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The terrain grew rockier, and the uphill slog wore them down some more. On the last night out, they could see a faint haze in the sky far off, almost like a storm was coming. Jagger said that was lirek dust. The sky always had that tint, but it wasn't enough to bother the nearest town.
Lirek was the one thing that could affect a fairy’s magic. A collar or anything with it put around any part of a fairy cut of their power. Once it was removed, they could automatically use their ability.
Touching lirek also weakened a fairy’s power. If they ate or breathed it, it had the same effect and lasted for a few days. Tinctures existed that helped to combat the effects from breathing it in, but only guards got those. The tinctures started to lose their power after several months, so that was why guards got short breaks. After a little time of lirek-free air, they’d be as good as new.
Some assumed lirek might permanently ruin a fairy’s abilities if they kept eating huge amounts for years, but no one had ever experimented. Who’d want to? Prisoners that constantly breathed it with no break for a few years usually needed several days after their prison sentence to have full use of their powers.
Luke knew that once he was free, his fire wouldn’t be that strong until it was all out of his system, and he’d have to focus harder on using it if needed. Of course, he had absolutely no magic now thanks to his collar with lirek worked into it.
On what would be their last day of travel, they saw the nearest town in the distance. People willing to work with lirek stayed there according to Jagger. They made collars for prisons all across the realm, or for pleasure slaves and whores that didn’t mind wearing one to please their owner. Cutting off a fairy’s magic in those types of relationships was simply a humiliation tactic and a way to express more ownership.
Luke stayed close to Jagger’s horse as the group went down a wide dirt road. The grey hue in the sky was more pronounced even with the sun up, and some of the fairies shifted uneasily. Everyone knew what lirek was as a child, and the idea of being surrounded by so much it was often quite an uncomfortable thought.
Luke’s stomach grew tighter when they passed a sign with the words “Elbannon Lirek Mine” in faded letters. Much farther ahead, he could make out a stone wall and a gate, although he couldn’t see anything of the actual compound inside.
They were almost there. His heart pounded when two other senior guards went ahead to speak to those at the gate. As a whole, the rest of the group approached, and one of the gate guards went inside.
The dirt looked darker than normal under Luke’s boots, and he flinched when Jagger yelled at the criminals. “Clothes off. Now.”
Luke knew what to expect, and he didn’t hesitate to strip like the others. Someone took their clothes to fling in a cart, and they had to wait a few minutes before several guards in plain, dark clothes and leather armor came out. Luke couldn’t see anything beyond except for another stone wall, so he guessed a double one surrounded the main area.
Jagger shot Luke what seemed to be a glance to try to reassure him as the new guards surrounded the prisoners and started to usher them in. Jagger said this was just something to get done and over with in their eyes, so they couldn’t expect nice treatment.
Luke knew to try in the center of the group. Anybody too slow got a lash, and it was harder to be hit if he was surrounded by other bodies. Some others either knew or they guessed since there was quite a bit of jostling. Bread looked ready to pass out from fear at the sound of the first crack, so Luke grabbed his arm to pull him along.
“Come on. Move.”
They were forced beyond the gate and made to turn right. They had about a hundred yards between the outer and inner wall, and when they turned the first corner, posts were lined up. Much farther down, Luke could make out where the stones of the inner wall ended and turned into what looked like a fence.
A couple of guards shouted to pick a post and stand by it. The criminal that Jagger had whacked with a cane for saying “fuck you” had been mostly quiet and well-behaved the entire trip. None of the guards had seemed interested in him either. At the sight of the posts, he started crying, and he stopped dead.
A guard lashed him across his shoulders. “Get moving!”
“I can’t do that again! I can’t!”
Two guards dragged him to a post despite his pleas. Luke picked one and stood by it as he remembered Jagger’s words. It was better to accept whatever pain came, especially in a case like this. These guards didn’t know them, didn’t give a shit, and wouldn’t show mercy. Branding was a job to get done, and they didn’t feel like dallying around.
Bread still had healing marks all over his back, but he had space for a brand. Luke trembled as he stared at the wood, and he glanced behind him to see a guard’s fist light up with fire, and he touched it to a brazier.
“It’s so fucking hard now. I’m glad my break’s coming.”
A couple of other guards grumbled their agreement. More were coming from the opposite end with lengths of rope. Bread looked like he wanted to run, but too many guards were around. Beardy stood by his post with a resolute look on his face like he only wanted this done and over with.
Every prisoner had to hug the post when a guard barked the command. Luke wrapped his arms around his, and rope was looped around one wrist and tied to the other by some guy who was rough. Another rope went around his waist and the post to help hold him still.
Bread started crying when he was tied but Luke couldn’t worry about anyone else now. Jagger had said to try and block the noise of others screaming when their flesh was scorched. He wouldn’t have a pair of fingers in his ass to make him cum, so he’d have to bear this entirely on his own.
He’d said he knew Luke wasn’t weak, and to not feel bad if he screamed or cried. It was a horrendous pain, but it wasn’t forever.
He stared at the wood and told himself he could do this. It was another way to please Jagger, so he wouldn’t panic. It was hard to look behind him, but he noticed a brand in a brazier. They needed time to get hot, so they’d be stuck waiting for a bit. Why couldn’t they have this better organized somehow so they weren’t tied and waiting for so long? Being on the post made it worse.
He’d noticed five braziers and so they wouldn’t all get it at once. A guard took a brand and headed for the first criminal who started pleading, but that turned into a scream a moment later, and Luke flinched.
The third criminal got it from another guy. Beardy let out a sound like he was going to punch the guard who did him, and one came for Luke.
He pressed himself into the post as he tried to steady his breathing. The heat came close, and he started shaking harder than before. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Intense heat and searing agony touched the back of his right shoulder and pushed in. He couldn’t help the shout he let out as everything ceased to exist for a moment. Nothing mattered except the sound of his flesh sizzling and agony in that one spot. He clenched his teeth and finally screamed before the pressure was gone, and he knew he'd been left with a huge ELM in a stylized circle.
