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Faintly, I feel my heels sliding through the sand as my arms scream in protest. I feel two sets of hands under my armpits, dragging my body painfully across the desert floor. I want to close my eyes and fall back out of consciousness, but the pain won’t allow it.
Slowly, I blink my eyes open. Stars hang brightly in the sky above me, illuminating the night with a soft glow. The intense pain in my head registers as I open my eyes, adding to the miserable feeling in my body.
Is this real? Where am I?Memories of a fight begin to flood back into my brain. The cavern, I was fighting in the cavern, and then… then they took hold of me from behind.This is real. I’ve been captured. Where is Peliel? Does he live?
I fear for myself, but more so for Peliel. I have little interest in staying alive if I’ll be alone again.Where is Peliel?Somehow, I know he is alive. They could not have killed him. But will he know how to find me?
“She’s awake,” says a gruff voice in front of me, ripping me from my thoughts.
“Let’s take cover up there by those rocks,” says another voice. “We can shelter from the monster’s sight and get what we need from this one.”
The men seem to agree, and I feel them dragging me up a sandy hill, my eyes fluttering as the pain threatens to overwhelm me. A few minutes later, they throw me down on a hard rocky outcrop, sending more jolts of pain through my body.
Grunting and spitting blood I push myself onto my hands and knees, only to be kicked ferociously in the ribs and collapse again on the rocks.
“Monster fucker,” comes a voice from above me.
“Hold on, Rorik,” says another voice, “First we need to get what we can out of her. She must know of some weakness in her lover.”
“Look at her, Danin,” the other voice responds. “She don’t know a thing. She’s been fucking that creature for gods know how long. What kind of sick whore of a woman would do such a thing.”
“She’s been broken by him, aye, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t learned a thing or two about him.”
I hear a man spit and feel the glob of saliva land on my back.
“We should have a little fun and then slit her throat. She can’t help us.”
“Shut your fuckin’ mouth, Rorik, I won’t say it again.”
A displeased sound comes from the man named Rorik, but he says no more. A moment later, I feel hands grabbing me roughly by the shoulders and turning me over onto my back.
I open my eyes to see an ugly face inches away from me. The man’s nose looks severely broken and his face is smeared with blood.
“Do you hear me, whore?” the voice says. “You understand me?”
I nod slightly, fear filling my body.
“Good. Now we know you’ve been fucking that monster, no point in denying it. What would drive a woman to do such a thing, I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care. You’re a twisted woman, but we’ll let you live if you answer a few questions. If you don’t, we’ll rape you bloody and leave you to bleed out on the sand, understood?”
I nod again, scared to open my mouth.
“Good,” the man says again. “I want you to tell me how to kill this creature. This demon has killed three-quarters of our clan now. Women and children, too, you understand? You sleep with the devil, but you can redeem yourself. Tell me how to kill him, and we will ask the gods to forgive you.”
Despite myself, I laugh. Madness overtaking me I cackle. The punch to my jaw barely even registers. I feel the ground come up to meet me, but still, I laugh.Kill him! They think they can kill him?
“See, Danin,” says the man named Rorik. “She’s fucking mad. Kill her and be done with it.”
I look up at him suddenly, the laughter dying in my throat.
“You will all die,” I say in a tone of absolute conviction. “You say he is the devil, but what are you? You kill with as little remorse as him, but you hide behind your gods and pretend it’s justified. You came up against a force you cannot begin to conceive of, and you paid for it. Now he will come for me, and all of you will die.”
“Kill me if you wish, but do not pretend to be better than me. You are consumed by revenge, devoid of all else that makes you human. You will suff –” Another blow to the head cuts me off, slamming my head into the ground.
I can feel myself slipping away now. I cannot take much more of this. My mother’s voice echoes softly in my head. She hums a lullaby, caressing me into sleep. The men are talking again, but I can’t hear their words, only my mother’s soft humming.I’m coming to see you, Mother. I’ll be there soon.
A hand grips my hair, bending my head back painfully.I see you, Mother. I see the light. It’s so beautiful, Mother. So white and pure. You didn’t tell me it would be so beautiful.Faintly, I see a dark steel blade descending toward my throat.I’m coming.
A bright white light reflects off the blade as it reaches my neck. Blood explodes in the night air, and my body collapses on the cold rocks. It takes me a moment to realize the blood isn’t mine.The light. It’s Peliel. He’s come to carry me to my death.
