother, brother, uncle, Nadea, Greykin, Cerra, Yera, Siliah, Damina, and Levie are all dead." Her eyes were glazed glass. I suddenly wondered if our abilities to recall memories were even useful. Sometimes they caused so much pain.

"We aren't sure of anything Jessmei," I whispered. "Can you try to drink this milk?"

"I don't feel hungry. I wish I was dead with them." She rolled over on the bed and looked away from me and the offered glass. I sighed and reached my hand out to stroke her back.

"Eat some food for me. Didn't you just say that I was the only one you have left? You are the same for me, Jessmei. All of my friends are your family. If they are gone then you are the only person I have left as well." She turned around and nodded. Tears were still coming down her face slowly, but she reached up her hands past the milk for the bowl of soup.

"What are we going to do Kaiyer?" she asked me. Deep in those eyes I saw a small flicker of hope. Again I would become a leader. Like I had so many times before to so many thousands of people.

I remembered all the faces of the men and women I had commanded. I recalled Paug's shy grin, Nadea's face when she scrunched her nose up in anger, Greykin's bellicose voice, and I remembered Iarin's faraway look of relaxation.

All of them, at one point or another, asked me what we should do. What action should be taken? How would I solve this problem? I always had the answer.

I looked into Jessmei's teary eyes and leaned in to kiss her softly.

For once, I didn't have an answer.

I didn't know what to do.

It was so cold I couldn't sleep. Or maybe I slept but my dreams only contained the same darkness, fear, and agonizing sadness that I felt when I was awake. Sometimes the pain seemed unbearable, but I had already cried until my eyes turned into dead riverbeds and my body shook with dehydration.

I did not know how long it had been since they had brought me water, nor how long I had been imprisoned. Time didn't exist in absolute darkness.

I had never imagined I would spend the last days of my life in the dungeon.

The Loshers beat me half to death after they dragged me in here and chained my arms up to the ceiling. Then they left me dangling like a piece of meat waiting to be carved. I screamed and tried to kick them with my good leg. They had just laughed and punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and causing my vision to blur. My leg bled so profusely from the stab wound that it sounded like rain falling on stone. The Losher men ripped off part of my shirt and tied a rough bandage around it to prevent any more blood from dripping. They probably didn't think I would live long enough to get an infection.

I thought about Paug's body lying lifeless on the floor while his life drained out of him. The red of his blood seeped through my brain, mingled with the king’s and fed my insanity. He looked so surprised when Nanos stabbed him. I wished I could have comforted my young friend in his last seconds.

His blood filled the room.

The king's blood filled the room.

Nanos smiled as the Losher soldiers dragged me away.

Greykin screamed as I ran from him.

I recalled the four men talking amongst themselves after they had ripped off part of my shirt. I remembered shouting for help but no one had come. One of my captors tried to kiss me and I had bitten his nose. He had hit me a few times in the face and then punched me so hard in the chest I felt a rib crack. It was funny that I didn't feel pain in my face or ribs now.

Either the cut on my leg was very bad, or the fever was close to taking me.

I was at sea, adrift in darkness and waves. I sank deeper into the saltwater. It was cold at first, but then it became warmer, like the hugs my father would give me when we sat in his study and he told me of my mother.

A sound jolted me awake. My nose inhaled sharply and the scent of urine and fecal matter almost made me gag. I'd always had an amazing sense of smell, so it didn't take me more than a couple deep breaths to realize that the rancid odor came from me. They hadn't unchained me to let me relieve myself so I had no choice but to do it in my pants.

I'd also experienced my useless moon flow. The scent of my menstruation was impossible to separate from the other stains on my body and the shit that mixed with it in my undergarments. At least they wouldn't want to rape me now.

Another sound emerged from the darkness. Metal on metal, and I saw a light slowly begin to glow from the hallway to the left. It cast a reddish glow on the rough stone walls and made my prison seem even more of a hell. I looked at my ripped shirt, stained leather pants, and a dried pool of blood that covered my boots and the hay beneath it. Something skittered away from the light on the right side of my field of vision but I didn't have enough energy to turn my head. It was probably a rat that would consume my corpse after I died.

The light got agonizingly intense and I tried to close my eyes. It was so bright that my eyelids and lashes couldn't shelter me from the piercing glare. The pain of my fever and leg became overshadowed by the agony that shot through my brain. It sounded like many sets of boots walked across the stone dungeon floor, but I didn't possess the strength to dare the light. I moaned in pain but it came out in a dry rasp. Like a death rattle.

I heard the metal door of my cell open and it made a creak as it moved on un-oiled hinges. There were more boot steps and I guessed that people stood in front of me. The light was so bright through my eyelids that I couldn't stand it. I tried to moan again and I got out half a gasp.

"Well. Here she is." It was Nanos's voice but it echoed in my head like he was yelling at me from across the castle hallways. I should have wanted to kill him, but all I wanted was to die.

"The instructions indicated that she should be alive." The voice sounded warm and full, it reminded me of a baritone singer. I cracked my left eye open slightly and was rewarded by a searing jab of pain into my brain from the light.

"She is alive," Nanos argued in defense.

"My empress wishes to question her," the voice spoke again.

"She can," Nanos said quickly. A pause stretched on for a few minutes. I heard feet shift on the floor of my cell.

"What of the human boy?" I decided that the voice was beautiful.

"Dead. Unfortunately, he attacked me and I had to defend myself." Nanos sniffed in disgust.

Anger filled me and I opened my eyes against the pain. I pulled with all my strength and the chains that shackled my arms. The ceiling came down in a shower of stone and dust. Before anyone moved, I jumped forward and wrapped my hands around Nanos's throat. He screamed in horror and then choked on bile and blood as my grip crushed the life from him.

At least, that was what I tried to do. In actuality I managed to crack both my eyes open a bit, moan a whisper, and shake my body like a wind chime that had been hit with a gentle breeze.

"The boy attacked you?" the voice asked. It looked like the Ancient general who had demanded that the king surrender. I had forgotten his name, if he had given it to the king those many weeks ago when they had made their exchange of demands from the wall around the castle.

"Yes. As did Nadea. They conspired to kill me." Nanos frowned when he looked at me.

"My empress asked that you capture the human boy named Paug and the human woman named Nadea. You have failed to do this." The Ancient had been studying me, but he glanced back to the prince. "My empress does not accept failure."

There were two guards accompanying Nanos. One of them held the small candle that caused me the agony. Even in its dim light I saw my cousin's face pale. His mouth hung open in shock.

"No. Wait. I did everything she asked of me." His voice became frantic but the Ancient seemed uninterested in his concerns. "Paug is dead, but Nadea is still alive. She can answer all of the empress's questions."

"I do not believe that will be possible. This woman appears to be close to death. She is dehydrated. Her leg wound is festering, and she has an extreme fever. Humans are frail and weak. She will die today or tomorrow. This will not please my empress." The Ancient sniffed and then made a small frown with his angular features.

Nanos turned to one of his guards.

"How much food and water have you given her?" his voice went up in pitch as he squealed in fear. I smiled and tasted blood in my mouth. I hoped that I died and the empress ripped Nanos apart for being such a backstabbing piece of shit traitorous bastard. The two guards exchanged nervous glances.

"I'll get her some, sir," the meeker one said before he quickly ran out of my prison.

"Can you speak, human?" the Ancient addressed me. His eyes had a strange silver hue to them and they almost seemed to glow softly with the candlelight. I tried to say yes but I only gurgled.

"This is disappointing." The Ancient shook his head and crossed his arms. "She will be very upset with you, King of Nia."

"What . . . what will she do to me?" Nanos’s voice quavered.

"I do not know, human. But I would recommend that you attempt to save this woman's life. Then my empress might only remove your arm for the death of the boy."

"Remove my arm?" Nanos gasped in horror.

"Yes. I have seen her do worse to our kind who failed her in less of an extreme manner than you. The empress made it very clear in my orders and to you in the treaty documents. The boy and this woman needed to live so that she could question them about the O'Baarni."

"But I did what she asked of me! I didn't fail her! I gave her the Kingdom of Nia!" The prince threw himself at the Ancient's feet and gripped his pants. Tears began to streak down his face and I struggled to smile. I wished that I could be alive to witness him scream when he was punished.

"You are correct, you delivered Nia. However, one might argue she would have taken it in short time by force or your father might have given it to her peacefully. You made the recommendation for betrayal, and agreed to have the O'Baarni's companions ready for questioning. Your proposition satisfied my empress but now she is out one third of the deal and looks to be out of another. I believe she would have chosen other alternatives had she known you would not fulfill your promises." The Ancient sniffed the air again glared at me in disgust.

"She has shat herself and I cannot endure it any longer. I recommend that you make sure the woman lives and pray that the empress has mercy." Without another word, the Ancient walked beyond the bars of my cell and toward the exit of the dungeon. Nanos looked as if he wanted to plead more with the man, but my blonde cousin thought better and instead turned to the guard that returned with food and water.

"Feed her and find a medic. I want her guarded and placed in the infirmary so that she recovers!" the prince screamed at the two guards. They snapped to attention and nodded. Nanos turned to look at me; he could probably see that my eyes were half-closed. He opened his mouth to say something, reconsidered, huffed, and walked two feet out of my cell. The asshole stopped suddenly and faced the guards again.

"Bring the medic here, bring water to wash the prisoner, and bring fresh clothes for her. She cannot be seen by anyone but you two and the doctor. Do not let them leave. I do not want anybody to know Nadea is alive." His guards nodded again and Nanos stormed out of the cell with a dramatic swing of his cloak. The light from the candles made the bars to my cell cast rough shadows so that he looked like a caged monster as he stomped down the hallway and up the stairs out of the dungeon. The guards said nothing until we heard a distant door open and slam shut.

"I'll get a medic, you take care of the water and clothes," the one holding the candle said to the other as they moved toward the exit. During their short transition out they found a torch mounted to the wall. A warm glow soon bled across the dungeon hall and leaked through the bars of my cell.